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The @NYEmpireTennis are Truly the Amazins’ of @WorldTeamTennis After Last Point Championship Finish

Posted by Admin on August 2, 2020
Posted in: World Team Tennis. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment
Courtesy World Team Tennis

Coco Vandeweghe and Nicole Melichar Survive a Championship Point And Rally To Win Super Tiebreaker And King Trophy Over Chicago Smash, 21-20

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.V. (Aug. 2, 2020) – The King Trophy came down to as dramatic a finish as you can have in World TeamTennis as one point decided the entire season with the New York Empire capturing the King Trophy over the expansion Chicago Smash, 21-20, in a Super Tiebreaker on Sunday at Center Court at Creekside at The Greenbrier in West Virginia. 

It all played out in front of a live nationally-televised audience on CBS Television Network. With the match in Extended Play at 20-20 and at 6-all in the Super Tiebreaker (best of 13) the Empire’s Coco Vandeweghe ripped a Sloane Stephens serve with a forehand down the line that nicked the baseline, was reviewed by Hawk-Eye and signaled in. The Finals Female Most Valuable Player Vandeweghe embraced her partner Nicole Melichar as the rest of the Empire players and head coach Luke Jensen joined into the celebration.  

“I never had this opportunity in World TeamTennis to do Extended Play, to the Super Tiebreaker to the super buster to the Super Breaker (last deciding point),” Vandeweghe said. “I mean I’ve never been under that kind of pressure, ever. It was so much fun to be on my racquet to control the situation. Luckily I controlled it in the right way. It really accentuated what World TeamTennis is; the team vibe, team energy, people picking each other up when they’re down. I had so much fun out there.”

Said Melichar: “I didn’t want to tell Coco to go line, because I know her instincts, but I felt that Bethanie (Mattel-Sands) was going to try and cross and then the second she hit it and they didn’t call an out call I was thrilled, but then the fact that they were challenging (asked to look at Hawk-Eye), we were like ‘oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no’ and then it was just pure joy. It was just incredible.”

World TeamTennis titles are nothing new for New York franchises as the New York Buzz won the King Trophy in 2008 and the New York Sportimes did the same in 2005.

“It’s just so amazing that it came down to one point,” Empire coach Luke Jensen told the crowd after accepting the King Trophy and the $500,000 winning check his team will split. “When you’re a Grand Slam champion you’ve accomplished what you wanted as a kid. That she (Coco) didn’t hesitate to take that shot is amazing. And for New York specifically. Her grandfather played for the Knicks (Ernie Vandeweghe). Her uncle played for the Knicks (Kiki)…We made the trade for her, I reached out to her to say she should play for the orange and the blue, the Knicks colors and our colors. She’s such a gamer and a winner.”

The Smash held a championship point in regulation at 4-all in the tiebreaker (best of nine) as Melichar hit a service winner that Genie Bouchard was unable to handle, giving the set to the Empire and sending the match into Extended Play, 20-18. Vandeweghe won her serve for 20-19, and the Empire pair then broke Bethanie Mattek-Sands’ serve to knot the score at 20-20.

“I’m proud of this team for the fight all year,” said Chicago Smash Coach Kamau Murray. “I made two different decisions at both the end of the regular time and the tiebreaker and we’d have been in a different position. I’m sorry to see it end this way, but they all played well … Looking ahead to next year, I think we have a good core. We’ll bring most of them back and we’ll be here (in the Finals) again.”

In Women’s Singles, 2017 US Open winner Stephens extended the Smash’s lead with a 5-3 win over Vandeweghe to make the score 16-13.

The Empire jumped out to a quick start thanks to the play of WTT Male Most Valuable Player Jack Sock as he recorded wins in Mixed Doubles with Vandeweghe and in Men’s Doubles with Neal Skupski. He then ran into a buzz-saw in the way of 18-year-old Smash rookie Brandon Nakashima, who reeled off a 5-0 win to swing the match in favor of Chicago.

