WTT Washington Kastles

Five Kastles Reach Week Two; WTT Finals Weekend Approaches

Published on September 5, 2012 under World TeamTennis (WTT)
Washington Kastles News Release


With eight current Washington Kastles players competing at the US Open and five reaching the second week, the defending World TeamTennis champions have been well-represented at the last Grand Slam of the year.

Leander Paes, Anastasia Rodionova, Raquel Kops-Jones and Venus & Serena Williams all won their way into Week 2, with Paes and Serena yet to drop a set in men's doubles and women's singles respectively.

Serena's sensational summer has only gotten better in New York City, where the Kastles' original has swept 20 straight games and 48 of 60 games overall.

The No. 4 seed is 40-2 since April and her last 16 victories on tour have all come in straight sets.

Coming off a 6-4, 6-0 win over Ekaterina Makarova and a 6-0, 6-0 rout of Andrea Hlavackova, Serena will meet No. 12 seed Ana Ivanovic in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. That match can be seen on ESPN2 at 7 pm or via live streaming at USOpen.org.

Serena has not lost a set in three prior meetings against her fellow former World No. 1 Ivanovic, including victories at the US Open in 2006 and 2011.

While Serena seeks a fourth US Open women's singles title, Paes is playing for his third US Open men's doubles championship and a 14th Grand Slam title.

He and Radek Stepanek have revived the fine form they showed on hard courts at the start of 2012, when they captured titles at the Australian Open and Sony Open in Miami.

Following a 6-1, 6-3 third-round win over Jesse Levine and Marinko Matosevic, the No. 5 seeds were leading Julian Knowle and Filip Polasek 6-2, 1-0 on Tuesday before rain postponed the conclusion of the quarterfinal match to Wednesday at 12:30 pm on Court 17. Live scoring will be available at USOpen.org.

Should Paes and Stepanek advance, the quality of their competition will increase in the semifinals when they meet their first seeded opponents of the tournament: No. 6 Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez of Spain.

Paes is three wins away from bringing a US Open championship trophy with him to Charleston, S.C., Sept. 15-16, when the Kastles compete for their third WTT title.

He will be joined in Charleston by Venus Williams, whose run in New York ended on Monday in the third round of women's doubles as she and Serena fell 6-1, 6-4 to 2009 Kastle Nadia Petrova and Maria Kirilenko. The Russians avenged themselves after losing to Venus and Serena at both Wimbledon and The Olympics.

Last Thursday, Venus lost a memorable 2-hour, 45-minute second-round singles match to No. 6 seed Angelique Kerber. The third-year Kastle now turns her attention to a rematch with Martina Hingis and the New York Sportimes in the Eastern Conference Championship Sept. 15 at 6:30 pm.

During the regular season, Venus preserved the Kastles' historic 30-match winning streak with a stirring six-game comeback against her longtime rival Hingis in women's singles. Venus and Rodionova are scheduled to meet Hingis and Ashley Harkleroad in women's doubles as well.

Rodionova is coming off a terrific two weeks in New York City. The first-year Kastle won seven US Open matches in all, highlighted by a run through qualifying in women's singles and to the quarterfinals in mixed doubles.

Rodionova and Jean-Julien Rojer defeated Jie Zheng and Rohan Bopanna 6-2, 7-5 and No. 8 seeds Klaudia Jans-Ignacik and Mariusz Fyrstenberg 7-6(6), 6-4 before falling to Ekaterina Makarova and Bruno Soares 4-6, 6-3, [10-7] on Monday.

Rodionova was part of a Kastles trio that won three singles qualifying matches, joining Bobby Reynolds and Edina Gallovits-Hall in the US Open main draw. The Australian Rodionova and Romanian Gallovits-Hall followed up with victories in the first round.

Like Rodionova, Paes reached the mixed doubles quarterfinals. He and Elena Vesnina won a tricky first-round match-up against fellow Kastles Kops-Jones and Treat Huey 6-4, 7-5 and defeated Abigail Spears of the New York Sportimes and Scott Lipsky 4-6, 6-4, [10-5].

However, a third crack at a Grand Slam championship in 2012 was not in the cards for the Australian Open and Wimbledon finalists, who were defeated 7-6(2), 7-5 by No. 7 seeds Frantisek Cermak and Lucie Hradecka in Monday's quarterfinals.

In other Kastles action, No. 8 seeds Kops-Jones and Spears served for a spot in the women's doubles quarterfinals on Monday. But they were undone when ninth-seeded Spaniards Nuria Llagostera Vives and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez rallied for a 3-6, 7-6(2), 7-5 victory.

Huey and Dominic Inglot defeated Sam Querrey of the Sacramento Capitals and James Blake of the Philadelphia Freedoms 6-1, 7-6(7) in the first round of men's doubles, but lost 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 in the second round to Soares and Alexander Peya, the No. 15 seeds.

In the women's singles third round, Sara Errani beat Olga Puchkova, Washington's hero in the 2009 WTT Championship match, 6-1, 6-1. Puchkova entered on a five-match winning streak after qualifying and winning her first two matches in the main draw.

World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka, a wild card with the Kastles in 2010, reached her first US Open singles semifinal on Tuesday. After dropping just 10 games in her first 4 matches, the Olympic mixed doubles gold medalist defeated defending champion Samantha Stosur 6-1, 4-6, 7-6(5) in the quarterfinals.

Be sure to visit the 'Keeping up with the Kastles' tracker on WashingtonKastles.com throughout the tournament for full US Open Kastles results and schedules, links to live scoring and streaming, and details on how you can catch the Kastles on TV.

WTT Finals Weekend Travel Update

Join the Kastles in Charleston Sept. 15-16

The scenic Family Circle Tennis Center will host WTT Finals Weekend for the second straight year.

Excitement is building and Kastles fans are making plans to see Venus Williams, Leander Paes, Bobby Reynolds and Anastasia & Arina Rodionova play for Washington's third World TeamTennis championship since 2009.

Tickets are selling quickly and hotel packages must be booked by Wednesday, September 12th at the Crowne Plaza, the official Kastles' hotel, and the Hampton Inn Daniel Island, only minutes from the Family Circle Tennis Center!

Don't wait until then to make your reservations for WTT Finals Weekend in Charleston, S.C., where the Kastles will put their historic 30-match winning streak on the line against the New York Sportimes on Saturday, September 15th at 6:30 pm.

The winner of that match will advance to the WTT Championship match Sunday, September 16th at 3:30 pm against either the Orange County Breakers or Sacramento Capitals.

If you can't make the trip south, we've got good news for you. The Eastern Conference Championship Match between Washington and New York will be streamed live on WashingtonKastles.com. Keep posted to future Kastles' E-mails for news about live television coverage of the WTT Championship Match.

For Kastles fans eager to attend the playoff matches, all the information you need about tickets, hotels, flights and team events can be found below.

TICKETS

The Kastles have reserved two blocks of the best seats to all three matches during WTT Finals Weekend. The seats cost $50 each and are located close to the court and behind both baselines.

If you'd like to sit in these rowdy sections with your fellow 'Kastles Krazies,' then call the Family Circle Cup box office Monday-Friday between 9 am and 5 pm at 1-800-677-2293. Be sure to identify yourself as a Kastles fan in order to obtain seats in the Kastles-only sections.

If you'd like to purchase separate seats for a lower price, they are available in a different location of the stadium with general admission. Those tickets start at just $35 per match.

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World TeamTennis Stories from September 5, 2012


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