WTT Washington Kastles

Kastles Kick off Season Tonight in Boston

Published on July 7, 2014 under World TeamTennis (WTT)
Washington Kastles News Release


Forty-nine weeks of waiting are over and the 2014 Washington Kastles will put their three-peat of WTT titles on the line beginning tonight in Boston.

Since knocking the Kastles out of playoff contention in the 2010 regular season finale, the Lobsters have time and again been overwhelmed by their rivals from Washington.

The Kastles have beaten Boston 10 straight times by an average of 9.2 games, highlighted by a 25-12 rout in the 2013 Eastern Conference Championship match.

While Washington's roster has remained largely intact during its dominance of Boston, turnover has been much more common for the Lobsters.

Joining Boston veteran Eric Butorac this season are WTT rookie Sharon Fichman, former Springfield Laser Rik de Voest and former Sacramento Capital Megan Moulton-Levy.

Washington counters with Wimbledon semifinalist Leander Paes, 2013 WTT Finals MVP Bobby Reynolds, third-year Kastle Anastasia Rodionova and substitute player Jarmila Gajdosova .

A former WTT Rookie of the Year and Finals MVP with the Kansas City Explorers, Gajdosova has won three ITF doubles titles with former Kastle Arina Rodionova this season. After the pair qualified at Wimbledon, Arina's older sister Anastasia suggested that Gajdosova would be a great fit with Washington.

The Kastles enter the 2014 season on a 12-match winning streak. Live scoring for tonight's match begins at 7 pm on WashingtonKastles.com.

SET-BY-SET PROJECTIONS

MS - B. Reynolds (WAS) vs. R. de Voest (BOS)

Up until last summer, de Voest seemingly had a spell on Reynolds. With no glaring weapons, the South African had somehow swept all five of his ATP matches against the Kastles closer. But Reynolds turned the tide in a big way, beating de Voest 5-1 on two occasions, including the first set of the 2013 WTT Finals. That win sparked the Kastles to a 25-12 championship rout of de Voest's former team, the Springfield Lasers.

WS - J. Gajdosova (WAS) vs. S. Fichman (BOS)

With Martina Hingis and Venus Williams unavailable, Kastles coach Murphy Jensen can turn to Rodionova or Gajdosova in women's singles. Rodionova is 7-5 in WTT singles sets for the Kastles with wins over No. 50 Karolina Pliskova and No. 92 Timea Babos. But coming off a first-round win at Wimbledon and an ITF title before that, Gajdosova is the hotter player going into a difficult set tonight against the 84th-ranked Fichman.

MD - L. Paes/B. Reynolds (WAS) vs. E. Butorac/R. de Voest (BOS)

Butorac enters his fifth season with the Kastles, and he must be getting tired of seeing Paes and Reynolds on the other side of the net. Washington's dynamic duo is 8-2 against Butorac and four different partners since 2010. Though de Voest is a new addition to Boston's lineup, he has teamed with Butorac twice before. They are 3-2 together at Challenger tournaments -- the most recent coming in June 2012.

WD - J. Gajdosova/A. Rodionova (WAS) vs. S. Fichman/M. Moulton-Levy (BOS)

While Gajdosova is making her Kastles debut tonight, she is no stranger to playing doubles with Rodionova. The Aussies played Fed Cup together in 2011, teamed at the 2012 Olympic Games and reached the quarterfinals of the 2012 French Open. Their opponents, Moulton-Levy and Fichman, tried out their partnership by teaming at Indian Wells and Miami in March. They suffered first-round losses at both events.

MXD - L. Paes/A. Rodionova (WAS) vs. E. Butorac/M. Moulton-Levy (BOS)

Coach Jensen must choose between Rodionova and Gajdosova again in mixed doubles. Gajdosova teamed with Matthew Ebden to defeat Paes and Elena Vesnina 6-3, 6-2 en route to the 2013 Australian Open mixed doubles title. But Rodionova is more experienced as Paes' partner, going 7-3 with the Kastles captain the last two seasons. If Gajdosova gets the nod in singles, look for Rodionova to get the call in mixed.

KEY FOR THE KASTLES - WELCOME IN GAJDOSOVA

The challenge that all teams face during the first week of the WTT season is developing doubles chemistry.

Paes and Reynolds, 38-15 the last four WTT seasons, have never teamed on tour the other 49 weeks of the year. It's been nearly two years since Gajdosova and Rodionova shared the court, and neither of the Kastles women has played mixed doubles with Paes outside of WTT.

Washington's two losses last season both featured a substitute player and occurred during the first week of the season. Making Gajdosova feel like a full-time member of the team will go a long way to preventing any sort-of season-opening letdown.

The Kastles and Lobsters will meet again Wednesday in Washington's home opener, when Hingis and Kevin Anderson return to lead the Kastles. All fans in attendance will receive a free Kastles championship shirt courtesy of GEICO. Tickets start at $8; get yours now!

Jarmila Gajdosova to Make Kastles Debut Tonight

Former WTT Finals MVP Serving as Substitute Tomorrow Too

With Martina Hingis playing her first Kastles match of the season on Wednesday, 2013 Australian Open mixed doubles champion Jarmila Gajdosova will serve as a substitute for Washington in road matches against the Boston Lobsters tonight and Texas Wild tomorrow night.

Gajdosova becomes the 10th Grand Slam champion to either play for or coach the Kastles.

Though the Aussie has yet to wear red and blue, she has already proven to be a terrific team tennis player. Gajdosova played three seasons for the Kansas City Explorers, earning 2007 WTT Female Rookie of the Year and 2010 WTT Finals MVP honors.

Gajdosova won all three of her sets to clinch the 2010 WTT title for Kansas City, marking the only time in the last five seasons that Washington has not won the King Trophy.

On the WTA Tour, Gajdosova has been ranked as high as No. 25 in singles and No. 31 in doubles. She comes to the Kastles on fire, sweeping 12 matches at a single tournament last month. Gajdosova won the Aegon Nottingham Challenge singles title as a qualifier, and she captured the doubles championship with former Kastle Arina Rodionova.

Gajdosova also has history with current Kastle Anastasia Rodionova, the older of the Rodionova sisters. They reached the French Open doubles quarterfinals in 2012 and have also represented Australia as doubles partners in Fed Cup and Olympic play.

Kastles coach Murphy Jensen will count on that experience when he reunites Gajdosova and Anastasia Rodionova in the first two women's doubles sets of the season.

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