WTT Washington Kastles

3 Kastles Play for History at French Open

Published on May 25, 2012 under World TeamTennis (WTT)
Washington Kastles News Release


It's been a decade since Serena Williams raised the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen, after defeating sister and fellow Kastle Venus Williams 7-5, 6-3 in the 2002 French Open final.

Serena and Venus ended that season ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the world respectively. Though their legacies have since grown with Grand Slam titles and Olympic gold medals, they've often been criticized for falling in and out of love with tennis.

Make no mistake about it. The Williams sisters return to the French clay this week as motivated and dangerous as they were when they met in four straight major finals, starting with that long-ago June afternoon in Paris.

And their peers from the Class of 2002 Top 10?

Year-end No. 5 Justine Henin -- younger than both Williams sisters -- has retired twice, as has No. 10 Martina Hingis. No. 7 Monica Seles is a Hall-of-Famer, No. 3 Jennifer Capriati will be inducted in July and No. 6 Amelie Mauresmo is a tournament director and part-time coach for 2010 Kastle Victoria Azarenka.

The only other active players from the year-end Top 10 in 2002 aren't active at all. No. 4 Kim Clijsters (right hip), No. 8 Daniela Hantuchova (left foot) and No. 9 Jelena Dokic (right wrist) will all miss the 2012 French Open with injuries.

So here they stand, alone, ten years later: Venus Williams, fighting to qualify for her fourth Olympic Games, and Serena Williams, riding a 17-match winning streak into a tournament where she can write her name into the history books yet again.

Should she reclaim the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen on June 9th, Serena will be the first woman in history to win her second title at one of the four majors ten years or more after her first (Evonne Goolagong won Wimbledon in 1971 and 1980).

No player on the WTA Tour could stop Serena on the road to Roland Garros this spring, including the Top 2 seeds at the French Open: Azarenka and Maria Sharapova. Serena beat both in Madrid by matching 6-1, 6-3 scores.

Serena lost only two sets in all as she swept through the clay-court swing before withdrawing from the Rome semifinals with a lower back injury. It was a precautionary move more than anything else, and Serena told reporters that she expected to be 100 percent for the French Open.

Venus, too, has enjoyed a run of fine form on clay in 2012, reaching the quarterfinals in Charleston and Rome. Ranked 134th in the world before returning from illness in March, the third-year Kastle is now up to No. 52 in the WTA rankings.

That's significant since the 56 highest-ranked singles players on June 11th will be granted direct acceptances into the 2012 Olympic Games, so long as they are among the Top 4 players in their respective countries. Venus is currently the No. 3 American behind Serena and Christina McHale.

Each match that Venus wins in Paris will improve her odds of qualifying for the London Olympics, where she would be playing for a tennis-record fourth gold medal to go with the neckwear she won in Sydney (singles and doubles) and Beijing (doubles).

Venus Williams be unseeded at the French Open and no top-ranked player will want to face her early.

Like Venus, new Kastle Anastasia Rodionova enters the French Open with seven clay-court wins at WTA events this season. The fiery Australian fought through the qualifying draws of Madrid and Rome, and also upset world No. 27 and clay-court specialist Anabel Medina Garrigues in Charleston.

Besides competing in the main draw of singles, Anastasia is playing mixed doubles with Christopher Kas of Germany and women's doubles with 2010 WTT Finals MVP Jarmila Gajdosova, formerly of the Kansas City Explorers. A busy schedule is nothing new for the 20th-ranked doubles player in the world.

Through 22 weeks of 2012, Anastasia has played 18 events (15 in singles and doubles) in 13 different countries and on five different continents.

Her Washington teammate Leander Paes has taken a different approach to his schedule, limiting himself to six tournaments since completing the career Grand Slam in men's doubles with Radek Stepanek at the Australian Open on January 28th.

Paes and Stepanek will not play together in Paris, with the Indian opting to team with 20th-ranked doubles player Alexander Peya of Austria instead. The Kastle told Smriti Sinha of The Indian Express newspaper that Stepanek is committed to an exhibition in the Czech Republic during the second week of the French Open.

The Austrian will be the 87th different men's doubles partner in Paes' illustrious 22-year career on the ATP World Tour. A 15-year veteran himself, Peya is seeking his first Grand Slam championship. He picked the right man to help get him there as Paes has three times led partners to their maiden major title (Stepanek, Lukas Dlouhy and Martin Damm).

Despite his inexperience with Peya, Paes has plenty of precedence for success in impromptu partnerships. The Kastles captain has won his very first tournament with a partner six times before (Stepanek, Janko Tipsarevic, Jurgen Melzer, Paul Hanley, Nenad Zimonjic and Jan Siemerink).

