Punjab Marshalls registered their first win in the Champions Tennis League (CTL) Friday, beating Delhi Dreams 29-18 at the CLTA Tennis Stadium here.
With this win, Punjab snapped Delhi’s unbeaten run in the inaugural tournament.
Punjab now have 69 points from three matches. Delhi top the northern group with 70 points while Mumbai have 46 points from two matches.
The tie got off to a spectacular start with Leander Paes displaying some vintage serve-and-volley tennis in the legends match against Juan Carlos Ferrero.
Ferrero maintained his good form in the tournament, matching Paes shot by shot as both veterans displayed some high-quality action. They were inseparable as both held on to their serves authoritatively.
It needed a tie-breaker to determine the winner of the match, and Ferrero took it 6-5.
Marshalls fought back immediately, winning the mixed doubles match easily.
The Leander-Garbine Muguruza pair brushed aside Kevin Anderson-Jelena Jankovic 6-1 to give Marshalls a 11-6 lead in the tie.
In the women’s singles, Muruguza got off to spectacular start, racing to a 3-0 lead. And though Jankovic managed to level it at 5-5, Muruguza held on to win the match narrowly.
In men’s doubles, Punjab’s Paes-Somdev Devvarman increased their lead after winning 6-3 against Sanam Singh and Kevin Anderson.
In the final match of the tie, Devvarman dominated from the baseline to down Anderson 6-3 to keep alive Punjab’s chance of making it to the final.
IANS