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WTT Washington Kastles

Leander Citi Open Final Review

August 6, 2014 - World TeamTennis (WTT)
Washington Kastles News Release


Washington Kastles captain Leander Paes is back in the Top 10 of the ATP doubles rankings after returning to D.C. and reaching the Citi Open final last week.

Playing at the ATP World Tour 500 event for the first time as a Kastle, Paes provided his Washington fans with four bonus opportunities to see him work his magic.

Paes and first-time partner Sam Groth won their opener in front of a capacity crowd, saved four match points in the quarterfinals, and survived a supertiebreaker in the semifinals.

In the championship match, however, Paes and Groth earned only one break point against the experienced team of Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau. Rojer and Tecau captured their fifth title of 2014 with a 7-5, 6-4 victory, but Paes was a winner too, rising three spots in the rankings to No. 9.

As was the case throughout the tournament, a strong contingent of Kastles fans supported Paes in the final on Aug. 3. They seemingly sparked him and the world-record server Groth to a great start.

Groth saved three break points in the opening game, clinching it when Paes covered Rojer's down-the-line return and put away a backhand volley.

The three-time Wimbledon finalist Tecau double-faulted on a deciding point to gift Paes and Groth a 2-0 lead, which they extended to 3-0 when Paes won a deciding point on his serve.

After Rojer held at love, Groth erased four break points with four first serves of 130-141 miles per hour, giving his team a 4-1 advantage.

Rojer and Tecau had to be having doubts after failing on their first eight break points of the match. After all, they went 0 for 13 on break points in a loss to Paes and Radek Stepanek at Wimbledon on July 2.

But in a battle between former World TeamTennis Male MVPs, Rojer (2013) rallied his team against Paes (2009, 2011) this time around.

Following a hold by Tecau, Rojer poached for a backhand volley winner to finally break Paes, then held at love to even the first set at 4-4.

Paes' serve was in trouble again when he faced a deciding point at 5-5. Tecau targeted Groth on the return, and the Aussie was unable to reel in his power. Groth overhit a volley into the backdrop, allowing Rojer and Tecau to take their first lead of the match.

Rojer served the set out 7-5 with a forehand volley winner, breaking through after pushing Paes and Groth to deciding point in all six of their first-set service games.

Groth started the second set with a rare hold at love. But when it was his turn to serve again at 2-2, he double-faulted twice to donate the break.

One break was all Rojer and Tecau needed as they won 20 of 23 points on their serves in the second set.

Groth got out of trouble at 3-5, 30-30, following a 144 mile-per-hour ace with a 143 mile-per-hour ace. But it was too little, too late because Tecau served out the match in the next game, much to the delight of his team's coach John-Laffnie de Jager.

One week earlier in Springfield, de Jager was on the losing end of a championship match against Paes when his Springfield Lasers were swept by the Kastles in the Mylan WTT Finals.

Absent from the Lasers lineup was Rojer, who missed the entire WTT season with a back injury. Rojer had lost seven straight ATP matches against Paes prior to the Citi Open final, while Tecau improved to 4-3 all-time against the Kastles captain.

During the trophy presentation, tournament director Jeff Newman congratulated the Kastles on their fourth consecutive championship. When Newman handed the microphone to Paes, the Indian saluted familiar faces from the Smith Center.

"Playing in Washington is like playing at home," said Paes. "I would like to thank every one of you guys for coming out and supporting me."

Rogers' Cup: Kastles Sub Stuns World No. 8 Bouchard

Hingis Beats Anastasia in Doubles; Venus, Sloane & Kevin Win

You may have missed it amid 16 matches in 21 days, but when Washington needed a substitute on the road, the Kastles landed one of tennis' rising stars.

Shelby Rogers proved as much at the aptly-named Rogers Cup on Tuesday night.

Playing against Wimbledon finalist and No. 5 seed Eugenie Bouchard in her hometown of Montreal, Rogers rolled to a remarkable 6-0, 2-6, 6-0 victory.

Rogers played doubles for the Kastles in Springfield on July 18 and Boston on July 19, but it's her singles play that has been turning heads of late.

The 113th-ranked American is 11-2 in her last three WTA tournaments, including wins over World No. 15 Sara Errani, World No. 16 Carla Suarez Navarro and World No. 22 Alize Cornet.

After qualifying and reaching the third round in Canada, Rogers is certain to surpass her career-high ranking of No. 104 on Aug. 11.

In the women's doubles draw, Kastles partners Martina Hingis and Anastasia Rodionova went head-to-head for the second time in 2014.

Their match on Tuesday nearly mirrored their meeting in Madrid on May 4, when Hingis and Sabine Lisicki defeated Rodionova and Alla Kudryavtseva 3-6, 6-2, [10-6].

This time, Hingis won one more game in the first set before securing an almost identical victory over Rodionova. Hingis and Flavia Pennetta beat Rodionova and Kudryavtseva, a 2013 Kastles substitute, 4-6, 6-2, [10-6].

Hingis and Rogers aren't the only women of Washington who have won matches in Montreal.

Venus Williams defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 on Tuesday for the first victory of her career in Canada. She entered confidently after beating 2010 Kastle and former World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka on July 31 at the Bank of the West Classic.

Sloane Stephens advanced to the second round with a 6-3, 6-0 rout of wild card

Aleksandra Wozniak on Monday. She challenges No. 7 seed Jelena Jankovic at 2 pm and Williams meets 19-year-old qualifier Yulia Putintseva at 4 pm (Live Streaming).

Meanwhile, the men of the ATP World Tour are in Toronto, where Kastles captain Leander Paes is back together with Radek Stepanek.

The reigning US Open champions are teaming for the first time since playing in the Wimbledon semifinals on July 4.

Following a first-round bye, Paes and Stepanek will meet Top 15 singles players Richard Gasquet and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at 3 pm (Live Scores).

Joining Paes in Toronto is 6-foot-8 Kastle Kevin Anderson . He defeated 18-year-old Australian qualifier Thanasi Kokkinakis 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 in the first round on Monday.

Anderson plays No. 16 seed Fabio Fognini in the second round at 1 pm after edging the Italian in five sets at Wimbledon on June 27 (Live Scores).

Don't miss a moment of the action all week long in Canada with updated results and schedules, plus links to live scoring and streaming, available on the Kastle Tracker at WashingtonKastles.com .

Monumental Network Goes One-on-One with Kastles

In-Depth Interviews with B. Reynolds, M. Hingis and M. Jensen

Bobby Reynolds talks about pursuing his degree at Vanderbilt University, becoming a college tennis coach, how a wrist injury led him to the Kastles, and what makes Kastles Stadium so special.

Martina Hingis talks about her unique journey from a 3-year-old tennis prodigy to the International Tennis Hall of Fame. She also describes what makes the other Kastles such wonderful teammates.

Coach Murphy Jensen talks about his experience as a World TeamTennis player, how he became Washington's head coach, the Kastles' culture, how "Refuse to Lose" was born, and much more.

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World TeamTennis Stories from August 6, 2014


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