With 31 Grand Slam titles between them, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal rounded-off a thrilling Delhi leg to the IPTL with a classic battle on court.
And it was the Spaniard who came out on top at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, winning their fifth-set encounter 6-5 to secure a comprehensive 30-19 victory for Micromax Indian Aces against the Obi UAE Royals.
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It means the Aces head into this week’s Dubai leg at the top of the table but Federer has the chance for payback at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium.
Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna got the Aces off to the perfect start with a 6-4 first-set win over Kristina Mladenovic and Daniel Nestor, before Pole Agnieszka Radwanska built on the opening salvo with a routine 6-1 singles success over Mladenovic.
It was then a battle of styles in the third set as legends Fabrice Santoro, who is nicknamed ‘The Magician’, and big-server Goran Ivanisevic did battle on the final day of the Delhi leg.
And it was the Frenchman who came out on top with a narrow 6-5 win, before Bopanna teamed up with Nadal to tame Marin Cilic and Federer in the men’s doubles.
Nadal’s success over great rival Federer rounded-up off a clean sweep and perfect 30 points for the Aces.
Speaking after his win, 14-time Grand Slam champion Nadal said: “I’m happy to play here against Roger and the crowd gave us a lot of love. I played here one day before, so in a sense I had an advantage, but playing Roger is always exciting.”
