In Dubai’s second match of the inaugural IPTL, a sparse crowd at Hamdan Sports Complex saw their team, the UAE Royals, register a narrow win in their first home match of the series.

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The Royals defeated the Manila Mavericks by the single game, overcoming the Filipino franchise 26-25 thanks to a dramatic final win in the men’s doubles.

World No1 Novak Djokovic was the big draw and his appearance on court drew fervent cheers at every sighting of the Serb.

But after Djokovic was defeated by Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, only a handful of fans remained to watch the night’s enthralling climax.

The tie was all square at 20-20 going into the final doubles set between the Royals’ Nenad Zimonjic and Marin Cilic and Manila’s Tsonga and Daniel Nestor.

A final shootout was required to separate the pairing, the Royals eventually coming out on top to clinch victory by the narrowest of margins.

Earlier in the evening Caroline Wozniacki despatched Kirsten Flipkens with ease in a 6-2 win that got the Royals off to a perfect start.

In the legend’s encounter Mark Philippoussis earned the Mavericks their first set during a fiery match against Goran Ivanisevic.

The match’s other showdown saw Zimonjic and Kristina Mladenovic secure a routine 6-4 mixed doubles win over Flipkens and Nestor to put the Royals back in contention and set up the crucial deciding set.