Young Leads Freedom Past Empire in WTT Action

August 11, 2016 | By New York Tennis Magazine Staff
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The New York Empire suffered its second consecutive loss on Wednesday night as the host Philadelphia Freedoms edged the Empire 17-16 after Donald Young beat Andy Roddick in a supertiebreaker.

Young and the Freedoms got things started early as he paired with Fabrice Martin to beat Roddick and Marcus Willis 5-4 in the Men’s Doubles set.

Christina McHale then pushed the Empire into the lead with a 5-0 win over fellow American Samantha Crawford in the Women’s Singles set, but the Freedoms responded with a 5-0 victory by Martin and Naomi Broady over McHale and Neal Skupski at Mixed Doubles.

The back and forth affair continued into the fourth set as McHale paired with Maria Irigoyen to defeat Broady and Crawford 5-1 in the Women’s Doubles set, giving the Empire a 14-11 lead heading into the final set, Men’s Singles.

Young delivered for the Freedoms, downing Roddick 5-2 to even the score at 16-16 and forcing the match into a deciding supertiebreaker.

Once again, Young came up huge, winning seven of the 10 points in the tiebreaker to give the Freedoms the 17-16 victory.

The loss drops the Empire to 2-7 on the year and eliminates the Empire from playoff contention.

The Empire return to Forest Hills Stadium at West Side Tennis Club to take on the Orange County Breakers on Thursday night as it hosts its Salute to Strong Women night featuring Mylan World TeamTennis founder Billie Jean King.

Despite being out of the postseason, New York can play spoiler tonight. The Orange County Breakers clinch a spot in the championship with a victory and a loss by the Philadelphia Freedoms.

 

PHILADELPHIA FREEDOMS def. New York Empire 17-16 (7-3 STB)

►Men's Doubles – Fabrice Martin\Donald Young (Freedoms) def. Andy Roddick\Marcus Willis (Empire) 5-4

►Women's Singles – Christina McHale (Empire) def. Samantha Crawford (Freedoms) 5-0

►Mixed Doubles – Naomi Broady\Fabrice Martin (Freedoms) def. Christina McHale\Neal Skupski (Empire) 5-0

►Women's Doubles – Maria Irigoyen\Christina McHale (Empire) def. Naomi Broady\Samantha Crawford (Freedoms) 5-1

►Men's Singles – Donald Young (Freedoms) def. Andy Roddick (Empire) 5-2

►Supertiebreaker – Men's Singles – Donald Young (Freedoms) def. Andy Roddick (Empire) 1-0 (7-3)


New York Tennis Magazine Staff
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