Raymond leads Philadelphia to WTT Championship Finals
July 30, 2006 - World TeamTennis (WTT) News Release
NEWPORT BEACH, CALIF. (July 29, 2006) --- Behind an impressive set of singles from Lisa Raymond and a strong opening set of women's doubles from Raymond and Rennae Stubbs, the Philadelphia Freedoms advanced to Sunday's World TeamTennis championship match with a 23-17 win over defending WTT champs, the New York Sportimes.
The Freedoms will take on the upstart Newport Beach Breakers in Sunday's final which begins at 1 p.m. at the Palisades Tennis Club in Newport Beach, Calif. Newport Beach upset the Sacramento Capitals 19-18 in the other semifinal.
"Lisa Raymond played the best match of the year tonight," said Freedoms coach Craig Kardon. "It's good to have a player who can come through in the clutch."
For Raymond, tonight's performance was the culmination of a rollercoaster week that saw the Freedoms qualify for the playoffs on the final night of the regular season. "We're excited about getting to the finals," said Raymond. "I played my best match this season. Our whole team came out fired up and we played great as a team."
Raymond and Stubbs opened the match with a well played women's doubles win over Cara Black and Ashley Harkleroad, 5-3. Raymond used the momentum from the opening set to oust Harkleroad in ladies' doubles, winning 5-2.
The Sportimes kept in the match with a close 5-4 win by Alex Bogomolov, Jr., over the Freedoms' Jaymon Crabb. Bogomolov finally prevailed in a tiebreaker, winning 5-4 (4).
Philadelphia kept the heat on, with Daniel Nestor and Stubbs winning mixed doubles, 5- 2, over Black and David Martin. New York picked up the first win of the night with a 5-3 victory by Bogomolov and Martin over Nestor and Crabb in men's doubles, forcing the match into overtime. Philadelphia took the first game of overtime to seal the win.
World TeamTennis Stories from July 30, 2006
- Philadelphia Freedoms capture 2006 World Team Tennis Championship - Philadelphia Freedoms
- Raymond leads Philadelphia to WTT Championship Finals - WTT
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