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WTT Washington Kastles

Aviators Upset Kastles, 25-13; Kastles Remain Tied for 1st Place

July 20, 2018 - World TeamTennis (WTT)
Washington Kastles News Release


Kids have fun at a Washington Kastles match
Kids have fun at a Washington Kastles match
(Washington Kastles)

The Washington Kastles early season winning streak came to an end last night. The 2016 WTT champion San Diego Aviators beat the Kastles, 25-13, in their first match of the season. The Kastles are now 3-1 and remain tied with the Freedoms for first place in the World TeamTennis standings.

Over the last two years, the Aviators have become a formidable force in World TeamTennis. They reached the WTT Finals last year and won the championship in 2016, and their performance last night at Kastles Stadium demonstrated they will be just as competitive this season.

20-time Grand Slam champion Bob Bryan reunited with his twin brother, the reigning Wimbledon men's doubles champ and current doubles world #1 Mike Bryan, after a 2-month layoff, the longest of his career. The brothers played two games together against former world #7 Marcin Matkowski and ITF star Marcus Willis to open the match. After splitting the first two games, Bob wasn't feeling ready to compete at the necessary level so Coach Murphy Jensen subbed out Bob with Frances Tiafoe to partner with Mike for the remainder of the set.

Tiafoe and Bryan played well together, considering it was the first time they had ever paired up. They brought serious heat. Tiafoe nailed an ace on his first point of the set and Mike held his second service game at love with Frances at net. But the Aviators matched them in what was a very tight contest. The Kastles had one shot to take the set, up 4-3 on Matkowski's serve. The Aviator unexpectedly double-faulted to give the Kastles a look at a deciding point, but Matkowski responded by unloading a 118 mph ace to force a tiebreaker. Matkowski went on to lead the Aviators to victory in the breaker, making the set-winning shot on Tiafoe's serve to inch San Diego ahead, 5-4(1).

In the next set, the Kastles newest roster player Nicole Melichar made her debut at Kastles Stadium. Melichar's arrival was delayed by a sensational run at the Wimbledon Championships last week, where she claimed the mixed doubles title and reached the final of the women's doubles tournament. In DC she partnered with her good friend Madison Brengle in her first set as a Kastle. The pair played Naomi Broady and Anna-Lena Groenefeld, who won the Wimbledon mixed championship in 2009.

This was another close contest. Melichar and Brengle started strong, breaking Groenefeld's serve in the third game and holding to go up 3-1 on Brengle's serve. It gave the Kastles the lead, 7-6. But the Aviators showed resilience in Broady's next service game. Feeling the pressure from Washington at 2-all, the Aviators gutted-out a momentum-changing point that thrilled the crowd, but led to an eight point winning streak that broke Melichar's serve and propelled San Diego ahead in the set 4-3. Brengle displayed signature grit to hold serve and force a second set tiebreaker, but a mini-break on Melichar's serve was all the Aviators needed for Groenefeld to close out the set, 5-4(1), and boost the team's lead to 10-8.

The Kastles put both Wimbledon champs to work in the next set. Mike Bryan and Nicole Melichar squared off against Marcin Matkowski and Anna-Lena Groenefeld in mixed doubles. Not since Kastles legends Martina Hingis and Leander Paes won the Wimbledon Mixed Doubles Championship in 2015 has Washington seen two reigning Wimbledon champions on the same side of the court. But in this set, the Aviators proved that Grand Slam credentials don't guarantee victories in WTT.

The Aviators jumped ahead early. A break on Melichar's serve and a hold from Groenefeld gave San Diego a 3-1 lead in the set. Mike held to push the Kastles into double digits in the overall score, 13-10, but Matkowski answered with a hold of his own to put the pressure on Melichar to win her serve and keep the set alive. It was not an easy task. The Aviators pushed the Kastles to a deciding point. But in the decisive moment, Melichar delivered a quality first serve and Mike put the point away with a smash. Unfortunately, the earlier break couldn't be reversed. Groenefeld consolidated the set in the next game, 5-3, to seal the Aviators' lead, 15-11, at halftime.

Trailing four games at the start of the fourth set, all eyes were on Madison Brengle, who thrives in Kastles Stadium, to score a decisive victory in women's singles and get the Kastles back in the game. The Kastles all-star had done it in her two previous matches, and her dominant performances in the first two home matches of the season were instrumental to the Kastles' current first place standing. But the Aviators' Naomi Broady had a different design.

Broady methodically went about breaking Brengle down. The Aviator attacked with overwhelming pace one point, then seamlessly mixed in off-speed moonballs and counter-punched the next to capture the first three games in a row. Brengle held serve to disrupt Broady's momentum and stay in the set, 1-3, but could not permanently halt her. In Brengle's next service game, the Aviator forced a deciding point. As always, Madison fought hard to defend it, but after a lengthy rally, forfeited the game. Broady then followed by winning 8 of the last 10 points to take the set, 5-1, and extended San Diego's lead, 20-12, heading into the final set of the night.

A Kastles win would now be up to DC's golden boy, Frances Tiafoe. The College Park native was on a winning streak, having previously clinched the Kastles first two home matches of the season against very tough competition. But the Aviators' Marcus Willis snapped that streak last night. The British ITF star came out smoking. He broke Tiafoe in the first game and held to take a 2-0 lead. Tiafoe bounced back to hold serve in next game, but Willis persisted to hit shots that gave him little to work with. After a routine hold, Willis pushed Tiafoe for another break. Returning down 1-3, Willis took a crack at a few low-percentage shots that connected and tied the game score, 2-all, 3-all, until finally he threaded a down-the-line backhand pass by Tiafoe to score a valuable insurance break. Willis got the win in the next game with a serve and volley winner.

Next up, the Kastles head to Philly tonight to try and regain their momentum. They take on the Freedoms at 7 p.m. at Hagan Arena. The winning team will move into first place.




Images from this story

Bob and Mike Bryan of the Washington Kastles
Bob and Mike Bryan of the Washington Kastles
(Willis Bretz)		 Nicole Melichar of the Washington Kastles
Nicole Melichar of the Washington Kastles
(Kevin Koski)		 Mike Bryan and Nicole Melichar of the Washington Kastles discuss strategy
Mike Bryan and Nicole Melichar of the Washington Kastles discuss strategy
(Willis Bretz)
Frances Tiafoe of the Washington Kastles
Frances Tiafoe of the Washington Kastles
(Gauge)		 Kids have fun at a Washington Kastles match
Kids have fun at a Washington Kastles match
  

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