WORLD TEAM TENNIS NEWS: KASTLES VS. SAN DIEGO AVIATORS PREVIEW; WASHINGTON WINS WTT FINALS REMATCH

Written by: Staff on 16th July 2015

WORLD TEAM TENNIS NEWS: KASTLES VS. SAN DIEGO AVIATORS PREVIEW; WASHINGTON WINS WTT FINALS REMATCH |

Madison Brengle, Anastasia Rodionova and Murphy Jensen congratulate Denis Kudla. Photo by Jenny Edwards/Springfield Lasers

Washington Kastles vs. San Diego Aviators Preview

First 1,000 Fans to Receive Kastles Camouflage Hat

Washington Kastles (2-1) vs. San Diego Aviators (2-1)

Thursday, July 16 at 7 pm

Tickets: Ticketmaster.com, Box Office

Giveaway: Kastles Camouflage Hat (1st 1,000 Fans)

Live Scoring: WashingtonKastles.com

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

Don’t miss Military Appreciation Night with the Kastles as the first 1,000 fans in attendance this evening will receive a stylish camouflage hat with the team logo.

Intriguing storylines abound on court as well. Former partners Leander Paes and Raven Klaasen are expected to go head-to-head in men’s and mixed doubles, while American rising stars Denis Kudla and Taylor Fritz meet in men’s singles.

When Washington hosted San Diego in 2014, the Aviators emerged with a 22-18 win that Klaasen closed in men’s doubles.

Both the Kastles and Aviators enter tonight’s match with a record of 2-1, though they’ve taken different paths to get there. In road matches on Wednesday, Washington defeated Springfield 21-16 and San Diego was swept by Boston 25-13

Serena Williams doesn’t come to D.C. until Tuesday, but you can wear the hat on her head tonight!

(Photo by Rich Kessler)

World No. 38 Madison Brengle will make her Kastles Stadium debut in women’s singles and doubles tonight. She’s been impressive in her two road outings, defeating both 44th-ranked Varvara Lepchenko and 75th-ranked Irina Falconi 5-3.

Likewise, D.C.’s own Kudla has won two singles sets in a row, beating 52nd-ranked Teymuraz Gabashvili on Tuesday and Springfield’s Michael Russell 5-4 last night. Kudla and Paes sparked the Kastles’ victory over the Lasers by taking the men’s doubles set 5-0.

Great seats are still available for tonight’s match at Ticketmaster.com and the Smith Center box office. Tickets start at only $12, so you can enjoy world-class tennis and support Washington’s championship team without breaking the bank.

Don’t forget that all kids 12 and under get a free tennis racquet and kids 16 and under are invited onto the court after the match for autographs from every player.

Leander Paes leads the Kastles against the San Diego Aviators tonight.

(Photo by Willis Bretz)

SET-BY-SET PROJECTIONS

MS – D. Kudla (WAS) vs. T. Fritz (SAN)

In Kudla’s home debut on Tuesday, the Arlington native impressed friends, family and fans with his win over Gabashvili. His opponent tonight doesn’t have quite the same experience, but he’s building a reputation. Fritz is the No. 1 ranked junior in the world, coming off runs to the French Open final and Wimbledon semifinals in boys’ singles. In between those two events, the 17-year-old earned his first ATP World Tour victory.

WS – M. Brengle (WAS) vs. C. Scheepers (SAN)

It’s been 6.5 years since Brengle and Chanelle Scheepers played their only match on tour. Scheepers won in three sets, but time has a way of heeling all wounds. Brengle is enjoying a career-year and up to No. 38 in the WTA singles rankings. Scheepers’ career-high is No. 37, but that was back in October 2011. Her Mylan WTT outings this week have marked her first matches of any kind since early April.

MD – D. Kudla/L. Paes (WAS) vs. T. Fritz/R. Klaasen (SAN)

The dynamics between Paes and Klaasen should be interesting in their two sets this evening. They started the ATP season as one of the best teams on tour, winning the Auckland title and reaching two other finals. Suddenly in April they split, and Paes has struggled to find the same success with his new tour partner Daniel Nestor. Expect Paes and Kudla to test the doubles ability of the youngster Fritz early and often.

WD – M. Brengle/A. Rodionova (WAS) vs. D. Jurak/C. Scheepers (SAN)

Without a Williams sister or Martina Hingis, the Kastles are Anastasia Rodionova‘s team to lead when it comes to the women’s half of the roster. She did a great job of that during Washington’s season opener in Boston, winning her two sets and rooting Brengle on to her crucial singles victory over Falconi. Rodionova and Brengle will look to resume their winning ways against the unique pairing of Scheepers and Darija Jurak.

MXD – L. Paes/A. Rodionova (WAS) vs. R. Klaasen/D. Jurak (SAN)

How good was Paes against Klaasen in the mixed doubles set between the Kastles and Aviators last season? One million views on YouTube don’t lie. Both Paes and Klaasen will have different teammates this time around, but that shouldn’t matter much for the Kastles captain. He’s won eight Grand Slam titles in mixed doubles with four different partners. The best Klaasen has done is the Round of 16 on three occasions.

Denis Kudla won his Kastles Stadium debut on Tuesday. Will he make it 2-for-2 in his hometown?

(Photo by Willis Bretz)

Washington Wins Mylan WTT Finals Rematch 21-16

Paes/Kudla 5-0 Set Sparks Kastles to Road Win Over Lasers

In a rematch of the last two Mylan WTT Finals, the Kastles again had the Springfield Lasers’ number, emerging with a 21-16 road win on Wednesday.

Springfield led 9-6 after two sets before Leander Paes and Denis Kudla stole momentum for good by winning men’s doubles 5-0.

World No. 38 Madison Brengle followed with a 5-3 singles victory over 44th-ranked Varavara Lepchenko. Paes and Anastasia Rodionova then closed the match by winning mixed doubles 5-4.

Washington Kastles def. Springfield Lasers 21-16

Men’s Singles – Denis Kudla (Kastles) def. Michael Russell (Lasers) 5-4

Women’s Doubles – Anna-Lena Groenefeld\Varvara Lepchenko (Lasers) def. Madison Brengle\Anastasia Rodionova (Kastles) 5-1

Men’s Doubles – Denis Kudla\Leander Paes (Kastles) def. Andre Begemann\Michael Russell (Lasers) 5-0

Women’s Singles – Madison Brengle (Kastles) def. Varvara Lepchenko (Lasers) 5-3

Mixed Doubles – Leander Paes\Anastasia Rodionova (Kastles) def. Andre Begemann\Anna-Lena Groenefeld (Lasers) 5-4

Topics: Anastasia Rodionova, Denis Kudla, Leander Paes, Madison Brengle, San Diego Aviators, Sports, Tennis, Washington Kastles, World Team Tennis

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10sBalls_com says:

July 16, 2015 at 12:40 pm

-@WorldTeamTennis NEWS: @WashKastles VS. @SDAVIATORS PREVIEW; WASHINGTON WINS WTT FINALS REMATCH- http://t.co/HD68yzMLu3 #tennis
SDAVIATORS says:

July 16, 2015 at 2:29 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: -@WorldTeamTennis NEWS: @WashKastles VS. @SDAVIATORS PREVIEW; WASHINGTON WINS WTT FINALS REMATCH- http://t.co/HD68yzMLu3 …