Pune Marathas beat Delhi Dreams to lift inaugural CTL

Pune Marathas lifted the Champions Tennis League (CTL) title, beating Delhi Dreams 27-23 in the final at the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association here Wednesday.

Delhi took a 6-3 lead, claiming the legends match but Pune reduced the margin, winning the mixed doubles contest 6-5 (3).

The visitors then bagged the women's singles match 6-4 and extended their dominance in the men's doubles match, winning it 6-5.

In the title-deciding match of the contest, Marcos Baghdatis overcame a strong challenge from Kevin Anderson to win 6-3 and secure the inaugural tournament for the Marathas.

Delhi began the final on the offensive. Juan Carlos Ferrero took a 4-2 lead after breaking Pat Cash in his third gam in the legends match. Cash, 49, yet to win a single legends match in the tournament, was visibly feeling his age against a much younger and fitter Ferrero.

Cash, wearing his trademark black-and-white check bandana, was made to work hard for every point and consequently made a lot of unforced errors, going down 3-6.

Pune's mixed doubles pair of Marcos Baghdatis and Agnieszka Radwanska kept them in the hunt, winning the mixed doubles match against Jelena Jankovic and Sanam Singh.

Delhi was broken in the third game when Sanam failed to hold on to his serve. But the hosts broke back immediately to make it 3-3, as a bungling Baghdatis lost his service game.

Delhi identified Baghdatis as Pune's weak link and attacked him, sending majority of their returns to his direction, making him commit a series of errors, hitting regulation shots into the net.

But despite his poor form the match stretched to a tie-breaker, which was evenly contested but Pune showed greater composure to clinch it and the match 5-3.

The battle intensified in the women's singles match as Jankovic and Radwanska, current rivals in the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) circuit, refused to give to each other an inch.

They engaged in long rallies and waited patiently for the other to commit mistakes, both getting broken in their first two service games.

The paltry crowd, dominated by vocal Pune fans, who travelled with the team here, witnessed some top-level action as both stars displayed a full range of their considerable repertoire.

Radwanska, displaying greater urge to win, eventually broke Jankovic in what was to be the match's last game to stretch Pune's lead, winning 6-4.

Delhi needed to win the men's doubles match to have any chance of winning the final and their doubles pair of Kevin Anderson and Sanam Singh began with purpose.

They broke Pune's team of Baghdatis and Saketh Myneni in the third service game to go ahead 4-2, but were swiftly broken back to extend the match to a tie-breaker.

Pune maintained steady pressure in the tie-breaker to wrap up the match 6-5 (2) to have their noses ahead 21-20 ahead of the last match of the final - the men's singles contest.

Kevin Anderson gave Delhi hope, breaking Baghdatis' second service game. But Baghdatis used his superior experience to get even and then take lead to serve out the match, winning 6-3 and confirming a title triumph for the Marathas.