Feliciano Lopez raised his game under pressure in the decider to get the better of the big-serving Ivo Karlovic and help Nagpur Orangers beat Hyderabad Aces 22-20 in the Champions Tennis League match at the LB Stadium tennis complex here on Sunday night.
In the Legends’ rubber, Thomas Johansson put Hyderabad ahead by defeating Alex Corretja 5-3, even as the latter showed glimpses of his class with five aces in the final stages of the match.
But, the Swede’s superior serve and volley game helped him emerge the winner.
In the women’s singles, Jelena Jankovic of Nagpur put it across Martina Hingis.
Despite the odd flourish of brilliance at the net, Hingis was found wanting as Jankovic ran her around with some delectable cross-court returns.
Then, Hingis and Karlovic put Hyderabad back in contention beating Lopez and Jankovic.
The men’s doubles saw Lopez and Divij Sharan defeating Karlovic and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan. All the good work done by Karlovic’s serve was frittered away by some poor play at the net by Jeevan.
Lopez downed a fighting Karlovic in the men’s singles, after taking the issue into the tie-breaker.
To his credit, Lopez weathered a series of aces in the final minutes to stay cool and come up with some returns which had Karlovic struggling to get to.
The results: Nagpur Orangers bt Hyderabad Aces 22-20 [ Legends: Alex Corretja lost to Thomas Johansson 5-3; Womens: Jelena Jankovic bt Martina Hingis 5-3; Mixed doubles: Feliciano Lopez & Jankovic lost to Ivo Karlovic & Hingis 5-4; Men’s doubles: Lopez & Divij Sharan bt Kalrovic & Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan 5-3; Men’s: Lopez bt Karlovic 5-4].
