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WTT Washington Kastles

US Open Mixed Doubles Final Today Features Three Kastles

September 11, 2015 - World TeamTennis (WTT)
Washington Kastles News Release


Before today's mixed doubles final takes place, one thing is certain--at least one member from the Kastles will be crowned champion. Sam Querrey, who is partnered with fellow American Bethany Mattek-Sands, will square off against fellow Kastles Martina Hingis and Leander Paes.

Hingis and Paes may come into today's match as the No. 4 seeds and overwhelming favorites having already won the Australian Open and Wimbledon mixed doubles Championship, but Querrey's inspired play can't go unnoticed.

The last doubles tournament that Querrey won was back in 2012 when he and James Blake won the Fayez Sarofim &Co. US Men's Clay Court Championship in Houston, Texas. After a summer of playing and practicing with Hingis and Paes, Querrey will be seeking his first major doubles title when he and Mattek-Sands take to Louis Armstrong today.

The path to the finals couldn't be any different for the two teams.

Hingis and Paes received two consecutive walkovers, in round two and the quarterfinals, and were never really tested in the first round versus Claire Liu and Taylor Harry Fritz or in the semifinal against Yung-Jan Chan and Rohan Bopanna. While Querrey and Mattek-Sands kicked off their journey to the finals with a gritty first round three-set win over Lucie Hradecka and Marcin Matkowski 6-4, 3-6, 10-7. The pair wouldn't drop a set the rest of the way, but they will enter today's championship having played a lot more tennis together in the year's final major than Hingis and Paes.

Three Kastles will be on display today on ESPN3 at around 2:30pm.

It is not lost on Kastle fans and tennis fans everywhere that Querrey almost had the opportunity to compete for the US Open men's doubles championship as well. He and Johnson had been passing every test they faced until falling just short against Jamie Murray and John Peers in the semifinals 4-6, 7-6(7-2), 6-7(7-9).

Hingis, however, will compete for a second doubles title, as she and women's doubles partner Sania Mirza will face the winner of Casey Dellacqua and Yaroslava Shvedova vs. Anna-Lena Groenfeld and Coco Vandeweghe. Hingis and Mirza showed why they are the top ranked team, as they battled back to win their quarterfinal match on Tuesday against No. 9 seeds, Chan Yung-Jan and Chan Hao-Ching after trailing 0-5 in the first set. They won the match 7-6(7-5), 6-1. On Wednesday night, the No. 1 seeds had an easier time in their semifinal against the heavily experienced and accomplished Italian team of Errani and Pannetta, beating them 6-4, 6-1.

Hingis and Mirza haven't dropped a set all tournament long, and the two who have just started playing together in March, seek to cap their year off by winning the final two majors of the year, Wimbledon and the US Open.

The women's doubles championship will be on Sunday. Please check www.usopen.org for details.

Kastles Honored In Arthur Ashe Stadium During Williams Sisters Match

Venus's Epic Performance Falls Short

Mark Ein, Billie Jean King and Ilana Kloss recognized in the US Open President's Box during Williams sisters match along with USTA Chairman Katrina Adams

Part of what made the match between Venus and Serena so special on Wednesday night was not the celebrities in attendance and Serena's march to a Grand Slam, but the ceremony that occurred to honor the league's 40th anniversary and the Kastles for winning their fifth straight WTT Championship.

After the first set, a two minute highlight video was shown to the 23,000 people in attendance followed by individual recognition on the video board led by the public address announcer of WTT Co-Founder Billie Jean King, WTT Commissioner Ilana Kloss and Kastles Owner Mark Ein. It was particularly fitting that the match featured two players who have been part of the Kastles franchise during their historic run.

If it were any other opponent Tuesday night, Venus Williams would have walked off Arthur Ashe with the win. She was that good. Yet it wasn't just any player that she faced, it was little sister Serena who appears destined to complete the calendar grand slam and take out anybody in her way.

The sisters traded shots with blistering precision, both bringing out the best in each other. However, after splitting the first two sets, Serena went up a double break to start the third, which was when she showed the world the extra gear that only she has, earning the 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 victory that propelled her into the semifinals.

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