Kastles set new records in winning fourth WTT championship Defeating Springfield 25-12 by winning all five sets and with largest victory margin

Written by: Staff on 28th July 2013

Kastles set new records in winning fourth WTT championship Defeating Springfield 25-12 by winning all five sets and with largest victory margin |

The Washington Kastles carved another notch in the Mylan World Team Tennis elite ranks Sunday, winning their third consecutive World Team Tennis championship and fourth in the past five years with a 25-12 win over the Springfield Laster, the largest victory margin in any WTT championship match.

The Kastles also became the first WTT franchise to win all five sets in a championship match since the league switched to the current format in 1999. further stamping the team as the premier franchise in the league. The Kastles started the 2013 season by winning their first two matches for a 34-match winning streak, the longest winning streak is U.S professional sports history.

“This year we walked right into it. We made that incredible streak, and have an amazing part in history. You can’t put a price tag on that We lost, then started winning again,” Kastles’ coach Murphy Jensen said. “This is a masterpiece. This is the best. four out of five years, it is out of control. We absolutely sacrificed every day to play for the Kastles.”

Even a two-hour rain delay did not slow the Kastles.

The three-peat makes Washington only the second to win three titles in a row. The four championships make Washington one of only two franchises to win four or more WTT titles.

“It’d be great if we had eight teams like (the Kastles),” Springfield Laser player Andy Roddick, a part-owner of WTT, said after the loss. “They deserve the success they get. They put a lot into it, and it’s a great atmosphere.”

The Kastles were uncertain as to which of the sets Roddick would play so Jensen reshuffled the order of play to have Bib by Reynolds, the team’s traditional closer, open the match with men’s singles. That way if Roddick played, it would dilute the advantage the Lasers could have by having their star close the contest in the final set.

But Reynolds, who was named the MVP of the championship, opened strong, breaking the Lasers’ Rik De Voest three times in a 5-1 win.

“You go out and get ready thinking you are going to play Andy and I knew I had to be ready for anything,” Reynolds said. “I guess I am the opener now (not the closer), I knew I had to bring a lot of energy no matter when I was in the lineup.”

Springfield has never won a WTT title. They last played for the title in 2009, where they lost to Washington 23-20 when the Kastles held off three match points to win.

“Coming in here (at the start of the season), there was a lot of pressure, in those first matches. You don’t want to be the one to destroy them. Now at the end all of the effort paid off,” Kastles player Martina Hingis said.

“I am a first time Kastle. It’s a great team. I love everyone and I hope I can play here again next year.”

Hingis said she had hoped she was ready for Roddick’s serve. “I know his serve is spectacular. I tried not to think too much about it. At first he started with a kick serve. I just tried to get a racquet on it,” she said.

She and team captain Leander Paes defeated Roddick and Alisa Kleybanova, the 2013 WTT female rookie of the year, 5-4 after winning a five point tiebreaker for the game, set and championship.

“I started off pretty well in the (mixed doubles) then my energy level dropped a little bit,” said Hingis. “And that’s when (Paes) kind of lifted his game amazingly, and it is pretty cool to have five perfect sets.”

The results:

MEN’S SINGLES: Bobby Reynolds (Kastles) def. Rik de Voest (Lasers) 5-1

WOMEN’S DOUBLES: Martina Hingis/Anastasia Rodionova (Kastles) def. Alisa Kleybanova/Vania King (Lasers) 5-3

MEN’S DOUBLES: Bobby Reynolds/Leander Paes (Kastles) def. Jean-Julien Rojer/Andy Roddick (Lasers) 5-2

WOMEN’S SINGLES: Martina Hingis (Kastles) def. Alisa Kleybanova (Lasers) 5-2

MIXED DOUBLES: Martina Hingis/Leander Paes (Kastles) def. Alisa Kleybanova/Andy Roddick (Lasers) 5-4

Follow 10SBALLS.COM on:

Facebook:

Twitter:

TomSquitieri says:

July 29, 2013 at 3:52 pm

@WashKastles capture 4th @WorldTeamTennis crown in 5 yrs as @bobbyreynolds82 and @Leander start and finish it
http://t.co/hu5SXwqmTs
LeanderArmy says:

July 29, 2013 at 6:17 pm

RT @TomSquitieri: @WashKastles capture 4th @WorldTeamTennis crown in 5 yrs as @bobbyreynolds82 and @Leander start and finish it
http://t.c…