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WTT Washington Kastles

Venus Beats Radwanska, Joins Paes/Hingis in Australian Open

January 27, 2015 - World TeamTennis (WTT)
Washington Kastles News Release


Prior to playing Agnieszka Radwanska at the Australian Open, Venus Williams had lost her last three WTA matches against the World No. 6 in straight sets.

Radwanska also beat Williams twice in November as part of the Champions Tennis League in India. And while the Pole was seeking her eighth Grand Slam quarterfinal appearance in four years, Williams was vying for her first.

The odds were stacked against the Kastles star. It's been quite a while since they weren't.

Beginning with Williams' withdrawal from the 2011 US Open, Sjogren's syndrome has opposed her right along with the Radwanskas of the world. Williams defeated them both again on Monday, advancing to the quarterfinals with a 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 triumph.

In terms of rankings, it was Williams' greatest victory at a Grand Slam since she routed World No. 1 Dinara Safina 6-1, 6-0 in the 2009 Wimbledon semifinals. The No. 18 seed will look to back her big win up when she meets 19-year-old Madison Keys in the quarterfinals tonight at 7 pm on Tennis Channel and ESPN3.com.

Click the screenshot above to watch a full-match replay of Venus Williams' fourth-round victory.

Despite her recent results against Radwanska, Williams walked onto Rod Laver Arena confidently after overcoming a 6-4, 5-3 deficit two days earlier against Camila Giorgi.

The former World No. 1 matched Radwanska hold for hold through the first six games of the match. Then, with Radwanska serving at 3-3, Williams refused to lose a marathon game that exceeded 15 minutes and included 12 deuces, seven game points and six break points.

Williams struck 11 winners in the seventh game alone, passing Radwanska with a running forehand before finally breaking serve.

After hitting two aces to hold for 5-3, Williams won a five-deuce game and secured the first set when she unloaded on a crosscourt forehand that forced Radwanska into a lob error.

Williams started the second set in similar fashion, fighting off three break points to hold serve after six deuces. But Radwanska rebounded by saving two break points of her own, wrestling away momentum and forcing a third set.

Click the screenshot above to see what Venus Williams has to say about playing Madison Keys.

That brought Radwanska's new coach Martina Navratilova to her feet. But another of the greatest players of all time was supporting Williams from the other player's box.

Safely through to the quarterfinals, Serena Williams watched nervously as her big sister was broken to begin the final set.

That's when Venus said she went into a "trance," and the statistics show that she wasn't lying. Swinging freely from the baseline, Williams swept her last 11 return points before finishing Radwanska off with a second-serve ace.

Williams now turns her attention to Keys, who took tennis up at the age of four after seeing her play during a Wimbledon broadcast. By the time she was 14, Keys defeated Serena Williams 5-1 in a WTT match between the Kastles and Philadelphia Freedoms.

"Apparently she started playing because she saw Serena and I," Venus said. "She started watching me when she was in diapers. She's a wonderful player and a great girl, and I'm always wishing her the best of luck. But of course, I'll want to win. Sorry."

Paes and Hingis Debut on Tour with Back-to-Back Wins

Kastles' Dream Team Avenges WTT Loss to Medina Garrigues

The seven next to the names of Leander Paes and Martina Hingis means that six teams in the Australian Open mixed doubles draw have a higher combined ranking.

But no number can account for the experience that Paes and Hingis boast as Kastles partners, which helped them post a pair of straight-set wins over the weekend.

The No. 7 seeds defeated Sam Thompson and Masa Jovanovic of Australia 6-2, 7-6(2) before beating Pablo Andujar and Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain 6-3, 6-1.

Paes and Hingis are now 21-2 in sets overall after going 17-2 with the Kastles through two seasons. One of their two losses came at the hands of Medina Garrigues, who represented the Texas Wild at Kastles Stadium last summer.

Texas trailed 3-1 in mixed doubles when Medina Garrigues substituted for Darija Jurak and rallied alongside Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi for a 5-4 victory. Medina Garrigues could lead no such comeback on Monday with the Kastles' dream team finding its form following a first-round test.

Click the screenshot above to watch Leander Paes and Martina Hingis advance to the quarterfinals.

Paes and Hingis combined to win 12 of their first 13 service points en route to a 4-3 lead. But Hingis fell behind Love-40 in the eighth game to give Andujar and Medina Garrigues four break points under the no-ad scoring system.

The Spaniards committed errors on the first two break points, but they were in a winning position on the third when Paes fell to the court while blocking back Medina Garrigues' return.

The Indian, however, sprung to his feet quickly and put a forehand volley away to force a deciding point, which he won for his team with an overhead smash.

In the following game, Andujar led 40-Love on his serve before the Kastles erased another big deficit.

Hingis hit a pair of winners and Paes passed Andujar with a crosscourt forehand to bring about deuce. With the set on his racquet, the Kastles captain controlled the rally from the return, blasting three straight shots at Medina Garrigues to draw an error.

What shot did Leander Paes hit to draw this reaction from Martina Hingis? Click above to find out.

After Paes held to start the second set, Hingis broke Andujar's serve for a third time by returning his overhead smash and belting a backhand that Medina Garrigues could not handle.

The Kastles added a break of Medina Garrigues to give Hingis the opportunity to serve the match out at 6-3, 5-1. Despite the lopsided scoreline, the Kastles would have to overcome a pair of close calls in the final game.

On one point, Paes and Hingis both set up for an overhead smash while retrieving an Andujar lob. On another, Hingis and Medina Garrigues verbally disagreed on whether the Swiss' down-the-line forehand landed in.

Everything ended well as Paes and Hingis avoided a collision, Hawk-Eye confirmed that the Swiss' shot caught line, and the Kastles secured a spot in the Australian Open quarterfinals.

Awaiting Paes and Hingis are No. 4 seeds Alexander Peya and Andrea Hlavackova. Wake up with the Kastles as they play on Rod Laver Arena in the second match after 3:30 am Wednesday, streaming live on ESPN3.com.

Until then, enjoy our third mixed doubles highlight video of Paes and Hingis. We're paying tribute to the Kastles' dream team by uploading new videos every day this week, so be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel.

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World TeamTennis Stories from January 27, 2015


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