WTT Orange County Breakers

Doubles Play Rallies Newport Beach Breakers To 23-16 Victory Over Reigning Champion Sacramento

July 15, 2008 - World TeamTennis (WTT)
Orange County Breakers News Release


NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., July 14, 2008 - The Newport Beach Breakers began the second half of their 2008 World TeamTennis Pro League season in search of the type of comeback that took place in Monday's match against the reigning WTT champion Sacramento Capitals. The Breakers rallied from an early deficit, winning the final four sets to oust Sacramento, 23-16, at Breakers Stadium at Newport Beach Country Club. The match served as the Breakers' largest margin of victory in 2008.

The Breakers' Michaela Pastikova and Lilia Osterloh, who debuted for the Breakers on Sunday against Washington, won their second women's doubles set in as many matches. The Ramon Delgado-Kaes Van't Hof resurgence continued in the third set as the pair won their third consecutive set of men's doubles. Newport Beach resident Van't Hof, who has played men's and mixed doubles in each match for the Breakers, won both sets in the same match for the first time.

The Breakers (3-5) and Capitals (3-5) split two earlier meetings this season, both taking place at the Capitals' stadium in Roseville, Calif. The Breakers avenged a 21-20 Supertiebreaker defeat to Sacramento on Saturday. Both teams are tied for third place in the Western Conference.

"I think the rivalry is a little bit bigger than with the other teams. This year, we got the better of them," Breakers coach Trevor Kronemann said. "It was an important match. This is the first time that we've won four sets. We're still in the hunt. Hopefully, we can turn it around in this second half of the season."

Down 5-3 after Breakers veteran ace Delgado, the World TeamTennis Pro League leader in games won percentage in men's singles (38-of-64 games won, 59.4 percent), uncharacteristically dropped his men's singles set, Pastikova and Osterloh immediately pulled momentum back in the Breakers favor with a 5-2 victory over Elena Likhovtseva and 15-year-old Tammy Hendler, WTT's youngest player this season.

Pastikova and Osterloh, an Aliso Viejo resident, were paired for the first time on Sunday and collaborated on a doubles victory over 2008 Wimbledon doubles champion Serena Williams - a nine-time Grand Slam and 2000 Olympic doubles champ - of the Washington Kastles.

"I love being a part of the team and being in Newport Beach, and the fans are so supportive," said Osterloh, who closed the match out with a 5-4 singles win over Hendler. "I really don't want to let my teammates down. I just want to bring my best to the table, and bring positive energy and good karma."

Delgado brought the necessary leadership and intensity to the ensuing men's doubles set. Van't Hof, the 2008 NCAA Division I doubles national champion with USC, fed off of Delgado and consistently snapped powerful serves that led to easy points. The tandem won the set, 5-2, over Eric Butorac and Warburg, a 2004 NCAA doubles national champ, and enabled the Breakers to build a 13-9 lead.

Van't Hof stayed on the court to partner with Osterloh in a 5-3 mixed doubles victory. The Breakers won the pivotal seventh game, breaking Likhovtseva's serve through Osterloh's lunging forehand past Butorac and Van't Hof's backhand volley to go up 4-3. Then, the Breakers rallied from 1-3 down (in points) to win the final three points and close out the set, essentially putting the match on ice at 18-12.

"Kaes is starting to settle down," Kronemann said. "I told him it's going to come together for him and he'll be on his way. He's starting to play smarter."

Results: Men's Singles - Sam Warburg (S) def. Ramon Delgado (NB), 5-3 Women's Doubles - Michaela Pastikova/Lilia Osterloh (NB) def. Tammy Hendler/Elena Likhovtseva (S), 5-2 Men's Doubles - Ramon Delgado/Kaes Van't Hof (NB) def. Eric Butorac/Warburg (S), 5-2 Mixed Doubles - Lilia Osterloh/Kaes Van't Hof (NB) def. Elena Likhovtseva/Eric Butorac (S), 5-3 Women's Singles - Osterloh (NB) def. Hendler (S), 5-4 (5-3 tiebreak) Final: Newport Beach Breakers 23, Sacramento Capitals 16

Pre-match festivities were highlighted by the second-annual Women's Tennis Night, featuring International Tennis Hall of Famer and former World No. 1 Tracy Austin. About 100 women participated inside Breakers Stadium and learned the fundamentals of playing tennis from the Palos Verdes native and Rolling Hills resident who specializes in cardio tennis clinics. Austin, 47, won the U.S. Open singles title in 1979 (the youngest U.S. Open winner at 16) and 1981 and the mixed doubles championship at Wimbledon in 1980. She played World TeamTennis for the New Jersey Stars and the Raleigh Edge in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

The Breakers' next match is 7 p.m. Wednesday at Breakers Stadium at Newport Beach Country Club against the Anna Kournikova-led St. Louis Aces. Kournikova is the third marquee player to grace Breakers Stadium this year, following Breakers marquee player Lindsay Davenport and Serena Williams. General admission tickets for Wednesday's match are available for $35. Tickets, sponsorship and more information on the Newport Beach Breakers are readily available by calling 714-352-6301 or visiting www.NewportBeachBreakers.com, where fans can purchase tickets and choose their own seats from an online seating chart that takes real-time inventory. Also available is the Lefty Legends Package, for matches July 21 vs. Boston and July 22 vs. New York, for $70.

The Breakers are owned by WTT founder Billie Jean King. Hoag Hospital Foundation has been granted the rights to manage the Breakers through 2009 by WTT with profits from the team's operations for the season benefiting Hoag Hospital.

The World TeamTennis Pro League presented by Advanta is set to begin its 33rd season. Each WTT team is comprised of two men, two women and a coach. Team matches consist of five events - one set each of men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, women's doubles and mixed doubles. The first team to reach five games wins each set. A nine-point tiebreaker is played if a set reaches four-all. One point is awarded for each game won. If necessary, overtime and a supertiebreaker are played to determine the outright winner of the match.



World TeamTennis Stories from July 15, 2008


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