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WTT Washington Kastles

Kastles Sweep Doubles to Beat Lasers 24-16

July 27, 2015 - World TeamTennis (WTT)
Washington Kastles News Release


Anastasia Rodionova and Martina Hingis of the Washington Kastles
Anastasia Rodionova and Martina Hingis of the Washington Kastles
(Washington Kastles, Credit: Kevin Koski)

Kastles fans gave Martina Hingis a standing ovation when she was introduced, then another while she was playing during her D.C. return on Sunday. The Hall-of-Famer returned the favor by winning women's and mixed doubles in Washington's 24-16 victory over the Springfield Lasers.

With fans eager to see the Australian Open and Wimbledon champions, Hingis and Leander Paes started surprisingly slowly in the opening set, conceding a break in the first game when Andre Begemann hit a backhand volley winner.

The Lasers won nine of the first 10 points before Hingis held for 1-2. Both teams exchanged service holds for much of the set, with Begemann aided by a pair of net-cord aces that threw off Hingis' timing.

Serving for the set at 4-3, Springfield's Anna-Lena Groenefeld double-faulted twice, then Hingis hit a return off of Begemann's racquet to break and force a tiebreaker.

The first seven points of the tiebreaker went to the server, leaving Groenefeld to face another pressure-packed point down 3-4.

With Hingis returning, the Swiss hit the exact same shot on set point that she used to break Groenefeld in the eighth game. Hingis pin-pointed her inside-our forehand off the side of Begemann's frame to secure the opening set and earn her 20th mixed doubles win with Paes in 22 Kastles appearances.

Hingis stayed on the court for the second set of singles against 54th-ranked Alison Riske.

The Kastles' star maintained her momentum from mixed and rolled through the first three games, striking down-the-line winner after down-the-line winner en route to a 3-0 lead. Running Riske ragged, Hingis brought fans to their feet by winning one memorable rally with a backhand drop shot that the American could not return.

Riske, however, stayed composed and broke back for 2-3 with an inside-out forehand winner.

Following a hold by Riske, Hingis faced a 3-all deciding point on her serve, prompting coach Murphy Jensen to call a timeout.

We can only assume that Jensen told Hingis to hit high, heavy top-spin shots and follow with a flat down-the-line forehand winner, because that's just what she did to take a 4-3 lead.

When Riske held for 4-4, a second consecutive tiebreaker was required to begin the match.

Hingis got risky against Riske, serving-and-volleying unsuccessfully on a second serve to fall behind 2-0. Moments later, she needed a remarkable running backhand winner to avoid a 4-1 deficit.

But at the end of a set marked by spectacular shot-making, Hingis double-faulted to gift Riske a 4-2 tiebreak lead. The American closed the set two points later by venturing to net for a forehand volley winner.

Nothing separated the Kastles and Lasers after two sets. But with the teams tied at 9-9, Paes and Sam Querrey broke the match wide open in favor of the five-time Mylan WTT Champions.

Querrey's power proved too much for the Lasers early as the 6-foot-6 American crushed a cross-court forehand before holding for 1-0, then put away a forehand volley to break Begemann for 2-0.

Begemann missed a backhand lob long to give the third game to the Kastles, who then won a 3-all point to extend their lead to 4-0 when Paes hit a leaping backhand overhead.

That shot prompted the Kastles teammates to chest bump, and they would do so again after Querrey finished the 5-0 set in 15 minutes with a service winner down the tee.

Just like that, Washington went into halftime up 14-9. The Kastles came out of the break and continued to build momentum behind Hingis and Anastasia Rodionova.

The women's doubles set was decided by a trio of 3-all deciding points. Hingis won the first with a backhand volley winner, Groenefeld lost the second by missing a forehand long, and Hingis took the third with an acutely-angled forehand return.

By sweeping all three of the deciding points, the Kastles cruised to a 5-2 win and extended their lead to 19-11 entering the final set of men's singles.

Querrey, who had not lost a singles set since joining the Kastles July 20, did not enjoy the same success on critical points that Hingis and Rodionova did.

Though the new Kastle crushed eight aces in his match-up against Michael Russell, he converted only 1 of 6 break point opportunities.

