Sports stats

WTT Orange County Breakers

Sharapova Leads Breakers to Win

July 22, 2009 - World TeamTennis (WTT)
Orange County Breakers News Release


Newport Beach Breakers marquee player Maria Sharapova gave the fans at Breakers Stadium at Newport Beach Country Club their money's worth Wednesday night. The three-time Grand Slam champion played all three sets for which she was eligible and won all three by a combined margin of 15-8 to lead the Breakers (9-5) to a 24-15 win over the Kansas City Explorers (6-8) in their final tune-up before the playoffs, the Newport Beach Breakers Series Finale Presented by HOM Real Estate Group.

The Breakers, the second seed in the Advanta World TeamTennis Pro League playoffs, will play the top-seeded Springfield Lasers at Springfield July 24 in the Western Conference final.

When Ramon Delgado's name is on the scoreboard in the first set, rarely would the Newport Beach Breakers expect to be losing at the start of the second. But that's what happened Wednesday night. However, Delgado's teammates reiterated the team in World TeamTennis and picked him up, promptly winning women's doubles at 5-2, mixed doubles at 5-2, women's singles at 5-4, and Delgado rebounded to pitch in a 5-2 men's doubles win.

In the first event, up a break and 4-1 in the set, Delgado looked to have it firmly in his grasp. However, with another chance to break and win the set, tied at 3-3 in the game, Delgado hit it into net, and at that point, something came loose for the reigning WTT men's MVP and one of the top singles players in the league. Delgado then failed in his attempt to serve for the match, giving back the break amidst losing three straight games and forcing a tiebreaker. After he hit two consecutive balls out on his service points to go down 2-0, Delgado pretty much sealed his fate - Russell closed out the tiebreaker, 5-0, to take the first set, 5-4.

In the second set, Julie Ditty and Sharapova raced out to a 2-0 set lead and 6-5 match lead, first breaking Meghann Shaughnessy, then with Sharapova holding serve. Ditty and Sharapova held from there - highlighted by Sharapova love service game - and broke Eugenie Bouchard for the 5-2 set win and 9-7 Breakers lead.

In the third event - mixed doubles - with the duo of Sharapova and Kaes Van't Hof up 2-1, two huge line returns gave them a 2-0 lead on Bouchard's serve, which Sharapova closed out, 4-2, on another rip down the line. Van't Hof closed his love service game with an ace to get to 4-1, and Sharapova closed out the set, 5-2, to increase the Breaker lead to 14-9.

In the fourth event, Sharapova took on Shaughnessy in women's singles. Tied 1-1 with Shaughnessy on the serve, Sharapova won four straight points to go up a break, celebrating with an increasingly animated fist pump each time. Shaughnessy broke right back to tie the set at 2-2, then held serve and threatened to break Sharapova for the second-straight game, up 3-1. But, two Sharapova winners and a Shaughnessy return into the net knotted the set score again at 3. Both players held serve - despite a Sharapova break point - to force the tiebreaker. Sharapova owned the tiebreak from the start. She quickly went up 2-0, surrendered one point, then won three straight to win the tiebreaker, 5-1, and the set, 5-4, and put the Breakers up 19-13.

In the final set, the league's top doubles team of Delgado and Van't Hof inherited a six-game lead and expectedly didn't relinquish it; they won the final set, 5-2, to put away the match.

The Breakers will play at the Springfield Lasers (12-1), in the WTT playoffs' Western Conference final July 24. The teams met in Springfield July 6 as the Lasers pulled off the second-largest comeback in WTT history, rallying from a 20-12 deficit heading into the final set and emerging victorious, 22-21 in a Supertiebreaker. Springfield then topped the Breakers two days later at Breakers Stadium, 22-17, in overtime.



World TeamTennis Stories from July 22, 2009


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Orange County Breakers Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central