Race to WTT Finals Enters Home Stretch Tonight as Kastles Face San Diego
August 1, 2018 - World TeamTennis (WTT)
Washington Kastles News Release
Former Washington Kastles Captain Leander Paes, Coach Murphy Jensen and DC sports announcer Wes Johnson
(Washington Kastles, Credit: Richard Kessler)
The race to the 2018 WTT Finals has taken a lot of twists in recent days as the Philadelphia Freedoms have clinched the #1 seed and the home court for the Finals but four teams are still alive for the second spot.
After the Washington Kastles heartbreaking 21-20 loss to the Springfield Lasers on Monday night and the Lasers' 20-18 loss to the Freedoms and the San Diego Aviators' win over the Orange County Breakers last night, the Kastles are now tied for third place in the WTT standings with the Lasers at 6-6 but are only one game behind the Aviators who currently hold second place with a 7-5 record.
With the race so tight and two matches remaining in the regular season, last night's results mean the Finals are still in play for Washington, San Diego, Springfield, and Orange County who will all play each other over the next two nights on the West Coast. It's going to be a thrilling last two days of the 2018 WTT Season as each match is virtually a must-win situation for every team.
The Kastles will clinch the second spot in the WTT Finals if they win their last two matches at San Diego tonight and Orange County tomorrow night and the Lasers lose one of their last two matches in Orange County tonight or in San Diego tomorrow night. All of the matches will be on WTT.TV so make sure you tune in for all of the excitement in the thrilling final days of the 2018 WTT season.
The Kastles face the Aviators tonight in San Diego in a must-win match and will need solid contributions from every member of the team. Kastles all-star Madison Brengle will lead the squad in women's singles against big-hitting Naomi Broady, who defeated Brengle in their first encounter 5-1 and nearly defeated Venus Williams in DC the last time the teams met a week ago in Washington before Williams clinched the epic match in a Supertiebreaker by winning the the deciding 6-6 point.
Partnering with Nicole Melichar, Brengle will take on Broady and Anna-Lena Groenefeld again in women's doubles. The Aviators defeated the Kastles in this set last time and, based on recent matches, the Kastles ability to win or keep this set close could likely determine the outcome.
In mixed doubles, Melichar and Robert Lindstedt will pair up against Groenefeld and Marcin Matkowski. Melichar and Lindstedt are currently the league leaders in mixed doubles and riding a six-game winning streak and look to make it seven in San Diego.
Lindstedt will partner with Tennys Sandgren in men's doubles to play Matkowski and Marcus Willis, who have slid from the lead leaders in this event to #4 and #5, respectively, in the standings and could provide a good opportunity for the Kastles to build a lead.
In men's singles, Sandgren will face Willis which on paper heavily favors the world #58 Kastles player, but the Aviator's star has excelled in WTT this season as he currently sits atop the WTT men's singles rankings. Tonight, the Kastles will need Sandgren to play to the level of his ATP ranking and avenge his 5-3 loss in DC last week.
Tonight promises to be an exciting, yet nail biting experience, for both Kastles and Aviator fans as the season is on the line. Watch LIVE coverage of the match streaming on WTT.TV for FREE beginning at 10 PM | EST
SET-BY-SET-PROJECTIONS
MXD - R. Lindstedt/N. Melichar (WAS) vs. A. Groenefeld/M. Matkowski (SD)
MS - T. Sandgren (WAS) vs. M. Willis (SD)
WS - M. Brengle (WAS) vs. N. Broady (SD)
MD - R. Lindstedt/T. Sandgren (WAS) vs. M. Matkowski/M. Willis (SD)
WD - M. Brengle/N. Melichar (WAS) vs. N. Broady/A. Groenefeld (SD)
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Lasers Squeak Past Kastles in Springfield, 22-21
Four of Five Sets Decided By Tiebreakers
On Monday night, the Kastles made the first stop on their final road tour of the season in Springfield. They played the Lasers in a final push to make the WTT Finals. The match was as tight as any other the Kastles played this season. Four out of the five sets were decided by tiebreakers and Washington won three of them. But at the end of the night, the Lasers decisively captured the fifth and deciding set in women's doubles 5-2 to squeak past the Kastles, 22-21.
