Aside from the unbearable heat, quiet as kept, the Washington Kastles are the hottest thing going in Washington, D.C. at this moment. The World Team Tennis club proved this once more Thursday night with their 25-11 win over the Philadelphia Freedoms in front of a sold out audience at The Wharf.
Bobby Reynolds’ service winner in the fifth set improved the team’s record to 14-0. The Kastles are just the second team in WTT to finish the regular season with a zero in the loss column. The Newport Beach Dukes met the mark in 1994.
“World team tennis is all about the team,” Kastles co-captain Leander Paes said flanked by teammate Arina Rodionova. “The mojo that this team has got, we just need to keep it going every night. Our fans motivate us like crazy. They’re the main reason we’re out here and playing so hard with our hearts.”
The veteran duo of Paes and Rennae Stubbs set the dominant tone for the Kastles (they captured each set) in their mixed doubles set against Nathan Healey and Liga Dekmeijere. Washington took the first set 5-2.
Usually more reserved, Stubbs was noticeably more aggressive on the court. The Aussie often times was seen yelling out emotional cries. She used strong volley play in addition to the youthful exuberance of Rodionova to take the women’s double 5-1.
The Freedoms showed the most resistance in the third set. It pitted two of the youngest players, “Hot Rod” Rodionova and Maryland native Beatrice Capra. Down 4-2, Capra was able to capture the seventh game before Rodionova’s booming overhead won the set.
Reynolds was given a 20-9 lead to play with in the final set against Brendan Evans. Reynolds’ signature high wire act frustrated Evans throughout. Holding a 4-2 lead for set and match point, Reynolds hammered a winner up the middle to capture the perfect season.
Owner Mark Ein has witnessed the evolution of the Kastles organization since forming in 2008. He says this year speaks to the ultimate vision of the club.
“Two years ago we had some of the pieces,” Ein said. “We tried to put it together last year. We went one route where we brought in a star player at the end to maybe take us over the hump. This year we made it a real priority to make sure that we had a solid core of players who could win the championship on their own.”
Up next for the Kastles is the Eastern Conference championship tonight against the Boston Lobsters. Right after the match they headed over to Charleston, South Carolina. The two squads met earlier this month with D.C. taking it 25-10. The winner of Friday’s match will wait for the winner of Saturday’s Western Conference championship match between the St. Louis Aces and Sacramento Capitals.
The title game will be on Sunday at 5 P.M., which can be seen on Comcast Sportsnet and the Tennis Channel. D.C. is looking for the club’s second “King Trophy”, after winning it in 2009. A second title would put the team in unchartered territory. Newport did go perfect during the season but were unable to win a championship.
After the match, the Kastles held a banner celebrating the team’s perfect season and thanked the fans, who sold out all but one home game.
The team’s travel has been crazy of late, but Paes explained how the fans energy and team component of tennis makes it easy to go all out.
“We’ve been traveling for a lot of days,” he said. “We’ve been going for two and half weeks straight like every day playing. To stay fresh that’s when you lean on your teammates. I’m doing it for my teammates. I’m doing it for my coach. I’m doing it for my boss. I’m doing it for the Washington fans. I hope I’m a Kastle for the rest of my life.”
“The Renegade”
Bobby Reynolds, nicknamed the renegade for his contagious emotional play, can be considered the Mariano Rivera of team tennis. When he is set to play the final match, there is a certain confidence the Kastles club has that he will close it out.
With his win on Thursday night, Reynolds wrapped up his ninth victory in the final set. There were chants of “MVP” during the deciding set. Paes, who won the award in 2009, feels Reynolds is a legitimate contender.
“Yeah, I hope Bobby gets it,” Paes said. “He’s playing great tennis and he’s improved so much from last year. You can just see the work he’s done. He’s a great player.”
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