The Gujarat University Tennis Stadium in Ahmedabad was abuzz with excitement as the Tennis Premier League’s seventh season concluded on a high note.
The GS Delhi Aces won their first TPL title after defeating the Yash Mumbai Eagles in the final. However, fans in the stadium were treated to much more sporting entertainment, as the semis kicked off as the winter sunset faded.
Semi-final 1: GS Delhi Aces defeat Rajasthan Rangers
Sofia Costoulas began the proceedings for the GS Delhi Aces, as she had throughout the event. In a thumping win, she gave her team a solid head start, beating Ekaterina Kazionova 19-6. In a format like TPL, bridging a 13-point gap poses a challenge in itself. Though the Rajasthan Rangers won the following match owing to Dhakineshwar Suresh’s flamboyant baseline hitting in the mixed doubles contest, the scoreline read 13-12, which hardly narrowed the gap between Delhi and Rajasthan.
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Up next was Luciano Darderi, who finds himself among the 30 best singles players in the world currently. He began as a heavy favorite against Billy Harris, who has yet to break into the Top 100. To everyone’s awe, Harris big serves were followed by cross-court baseline shots that made Darderi huff and puff on a relatively slow hard court. After 25 points, Harris had tamed the goliath, winning the tie 17-8.
Delhi was only three points away from securing a berth in the finale. Both Harris and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan thought it would be a quick finish. But both teams, rather hilariously, made the crowd linger on by opting for their mandatory 1-minute time-outs after the first two points of the match.
Final Score: GS Delhi Aces win 51-28.
Semi-final 2: Yash Mumbai Eagles defeat SG Pipers Bengaluru
Quite easily, the match of the tournament. Shrivalli Bahamidipaty was upbeat in the women’s singles, eager to avenge her league stage loss to Riya Bhatia. Despite an early lead at the change of ends, Riya plunged herself back in the game to win it 13-12. The next tie featured Rohan Bopanna whose experience helped the SG Pipers get to level terms at the end of the mixed doubles match. Riya and Niki Poonacha lost 12-13, and the match was evenly poised at 25-25.
In the men’s singles match, Damir Dzumhur avenged his league-stage loss to Ramkumar Ramanathan, winning 14-11 for the Yash Mumbai Eagles. The men’s doubles match was a fitting decider, involving intense rallies and a heated altercation between Ramanathan and Dzumhur. To add to the spice, the match went to golden point, which the SG Pipers won.
However, Mumbai had already reached the elusive 51-point mark, making them the second finalist.
Final: GS Delhi Aces vs Yash Mumbai Eagles
A Mumbai-Delhi score to be settled in front of an Ahmedabad crowd was a fitting finale. In comparison to the thrilling semifinal between Bengaluru and Mumbai, the mercury definitely dropped in the final. Courtesy of yet another blazing start from Sofia Constoulas, who won the opener 18-7 against Riya Bhatia. In the mixed doubles, the gap widened, as Riya and Niki lost to Jeevan and Sofia 16-9.
The match score was 34-16, and it had already dawned upon the spectators that only a miraculous effort from Dzumhur in the men’s singles could bring the Eagles back into the contest. The Bosnian did not disappoint. He won his tie 16-9 against Billy Harris. But the Englishman’s nine points also meant they were only seven points away from the championship.
It took 12 points for Billy and Jeevan to reach there, as Vijay Pusdekar’s team was crowned the champions of the event.
Apart from the stunning trophies, the GS Delhi Aces were rewarded with 25 lakh INR whereas the runners-up received 10 lakh INR.
“I am happy to be a part of it, and lucky to have experienced this event. It’s something different and fun to watch. Even if I am not playing and I am seeing, I feel very excited,” said Sofia Constoulas, who was crowned the female player of the tournament.“It’s good practice – these matches are against really good players. The atmosphere is good, the conditions are great. The (tennis) season never stops, and it’s a great warmup for the next,” said Billy Harris.