Tennessee All-American Tennys Sandgren led off for the Kastles in men's singles against former junior world #1 Miomir Kecmanovic. Kecmanovic previously defeated Sandgren in their first match of the season 5-2. In Springfield, Sandgren looked to get even.
Both players held routinely at 1-1, but in the following two games both men faced key breakpoints. Kecmanovic earned his first with a deciding point on Sandgren's serve. For his part, Sandgren earned three breakpoints in the next game, but neither player could win the necessary fourth point to convert the lead. Two easy holds followed to keep the set tied at 3-3, but in Kecmanovic's next service game, Sandgren got more chances to run away with the set.
At 2-all in the seventh game, Kecmanovic double-faulted to give the Kastles two shots at the lead, but Sandgren was unable to convert. The following game saw Sandgren holding serve again and the set inevitably led to a tiebreaker at 4-4.
Though both players held throughout the set, until the tiebreaker, Sandgren had been the more effective server, losing significantly fewer points. But in the tiebreaker, the dynamic shifted. After winning his first two service points to open the tiebreaker, Kecmanovic scored a mini-break off Sandgren, courtesy of a rare second serve, giving the Lasers a 3-1 lead. Thereafter, Kecmanovic promptly closed out the set, 5-4(3), to give the Lasers an early lead.
Next up, Kastles all-stars Nicole Melichar and Robert Lindstedt faced WTT veteran Abigail Spears and former doubles world #1 Daniel Nestor. Melichar and Lindstedt have been virtually unbeatable all season in this event. Lindstedt is the league leader overall and Melichar is second only to Anna-Lena Groenefeld (San Diego Aviators) in the women's field. Lindstedt and Melichar arrived in Springfield riding a five game winning streak and on Monday night they delivered again, despite facing a serious challenge.
After easy holds from both male players at 1-1, the Lasers got a foothold in Melichar's first service game. A winner up the line from Nestor and a double-fault from Melichar lead to a 2-all point. Seizing the opportunity, the Lasers attacked Lindstedt and took the next point with a volley winner to score two breakpoints. Unphased, Melichar saved both with two massive first serves, overpowering Nestor, then Spears to hold and go up 2-1 in the set. The Kastles then went on to win the next two games to take a 4-1 lead in the set and an 8-6 overall lead.
The dynamic shifted in the following game. After what appeared to be an easy hold from Nestor, the Lasers subbed the 12-time Grand Slam champ for Kecmanovic on Melichar's serve. The change yielded a break on Kecmanovic's return, tying the overall score at 8-8 and giving Springfield a chance to even the set up to 4-4. Spears did just that, taking back the match lead, 9-8, and forcing a tiebreaker.
Now, the Kastles stood to serve at 4-4, instead of a 5-2 set win. With Lindstedt serving first, Washington got a 2-0 start, but Springfield swiftly leveled the score after two service points from Kecmanovic, 2-2. Faced with the prospect of letting the set slip away, Melichar again unleashed two monster serves, one an ace, to go up 4-2 and earn three set points. The Lasers matched this power with Spears' serve on the next two points to tie the breaker 4-4. The set would ultimately be decided by a single point. After a strong first serve from Spears, Lindstedt risked the set by ripping a forehand through the middle of the court in between Spears and Kecmanovic to steal the set for the Kastles, 5-4(4), and tie the overall score at 9-9.
With a clutch win under his belt, Lindstedt returned to the court with Sandgren to face Nestor and Kecmanovic in men's doubles. The set was tight from start to finish. All four players held to start the set at 2-2. Up 3-2, the Lasers earned two breakpoints on Sandgren's serve, after Kecmanovic hit a winner down the middle of the court. The Kastles saved the first with fast feet and skillful shot selection and Sandgren shut down the second with a let cord serve to tie the set, 3-3, and match 12-12. Two more holds from Kecmanovic and Lindstedt brought on the third tiebreaker of the evening.
