Slammers Beat Aces for 2015 IPTL Title

The OUE Singapore Slammers captured the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) Championship on Sunday at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, beating the Micromax Indian Aces 26-21 to cap off the 18-day, five-country tour in grand fashion.

Carlos Moya got things started for the Slammers, as he defeated Fabrice Santoro 6-4 in the Men's Singles Set. Neither player was effective on their own serve, but Moya was able to secure one more break late to give the Slammers the early lead.

One of the swing sets in this match would come from Women's Singles, as Belinda Bencic edged Svetlana Kuznetsova in a tie-breaker to add to the Slammers lead. And even after the Aces would win big at Mixed Doubles 6-2, Stan Wawrinka would expand the Slammers lead with a 6-3 win over Bernard Tomic at Men's Singles.

The clinching game would come in the Men's Doubles set, as Wawrinka paired with Marcelo Melo to defeat Ivan Dodig & Rohan Bopanna 6-3, giving the Slammers the title.

"It was a great experience," said Wawrinka. "We have won the title for 2015. I was lucky to arrive just for the last match, the team won many before so I just tried to help them the last few days. It was great fun, the atmosphere was great and hopefully I will come back next year. Hopefully we can come back next year as a team."

The Slammers get $1 million with the win, while the Aces get $500,000 as runners-up.

“From the league perspective, it was a great final," said IPTL Founder and Managing Director Mahesh Bhupathi. "And to have finished it this way for Singapore Slammers, in front of a cheering home crowd, is terrific. The crowds on all three days were fantastic. There were a lot of skeptics last year, but the packed crowds in all five cities and just seeing the way the players have adapted and accepted the format is great! We saw some very high quality world-class tennis across all venues, which is testimony to the competitive nature of the IPTL. We got off to a great start last year, added another team in the second year, were broadcast in 155 countries across the world—so it speaks well for the success for the IPTL."