Querrey recovered from an early 3-1 deficit to break back and force the third tiebreaker of the night. But he fell 5-4(3) when Russell ran around a backhand and hit a winner.

Despite losing the final set, the Kastles led the Lasers 23-16 entering overtime, which Querrey claimed by immediately. A Querrey forehand, two Russell errors and a Russell double fault allowed the Kastles to win a rematch of the 2009, 2013 and 2014 Mylan WTT Finals.

Washington has two home matches remaining during the regular season before hosting the Eastern Conference Championship match on Thursday at 7 pm. With a win on Thursday, the Kastles would again be at home for the Mylan WTT Finals Sunday at 11:30 am.

Tickets to all four of those matches are on sale at Ticketmaster.com and the Smith Center box office.

In recognition of the incredible fan support again this season, the Kastles have instituted fan-appreciation pricing for the playoffs. Great seats start at only $10 and VIP courtside options are on sale for as little at $50.

Don't miss history in the making and come cheer on the Kastles in their quest for a record-setting fifth consecutive Mylan WTT Championship.

Kastles Playoff Tickets 1 Match 2 Matches

VIP Dinner Table (4 Seats)* $500 $750

Premier Courtside Box (4 Seats) $250 $400

Baseline Experience $50 $75

Baseline Club $25 $40

Kastles Box Seat $25 $40

Courtside Chairback $25 $40

Premium Grandstand $10 $15

Grandstand $10 $15

* Includes catered dinner July 30 and brunch August 2

Washington Kastles vs. California Dream Preview

Martina Hingis Back in Action at Kastles Stadium Tonight

Washington Kastles (8-3) vs. California Dream (8-4)

Monday, July 27 at 7 pm

Tickets: Ticketmaster.com, Box Office

Giveaway: Kastles Championship Hat (1st 1,000 Fans)

Live Scoring: WashingtonKastles.com

Social Media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram (#RefuseToLose)

The Kastles' push to the playoffs continues tonight when Washington hosts the California Dream in a potential preview of the Mylan WTT Finals.

The Dream and Austin Aces will play in the Western Conference Championship match on Thursday. The winner will meet the Kastles, Philadelphia Freedoms or Boston Lobsters for the King Trophy on Sunday.

California has succeeded this season despite the absence of former US Open doubles finalist Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi, who withdrew from Mylan WTT less than a week before the season began.

Former LSU All-American Neal Skupski has filled in admirably, especially in mixed doubles. Skupski and Anabel Medina Garrigues are the top-rated team in the league.

But they will face their biggest test of the season this evening against Wimbledon and Australian Open Champions Martina Hingis and Leander Paes, who have not played enough WTT games together this season to attain a high rating.

The first 1,000 fans in attendance tonight will receive a Kastles hat commemorating the team's five WTT titles, courtesy of George Washington University Hospital. Tickets starting at $12 are on sale at the Smith Center box office and via Ticketmaster.com.

If you like what you see this evening, be sure to come back when the Kastles compete for their sixth Mylan WTT Championship in seven years. Tickets to playoff matches on Thursday, July 30 and Sunday, August 2 start at $10 per match and $15 for both matches. Get yours now by visiting Ticketmaster.com, calling 202-4-TENNIS (483-6647) or stopping by the box office.

The first 1,000 fans in attendance at tonight's match will receive this hat with the Kastles' five titles.

SET-BY-SET PROJECTIONS

MS - S. Querrey (WAS) vs. T. Sandgren (CAL)

Americans Sam Querrey and Tennys Sandgren have never met before on tour or in Mylan WTT. Like Skupski, the 24-year-old Sandgren honed his skills by playing college tennis -- in his case at the University of Tennessee. Querrey turned down a scholarship from the University of Southern California to turn pro in 2006. Seven singles titles, four doubles titles, and $6.2 million later, it's hard to argue with that decision.

WS - M. Hingis (WAS) vs. J. Gajdosova (CAL)

With home-court advantage well secured, coach Murphy Jensen could rest Hingis in singles tonight and go with Anastasia Rodionova. In either case, a former Kastle will be on the other side of the net. Jarmila Gajdosova substituted for Hingis in the first two matches of the 2014 Kastles season. She also teamed with Rodionova at the 2012 Olympics after the Aussies reached the French Open doubles quarterfinals that year.

