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WTT Washington Kastles

2018 Wtt Season Begins Tonight as Kastles Face Empire at 5pm

July 15, 2018 - World TeamTennis (WTT)
Washington Kastles News Release


The Kastles will begin their bid for a record-breaking seventh league championship on the road this season. They take on the New York Empire in what promises to be a barnburner of a first match of the 2018 World TeamTennis season tonight at the Billie Jean King USTA National Tennis Center in Queens, NY.

The Kastles first road match will be led by Dover, Delaware native Madison Brengle. She'll take on the Empire's Tatjana Maria. The German world #57 will be a strong opponent. She recently won the Mallorca Open singles championship and upset world #5 Elina Svitolina in the first round of Wimbledon. But in her four years with the Kastles, Brengle has proven she can pull off equally stunning wins. Always a fiery competitor, she has wins over the greatest players in the game, including Serena Williams and two-time Wimbledon champ Petra Kvitova.

Due to her participation in today's mixed doubles final at Wimbledon, Nicole Melichar will not play tonight's match in New York or the Kastles' home opener in DC on Monday. Subbing in her place tonight will be New Jersey native Christina McHale. This will be McHale's second season of WTT competition. She previously player for the New York Empire in the team's inaugural season in 2016. McHale holds a career-high ranking of #24 in singles and #35 in doubles and has represented the U.S. in Fed Cup and Olympic competitions.

In women's doubles, McHale and Brengle will face Maria and world #13 Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, who is expected to be one of the toughest competitors in doubles play this season. Martinez Sanchez won the Mallorca Open women's doubles championship earlier this summer and reached the finals of Brisbane, Doha and Charleston, in addition to the semifinals of the Madrid Open and Australian Open mixed doubles championship.

On the men's side, Australian world #51 Matt Ebden will replace the Kastles #1 draft pick Tennys Sandgren in men's singles and doubles. Sandgren is currently sidelined with an injury, but is still scheduled to play the second half of the season.

Ebden most recently reached the third round of the of Wimbledon singles championship, upsetting world #9 David Goffin in the first round and defeated the Orange County Breakers' Stephane Robert in the second, before yielding to former world #6 Gilles Simon in four close sets. He's also an accomplished doubles player. In 2013, Ebden captured the Australian Open mixed doubles championship as a wildcard with Jarmila Wolfe. He's also won four ATP doubles titles, including Acapulco in 2014 with former Kastle and world #8 Kevin Anderson.

In men's singles tonight, Ebden will play former Orange County Breakers star Steve Johnson, who will replace John Isner in the Empire's lineup. Isner, the current top-ranked American, withdrew from WTT competition after a heartbreaking loss to world no. 8 Kevin Anderson in the semifinals of Wimbledon. Johnson briefly held the American no. 1 ranking in 2016, the year he won the Olympic bronze medal in men's doubles with Jack Sock, and played for the Breakers during both the 2016 and 2017 WTT seasons.

In men's doubles, Ebden will pair up with Kastles men's roster player Robert Lindstedt of Sweden. They'll play Johnson and Empire all-star Neal Skupski, who returns to New York for his fourth-consecutive season. Skupski has been having a good season. He won his first ATP doubles crown in Montpellier and reached the final of Eastbourne earlier this year. But Lindstedt is one of the best men's doubles players in the world. He reached a career-high doubles ranking of #3 in the world and has won 22nd career doubles titles, including the Australian Open. In addition, he is a three-time Wimbledon finalist and this spring won the Istanbul Open.

The season opener will be the first of four matches between the Kastles and the Empire this season.

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