Kastles Beat Empire in WTT Opener
The World TeamTennis presented by GEICO season got underway on Sunday evening, and the New York Empire presented by Citi began its third-year campaign with the Washington Kastles.
The Empire would fall in its opener as the Kastles won 22-18 in front of an electric crowd at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
The Kastles’ women’s doubles team of Madison Brengle and Christina McHale forced a first set tiebreaker after being down 4-1. Brengle and McHale took the Empire’s Tatjana Maria and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez to 4-4, however New York squeaked out the first set winning the tiebreaker, 5-4.
“Yea it’s so exciting,” McHale, who competed for the New York Empire in the team’s inaugural season at West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, said of playing at the National Tennis Center. “I wasn’t planning on playing World TeamTennis this year but when I got the call I was excited to come. The US Open is my favorite tournament, and playing on Court 17 with so many people here was a great atmosphere.”
The Empire’s Maria was pushed to the brink in the women’s singles second set but edged out Brengle, 5-3, before the two teams’ mixed doubles pairings took Court 17. The Empire’s Martinez Sanchez was joined by doubles specialist Neal Skupski to face Washington’s Robert Lindstedt and McHale in the third set. Martinez Sanchez and Skupski jumped to a quick 3-1 lead but Lindstedt and McHale took control by winning four straight games to win the set, 5-3.
Washington’s Matthew Ebden cruised through the men’s singles set, winning 5-1 over the Empire’s Steve Johnson, who was replacing John Isner on the roster, and giving the Kastles a 17-14 lead heading into the men’s doubles and final set. Facing a daunting deficit, the Empire’s Johnson and Skupski forced the set into a tiebreaker before ultimately falling, 5-4, as the Kastles won the season-opening match 22- 18.
“I was going to Newport on Friday night for that tournament, so I happened to be in the area, and thought it would be a good chance to play,” Johnson said of his late addition to Sunday’s lineup. “Unfortunately, it was a bad day at the office for me. My set kind of lost us the match, so obviously not the way I wanted it to go for these guys but hopefully we can turn it around.”
►Women’s Doubles: Maria/Martinez Sanchez (NYE) def. Brengle/McHale (WAS), 5-4
►Women’s Singles: Maria (NYE) def. Brengle (WAS), 5-3
►Mixed Doubles: McHale/Robert Lindstedt (WAS) def. Martinez Sanchez/Neal Skupski (NYE), 5-3
►Men’s Singles: Ebden (WAS) def. Johnson (NYE), 5-1
►Men’s Doubles: Johnson/Skupski (NYE) def. Ebden/Lindstedt (WAS), 5-4
The New York Empire travel to Washington, D.C. on Monday, July 16 to face the Kastles for a second straight match and return home to Court 17 on Wednesday, July 18 at 7:00 p.m. as host to the Philadelphia Freedoms.
