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Washington Kastles

Paes Seeks Missing Title in London

November 4, 2013 - World TeamTennis (WTT)
Washington Kastles News Release


For an athlete with an Olympic medal, all four Grand Slam titles in men's doubles, mixed doubles titles at three of the four majors, and championships at eight of the nine Masters 1000 events, there isn't much that Leander Paes hasn't done on a tennis court.

Winning the ATP World Tour Finals is one of the few missing lines on his legendary résumé .

Only the Top 8 singles players and Top 8 doubles teams qualify for the year-end championships. For the ninth straight season, and 14th time overall, the Kastles captain Paes is among that elite group of the greatest tennis players in the world.

But he's still seeking his first title at the prestigious tournament.

Paes and partner Radek Stepanek are hoping to end their tumultuous 2013 in fantastic fashion at The O2 Arena in London this week. They begin play with a US Open final rematch Tuesday at 7 am DC time against Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares (Tennis Channel, ESPN3.com).

In 2012, Paes and Stepanek won all three of their round-robin matches before Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna saved a match point to edge them in the semifinals. Despite that loss, Paes (No. 3) and Stepanek (No. 4) finished the year trailing only No. 1 Mike Bryan and No. 2 Bob Bryan in the ATP Doubles Rankings.

But 2013 did not begin as 2012 ended.

Paes and Stepanek were upset in the opening round of the Australian Open, and the Czech underwent spinal surgery four days later. When Stepanek returned to the tour in April, his spot alongside Paes appeared in jeopardy.

The pair played five of the same clay-court tournaments over the spring, but none together.

A week after Stepanek and Tommy Haas defeated Paes and Jurgen Melzer 7-5, 6-1 in Madrid, the 2012 Australian Open champions had a fateful meeting. In a Rome hotel room, Paes and Stepanek decided that they are better together than they are apart.

"Normally at the end of every year we sit down and we plan our schedule for the next year," said Paes. "Instinctively, last year we didn't do that... We never knew the year Radek and I were going to have. I think if we had laid those plans out in November, they would have been turned upside down. But this year in Rome, we had a conversation and we chose to persevere. We chose to try and win the Masters."

The Masters of which Paes spoke is this week's event, which until recently was known as the Tennis Masters Cup.

Paes and Stepanek qualified thanks to terrific results at the year's last two Grand Slams. After reaching the Wimbledon semifinals, they stunned the Bryan brothers, then routed Peya and Soares to win the US Open.

Since triumphing in New York City on Sept. 8, however, Paes and Stepanek have not teamed.

Stepanek redirected his focus this fall, playing 15 matches in singles and only one in doubles, a Davis Cup rubber with fellow Czech Tomas Berdych. That left Paes to partner Daniel Nestor and Daniele Bracciali, bringing his 2013 total to seven tournaments with Stepanek and 12 without.

But make no mistake about it: To cap a year of twists and turns, Paes and Stepanek have been eyeing the season finale since Rome.

"There is one thing we would like to achieve," said Stepanek. "That's winning the World Championships because that's the trophy that is missing in Leander's showcase. That's what I'm very focused on."

Paes and Stepanek are in a round-robin group that features Peya and Soares, defending champions Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez, and first-time qualifiers David Marrero and Fernando Verdasco.

The other round-robin group includes the Bryans, Wimbledon finalists Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo, Mylan WTT veterans Aisam-Ul-Haq-Qureshi and Jean-Julien Rojer, and six-time qualifiers Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski.

The two teams from each group that post the best records in round-robin play will advance to the semifinals.

More doubles action from the ATP World Tour Finals will be broadcasted in the U.S. than from any other tennis tournament. All 15 doubles matches are set to air live on Tennis Channel and ESPN3.com, including Paes' opener Tuesday at 7 am DC time. The Kastles star plays again on Thursday and Saturday at either 7 am or 1 pm.

Doubles coverage culminates with the semifinals Sunday at 7 am and 1 pm and the championship match Nov. 11 at 1 pm. Click here to find Tennis Channel on your cable or satellite lineup.

Eight of the Top 9 singles players in the world are also competing in London, with ninth-ranked Richard Gasquet filling in for the injured Andy Murray. World No. 1 Rafael Nadal, defending champion Novak Djokovic and six-time winner Roger Federer headline the field.

