Dubai: It may have been a far more inauspicious start than hoped for, but the Obi UAE Royals still have their sights set on making the final of the second edition of the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) in Singapore.
The five IPTL teams moved on to Singapore after the end of the penultimate leg concluded at the Dubai Tennis Stadium late on Wednesday.
Led by Roger Federer, the Obi UAE Royals were fancied to easily make it through to the finals this year. However, they have ended up with a rather lop-sided record of four wins from nine matches.
But they are still in contention for a spot in next week’s finale, most probably against defending champions and current leaders Micromax Indian Aces, who head the table with eight wins from ten.
All that the UAE Royals now need is two clear wins to book their place ahead of the Singapore Slammers and the Philippine Mavericks – but both have better winning records this year.
The Singapore Slammers are currently in second place with six wins from the nine they have played so far, while the UAE Royals have managed to sneak ahead of the Philippine Mavericks on a better winning percentage of 49.7 compared to the Mavericks’ 49.2 per cent, despite having an extra victory.
In Singapore, the Philippine Warriors will take on the Japan Warriors, while the Singapore Slammers will face the UAE Royals on the opening day on Thursday. On Friday, the Mavericks will be up against the UAE Royals and the Slammers will be up against the Aces in what could possibly be a dress rehearsal for Saturday’s final.
“We know what we need to do now on. There are two more matches and we need to do everything to win both these and book our place in the final,” Kristina Mladenovic, the only women’s player in the UAE Royals team told media late on Wednesday.
“I think it has been an exciting journey for all the teams as technically there are three teams competing for one spot that is left. We will fight till the end for sure,” she added.
The UAE Royals coach JL De Jager regretted some of the losses for his team. “We were like 4-1 up at times and the rules make play go by so quickly that you are at the losing end in a flash. All this is a learning process for us all and we will give it our best when we head to Singapore for the final two matches,” he promised.
STANDINGS (After Round 4 held in Dubai, UAE from December 14-16)
Team MP MW ML GW-GL GW%
Micromax Indian Aces 10 8 2 257-209 55.2
Oue Singapore Slammers 9 6 3 228-207 52.4
Obi UAE Royals 9 4 5 214-217 49.7*
Philippine Mavericks 9 5 4 214-221 49.2
Legendari Japan Warriors 10 1 9 211-259 44.9
Note: MP: Matches Played; MW: Matches Won; ML: Matches Lost; GW-GL: Games Won-Games Lost; GW%: Games Won Percentage.
