Indian Aces vs Philippine Mavericks preview: On home turf, Aces look to resume dominance

Rafael Nadal will look to entertain the home fans starting Thursday

After two legs, the Indian Aces and the Philippine Mavericks find themselves at the top of the table, with the Aces ahead on games won percentage. Interestingly, the first match of the third leg at New Delhi, the Aces’ home turf, would be a repeat of the intense battle of nerves that took place on 8th December between the same two teams in Manila, the Mavericks’ home turf.

After 2 hours and 25 minutes, both teams were tied on 24 games each, with Rafael Nadal and Milos Raonic playing the singles match tied on 5 games apiece, and in the tie-breaker were on 6 points each at sudden death. Raonic won that big point giving the Mavericks a hard-fought win, in the process breaking Nadal and the Aces’ winning streak.

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The re-match will be a revenge battle where the Aces, usually known for their relaxed approach, will fight hard to put one against their opponents. We take a look at the probable match-ups and what to expect.

Legends' singles: Fabrice Santoro vs Mark Philppoussis

Indian Aces’ coach Santoro started the tournament well but has been up and down since. Against Philippoussis in Manila he wasn’t exactly at his best, and that showed in the result.

It will be a tough one for him again, considering Philippoussis, the Mavericks' team coach, is one of the only two unbeaten players in the tournament so far. Winning 6-4 against Santoro the first time around would have also given him a confidence boost.

Santoro will have to figure out a way of countering Philippoussis’ big serve and groundstrokes, which have a fair bit of sting even now. The Australian leads in the head-to-head record too, ahead by 5-2, so Santoro would have to ensure that he doesn’t fall into a big deficit at the start.

Men’s singles: Rafael Nadal vs Milos Raonic (Probable)

Nadal might be leading 6-1 in the head-to-head against 14th-ranked Raonic, but the Mavericks' team would have loved how the Canadian remained defiant till the very end to clinch them the crucial game in Manila. Raonic matched Nadal shot-for-shot and overcame the resistance from the Spaniard with 11 winners as opposed to Nadal’s three.

The set was closely fought and it went down to the wire, with both players breaking each other multiple times. However, Raonic managed to stay calm and consistent while Nadal had some really impressive highs followed by unexpected lows.

Given Nadal’s ability to find quick solutions to counter his opponents' strengths, we have an extremely tight match on our hands in Delhi too. But this time Nadal will have the advantage of the crowd support in the Indian Aces’ backyard, which could well be the difference-maker.

Women’s singles: Agnieszka Radwanska vs Ajla Tomljanovic (Probable)

Indian Aces will have a change of women's singles players with 5th ranked Polish star Agnieszka Radwanska coming in as a replacement for Samantha Stosur. The Mavericks on their part wouldn’t have the services of Serena Williams, a big blow to them - Serena had picked up fine form in Manila, winning her last three singles matches.

Radwanska has a 1-1 win/loss record against 65th-ranked Croat Ajla Tomljanovic, who might be playing in place of Serena. Radwanska’s playing style relies less on power and more on guile and craft in the form of lobs, disguised drop shots and slices, which always makes for entertaining tennis. Tomljanovic will have her hands full with all of Aga's tricks, but she has the firepower to counter them.

The Aces haven’t had a lot of contribution from the ladies’ singles considering Stosur won just one out of her four sets in four matches. However, Radwanska has a genuinely good opportunity to help the Aces’ cause with her crafty play.

Men’s doubles: Nadal/Dodig v Gasquet/Roger-Vasselin (Probable)

Nadal and Dodig were impressive in the doubles in Manila, breaking the unbeaten run of Gasquet and Roger-Vasselin with a 6-4 win. In all likelihood it will be a rematch in Delhi, although considering the current form of Dodig and Nadal, it is hard to see how the result would be any different.

The Spanish-Croatian duo would have to be careful about their first serve percentage though, which was 55 in their last match - much less than their opponents’ 66. Although neck and neck for most parts, Nadal and Dodig managed to win a lot more crucial points, especially on serve.

Nadal’s ability to run around the court and hit powerful left-handed forehands troubled the Gasquet/Roger-Vasselin pair mightily, and could be the X-factor in Delhi too. The Indian Aces are yet to lose a doubles’ fixture in this tournament and are unlikely to lose this one, especially since they are on home turf.

Mixed doubles: Bopanna/Mirza v Huey/Gajdosova (Probable)

After an initial hiccup, Sania Mirza has gained the form that saw her rise to the No.1 doubles ranking. She combined well with Rohan Bopanna to hand a big defeat to the much fancied Huey/Williams pairing.

Bopanna has a big serve and Mirza has powerful groundstrokes, making the combo extremely intimidating. It helps that the two Indian players understand each other’s game and complement each other well.

Bopanna and Mirza had a much better first serve percentage, a lot more winners and created and won more break points the last time the Aces played the Mavericks. And Gajdosova has played only once so far, paired up with Roger-Vasselin, with the pair losing to Melo/Bencic pair from Singapore Slammers. Roger-Vasselin has a nimble but crafty game and Gajdosova has a great serve, but they will have their task cut out finding a way around the big hitting Bopanna and Mirza.

Note: The singles and doubles match-ups are as per our assumptions for the most obvious player combinations. They are subject to change if one or more of the players are unavailable from either team, or if the team managements decide to change the combinations based on current form.