Ana Ivanovic and Gael Monfils of the Aces drew the loudest cheers from the MOA Arena crowd as they routed their overmatched opponents in the women's and men's singles, respectively.
But it was the pair of Rohan Bopanna and Sania Mirza who got the party started for the Aces, as they defeated the pair of Bruno Soares and Daniela Hantuchova, 6-4, in the mixed doubles.
Indian Aces playing coach Fabrice Santoro and Singapore's Patrick Rafter put on a show in a match-up of past champions, as they battled to a 5-5 draw that triggered the first-ever five minute shootout in IPTL history.
It was Santoro who won the shootout, 8-4, giving the Aces a 2-0 set lead and a 12-9 advantage in games won.
The Slammers pulled one back in the men's doubles, as the pair of Tomas Berdych and Nicholas Kyrgios beat Monfils and Bopanna, 2-0.
The Aces dominated the singles matches, however, as the charismatic Ivanovic thoroughly outclassed Hantuchova, 6-0, to the delight of the crowd, and Monfils booked an entertaining 6-1 victory over Lleyton Hewitt.
"It's a great team, I couldn't ask for a better team," Ivanovic said in a brief post-match press conference. "I'm really happy to spend time with all of them. The team spirit was great, we were laughing a lot and trying to make jokes, and I think Fabrice is a great captain."
Monfils became the first victim of the much discussed "shot clock," when, leading 3-1, he failed to serve by the time the clock expired and Hewitt was awarded a point.
The Frenchman made a fuss at the umpire, even going back to his own bench, but eventually returned to serve and won the next three games handily.
"I think everyone found the 20-second rule quite interesting," said Ivanovic. "It was very fast, especially with the ball sometimes not being in place, and it was a bit faster and a bit more dynamic."
Another new feature, the "Happiness Power Point," also repeatedly came into play. Mirza and Bopanna used the power point in the first set to win a game while up 30-15, and Rafter, Ivanovic, and Monfils also won power points in their respective sets.
The Aces had a 25-16 lead in terms of games won.
As promised by the organizers ahead of the competition, the sets were much faster than fans and even the players had gotten used to, thanks to the shot clock that timed the serves and the no-ad rule.
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