“I think I would chalk that up as my worst set of the three weeks, and unfortunately it came on the most important day, as well,” Sock said. “I just kept my head up. I was able to put 10 points on the board with Neal and Coco and you can’t ask more than that.”

WTT CEO Carlos Silva still had goosebumps talking about the match an hour after the memorable conclusion. “A flip flop in the middle of the match with Nakashima coming back to win 5-0 and swing the match, you couldn’t ask for any more than that,” Silva said. “And Coco’s winning forehand was like a walk-off home run, a buzzer-beater. My heart is still pounding.”

No. 4 New York Empire def. No. 3 CHICAGO SMASH, 21-20 (EP)

Men’s Doubles: Jack Sock/Neal Skupski (Empire) def. Rajeev Ram/Brandon Nakashima (Smash), 5-2

Mixed Doubles: Sock/Coco Vandeweghe (Empire) def. Mattek-Sands/Ram (Smash), 5-4

Men’s Singles: Brandon Nakashima (Smash) def. Sock (Empire), 5-0

Women’s Singles: Sloane Stephens (Smash) def. Vandeweghe (Empire), 5-3

Women’s Doubles: Nicole Melichar/Vandeweghe (Empire) def. Genie Bouchard/Mattek-Sands (Smash), 5-4

Extended Play: Melichar/Vandeweghe (Empire) def. Bouchard/Mattek-Sands (Smash), 2-0

Super Tiebreaker: Melichar/Vandeweghe (Empire) def. Mattek-Sands/Stephens (Smash), 7-6

—S. Pratt, WTT

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2020 @WorldTeamTennis Final Preview, Prediction

Posted by Admin on August 2, 2020
Posted in: ATP, US Open, Western & Southern Open, World Team Tennis, WTA. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment
Courtesy, World Team Tennis

2020 @WorldTeamTennis Final Preview, Prediction

After a noble experiment in a bubble and 62 matches played over the course of three weeks in the Allegheny Mountains, we are left with the #3 seed Chicago Smash and the #4 seed New York Empire to battle it out on a gorgeous sunny day at the Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia. There were probably a few naysayers who thought the WTT season wouldn’t last with so many players at the same site during a Coronavirus resurgence in North America.

Here we are, though: Zero positive COVID-19 test results and one match to go. The first year expansion franchise, the Smash, have surprised a lot of long-time followers of the league, but their success shouldn’t come as huge shock to anyone. With Sloane Stephens, Genie Bouchard, Rajeev Ram, Brandon Nakashima and Evan King, the Smash would have been competitive in 2020. The extra sauce on this squad comes from Bethanie Mattek-Sands, who was named the league’s female player of the campaign. She’s been off the charts in doubles, and doubles are every bit as important as singles in the world of World Team Tennis.

The New York Empire are riding high on emotion after knocking out the top-seeded Philadelphia Freedoms in the semifinals on Saturday. The immovable object may be Mattek-Sands, but the unstoppable force would be Coco Vandeweghe of the New York Empire. Like Mattek-Sands, she’s playing some of her best tennis in a long while and her leadership in doubles has given her confidence in singles as New York’s Kim Clijsters has been sidelined for the last week.

Courtesy, World Team Tennis

H2H 2-0

The Smash took out the Empire 21-16 a week ago, when Sloane Stephens was a 5-1 singles winner. When the Smash edged the Empire, 22-21, two weeks ago, it was Kim Clijsters dominating Stephens, 5-2 and Mattek-Sands/Bouchard defeating Clijsters/Lisicki 5-2. With Clijsters participation unlikely today, it’s hard to see a different result than the two previous meetings.

Courtesy, World Team Tennis

I give Sock a slight edge against Nakashima in men’s singles, and Sloane Stephens with the nod over Vandeweghe in singles. As usual, that means it’s all coming down to the dubs. I give the advantage to Mattek-Sands and Rajeev Ram against Vandeweghe and Sock in the mixed, which should just be enough for the Smash to win it all in the first year of the existence of the franchise.

