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WTT Washington Kastles

Kastles Win Epic Home Opener

August 2, 2016 - World TeamTennis (WTT)
Washington Kastles News Release


The Bryan Brothers were dominant in their DC debut,

In one of the most entertaining nights in Kastles history, the Kastles took down the Springfield Lasers 22-16 at Kastles Stadium. A sell-out crowd saw two of the greatest doubles teams of all time put on an absolute show, as the Bryan Brothers joined Martina Hingis and Leander Paes in what turned out to be an epic evening of tennis.

Bob Bryan emerging from the tunnel in his first Kastles home match.

Springfield came out determined to show they were not intimidated by the Kastles star lineup, as veteran Benjamin Becker took on Denis Kudla in men's singles. Both players were trading heavy groundstrokes, trying to outslug their opponent and refused to budge on their serves, holding until 3-3 when Becker pulled off several impressive shots to secure the break. He would go on to serve out the set 5-3. Even after being the hero in last year's finals match,Madison Brengle came into the match a little less known than her teammates, but when fans left Kastles Stadium, they knew her name. With the Kastles facing an unexpected 5-3 defecit after the first set, Brengle took charge. After dominating Christina McHale on Sunday night 5-2, she continued rolling in the home opener, blanking Pauline Parmentier (and later Michaella Krajicek due to a substitution) 5-0. Madison turned up the heat midway through the first game: after facing down three break points, she grabbed a break and pumped her fist at the loaded Kastles bench. A frustrated Parmentier looked at her Coach, John Laffnie De Jager, as time after time Brengle forced her into an error after seemingly being pushed out of the point. Jager subbed in Krajicek for Parmentier at 4-0, but it was too late and Brengle served out the set.

Madison Brengle was dominant and determined in her singles match. Fans got an interesting treat in mixed doubles, as Coach Murphy Jensen put in Bob Bryan with Martina Hingis for the first game. After an easy hold of the Bob Bryan serve, Coach Murphy subbed in Leander Paes. The legendary team played several, out-of-this-world points, putting their amazing reflexes and doubles skills on display that brought the sold out crowd to their feet over and over again. Jean Anderson and Michaella Krajicek couldn't stop the duo once they got rolling, eventually losing 5-2. With the Kastles having grabbed momentum, Anastasia Rodionova and Martina Hingis took the court in women's doubles. Parmentier and Krajicek were eager to get the Lasers back in the match, and showed it, coming back from a break down to take a 4-3 lead. After Rodionova held serve, the teams went to a tiebreaker. Parmentier and Krajicked pulled out several clutch points, and took advantage of several errors to take the tiebreak 5-3 and the set 5-4. The highly anticipated Bryan Brothers took the court in the final set, still needing a win to secure victory for the Kastles. The Lasers Benjamin Becker and Jean Anderson proved a tough test, as they fought off several break points throughout the match. The Bryans provided Kastles stadium with an extremely entertaining set, putting on a full display of the skills and teamwork that brought them 16 Grand Slam titles. The brothers brought the crowd to it's feet in the opening game of the set: the duo charged the net off of Bob Bryan's serve starting a dizzying array of volleys with Anderson and Becker. The point ended when Anderson finally missed a Mike Bryan volley sliced right at his feet. The crowd exploded as the Bryans sent a message that they would not be beat in their first match as Kastles. The duo earned another crucial point in the fifth game to go ahead 3-2, as Bob Bryan charged the net to join his brother and forced Becker to miss a volley after another wild exchange at the net. Becker and Anderson did not go away quietly however, and held serve three games later to force a tiebreaker. With the crowd fully behind them, the brothers dominated the tiebreaker 5-1 to clinch the match for the Kastles, and ended the evening with their famous celebratory chest bump.

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