On the second day of Pro Tennis League, Jodhpur Sankara, Bangalore Challengers, Lucknow Aviators and DMG Delhi Crusaders emerged victorious with ties running close at the RK Khanna Stadium in New Delhi.
In Group B fixtures, Jodhpur Sankara staged a remarkable comeback to beat Paramount Proec Tigers (94-91) and Bangalore Challengers downed Meerut Stag Babolat Yoddhas (96-89). Over in Group A ties, played in the evening, Lucknow Aviators beat Gurgaon Sapphires (95-90) and DMG Delhi Crusaders convincingly swept aside Proveri Super Smashers (105-80).
With today’s results, DMG Delhi Crusaders have won both their matches while Proveri Super Smashers have lost both. Lucknow Aviators and Gurgaon Sapphires have won and lost one each. In Group B, all teams have won one and lost one to take things down the decider on Saturday.
As the mercury dipped in the capital on Friday, the intensity and quality of tennis went up in the high-octane competition. With nine matches and 185 points overall deciding the outcome of a tie, the format allows teams to stage late comebacks – as was the case on the day.
Siddharth Rawat in singles and combination of 2010 Asian Games medallist Vishnu Vardhan and Karan Singh looked to have put Paramount Proec Tigers in commanding position against the Jodhpur Sankara but for the final men’s doubles match to turn things around.
Going into the final match, Paramount Proec Tigers led the Sankara team 80-75. Then in dramatic fashion, doubles pairing of Divij Sharan and Parikshit Somani won by 19-11 over Vishnu Vardhan and Siddharth Rawat to turn the fate of the tie.
On the other court, Bangalore Challengers faced no such hiccups in getting past Meerut Stag Babolat Yoddhas. They won six of nine matches to register a commanding win. Meerut Stag Babolat Yoddhas will take heart in being able to keep the overall deficit down to seven points.
In the evening matches, featuring teams from Group A, DMG Delhi Crusaders set the tone early against Proveri Pune Smashers by winning margins of eight, eight and seven points respectively as Neeraj Yashpaul, Anirudh Chandrasekhar-Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Kavya Khirwar set the anchor.
Over on the main court, Lucknow Aviators won four straight matches over the Gurgaon Sapphires to take a strong lead. The pairing of Adil Kalyanpur and N Sriram Balaji then added to their momentum by clinching the final men’s doubles (17-13) against V M Ranjeet and Malek Jaziri to provide the icing on the cake.
