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WTT New York Empire

New York Empire Take "Battle of the Skupskis" in Impressive Win over Orlando Storm

July 16, 2020 - World TeamTennis (WTT)
New York Empire News Release


WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.V. - Sibling rivalry was center court at The Greenbrier in West Virginia as doubles specialists, the Skupski brothers, Neal and older brother Ken, would be determining factors in the outcome of the match between the New York Empire and Orlando Storm. In the end, youth would be served as Neal (30) and his Empire teammates would take a commanding lead over Ken's (37) Storm in the pivotal second and third sets. The Empire would prevail, 24-16.

The first set, Woman's Singles, was an emotional back-and-forth affair between New York's Kim Clijsters and Orlando's Danielle Collins. Collins would knot up the nine-point tiebreaker at four apiece, letting out a ferocious roar, only to see the six-time Grand Slam Champion hold serve to give the Empire a 5-4 lead.

In Men's Doubles, Neal Skupski and teammate Jack Sock would extend the lead with a decisive 5-2 win over the Storm tandem of Ken Skupski and Tennys Sandgren. In the fourth set, Mixed Doubles, the younger Skupski and Clijsters delivered similar results with a dominating 5-1 win over the combo of Ken Skupski and Jessica Pegula, extending the Empire's advantage to 15-7.

Orlando would pull slightly closer in the fourth, Women's Doubles, with a 5-4 tiebreaker win from Darija Jurak and Collins over New York's doubles duo of Sabine Lisicki and Kveta Peschke. Sock would close the show for the Empire with a 5-4 tiebreaker win over Sandgren.

Neal Skupski on partnering/teaming with Kim Clijsters: "Kim's great, (having a) multiple Grand Slam winner on the team is always nice. We're always going to learn from her... she's so cool. I didn't know her on a personal note coming into this, but she's so down to earth. She's like the mother of the team, really. I try to take a couple of hints from her on how I can improve my game. She's just so calm on the court when I'm playing mixed (doubles) with her. She brings great energy. I've been loving playing with her and I hope it can continue."

NEW YORK EMPIRE defeat Orlando Storm, 24-16

Women's Singles - Kim Clijsters (Empire) def. Danielle Collins (Storm), 5-4 in tiebreaker

Men's Doubles - Jack Sock/Neal Skupski (Empire) def. Tennys Sandgren/Ken Skupski (Storm), 5-2

Mixed Doubles - N. Skupski/Clijsters (Empire) def. K. Skupski/Jessica Pegula (Storm), 5-1

Women's Doubles - Darija Jurak/Collins (Storm) def. Sabine Lisicki/Kveta Peschke (Empire), 5-4 in tiebreaker

Men's Singles - Sock (Empire) def. Sandgren (Storm), 5-4 in tiebreaker

NEW YORK EMPIRE defeat Orlando Storm, 24-16

Women's Singles - Kim Clijsters (Empire) def. Danielle Collins (Storm), 5-4 in tiebreaker.

Men's Doubles - Jack Sock/Neal Skupski (Empire) def. Tennys Sandgren/Ken Skupski (Storm), 5-2

Mixed Doubles - N. Skupski/Clijsters (Empire) def. K. Skupski/Jessica Pegula (Storm), 5-1

Women's Doubles - Darija Jurak/Collins (Storm) def. Sabine Lisicki/Kveta Peschke (Empire), 5-4 in tiebreaker

Men's Singles - Sock (Empire) def. Sandgren (Storm), 5-4 in tiebreaker

NOTEBOOK:

Neal Skupski was the 2019 WTT Male MVP for the New York Empire

Daily WTT video highlights can be found here: https://vimeopro.com/worldteamtennis/wtt-2020-video-highlights

NEXT SCHEDULED MATCH: The New York Empire return to the court tomorrow at Noon ET/9 AM PT when they host the Chicago Smash on ESPN2. The Storm take on the San Diego Aviators in the fourth and final match of the day, starting at 7 PM ET/4 PM PT on CBS Sports Network.

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