Ivanisevic puts up show of the day in IPTL

NEW DELHI: The last time Goran Ivanisevic played in the Capital - nearly two decades ago -- he had wanted to leave midway from the Davis Cup World Group qualifier.
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Played in the hot and dusty September heat of Delhi, and in the swirling noise of a partisan crowd that needled his every error, the setting riled him to such an extent that the moody Croat would have given it all up had his captain not stepped in.
"It's like playing in a zoo," he had famously grumbled after losing an epic five-setter to Leander Paes. This was the moment probably where the Leander Paes Davis Cup legend took birth, Ivanisevic being the fall guy, who stumbled on alien, unfriendly turf.
On Saturday, Goran Ivanisevic was turning back the clock. No, he wasn't grumbling about the crowd. In fact quite the reverse. This time, he was telling everyone how much he loves India as he went about wowing the growing attendance at the Indira Gandhi Indoor in the Delhi leg of the International Professional Tennis League, engaging them, blowing kisses in the air at each point won, the Croat, now 43, was most comfortable poking fun at himself.
Maybe it's that age, where you begin seeing things in different, less acrimonious light. Or perhaps, Goran was just being Goran. "Just the one Goran," he said later. "Three Gorans is too much trouble," he added, referring to his famous split personality observation about himself.
What Ivanisevic was bringing back was a shade of his game that had hitherto not existed. Ask Patrick Rafter. On Saturday, what seemed to have elevated his Croatian opponent was a certain silkiness and control that had always seemed to elude him from his game during his prime and decade and half earlier.
In the Wimbledon final of 2001, Rafter had gallantly held off a rampant Ivanisevic before the Croat proved more determined of the two. This time, the genial Aussie had no chance as he swiftly fell to a 6-1 verdict.
It was arguably the most one-sided encounter of UAE Royals 29-16 win over Singapore Slammers, but far from being brutal, what set it apart were subtle flashes of Ivanisevic's game - soft top spins, gentle lobs, an easy setting up of the game before a sizzling forehand down the line would settle the point.
"I am playing so great, I'm surprised myself," he quipped to the courtside interviewer, before dead-panning, "But I can't tell you how I prepared for this. No, seriously, I cannot."
Later, Indian Aces amped up the sound and fury with Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna setting the template with some slick groundstrokes against Daniel Nestor and Kirsten Flipkens, but a combination of errors and general non-frills play by the Manila Mavericks pair ensured that the tie swung their way. Later, it was left to Ana Ivanovic to stretch it to the tie-break where Monfils got his fill of Tsonga.
Earlier, Ivanisevic's show had put the other encounters here in in the shade, relegating an engaging opening contest between Marin Cilic and Lleyton Hewitt where showing his onetime famous 'fightability index', Hewitt had clawed back from a 1-4 deficit to 3-5 against Cilic, but Oz tennis' five-set man was only just warming up when it was all over at 6-3.
Results:
UAE Royals bt Singapore Slammers 29-16 (Marin Cilic bt Lleyton Hewitt 6-3; Cilic/Nenad Zimonjic bt Nick Kyrgios/Hewitt 6-2; Goran Ivanisevic bt Pat Rafter 6-1; Kristina Mladenovic/Zimonjic bt Daniela Hantuchova/Bruno Soares 6-4; Caroline Wozniacki lost to Hantuchova 5-6). Indian Aces vs Manila Mavericks (Sania Mirza/Rohan Bopanna lost to Daniel Nestor/Kirsten Flipkens 5-6; Cedric Pioline lost to Mark Philippoussis 4-6; Rohan Bopanna/Gael Monfils beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga/Treat Huey 6-5; Monfils lost to Tsonga 6-4)
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