Stan Wawrinka showed his class in both singles and doubles to lead the Singapore Slammers to victory in the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) final in front of a delighted home crowd at the Indoor Stadium on Sunday.
Matches in the Asia-based mixed team tennis league are decided by games won in five one-set shootouts over various formats and Switzerland's Wawrinka played brilliantly to ensure the Slammers overcame the Indian Aces 26-21 in a gripping finale.
Carlos Moya got the home side off to a perfect start with a 6-4 victory over French shot-maker Fabrice Santoro in the 'Legends Singles', the Spanish veteran coming out on top of five straight breaks of serve after he had opened a 3-2 lead.
Swiss starlet Belinda Bencic stretched the advantage by a game after the 18-year-old fought off a gritty challenge from Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova to claim the women's singles, 6-5.
The pair put on an absorbing display despite never looking comfortable on serve, with three breaks apiece in the opening 10 games sending the contest into a "shootout" (identical to a tiebreak), which Bencic claimed 7-3 to put Singapore 12-9 ahead.
"I was lucky that Charlie (Moya) won and did a great job and I could also make a lead," Bencic said in a courtside interview. "It's not much but we will try to keep winning the matches."
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