Filipino Treat Huey and French partner Jo-Wilfried Tsonga got the job done for the Manila Mavericks, but the rest in the star-studded squad bowed to the Indian Aces on Day 2 Saturday of the New Delhi leg of the International Tennis Premiere League.
The Mavericks bowed to the Aces, 15-24, as the doubles pairing of Huey and Tsonga proved to be the only bright spot for the squad at Indian Gandhi Indoor Stadium with a 6-0 victory over Rohan Bopanna and Gael Monfils.
But that turned out to be the lone victory of the Mavericks, whose stars Andy Murray and Maria Sharapova dropped their respective matches.
Manila Mavericks team manager Jean Henri Lhuillier believes the squad can bounce back in the competition. “I am so proud of the whole team and I see everyone’s tremendous work ethic,” he said.
The Mavericks suffered a blow when veteran Carlos Moya was sidelined by an injury. His replacement, Daniel Nestor, bowed to Fabrice Santoro, 1-6.
Atoning for his loss in the doubles match, Monfils overcame Murray, 6-4. Things went from bad to worse for the Mavericks when Sharapova dropped a 3-6 decision to Ana Ivanovic.