Prediction: Chicago Smash 22-20

In terms of the restarting of pro sports in the United States, the World Team Tennis bubble has been a resounding success. The Greenbrier Resort was chosen by the Feds to house the legislative branch of government in a post-nuclear apocalypse at one time because of its remote location. Queens, or Disney World, for that matter, are hardly a White Sulphur Springs. With only a few thousand people, a few restaurants outside the resort and neither a strip club nor a nightclub for 60 miles, other pro sporting events should consider such a locale.

—S. Fogleman in Lewisburg, WV

2020 @WorldTeamTennis Semifinal #1 Prediction

Posted by Admin on August 1, 2020
Posted in: ATP, World Team Tennis, WTA. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

2020 @WorldTeamTennis Semifinal #1 Predictions

The Philly Freedoms are the top seed entering this weekend’s playoffs, but the New York Empire have had their number before. Despite the 7-7 record, the Empire handed the Freedoms  their first loss of the season, 25-17, a little over two weeks ago and have thwarted the Freedoms chances at a championship title in years past. In that match, Kim Clijsters held off Sonia Kenin, 5-3 and Jack Sock was victorious over Taylor Fritz, 5-3. Today, Clijsters is not scheduled to play and Coco Vandegwhe will need to step up and handle Kenin, the 2020 women’s Australian Open single champion. Sock and Neal Skupski will battle Philadelphia’s Fabrice Martin and Taylor Townsend in mixed doubles. Townsend will pair with Caroline Dolehide against Vandegwhe and Nicole Melichar in women’s doubles.

I’ll predict .an Empire win based on the doubles strength added by the Empire late last week in Vandegwhe and Melichar. It was a great addition to the team not just to hel the Empire to make the playoffs, but to pay dividends in the playoffs as well .Let’s face it: Doubles is even more important than singles in World Team Tennis. The play of Sock and Neal Skupski has been outstanding and Vandegwhe and Melichar are clearly vibing together. Vandegwhe and Sock may have the hardest time defeating their singles rivals, but Taylor Fritz is a known commodity to Jack Sock and I predict he wins the men’s singles set as well.

Prediction: Empire d. Freedoms 22-18

—S. Fogleman

The @NewYorkEmpireTennis Just Took A Big Step Forward to @WorldTeamTennis Playoffs With Solid Victory

Posted by Admin on July 26, 2020
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The @NewYorkEmpireTennis Just Took A Big Step Forward to @WorldTeamTennis Playoffs With Solid Victory

In a match with obvious World Team Tennis playoff implications, the New York Empire took a huge step forward today, easily defeating the Washington Kastles 25-15. Both teams entered the match with matching 5-5 records. New York was propelled to an early lead when Neal Skupski and Kveta Pescke took the mixed doubles set, 5-2.

Two days ago, Empire coach Luke Jensen pulled a struggling Sabine Lisicki and replaced her mid-set with Kim Clijsters, who promptly won the set. Today, Lisicki needed no such reinforcements, and it was Kim Clijsters serving as her biggest cheerleader as Lisicki easily managed Venus Williams, 5-3. Clijsters planted a big mom hug on her German teammate after the victory.

Jack Sock and Neal Skupski posted another 5-2 doubles win over Tommy Paul and Marcelo Arevola and the rout was brewing. Lisicki returned with Kveta Peschke to once again vex Venus, who paired with Arina Rodionova in the Empire’s 5-4 women’s doubles win. Jack Sock closed out the match with a 5-4 victory over Tommy Paul. Lisicki was selected as the Chosen Player of the Match.

The results of the match were particularly poignant for both teams: the Empire seized undisputed ground for the final of four playoff spots, while the Kastles, at 5-6, most likely need to win out in order to qualify. I’m sure the folks at CBS are pulling for a Williams appearance in next Sunday’s final. That ratings bonanza is a tall order at the moment.

—S. Fogleman in the Mountaineer State