MD - L. Paes/S. Querrey (WAS) vs. T. Sandgren/N. Skupski (CAL)

The gap in experience between the men's doubles teams tonight is glaring. Querrey and Paes are mainstays on the ATP World Tour and have played on the biggest stages in professional tennis. Sandgren and Skupski have spent much of the 2015 season playing on the ATP Challenger Tour, scratching and clawing for the ranking points needed to join Querrey and Paes in the Top 50. We'll see what they've got tonight.

WD - M. Hingis/A. Rodionova (WAS) vs. J. Gajdosova/A. Medina Garrigues (CAL)

Perhaps no other player in the world can step off of a plane and onto a Mylan WTT court with the ease of Hingis. Two weeks ago at Wimbledon, Hingis went 11-0 and won a pair of titles playing the best-of-three advantage sets. First-to-five, no-ad scoring hasn't phased her one bit, and neither has an entire year without partnering Rodionova. The Kastles' duo is 3-0 this season and 15-1 dating back to the latter part of 2013.

MXD - L. Paes/M. Hingis (WAS) vs. N. Skupski/A. Medina Garrigues (CAL)

Watching Hingis and Paes play mixed doubles makes you wonder: If Hingis were allowed to team with Paes on the ATP World Tour, would the Kastles captain be higher than his current rank of No. 32? They are 11-1 with two titles in three Grand Slam appearances and 20-2 in Kastles matches. That Hingis and Paes were seeded seventh at both Wimbledon and the Australian Open is an injustice to their proven results.

C.O.R.E. Physical Therapy: Treating the Kastles & You

Tony Touma and Hilary Granat of C.O.R.E. have found a very grateful client in Leander Paes.

Washington, DC's premier center for physical therapy and sports medicine rehabilitation, C.O.R.E. Physical Therapy treats a wide variety of conditions and disorders. Our physical therapists are among the Washington metropolitan area's finest healthcare professionals and count the Kastles among their clients.

"As a team, we are so blessed to have the C.O.R.E. unit," said Kastles captain Leander Paes. "I can go as hard as I want every night in World TeamTennis knowing that I've got our C.O.R.E. team to put me back together after I bang my body up."

We are able to offer patients the most effective, cutting edge treatments for musculoskeletal conditions. As a patient, you will be assigned to your own personal physical therapist who will perform a thorough evaluation and develop a treatment plan that takes into account your individual, personal, and often complex needs.

By providing timely, efficient, and thorough care, our goal is to achieve the most optimal level of health and function for each individual patient. Educating each patient regarding diagnosis, treatment, and injury prevention is an essential part of our treatment program.

C.O.R.E. Physical Therapy is fundamentally different than traditional physical therapy clinics. Our patient-centered approach allows for an intense focus on the individual during treatment. All of our care is provided by experienced, licensed physical therapists and all treatment sessions are one-on-one with the therapist.

We integrate advanced manual therapy techniques, appropriate exercise, and thorough education regarding your condition. A home exercise program and other self-care management strategies are also included in your treatment plan.

We are committed to working with the patient, physician, and other members of the health care team to develop an individualized treatment plan to assist patients in achieving their goals and providing solutions for lifelong health.

We are committed to excellence in everything we do. It's what we value most. As such, our staff is continuously upgrading their knowledge base in order to give you the best.




Images from this story

Leander Paes and Martina Hingis of the Washington Kastles
Leander Paes and Martina Hingis of the Washington Kastles
(Kevin Koski)		 Martina Hingis of the Washington Kastles
Martina Hingis of the Washington Kastles
(Kevin Koski)		 Alison Riske of the Washington Kastles
Alison Riske of the Washington Kastles
(Kevin Koski)
Sam Querrey and Leander Paes of the Washington Kastles
Sam Querrey and Leander Paes of the Washington Kastles
(Kevin Koski)		 Washington Kastles Exchange High Fives
Washington Kastles Exchange High Fives
(Kevin Koski)		 Anastasia Rodionova and Martina Hingis of the Washington Kastles
Anastasia Rodionova and Martina Hingis of the Washington Kastles
(Kevin Koski)

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World TeamTennis Stories from July 27, 2015


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