Team Elton Tops Team Billie Jean To Win At Advanta Wtt Smash Hits
Published on October 10, 2007 under World TeamTennis (WTT) News Release
Philadelphia, Pa. (October 10, 2007) - In a battle of big servers, John Isner held off Andy Roddick to lead Team Elton to a 20-18 overtime victory over Team Billie Jean at the 15th annual Advanta WTT Smash Hits in Villanova, Pa. The annual charity event, hosted by Billie Jean King and Sir Elton John, raised more than $400,000 for the Elton John AIDS Foundation and Philadelphia-based ActionAIDS.
The night was capped by an exciting duel between American Davis Cup teammates Roddick and Isner. Roddick and Isner put on a serving clinic for the Philadelphia crowd of 4,156 in the evening's much anticipated final set. Roddick won men's singles for the trailing Team Billie Jean 5-2, forcing the match into overtime. Isner took the second game of overtime to win the overall team match 20-18 and give Team Elton John its first Smash Hits victory since 2001.
"The quality of the tennis was fabulous and we raised a lot of money for charity," King said. "It was a really great night."
At a pre-match reception, more than $248,500 of the evening's total was raised as King, John and the players participated in a live auction. Anna Kournikova kicked off the auction by buying a package that included tickets to Elton John's Red Piano show in Las Vegas, along with dinner in his VIP suite for $35,000. Advanta Chairman and CEO Dennis Alter capped off the auction by putting in a winning bid for a hit with Patrick McEnroe and Billie Jean King at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
Elton John opened the evening of tennis by teaming with Roddick to win the celebrity battle of the sexes match against Lindsay Davenport and Anna Kournikova, 4-0. The set was highlighted by a humorous 12-stroke net rally between Roddick and Kournikova, ultimately won by Roddick.
The WTT format match officially began with men's doubles as Roddick and Luke Jensen (Team Billie Jean) took on Isner and Patrick McEnroe (Team Elton). Jensen and McEnroe struggled to return the powerful serves of Isner and Roddick.
The highly competitive set went to a WTT tiebreaker, won 5-4 by Team Billie Jean on an unexpected ace by Jensen. Kournikova and Davenport returned to the court for Team Elton, taking on rising Dover, Del., star Madison Brengle and Corina Morariu, representing Team Billie Jean. Brengle and Morariu prevailed 5-3. Brengle then had an opportunity to live out a dream in women's singles, facing Lindsay Davenport, former world No. 1 and mother of 3-month old son Jagger. Davenport appeared to be back in Grand Slam form, dominating the set 5 -0 for Team Elton John.
The night of competitive tennis was high-lighted by a crowd-pleasing mixed doubles showdown. But neither Morariu standing on a chair at the baseline to return the serve of the 6' 9" Isner, or a successful between-the-legs shot by Roddick could help Team Billie Jean prevail in mixed doubles competition. The towering team of Davenport and Isner took the set 5-2 for Team Elton.
Advanta is the proud sponsor of the 15th annual Advanta WTT Smash Hits. Advanta is also the presenting sponsor of the WTT Pro League and the official business credit card of World TeamTennis.
World TeamTennis Stories from October 10, 2007
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