WTT Washington Kastles

Kastles Rout Empire, 24-14

Published on July 24, 2018 under World TeamTennis (WTT)
Washington Kastles News Release


The Washington Kastles were all smiles last night after their road win against the New York Empire
The Washington Kastles were all smiles last night after their road win against the New York Empire
(Washington Kastles, Credit: Robert Lindstedt)

The Kastles didn't hold anything back last night in New York. The 6-time WTT champs thrashed the Empire at the Billie Jean King USTA National Tennis Center in their last showdown of the season. Robert Lindstedt and Nicole Melichar scored the final set over mixed doubles league leaders Neal Skupski and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez to secure the victory, 24-14.

After a San Diego Aviators win in a supertiebreak over the Orange County Breakers last night, the 5-2 Kastles remain tied for second place with San Diego in the WTT standings. Both teams are a half-match behind the Philadelphia Freedoms, who hold first place with a 5-1 winning record. The Empire, meanwhile, remain in last place, having yet to score a win this season.

The Empire began the match strong with a rousing comeback over Tennys Sandgren in men's singles. The Kastles' #1 draft pick played his debut match for the team against former Kastle and American #1 Mardy Fish, who returned to New York for his first match of the season. Sandgren got off to a good start. He broke Fish early and earned multiple set points. But returning up 4-2 on Fish's serve, Sandgren went for too much and overhit a second serve at 3-all to squander his first set point. Then serving up 3-2 in the next game, Sandgren double-faulted and lost the deciding point, enabling Fish to serve first in the tiebreaker and ultimately steal the first set, 5-4, for the Empire, instead of a 5-2 lead for the Kastles.

That potential four game swing and the early deficit could have been costly for Washington, but yet again Kastles all-star Madison Brengle stepped up. The Dover, Delaware native played a near flawless singles set to defeat the Empire's and WTA Mallorca Open Champion Tatjana Maria, 5-0, and turn the tide of the match, 9-5, in Washington's favor. It was the fourth meeting between the two players this season. Brengle fell to Maria in their first matchup, but won their remaining three encounters.

"The first time I played her here on this court, she beat me, 5-3," said Brengle. "I talked to my team and I felt like I had a good game plan going in tonight. I tried to hustle down every ball. It bounces a lot higher here than our court at home, so I had to adjust. Once I got the feeling, I felt really solid and I feel like I followed my game plan."

Brengle currently ranks third in the league in women's singles with a 4-3 set record, but is tied with the league leader Taylor Townsend (Philadelphia Freedoms) for most games won overall at 25.

In the third set, Sandgren returned to the court for men's doubles. Teaming up with Robert Lindstedt, the pair played Fish and Neal Skupski close. Big serving from both teams sent the set to a tiebreaker, but there, the Kastles separated themselves. A mini-break on Skupski's serve was all Lindstedt needed to serve out the tiebreaker, 5-4(3), and extend Washington's lead, 14-9, heading into halftime.

Though the Kastles had a hefty lead going into the second half, they would have to get past the Empire's strongest teams to win the match, beginning with women's doubles.

Maria and Martinez Sanchez scored a solid win over Brengle and Melichar in DC this past weekend and had all the belief they could do it again on their home court in New York. With neither team willing to give an inch, this set boiled down to a single point. At 4-all in the tiebreaker, Maria served a second serve to Melichar down the T in the deuce court. When Martinez Sanchez moved to poach her crosscourt return, Melichar hit a clean winner down the line to score her first big win of the season, 5-4(4) and push the Kastles ahead, 19-13.

In the fifth set, Melichar teamed up with Lindstedt to face the Empire's toughest team, Skupski and Martinez Sanchez, who were the league leaders in mixed doubles until last night. In their best performance so far this season, Melichar and Lindstedt were unstoppable. They pounced on Skupski and Martinez Sanchez from the very first point and cruised to a 5-1 victory, securing the win for the Kastles, 24-14.

Next up, the Kastles face the Aviators this Wednesday at Kastles Stadium. Venus Williams will headline for Washington in a match that could upend the league standings.

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Images from this story

The Washington Kastles were all smiles last night after their road win against the New York Empire
The Washington Kastles were all smiles last night after their road win against the New York Empire
(Robert Lindstedt)		   



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