New acquisition Nadia Petrova practiced with the Kastles for the first time today and put on a show, proving why she is the tenth-ranked women's player in the world. Fans are in for a treat and the team is excited about having her for the final two matches of the season (tonight and tomorrow, both at Kastles Stadium), as she'll undoubtedly provide the boost needed to make the playoffs. Last night, after starting out neck-and-neck with the undefeated Springfield Lasers in Springfield, the Washington Kastles fell 24-16. During the match, the Kastles won just one out of the seven crucial three-all points which was the difference as the Kastles could not overcome the still-undefeated Lasers.
The match began with the Kastles' Scott Oudsema taking on Raven Klaasen of the Lasers. Despite the tall task of taking on the league's best team in their stadium, Oudsema played some of his best tennis, defeating Klaasen 5-4 in a tiebreaker. The first-event victory was just the start the Kastles (5-7) needed if they were going to pull off the upset.
Next up was mixed doubles, where Grand Slam winners Leander Paes and Rennae Stubbs have been dominant for the Kastles throughout the year. On this night, however, they suffered a very rare loss, as they were upended by the Lasers' duo of Liezel Huber -- the world's no. 1 ranked women's doubles player -- and Martin Damm 5-3.
Down just one game, the Kastles headed into men's doubles with a chance to take the lead going into halftime. Unfortunately, Oudsema and Paes had to contend with Damm, who won the 2006 men's doubles US Open with Paes, and Klaasen, both of whom were on top of their games. As the rain came down, the set was moved indoors and the lightening-fast court gave the Lasers a home court advantage as they went on to win 5-2.
After halftime, things did not get easier for the Kastles. The Lasers have the best record in the WTT this season in both women's singles and women's doubles, with Vania King, who is a top 100 singles player and top 25 doubles player, proving to be an invaluable anchor in both events. In women's doubles, Stubbs and Olga Puchkova of the Kastles went up against King and teammate Channelle Scheepers, going down 5-1.
Down eight games headed into the final event against the best women's player in the WTT, Puchkova had her work cut out for her. However, the young Russian played one of her best sets of the season and defeated her opponent 5-4 in the set, even despite losing two three-all points. This was only the second set King has lost in 12 matches this season as she has been dominantly atop the women's singles standings all season winning almost 70% of all the games she has played (54-24). Still, the team deficit was too much to overcome and King sealed the match for the Lasers holding serve in the first game of overtime.
Now down a half-game to the Boston Lobsters, the Kastles have a chance to move into playoff position tonight against the fourth-place New York Buzz at Kastles Stadium. The match will begin at 7 p.m. and will go a long way in clearing up the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
2009 Remaining Home Schedule:
7/21 vs. New York Buzz (Future of American Tennis)
7/22 vs. Springfield Lasers (Undefeated West Conf. Champions)
7/24 Eastern Conference Championship vs. NY Sportimes (if Kastles make playoffs)
7/26 Advanta WTT Championship Finals at Kastles Stadium
Finals tickets are available starting at just $25.
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