Treat Yourself: Follow the Kastles on Social Media

Facebook, Twitter and Instagram Followers Have Won Big in 2013

It pays to follow the Washington Kastles on social media! That's because throughout the year, the Kastles reward our loyal fans with exclusive opportunities to win Kastles merchandise, tickets and experiences.

If you haven't already done so, be sure to like the Kastles on Facebook and follow the team on Twitter and Instagram. By doing so, you could join these lucky fans who've won big this year.

* Venus Williams Sweepstakes (February-March): Gayle Rowell of Charlotte, N.C., scored two Chairback seats with VIP access for the Kastles season opener, along with the opportunity to meet Venus Williams and have her sign a personalized Kastles jersey (see photo above). More than 400 entries were received on Facebook.

* Trivia Tuesday (March-April): For seven straight Tuesdays, Facebook fans who correctly answered a trivia question won two Grandstand tickets to a Kastles match.

* SunTrust Sweepstakes (May-June): Justine Chen of DC won her way into a SunTrust tennis clinic with Martina Hingis . She also received front-row box seats to a Kastles home match, where she was so close to the action that she high-fived Bobby Reynolds (see photo below). More than 200 entries were received on Facebook.

* Washington #Wimbledon Win (June-July): Every time that a Kastles player won a match at Wimbledon, a random fan who retweeted the result on Twitter received a vintage Murphy Jensen 'Refuse to Lose' T-shirt. Reynolds won four matches, as did Leander Paes, so eight fans in all got to sport the shirt featuring Jensen's lovable mug.

* Hit Us With Your Best Shot (July): At each Kastles home match this season, we asked fans to take to Instagram and post a creative photo from inside the stadium, using #RefuseToLose. We then picked one winner each night to receive two tickets to a future Kastles match and a photo opportunity with a Kastles player.

* US Open Finals (September): David van den Berg of Fairfax, Va., correctly solved a Paes-themed riddle on Facebook to win two tickets to the US Open finals. David got to see Paes win the men's doubles title, then watched Kastles original Serena Williams defeat 2010 Kastle Victoria Azarenka for the women's singles title.

* Battle of the Kastles (September-October): Meg Ford Harrington of Potomac Falls, Va., was chosen as the winner of two Chairback season tickets for the 2014 Kastles campaign after participating in the first-ever Kastles fantasy tournament. More than 900 entries were received on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

* Washington Wizards vs. Miami Heat (October): Hak Yon Kim of DC won an impromptu trivia contest on Facebook to receive Kastle owner Mark Ein 's floor seats for a Washington Wizards game against the Miami Heat. Hak Yon tweeted how close she was sitting to John Wall, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and company (see below).

Mylan WTT Smash Hits Charity Match Coming Nov. 17

Kastles Star Venus Williams Heads Star-Studded Field in Florida

Kastles superstar Venus Williams will headline the 21st annual Mylan World TeamTennis Smash Hits charity event Nov. 17 at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex near Orlando, Fla.

With proceeds benefiting the Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) and various local AIDS charities, Williams will participate in a Battle of the Sexes celebrity doubles match before leading a squad of Mylan WTT players in a team tennis match.

The evening will begin with Williams and reigning Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli teaming up for the first time ever against Sir Elton John and Andy Roddick of the Springfield Lasers.

Then, two all-star tennis lineups square off in a Mylan WTT match, with John and league co-founder Billie Jean King serving as opposing coaches.

Williams, Roddick, Victoria Duval of the Philadelphia Freedoms and Robert Kendrick of the New York Sportimes will represent Team Elton. Team Billie Jean features Bartoli, former Boston Lobster John Isner, Jean-Julien Rojer of the Springfield Lasers and Taylor Townsend of the Sacramento Capitals.

Team Elton and Team Billie Jean have each won 10 matches during the 20-year history of the event.

Don't miss live streaming of Mylan WTT Smash Hits Nov. 17 at 6 pm on

WTTSmashHits.com. Better yet, head down to Disney World and enjoy the one-of-a-kind match in person!

For information on group tickets, or tickets to a pre-match VIP Reception and Auction, please call 407-574-2599. Match tickets range from $50 to $125 and can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com. A number of discounted travel packages are available at OrlandoGayTravel.com/SmashHits or by calling 321-800-3947.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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