WTT Washington Kastles

Kastles Win Thrilling Home Opener; Tonight's Match Venus Vs. Hingis

July 7, 2010 - World TeamTennis (WTT)
Washington Kastles News Release


The Washington Kastles clearly showed Tuesday night that they are back to defend their World TeamTennis Championship, fending off scorching temperatures and a ferocious rally to beat the Philadelphia Freedoms 21-15 before more than 2,000 spirited fans at Kastles Stadium.

After a tough supertiebreaker road loss to the New York Sportimes Monday night, the Kastles rebounded in their home opener, winning three of five sets and holding on to win after taking a commanding early lead.

Bobby Reynolds again showed why the Kastles selected him with the first overall pick in the WTT draft, as he opened the match with a 5-1 singles win over Ramon Delgado. Reynolds kept Delgado on his heels by never requiring a second serve, converting 12 of 15 first serve points and firing two aces. Reynolds also won both of the crucial 3-all points in the set.

It was great redemption for Reynolds, who nearly vaulted the Kastles to a comeback overtime win in the final set Monday.

"I felt like I let the team down [Monday] night," he said. "It was great to go out there first and get the team ahead."

Angie Haynes expanded the Kastles' lead with a great home debut, beating 18-year-old Noppawan Lertcheewakarn 5-2 in women's singles. The win gave the Kastles a 10-3 overall lead in the match, and for Haynes, it was a great rebound victory after a singles loss Monday night against the Sportimes. The win was particularly remarkable in that it came against Lertcheewakarn, the 2009 Wimbledon junior champion who is seen as one of the rising stars in tennis and who had clinched the Freedoms season opener the night before in a Supertiebreaker against Martina Hingis.

Reynolds and Leander Paes looked to extend the Kastles lead in doubles against Delgado and Prakash Amritraj, but lost a tight set, 5-4 in a tiebreak. But the set was not without other great moments for the Kastles.

During one scintillating point at 2-all, Reynolds lofted a desperation lob and appeared on the ropes, but he and Paes each made remarkable stabs at overhead smashes to continue the rally, and eventually induced Delgado to hit the ball into the net. The point helped give Kastles a 3-2 lead in games. But the Freedoms tied the set at 4-4 to set up five-point tiebreak, which they won to cut the Kastles overall match lead to 14-8.

Haynes and Rennae Stubbs took over for the Kastles in the fourth set, facing Lertcheewakarn and Courtney Nagle. The Freedoms pair proved to be a fierce foe, taking a 4-1 lead in the set. But Stubbs and Haynes, knowing that every game counts in World TeamTennis, fought to get one game back before falling 5-2 to leave the Kastles with a 16-13 lead heading into the final set.

It was then up to Paes and Stubbs to show why they have 18 Grand Slam titles between them. Needing to win the final set in mixed doubles or win in Overtime to secure the match victory, they did not disappoint, beating Nagle and Amritraj 5-2 in a nailbiting set that was much closer than the score indicates.

At one crucial point in the set, Paes and Stubbs may have played one the best and certainly most memorable points in Kastles history. Up 3-2, the Kastles found themselves two games from the winning the match but locked in a fierce battle. At 3-all in that game, Amritraj pushed Paes literally to the back corner of the stadium court with an overhead smash, but Paes responded with a high and deep defensive overhead to set up a furious rally, which included Stubbs volleying a Delgado overhead before Paes ended the point with an volley winner. The Kastles then won the next game behind Stubbs' serve to clinch the match and even the team's season record at 1-1.

"What we saw here was some of the best doubles that's ever been played," an exhilarated Kastles head coach Murphy Jensen said after the match.

It was truly an electric atmosphere at Kastles Stadium, as enthusiastic Kastles fans returned to the site of the team's dramatic win in the 2009 WTT Championship match. The team invited more than a dozen captains of local championship teams on court during halftime to help celebrate, while a long line of young fans got autographs from players after the match.

The Kastles will be back at Kastles Stadium tonight as seven-time Grand Slam winner Venus Williams makes her Kastles debut against the New York Buzz and former world number one Martina Hingis.

The Buzz will also enter the match 1-1 after losing to the New York Sportimes 22-16 on Tuesday night.

Venus to Make Debut as Kastles Go For Second Win

The Washington Kastles (1-1) look for their second straight win Wednesday as they host the New York Buzz (1-1) in a match featuring two of the best singles players of the last 15 years.

Seven-time Grand Slam singles champion Venus Williams will make her debut for the Kastles and will face off against Martina Hingis, a former world number one and winner of five major singles titles.

The Buzz are coming off their first loss of the season, as they fell to the New York Sportimes 22-16 on Tuesday night.

The atmosphere at Kastles Stadium will be electric, as the team continues its celebration of the 2009 World TeamTennis title before a sellout home crowd in downtown Washington.

Be sure to arrive early for a special pre-match ceremony to honor last year's championship season.

In appreciation of their great fan support, the Kastles will distribute a free red championship t-shirts to all spectators, courtesy of Geico.

Venus Williams is expected to play three sets for the Kastles, including women's singles, where she'll face Hingis in a match of former Grand Slam winners. The two women have faced each other 21 times on tour, with Hingis holding an 11-10 edge.

Williams will be joining a Kastles team focused on retaining their WTT title. Bobby Reynolds, the top overall pick in the WTT draft, will play singles against tall talented young American Alex Domijan. Reynolds has proven himself to be worthy of the draft selection, as he scored a 5-1 singles win against the Freedoms Tuesday night and nearly led the Kastles to a comeback win over the Sportimes on Monday.

Leander Paes, fresh off his mixed doubles title at Wimbledon, will join Reynolds in a doubles match against Domijan and Scoville Jenkins. Paes and Williams will play mixed doubles against Hingis and Sarah Borwell, the top doubles player from Great Britain.

Williams will also play with Rennae Stubbs, a mixed doubles semifinalist at Wimbledon, against Hingis and Borwell.

It's going to be a great night in Washington as the Kastles continue their quest for back-to-back WTT Championships before a sellout crowd!

Tonight's match is completely sold out, but will be televised live nationally on the Tennis Channel and locally on Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic.

Name the Newest Addition to the Kastles Mascot Family!

The Washington Kastles are excited to announce a new addition to the mascot family!

Topspin and Slice were thrilled to introduce the new baby mascot at last night's match at Kastles Stadium. They now need your help in naming the bundle of tennis joy!

Please vote at washingtonkastles.com for your favorite choice. The winning name will be announced at the end of the season. Help the Kastles celebrate their newest team member!

The name choices are:

a) SweetSpot

b) Love

c) Fault



World TeamTennis Stories from July 7, 2010


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