WTT Washington Kastles

Kastles Beat Breakers 21-13 to Return Home 6-0

Published on July 12, 2011 under World TeamTennis (WTT)
Washington Kastles News Release


The Washington Kastles' best start in franchise history got even better on Monday night as the team won eight of nine deciding points in doubles to claim a 21-13 road win over Newport Beach.

Now 6-0, the Kastles remain the only undefeated team in World TeamTennis, with John McEnroe, Martina Hingis and the 5-1 New York Sportimes due in DC tonight at 7 pm for a match between the two teams with the best records in the league.

Through three road matches, Washington had yet to win the opening set and 2010 Rookie of the Year Bobby Reynolds was 0-3 in men's singles away from home going into Monday night.

Reynolds resolved both of those problems against the Breakers, defeating marquee player Taylor Dent 5-2 to begin the match. With breaks in the third and seventh games, Reynolds wore down Dent's booming serve, which topped out at 150 miles per hour at San Jose last February.

Following his singles win, Reynolds carried momentum into men's doubles as he and Leander Paes broke Dent for the third time of the evening to take a 2-0 lead.

Paes held serve one game later by saving four consecutive break points, and then the Kastles broke Lester Cook for good measure by winning their third 3-All deciding point of the set. Reynolds served out a 5-0 shutout to give Washington a 10-2 lead.

The Kastles' men's doubles team leads the league with five sets and 29 games won this season.

Paes stayed on court for mixed doubles, and he and Rennae Stubbs immediately broke Cook to open the set. The Kastles would hold serve three times in the set by winning a 3-All point, clinching a 15-5 halftime lead by winning the event 5-3 over Cook and Marie-Eve Pelletier.

The second half featured only women's play, but little changed on court as Stubbs and Arina Rodionova won a pair of 3-All points en route to a 5-2 women's doubles win over Pelletier and Anne Keothavong.

Rodionova was unable to complete a Kastles' sweep, falling 5-0 to the 94th-ranked Keothavong before closing the match out in overtime by breaking the Brit in her first service game.

TONIGHT: New York Sportimes @ KASTLES Preview

New York Sportimes (5-1) at Washington Kastles (6-0)

Kastles Stadium at The Wharf

Tuesday, July 12, 2011 at 7:00 pm

Tickets: Ticketmaster.com, Stadium Box Office

TV: Comcast SportsNet

Live Scoring: WashingtonKastles.com

Real-Time Analysis: Facebook, Twitter

The best two teams in World TeamTennis will do battle in DC tonight when the 6-0 Washington Kastles meet the 5-1 New York Sportimes, who are led by two of the game's greatest players.

The Kastles are coming off a terrific three-match road trip against the Western Conference in which Washington swept through Springfield, Sacramento and Newport Beach.

Returning home for the first time since Thursday, the Kastles will be challenged tonight by Hall-of-Famer John McEnroe, who is back for the defending Eastern Conference Champion Sportimes. In men's and mixed doubles, he's likely to face Leander Paes of the Kastles, whom he exchanged heated words with during a match in DC two years ago.

The Sportimes will also feature Martina Hingis, who won five singles and 10 doubles Grand Slam titles. Hingis signed on to play tonight's match only one day ago, eager to extend her remarkable form this season, which included a major comeback last night.

With New York trailing by five to start its fifth set against St. Louis on Monday, Hingis won women's singles 5-0, and clinched a winner-takes-all point to win the Supertiebreaker 7-6, keeping the Sportimes one match behind Washington in the Eastern Conference standings.

Very few seats are still available for tonight's match at Ticketmaster.com. If you can't make it to Kastles Stadium at The Wharf, tune in to Comcast SportsNet at 7 pm for live coverage of the biggest match of the WTT season thus far.

PROJECTED MATCHUPS

Men's Singles: Bobby Reynolds (WAS) vs. Jesse Witten (NYS)*

Women's Singles: Arina Rodionova (WAS) vs. Martina Hingis (NYS)

Men's Doubles: Reynolds/Leander Paes (WAS) vs. John McEnroe/Travis Parrott (NYS)*

Women's Doubles: Rodionova/Rennae Stubbs (WAS) vs. Hingis/Katie O'Brien (NYS)

Mixed Doubles: Paes/Stubbs (WAS) vs. McEnroe/Hingis (NYS)*

* Note: John McEnroe will play two sets, but Sportimes Head Coach Fritz Buehning won't be required to make a decision on which two until immediately prior to the match.

