CTL: Inspired Delhi begin on a winning note

NEW DELHI: The loudest whistles, you thought, in the opening Champions Tennis League (CTL) match were reserved for Delhi Dreams co-owner Ajay Devgn but that was until Punjab Marshalls' Leander Paes stepped on to the court. The home hearts also leapt out for Somdev Devvarman as the 141-ranked Indian had the responsibility of turning the tables against the towering world No.16 Kevin Anderson, Delhi's South African but it was always going to be a tall order. His 1-6 loss handed the tie to the hosts, who turned out to be deserving winners at 25 games to 19.
The battle of the veterans had earlier started the proceedings.Juan Carlos Ferrero vs Greg Rusedski seemed a fair fight but it was the swift 'Mosquito' who showed flashes of his past brilliance, getting the better of the Canadian-born Brit 6-1.
Rusedski - him of the fast serves and the short rallies -was clearly jetlagged and the Spaniard, a former world No. 1, set the foundation for the home team with his deceptive cross-courts and disguised lobs. Breaking Rusedski, who had arrived in Delhi only on match day, thrice, the 2003 French Open champ ran away with the one-set match in 19 min. "You need a good start and unfortunately , Juan Carlos was too good for me," Rusedski stated it simply. "And in the end, Kevin showed us why he was No. 16."
The short, slim version of traditional tennis seemed to suit the crowd fine. The hushed atmosphere at the beginning pointed to a dampener but the people soon trickled in to fill up thirty per cent of the stands. That was enough as the cheers grew louder but the crowd was clearly divided between Paes' team and the stars representing the home side.
Rusedski said they were out to have good fun and enjoy the tournament and it clearly showed that the Punjab team was the bubblier group. Young Garbine Muguruza had the widest smile and Paes full of encouragement as they doubled up in the mixed to beat Delhi's towering South African Kevin Anderson and the more famous Jelena Jankovic 6-3.
"C'mon Jankovic," was the rallying cry as the former women's world No. 1 fought back from 0-2 down to clinch a close baseline battle against rising star Muguruza. Going down to the wire the first tie-break the Serbian's greater experience shone through as she wrapped up the best-of-9 tiebreak 5-3 and the match 6-5.
DELHI DREAMS BEAT PUNJAB MARSHALLS 25-19:
Juan Carlos Ferrero (Delhi) bt Greg Rusedski (Punjab) 6-1; Jelena Jankovic and Kevin Anderson (Delhi) lost to Garbine Muguruza and Leander Paes (Punjab) 3-6; Jelena Jankovic (Delhi) bt Garbine Muguruza (Punjab) 6-5; Kevin Anderson and Sanam Singh (Delhi) lost to Somdev Devvarman and Leander Paes (Punjab) 4-6; Kevin Anderson (Delhi) bt Somdev Devvarman (Punjab) 6-1.