Tennis: Ivanovic delights, shuts out Hantuchova in Manila IPTL opener

Ana Ivanovic charmed the Philippine crowd on Friday, flashing a bright smile while crushing Daniela Hantuchova, 6-0, in the women's singles match between the Micromax Indian Aces and the Singapore Slammers in the Manila leg of the IPTL tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

“The crowd was amazing, they were really into the match,” said Ana Ivanovic. “It was a great match and also fun format.”

The Indian Aces almost scored a shutout against the Singapore team, before the duo of Nick Kyrgios and Tomas Berdych secured the Slammers' only win.

In the first match, Rohan Bopanna's power and Sania Mirza's precision propelled the Indian Aces past the duo of Bruno Soares and Daniela Hantuchova, 6-4, in the mixed doubles category. In the champions competition, Frenchman Fabrice Santoro came up big, capitalizing on his opponent's errors to beat Aussie legend Patrick Rafter, 6-5.

In the men's double's category, the Singapore Slammers recovered with a 6-2 victory by Nick Kyrgios and Tomas Berdych over Bopanna and Gael Monfils. The final match was the men's singles battle, where Gael Monfils dominated Lleyton Hewitt, 6-1. - GMA News