Mumbai Masters were off to a rollicking start after taking the opening match against Pune Pistons.
Vladimir Ivanov comprehensively beat Pune’s Sourabh Varma 21-16, 21-14 in the men’s singles match. But the day ended in disappointment.
In the final deciding mixed doubles match, Pune’s Joachim Fischer Nielsen/Ashwini Ponnappa beat the Mumbai pair of Pranav Chopra/Siki Reddy
21-20, 21-13 to clinch the game 3-2.
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Earlier, in the ladies singles, Juliane Schenk of Pune and Tine Baun of Mumbai took the game into the decider. Baun took the first game 21-11, but Schenk fought back to win the second 21-10. Schenk sealed the decider game, which is a race-to-11, 11-7 to level Pune 1-1.
Mumbai relied heavily on the six-foot, seven-inch Ivanov to provide the edge. Ivanov, who partnered with Pranav Chopra against Pune Pistons’ Rupesh Kumar and Sanave Thomas, did not disappoint. Ivanov/Chopra took the first game 21-12, but Rupesh and Thomas fought back to prevail in the second tie 21-20. In the decider, Ivanov/Chopra sailed through to win the tie 11-9 and give Mumbai a 2-1 lead.
Pune fought back to level the scores 2-2. Pune’s Nguyen Tien Minh beat Marc Zwiebler of Mumbai 21-18, 21-13 in the men’s singles match.
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