Martina who? Just kidding Ms. Hingis (we still love you, still want you back) but what a difference, two wins in a row makes. Hingis' replacement,
Madison Brengle was particularly
awesome yesterday, winning Women's Doubles and Singles in convincing style (5-1 and 5-0 respectively.) That was only
part of the
Washington Kastles' domination on Saturday, as they rallied from a Mixed Doubles defeat to topple the
Philadelphia Freedoms 23-6 at Charles E. Smith Center. Washington improved to 4-2, and took over sole possession of first place in the Eastern Conference. Philly dropped to 1-5 (tied for worst in the league.)
If you watched
only the first set, it would be hard to convince you of the annihilation yet to come.
Marcelo Melo and
Taylor Townsend put on a clinic of sorts, surprising
Leander Paes and
Anastasia Rodionova 5-3 in Mixed Doubles, to push Philadelphia out to an early lead. It was the third straight Mixed Doubles loss for the Kastles... the least likely scenario imaginable (at least to this observer.) Thankfully, Rodionova bounced back (with Brengle) to crush Townsend and
Asia Muhammad 5-1, and put the Kastles ahead 8-6 after two sets. Little did Philly know, that would be their last
winning game of the match.
Paes and
Denis Kudla teamed up to whitewash Melo and
Robby Ginepri 5-nil in Men's Doubles, essentially sealing Washington's victory by halftime. It was fast too: I managed to surprise one of the other photographers in the media room, who assumed the third set was
still going on.
After that, it seemed the visitors could do nothing right... losing Men's and Women's Singles in duplicate fashion (5-0.) Brengle brushed past Townsend, while Kudla steamrolled Ginepri (a former top-15 singles player) matching Washington's greatest margin of victory in franchise history.
Sadly for Philly (but perhaps advantageous for us) both teams will match-up for a third straight contest
tomorrow at The Pavilion at Villanova University. Sadder still,
Serena Williams won't be playing, as she recovers from a sore elbow she aggravated at last week's
Swedish Open. Ditto for Tuesday's highly anticipated appearance in DC; but I'm sure everyone wants to see Serena at 100% for the
US Open (and her historic quest for a rare Grand Slam.) The Kastles host conference rival
Boston on Tuesday at 7 (sold out.) No Serena, no problem: I'm sure team owner extraordinaire
Mark Ein will have something special in store for the sellout crowd.
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| Just chillin' |
Click here for yesterday's box score.
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| Who wants a FREE t-shirt? |
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| Leander's all smiles |
