I'd love to take credit for predicting a fifth straight
WTT championship for the
Washington Kastles; but let's be honest... Team Owner
Mark Ein's "dynasty," (as per Commissioner
Ilana Kloss, not me) was/is a team of destiny. How else do you explain six titles in seven years, the best fans in the league and a family of tennis professionals, who coexist in perfect harmony (year after year after year?) The Kastles dialed up an
extra dose of intensity earlier today, en route to an exhilarating 24-18 win over the
Austin Aces before a raucous crowd at Kastles Stadium. Let the celebrations begin!
Setting the record for most consecutive league titles in a row is great; but doing it in front of your home fans is even better. All that support isn't lost on Ein, head coach
Murphy Jensen or the entire lineup of all-star players: Each Kastle made sure to thank the crowd first and foremost... resulting in even louder applause. The atmosphere at Smith Center was literally intoxicating.
Ditto for the play, beginning with a dominant effort by
Martina Hingis and team captain
Leander Paes in Mixed Doubles. The Wimbledon champs broke Austin's
Teymuraz Gabashvili and
Alla Kudryavtseva twice on their way to a 5-2 first set victory. Hingis remained on the court, teaming with WTT Women's Co-MVP
Anastasia Rodionova to top Kudryavtseva and
Elina Svitolina in Women's Doubles 5-4 to give Washington a 10-6 lead. The set featured a mind-boggling
six breaks of service.
Set three brought more good cheer, as Paes and
Sam Querrey teamed up for a 5-3 win over Gabashvili and
Jarmere Jenkins in Men's Doubles. That gave Washington a comfortable 15-9 advantage, which grew to 20-13 after Querrey's 5-4 tiebreaker over a very busy Gabashvili. From there, only a miracle comeback by #20 ranked Svitolina could stop the Kastles from their aforementioned destiny. Svitolina gave it her all, but couldn't shut down
Madison Brengle in Women's Singles. The 20-year-old Ukrainian won the fifth set (5-3) to force extended play, but lost 4-1 in the deciding game. Let's hear it for Maddy: She started the season as a fill-in for Hingis (and then
Serena Williams) but wound up finishing the season as an integral part of the team.
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Sam Querrey: Checking out the replay? |
It will be interesting to see what the off-season has in store; but it's hard to imagine the Kastles not returning to the championship game to compete for a sixth straight title. Six-peat... Sounds
good great to me.
Click here for today's box score.
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Blowing kisses... Only when you win. |