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IPTL: UAE Royals thrash Singapore Slammers on first day in Delhi

Marin Cilic of the UAE Royals is congratulated by his team bench after his victory against Lleyton Hewitt of the Singapore Sla
Image: Marin Cilic of the UAE Royals is congratulated by his team bench after his victory against Lleyton Hewitt of the Singapore Slammers

The UAE Royals impressed on day one of the International Premier Tennis League from Delhi, beating the Singapore Slammers 29-16.

When the two teams met in the Singapore leg of the competition the Slammers came out victorious with a tight 27-25 win, but there was not to be a repeat this time. 

World No 9 Marin Cilic gave the Royals a dream start and defended a brave comeback by Lleyton Hewitt to comfortably take the opening set 6-3 in the men's singles.

Cilic then partnered Nenad Zimonjic in the men's doubles and they eased past the Slammers' all-Australian pairing of Hewitt and Nick Kyrgios 6-2 to extend their overall lead.

In the past-champions game, crowd favourite Goran Ivanisevic proved he has still got the court craft and put in a dominant performance to beat Pat Rafter 6-1.

The Royals looked unbeatable going into the mixed doubles and once again came out on top.

Zimonjic, joined by partner Kritina Mladenovic, wowed fans with a highly athletic display to beat Kyrgios and Daniel Hantuchova 6-4.

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The final match of the day saw former women's world No 1 Caroline Wozniacki take on Hantuchova.

Both players showed great skill in a tight game, but it was Hantuchova who came out on top, picking up the Slammers' first match win of the day 6-5.

The overall team points finished Royals 29-16 Slammers.

After the match, Royals' Goran Ivanisevic said: “It is a great crowd out here and I hear that it is going to be even better in the coming days! I’m happy that I was 5-0 against Pat at one stage and won later. When you win a couple of times, you come to a match feeling psychologically confident.”

Watch more IPTL tennis across the week on Sky Sports. For information on television times heas to www.skysports.com/watch/tennis-on-sky

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