WTT Washington Kastles

Kastles Beat Boston 19-18 in Supertiebreaker to Clinch Home Court Advantage

Published on July 22, 2013 under World TeamTennis (WTT)
Washington Kastles News Release


The Washington Kastles are returning to the postseason for the fourth time in five years after withstanding a wild rally by the Boston Lobsters and clinching a 19-18 win in a Supertiebreaker on Sunday.

Following their final three regular season matches, the 9-2 Kastles will host the Eastern Conference Championship match on Thursday at 7 pm. If they win, the Kastles will play for their third consecutive Mylan World TeamTennis title in front of their home fans at Kastles Stadium at The Wharf this Sunday at 5 pm.

More information on the playoff matches can be found below, with tickets on sale for as little as $15 at Ticketmaster.com.

Very few seats are also available for Washington's last two home matches of the regular season: tonight against the Philadelphia Freedoms and Wednesday against the Lobsters. After five straight home sellouts, you will want to get your tickets for regular season and playoff matches July 22-28 at Ticketmaster.com.

With a 5-match lead over the 4-7 Lobsters, Freedoms and New York Sportimes, the Kastles have guaranteed themselves the best record in the Eastern Conference for the third consecutive season.

Washington also has a 2-match lead over the 7-4 Springfield Lasers, who are in first place of the Western Conference.

If the Kastles finish the regular season with the best record in the league and qualify for the Mylan WTT Finals, Coach Murphy Jensen will get to select the all-important order of play in Sunday's championship match.

If there's any wonder who the 2013 WTT Female MVP will be, consider this: The Kastles are 8-0 with Martina Hingis in the lineup and 1-2 without her. She played a big part in Washington's seventh straight win on Sunday afternoon in Boston.

The Kastles trailed the Lobsters 12-11 at halftime before Hingis and Anastasia Rodionova raced through women's doubles in only 15 minutes.

Their 5-0 victory over Jill Craybas and Katalin Marosi gave Washington what appeared to be a commanding 16-12 lead going into the final set of mixed doubles.

Hingis and Kastles substitute Frederik Nielsen made it 18-12 by winning the first two games of mixed.

That's when things got interesting in a hurry. Marosi and Eric Butorac of the Lobsters forced overtime by winning five consecutive games to take the set 5-2.

With the Kastles now clinging to an 18-17 lead overall, Hingis served to Marosi on a deciding 3-all point in overtime that could have won the match for Washington.

Instead, the Lobsters broke Hingis to bring the match to a fittingly dramatic conclusion in a Supertiebreaker.

After losing six straight games, Hingis and Nielsen began the Supertiebreaker by winning six straight points, giving Washington a total of seven match points.

The Lobsters saved three of them before the 2012 Wimbledon men's doubles champion Nielsen won the 6-3 point on his serve with a backhand volley winner to secure home court advantage for the Kastles.

Had Washington lost that point, the left-handed Butorac was due to serve three straight times to end the Supertiebreaker, which would have been a major advantage for Boston.

Washington emerged victorious despite losing three of the five sets to the Lobsters on Sunday.

Amir Weintraub ended Bobby Reynolds' unbeaten run in singles this season with a 5-4 win in the first set. Reynolds served for the set at 4-3 but could not close it out as he's done countless times for the Kastles over the years.

Hingis followed with a 5-2 singles victory over Craybas, bouncing back with brilliant play from 0-2 down to sweep the final five games and 12 of the last 13 points on her serve.

In the third set, Weintraub and Butorac defeated Reynolds and Nielsen 5-2 in men's doubles. Filling in for the injured Leander Paes, Nielsen seemed to struggle with the fast-paced Mylan WTT format in his first team tennis match.

To his credit, Nielsen saved two break points at 0-3 that would have likely led to a 5-0 loss for the Kastles since Weintraub was due to serve next. That two-game difference would prove critical to the outcome of the match.

Hingis and Rodionova earned their third consecutive women's doubles win in dominant fashion. Rodionova, especially, was clicking on all of her shots, hitting winners off of her serves, volleys and passes.

In mixed doubles, as in men's, Butorac was the player of the set, covering the court aggressively and thriving off of the home crowd.

But despite his difficulties throughout the match, it was Nielsen who ended the night victoriously, guiding a tricky short-angled backhand volley for a winner.

In their last 11 matches decided by one game, the Kastles are 11-0. Washington has also won six straight Supertiebreakers and eight consecutive matches against the Lobsters overall.

Washington Kastles 19, Boston Lobsters 18

Men's Singles: Amir Weintraub (Lobsters) def. Bobby Reynolds (Kastles) 5-4

Women's Singles: Martina Hingis (Kastles) def. Jill Craybas (Lobsters) 5-2

Men's Doubles: Eric Butorac/Amir Weintraub (Lobsters) def. Frederik Nielsen/Bobby Reynolds (Kastles) 5-2

Women's Doubles: Martina Hingis/Anastasia Rodionova (Kastles) def. Jill Craybas/Katalin Marosi (Lobsters) 5-0

Mixed Doubles: Eric Butorac/Katalin Marosi (Lobsters) def. Frederik Nielsen/Martina Hingis (Kastles) 5-2

Overtime: Eric Butorac/Katalin Marosi (Lobsters) 1, Frederik Nielsen/Martina Hingis (Kastles) 0

Supertiebreaker: Frederik Nielsen/Martina Hingis (Kastles) def. Eric Butorac/Katalin Marosi (Lobsters) 7-3

Playoff Update: Kastles Clinch Home Court Advantage Tickets Start at Only $15 for Playoff Matches Thursday and Sunday

With their victory over the Boston Lobsters on Sunday, the Washington Kastles have secured the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and home court advantage throughout the Mylan WTT Playoffs.

Kastles Stadium at The Wharf will host the Eastern Conference Championship match this Thursday at 7 pm. If the Kastles win that match, the Mylan WTT Finals will be played on the Southwest Waterfront this Sunday at 5 pm.

Seats to those matches are now on sale through Ticketmaster.com, with Grandstands priced at $15 each and Chairbacks at $35.

There are also a limited number of four-seat Dinner Tables ($500), Premier Courtside Boxes ($250) and Kastles Boxes ($100) available on both nights. The only way to purchase tables and boxes is by contacting Kastles ticket representative John Coleman at 202-654-7047 or john@washingtonkastles.com.

In the event that the Kastles do not host the Mylan WTT Finals on Sunday, customers will receive a full refund. There's no reason to wait; secure your seats for both playoff matches right now!

The first five Kastles home matches this season have sold out, and there are only a couple hundred seats remaining to the final two home matches of the regular season on Monday and Wednesday.

We encourage you to get your tickets early on Ticketmaster.com for playoff matches on Thursday and Sunday. You won't want to miss history in the making and the thrill of cheering on your Kastles as they play for their third straight King Trophy in front of their hometown crowd!

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World TeamTennis Stories from July 22, 2013


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