Serena Williams lost a singles match at the International Premier Tennis League but still helped the Philippine Mavericks defeat the Japan Warriors on Friday.
Williams was defeated 6-4 by Kurumi Nara – in the team after Maria Sharapova finished her commitments with the Warriors – in the women’s singles set of the contest in Kobe, however, the result proved immaterial, with the Mavericks having won the previous four sets.
Treat Huey teamed up with Williams to beat Leander Paes and Mirjana Lucic-Baroni 6-3 in the mixed doubles, while Richard Gasquet and Edouard Roger-Vasselin overcame Paes and Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-5 in the men’s doubles.
Milos Raonic edged Kei Nishikori 6-5 in the men’s singles and the men’s legends singles saw Mark Philippoussis defeat Marat Safin 6-5 as the Mavericks claimed a 28-24 victory.
In the day’s other match the Indian Aces came from two sets down to defeat the Singapore Slammers 27-22.
Carlos Moya’s 6-5 win over Fabrice Santoro and Karolina Pliskova’s 6-4 triumph against Samantha Stosur put the Slammers in command.
But Ivan Dodig and Rohan Bopanna won the men’s doubles 6-4 versus Marcelo Melo and Dustin Brown and the mixed doubles went the way of Ivan Dodig and Sania Mirza, who overcame Nick Kyrgios and Belinda Bencic 6-3.
Dodig then won by the same scoreline in his singles match against Kyrgios to seal success for the Aces, who have won two from two.
