KASTLES KICK OFF SEASON TONIGHT IN BOSTON; WTT VETERAN GAJDOSOVA TO SUBSTITUTE / THE GREAT LEANDER PAES TO PLAY

Written by: on 7th July 2014
Paes
Leander Paes arrives in Boston after playing in the Wimbledon men's doubles semifinals. (Photo by Rob Vomund)  |

Washington Kastles at Boston Lobsters Preview

 

Kastles Kick Off 2014 Season On the Road Against East Rivals

 

Washington Kastles (0-0) at Boston Lobsters (0-1)

Monday, July 7 at 7 pm

All-Time: Kastles lead Lobsters 11-4

Kastles Streaks: 12 straight wins overall, 10 straight wins against Lobsters

Last Meeting: Kastles def. Lobsters 25-12 in 2013 Eastern Conference Championship

Live Scoring: WashingtonKastles.com

Social Media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram (#RefuseToLose)

 

Forty-nine weeks of waiting are over and the 2014 Washington Kastles will put their three-peat of WTT titles on the line beginning tonight in Boston.

Since knocking the Kastles out of playoff contention in the 2010 regular season finale, the Lobsters have time and again been overwhelmed by their rivals from Washington.

The Kastles have beaten Boston 10 straight times by an average of 9.2 games, highlighted by a 25-12 rout in the 2013 Eastern Conference Championship match.

While Washington’s roster has remained largely intact during its dominance of Boston, turnover has been much more common for the Lobsters.

Joining Boston veteran Eric Butorac this season are WTT rookie Sharon Fichman, former Springfield Laser Rik de Voest and former Sacramento Capital Megan Moulton-Levy.

Washington counters with Wimbledon semifinalist Leander Paes, 2013 WTT Finals MVP Bobby Reynolds, third-year Kastle Anastasia Rodionova and substitute player Jarmila Gajdosova.

A former WTT Rookie of the Year and Finals MVP with the Kansas City Explorers, Gajdosova has won three ITF doubles titles with former Kastle Arina Rodionova this season. After the pair qualified at Wimbledon, Arina’s older sister Anastasia suggested that Gajdosova would be a great fit with Washington.

 

The Kastles enter the 2014 season on a 12-match winning streak. Live scoring for tonight’s match begins at 7 pm on WashingtonKastles.com.

 

Leander Paes arrives in Boston after playing in the Wimbledon men’s doubles semifinals. (Photo by Rob Vomund)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SET-BY-SET PROJECTIONS

 

MS – B. Reynolds (WAS) vs. R. de Voest (BOS)

Up until last summer, de Voest seemingly had a spell on Reynolds. With no glaring weapons, the South African had somehow swept all five of his ATP matches against the Kastles closer. But Reynolds turned the tide in a big way, beating de Voest 5-1 on two occasions, including the first set of the 2013 WTT Finals. That win sparked the Kastles to a 25-12 championship rout of de Voest’s former team, the Springfield Lasers.

 

WS – J. Gajdosova (WAS) vs. S. Fichman (BOS)

With Martina Hingis and Venus Williams unavailable, Kastles coach Murphy Jensen can turn to Rodionova or Gajdosova in women’s singles. Rodionova is 7-5 in WTT singles sets for the Kastles with wins over No. 50 Karolina Pliskova and No. 92 Timea Babos. But coming off a first-round win at Wimbledon and an ITF title before that, Gajdosova is the hotter player going into a difficult set tonight against the 84th-ranked Fichman.

 

MD – L. Paes/B. Reynolds (WAS) vs. E. Butorac/R. de Voest (BOS)

Butorac enters his fifth season with the Kastles, and he must be getting tired of seeing Paes and Reynolds on the other side of the net. Washington’s dynamic duo is 8-2 against Butorac and four different partners since 2010. Though de Voest is a new addition to Boston’s lineup, he has teamed with Butorac twice before. They are 3-2 together at Challenger tournaments — the most recent coming in June 2012.

 

WD – J. Gajdosova/A. Rodionova (WAS) vs. S. Fichman/M. Moulton-Levy (BOS)

While Gajdosova is making her Kastles debut tonight, she is no stranger to playing doubles with Rodionova. The Aussies played Fed Cup together in 2011, teamed at the 2012 Olympic Games and reached the quarterfinals of the 2012 French Open. Their opponents, Moulton-Levy and Fichman, tried out their partnership by teaming at Indian Wells and Miami in March. They suffered first-round losses at both events.

 

MXD – L. Paes/A. Rodionova (WAS) vs. E. Butorac/M. Moulton-Levy (BOS)

Coach Jensen must choose between Rodionova and Gajdosova again in mixed doubles. Gajdosova teamed with Matthew Ebden to defeat Paes and Elena Vesnina 6-3, 6-2 en route to the 2013 Australian Open mixed doubles title. But Rodionova is more experienced as Paes’ partner, going 7-3 with the Kastles captain the last two seasons. If Gajdosova gets the nod in singles, look for Rodionova to get the call in mixed.

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