Tied at 13-13, the Kastles got ahead in this tiebreaker early, as well, after scoring a mini-break on Nestor's serve and doubling down on Sandgren's, 3-1. But on Kecmanovic's serve, the Lasers bounced back to tie the score at 3-3, putting the pressure on Lindstedt to close it out. Once again, the Swede delivered. He cranked two unreturnable serves to secure the set, 5-4(3) and the lead for Washington, 14-13, heading into halftime.
Kastles all-star Madison Brengle took the court in the fourth set against Vania King. King scored a shocking upset over Venus Williams in DC the last time the teams met, and the Laser started just as strong against Brengle in Springfield. She broke Brengle in the first game to even the score, 14-14. But power returning would characterize this highly competitive set of women's singles.
Brengle struck back in the next game on King's serve, pounding groundstrokes, seemingly harder and harder with each point, to even the set and take back the lead for Washington. A series of breaks followed, five in a row, total. King finally held to go up 4-2, after Brengle committed a string of uncharacteristic groundstroke errors. But Brengle scored some of the best wins of the season under similarly stressful conditions, and she succeeded again in Springfield.
In the very next game, Brengle scored the point of the match. On the first point, she hit a short, weak ball that barely made it over the net. King quickly rushed up to smash it. As the Laser advanced, Brengle guessed where King would hit it, and guessed right! Though King crushed the shot, it landed right in Brengle's sweet spot and she hit a lob winner. From that point forward, the momentum shifted in Brengle's favor. She held to tie the match, 17-17, then broke King to take back the lead for the Kastles, 18-17, and force another tiebreaker - the fourth of the match.
The returns continued to fly in the tiebreaker. Both players overpowered their opponent's serve. But at 2-2, Brengle was the tougher player. She crucially won both service points to go up 4-2, and down 3-4, King double-faulted to give Brengle the set, 5-4(3), and the Kastles a slim lead, 19-17, with one set to go.
In the final set, Brengle returned to the court with Melichar to try and close out this critical match against Spears and King in women's doubles. The set started even. Both teams held comfortably to start 1-1. Then vicious returning from Brengle kept the Kastles in King's service game. Brengle hit two backhand winners to tie the game 2-all. But the Lasers were very effective in the deuce court, putting Melichar on the defense. King managed to hold and put pressure on Brengle in the next game, and this is when the match began to slip away from Washington.
Down 1-2 in the set, but still up 20-19 in the match, Brengle struggled with her serve in the deuce court to Spears, but was effective against King in the ad court. King missed two routine forehands to keep the Kastles even. But at 2-all, Spears delivered again in the deuce court and earned two break points. Serving down 2-3, the Kastles defended the first point with showstopping reflex volleys, but in an unexpected twist, King opted to receive the deciding point.
Given King's shaky forehand in that game, Brengle wisely picked on that shot again with a quality first serve, only this time King connected with a deadly crosscourt return, which pulled Brengle out of the point and Spears closed the net and hit a volley winner past Melichar to score the break and take the lead in the set, 3-1, and tie the match, 20-20.
Spears then extended the lead with a comfortable hold, 4-1, pushing Springfield ahead, 21-20. Melichar followed with a hold of her own, after a wobbly 0-2 start in her next service game to tie the match again, 21-21. But the Lasers would not buckle. They won the next game on King's serve to seal the set, 5-2, and the match 22-21.
Next up, they play the Aviators in San Diego on Wednesday, July 1. The Kastles currently sit in third place, tied with the Lasers, but are only one game behind the San Diego Aviators, who are currently in second. The Kastles must win their final two matches and the Lasers must lose one to secure a spot in the Finals. The race is still on! Anything can happen in World Team Tennis...
Watch LIVE coverage of the match streaming for FREE on WTT.TV at 7 PM | PT
Images from this story
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