Paes is a three-time men's doubles champion at the French Open (1999, 2001, 2009), but it's the only Grand Slam title that has eluded him in mixed doubles. The two-time WTT Male MVP is expected to reunite with Russian Elena Vesnina -- just his 19th mixed doubles partner -- after reaching the Australian Open final together.

If Paes prevails in his 16th mixed doubles appearance in Paris, he will join Hall-of-Famers Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde as the only men in the Open Era (since 1968) to complete the career Grand Slam in both men's and mixed doubles. Martina Navratilova is the only player to win all four majors in women's and mixed doubles.

Ironically, it was Navratilova who helped Paes come closest to capturing the French Open mixed doubles title. They fell in a three-set final to Hantuchova and 'The Magician' Fabrice Santoro in 2005.

Bobby Reynolds, Paes' Washington doubles partner, was the No. 24 seed in men's singles qualifying. The Kastles' closer defeated Yuri Schukin of Kazakhstan 6-0, 6-7(1), 6-2 in the first round on Tuesday before falling 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 to 20-year-old Serbian Filip Krajinovic on Thursday.

Arina Rodionova is the lone Kastle not participating in Paris this year. 'Hot Rod' has resumed training after tearing a ligament in her left wrist at last month's WTA event in Fes, Morocco. She expects to return to the tour in June.

As always, up-to-the-minute updates about all Kastles can be found by liking the team on Facebook and following us on Twitter. Washington's social media sites will be your source for player match-ups, the latest results, and details about when you can watch the Kastles compete on television or Internet streaming.

Leander Paes won his third French Open men's doubles championship in 2009 with Lukas Dlouhy.

Sam Querrey Joins Capitals Against Kastles July 18th

New Sacramento Capital Sam Querrey rose 18 spots in Monday's ATP World Tour singles rankings.

Big-serving American Sam Querrey recently signed with the Sacramento Capitals for five matches this season, including the Capitals' visit to Kastles Stadium at The Wharf on July 18th. Tickets to see Querrey vs. the Kastles are available now on Ticketmaster.com, starting at just $30!

Querrey is on the comeback trail after undergoing right elbow surgery last June, and he's beginning to show signs of the form that led him into the Top 20 in singles and Top 25 in doubles.

The 6-foot-6 Californian is 11-2 overall in singles since April 16th, qualifying at ATP World Tour events in Rome and Nice and winning a Challenger title in Sarasota.

Querrey has also reached a pair of doubles finals with other World TeamTennis players this season. Querrey and John Isner of the Boston Lobsters fell to Rafael Nadal and Marc Lopez in the Indian Wells final, but the 24-year-old turned the tide in Houston, where he captured his fourth career doubles title alongside James Blake of the Philadelphia Freedoms.

It was against Blake five years ago in Indianapolis that Querrey made a worldwide name for himself. He hit 34 aces to beat his countryman and advance to his first ATP semifinal, but it was his 10 consecutive aces that set an all-time record and inspired a series of K-Swiss advertisements.

Querrey has won six ATP singles titles since then, including four during his career-best season in 2010, when he also reached the fourth round at Wimbledon and the US Open.

With Querrey in their lineup, the Capitals will be keen to avenge their 25-14 loss in DC last season. Querrey is 3-0 lifetime on tour against Kastles' closer Bobby Reynolds in singles, but he hasn't had as much luck against the Washington men in doubles, losing four of five meetings with Leander Paes and two of three with Reynolds.

The American previously played World TeamTennis with the St. Louis Aces in 2008 and 2009. He signed with the Kastles for two matches in 2011, but was forced to withdraw following his operation.

Watch Sam Querrey crack ten straight aces for K-Swiss by clicking the YouTube video above.

Volunteer During the 2012 Washington Kastles Season

After capping a perfect regular season in 2011, the Kastles celebrated with some of their loyal ballkids.

Join the only perfect team in professional sports by volunteering for the 2012 Washington Kastles! If you're interested in becoming a ballperson, usher, ticket taker or credentials representative, please fill-out and submit the Kastles' volunteer application by clicking here.

All volunteers will receive a complimentary T-shirt, a free meal at each match and the opportunity to participate in one of the most unique tennis experiences in the world.

In return, the Kastles ask that all volunteers are available for at least three of the team's seven home matches. The more matches that you can volunteer at, the better!

The 2012 home schedule begins on July 12th when the Kastles host Martina Hingis and the New York Sportimes, and ends when Venus Williams leads Washington against the Philadelphia Freedoms on July 24th.

Volunteer orientations will be held the week of June 25th. More information about volunteering can be found on the first page of the application.

Completed and signed applications can be submitted via E-mail at Julie@washingtonkastles.com, via fax at (202) 654-7070, or via mail at:

Julie Monroe

Volunteer Coordinator

Washington Kastles

509 7th Street, NW

Washington, DC 20004

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World TeamTennis Stories from May 25, 2012


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