WTT New York Empire

New York Empire Fall to Defending WTT Champion Springfield

July 17, 2019 - World TeamTennis (WTT)
New York Empire News Release


SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - The defending 2018 World TeamTennis champion Springfield Lasers proved too much for the visiting New York Empire presented by Citi on Wednesday night as the Lasers remained the league's only undefeated team with a 25-13 victory at the Cooper Tennis Complex.

Springfield improved to 3-0 while the Empire fall to 1-2 on the young season.

Play started in men's singles as 19-year-old Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic posted a strong victory over the Empire's 21-year-old Ulises Blanch by the 5-2 score. Kecmanovic is currently ranked No. 66 in the ATP World Tour rankings.

The Empire's Kirsten Flipkens then took to the court in women's singles and suffered a similar fate as Blanch, falling to Springfield's Anna Blinkova, a 20-year-old from Russia, by the same 5-2 score. Blinkova is a former Wimbledon Girls' Junior singles finalist and No. 3-ranked junior in the world.

It was the same story in men's doubles as Neal Skupski and Blanch lost to Enrique Lopez Perez and Jean-Julien Rojer, 5-2. Julien-Rojer is a former UCLA All-American who has won three Grand Slam doubles titles during his career: Wimbledon (2015) and the U.S. Open (2017) in men's doubles, and the French Open (2014) in mixed doubles.

In women's doubles, Blinkova and Abi Spears beat the team of Flipkens and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, 5-3, to extend the match to 20-9 in favor of Springfield. The veteran Spears also owns a Grand Slam title during her career, capturing the Australian Open mixed doubles title in 2017.

In the final set of mixed doubles, the team of Martinez Sanchez and Skupski fell to Rojer and Spears, 5-4, to end the match.

The loss came just one night after the Empire recorded its first win of the season - a 24-16 victory over the newly-franchised Vegas Rollers on Tuesday night.

New York Empire at Springfield Lasers - Box Score

MS WS MD WD MXD Total

New York Empire 2 2 2 3 4 13

Springfield Lasers 5 5 5 5 5 25

Men's Singles: Miomir Kecmanovic (SPR) def. Ulises Blanch (NYE), 5-2

Women's Singles: Anna Blinkova (SPR) def. Kirsten Flipkens (NYE), 5-2

Men's Doubles: Jean-Julien Rojer/Enrique Lopez Perez (SPR) def. Blanch/Neal Skupski (NYE), 5-2

Women's Doubles: Blinkova/Abi Spears (SPR) def. Flipkens/Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez (NYE), 5-3

Mixed Doubles: Rojer/Spears (SPR) def. Skupski/Martinez Sanchez (NYE), 5-4

The Empire return home to Cary Leeds Center for Tennis & Learning on Thursday, July 18 and Friday, July 19. Sloane Stephens, the 2017 U.S. Open Champion, will compete in the July 18 match against the Orange County (Calif.) Breakers, and seven-time Grand Slam winner Venus Williams will compete for the visiting Washington Kastles on July 19.



World TeamTennis Stories from July 17, 2019


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