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WTT Washington Kastles

Venus, Anastasia, Martina, Leander Advance at US Open

August 29, 2014 - World TeamTennis (WTT)
Washington Kastles News Release


The Kastles cleaned house at the US Open on Thursday as four members of Washington's core championship team advanced to the second round in doubles.

Venus Williams, Anastasia Rodionova, Martina Hingis and Leander Paes inched one win closer to another Grand Slam championship for the Kastles. Past and present Washington players have won 98 major titles in 150 finals (Honor Roll).

Venus is also contending in singles after defeating Timea Bacsinszky 6-1, 6-4 on Wednesday to reach the third round of the US Open for the first time since 2010.

The two-time US Open singles champion meets No. 13 seed Sara Errani on Arthur Ashe Stadium at 1 pm today (ESPN, USOpen.org).

Errani, a 2012 US Open semifinalist, ended Rodionova 's run in singles with a hard-fought 6-4, 7-6(2) second-round victory.

Venus is 3-0 in matches, 6-0 in sets and 36-12 in games against Errani lifetime, but the Kastle needs to recover quickly following a marathon doubles match on Thursday night.

Venus and Serena Williams knocked off Wimbledon finalists Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic 7-6(0), 6-7(4), 6-1 in two hours and 34 minutes.

After coming through qualifying to win four matches in singles, Rodionova is still alive in women's and mixed doubles.

Rodionova teamed with 2013 Kastles substitute Alla Kudryavtseva to eliminate Raluca Olaru and Stefanie Voegele 6-1, 6-4 on Thursday. The third-year Kastle begins her mixed campaign with Robert Farah this afternoon.

After a sensational WTT season with Rodionova as her partner, Hingis is partnering fellow former World No. 1 doubles player Flavia Pennetta. Hingis and Pennetta were leading their first-round match 6-1, 3-0 when their opponents, Andrea Petkovic and Magdalena Rybarikova, retired.

Like Rodionova, Hingis plays her opening match in mixed doubles today. Her partner is Australian Open men's doubles champion Robert Lindstedt.

Also in the mixed doubles draw, Paes and Cara Black edged Jean-Julien Rojer and Anna-Lena Groenefeld 6-3, 4-6, [10-8] in the first round on Thursday. Paes and Black have won three Grand Slam titles together, while Rojer and Groenefeld are the reigning French Open champions.

Paes was also victorious in his men's doubles first-round match. He and Radek Stepanek began the defense of their title with a 7-6(5), 6-2 victory over Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini. Paes and Stepanek play Yen-Hsun Lu and Jiri Vesely at about 7 pm tonight in a match that will air live from Court 5 on USOpen.org.

While his teammates roll in doubles, Kevin Anderson refuses to lose in singles. He lived out the Kastles' motto on Court 17 Wednesday, overcoming extreme heat to defeat Pablo Cuevas 6-3, 6-7(3), 4-6, 6-2, 7-6(1).

Anderson has won his last five matches decided in five sets, rallying from either two-sets-to-one or two-sets-to-none down in each of those victories.

The No. 18 seed broke twice in the fourth set to force a decider against Cuevas, who won ATP World Tour titles at Bastad and Umag in July.

It was Cuevas who struck first in the fifth, breaking for 3-2 behind back-to-back breathtaking winners: a down-the-line backhand pass, then an inside-out forehand return. Cuevas came as close as two points from the upset when he led 5-3, 15-30 on Anderson's serve.

But Anderson used his biggest weapons -- the serve and the forehand -- to dig out of trouble, break back, and send the match into a winner-take-all tiebreaker.

After four hours and two minutes, Anderson won seven of eight points in the tiebreaker, clinching another come-from-behind win with his 29th ace of the match (Highlights).

The second-year Kastle is on Court 17 again right now against Winston-Salem finalist Jerzy Janowicz (Tennis Channel, USOpen.org). Continue following Anderson's progress at the US Open with our exclusive Kastle Tracker, featuring links to live streaming, live scoring, full-match replays and the tournament's TV schedule.

KASTLES PLAYING AT US OPEN TODAY

KASTLE CT. TIME TV COVERAGE

Anderson 17 11 am Y Tennis Channel, USOpen.org

Venus (S) Ashe 1 pm Y ESPN, USOpen.org

Rodionova 10 3 pm N USOpen.org

Venus (D) Arm. 6 pm Y ESPN2, USOpen.org

Hingis 7 6 pm N USOpen.org

Paes 5 7 pm Y USOpen.org

New Arrivals Now Available at KastlesGear.com

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ON THE SIDES: Refuse to Lose (L), 5-Time Champions Logo (R)

2014 Kastles Thermal

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2014 Kastles Short-Sleeve Jersey

BRAND: Nike

COLOR: Red, Navy or White

SIZES: M, L, XXL

PRICE: $35

ON THE SIDES: Championship Circle Logo (L) and Refuse to Lose (R)

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