SET BY SET

The Sportimes defeated the Kastles two times in three meetings last season, but Washington's one victory over New York was sparked by Bobby Reynolds' 5-1 singles win against John McEnroe. Sportimes Head Coach Fritz Buehning will have the option of benching McEnroe in singles tonight for Jesse Witten, who split his two singles sets with Reynolds in 2010. But McEnroe isn't known to back down from a fight, even if it is against a man 23 years younger than he is.

In women's singles, Arina Rodionova will face the biggest challenge of her rookie season when she meets Martina Hingis of the Sportimes. Hingis rose to prominence before most girls graduate from high school, reaching world No. 1 in singles at 16 and in doubles at 17. She is still competing at an elite level, leading all WTT women's singles players with 26 games won and only five lost this season. The 21-year-old Rodionova has yet to play a competitor of that caliber in her career.

With Robert Kendrick out for the season, Travis Parrott has stepped in as the Sportimes' men's doubles specialist. He is expected to pair with McEnroe against the top-rated team of Reynolds and Leander Paes, who have won five of six sets while being broken just twice all season. The Kastles will need to be at their best against McEnroe, who won the doubles title in San Jose in 2006 after 12 years off of the ATP World Tour.

Two WTT veterans will team with two WTT rookies when Washington's Rodionova and Rennae Stubbs play New York's Hingis and Katie O'Brien in women's doubles. Rodionova and Stubbs have gotten off to a good start together, winning both sets they've played as a team. Hingis and O'Brien, on the other hand, have not gelled well, losing 5-1 at Sacramento, 5-2 at Newport Beach and 5-1 against St. Louis. The Kastles hope their struggles continue tonight.

A mixed doubles set featuring Paes, Stubbs, McEnroe and Hingis would be quite a sight if it occurs as expected. All four players have won at least one Grand Slam mixed doubles championship. This season, Paes owns the best winning percentage of all men in mixed doubles (0.591), while Hingis has won only 13 of the 29 games she's played in mixed (0.448). Expect Paes to go hot and heavy at the Swiss star early to see if she can keep up with his pace.

KEY FOR THE KASTLES - LEAVE THE JETLAG ON THE PLANE

While New York played at home last night, the Kastles were in Newport Beach, California, contesting a late match that forced Coach Murphy Jensen and his team onto a red-eye flight back to DC.

With two legends on the other side of the court, and first place in the Eastern Conference on the line, the Kastles cannot afford to lose tonight because of a tricky travel schedule.

That's where you come in.

There is no greater home court advantage in World TeamTennis than that of Kastles Stadium at The Wharf. With or without tired legs, the Kastles will need all the support they can get from the 2,600 fans expected at tonight's match.

SunTrust Teams with Kastles for Special On-Court Promotion

The Washington Kastles are proud to partner with SunTrust Bank for the Solid Serves It Up On-Court Promotion.

Each guest will receive a yellow stress ball and marker when walking in the front gate before tonight's match. Guests will be asked to write their name and telephone number on the ball. During halftime, everyone will have an opportunity to toss their ball into one of the SunTrust containers on the court. If you get your ball in the bin, you have a chance to be chosen for a prize.

One ball will be drawn from each corner for a total of four winners. Winners will receive either a PlayStation 3 gaming console or an autographed tennis racquet from SunTrust, Official Bank of the Washington Kastles.

SunTrust Banks, Inc., headquartered in Atlanta, is one of the nation's largest banking organizations, serving a broad range of consumer, commercial, corporate and institutional clients.

The Company's mission is to help people and institutions prosper by providing financial services that meet the needs, exceed the expectations, and enhance the lives of our clients, communities, colleagues, and ultimately our shareholders. SunTrust provides deposit, credit, trust, and investment services.

Other subsidiaries provide mortgage banking, brokerage, investment management, equipment leasing, and investment banking services. Get to know all the benefits of banking with SunTrust. Visit a branch, call 800.SUNTRUST or go to SunTrust.com. SunTrust, Member FDIC.

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