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The Newest Washington Wharf Rat: Big @KevinAnderson18 Joins @WashKastles

Posted by Admin on June 28, 2013
Posted in: ATP, Washington, Washington Kastles, World Team Tennis. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Rising Star Kevin Anderson Joins Washington Kastles July 8-11

Kevin Anderson, 2012 ATP Washington, Copyright TennisEastCoast.com

 

Six-foot-eight South African is currently ranked a career-high No. 23 in the world.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – June 28, 2013 – One of tennis’ brightest stars has joined the game’s greatest franchise. Six-foot-eight Kevin Anderson will represent the defending Mylan World TeamTennis champion Washington Kastles in their first four matches of the season July 8-11.

Anderson is coming off fourth-round appearances at the French Open and Australian Open, catapulting him to a career-high ranking of No. 23 in the world. He is through to the third round at Wimbledon this week following a pair of straight-set victories, facing only one break point along the way.

The South African power hitter played for the Sacramento Capitals in 2012, leading them to the WTT Finals as a league rookie.

Though the Kastles defeated the Capitals 20-19 in the championship match, Anderson nearly knocked off Washington single-handedly. With his ferocious serve in full flight, Anderson defeated 2012 WTT Male MVP Bobby Reynolds 5-3 in singles and teamed with Mark Knowles to beat Reynolds and Leander Paes 5-2 in doubles.

“Playing in last year’s finals, I saw for myself the energy and the passion of the Kastles players and fans,” said Anderson. “So I jumped at the chance to join the team, and I can’t wait to get started on July 8.”

The 27-year-old Anderson comes to the Kastles in the midst of the hottest stretch of his career. He is 27-11 in singles this season on the ATP World Tour, reaching the fourth and fifth finals of his career at Sydney and Casablanca respectively.

Anderson also picked up his third Top 5 win along the way, beating World No. 4 David Ferrer at Indian Wells. He previously defeated then-No. 4 Andy Murray at Montreal in 2011 and then-No. 3 Novak Djokovic at Miami in 2008.

“With his history of success individually and on a team, Kevin Anderson will be a perfect fit for the Kastles,” said team owner Mark Ein. “Our fans saw first-hand last season how good Kevin is, but he will look even better wearing red and blue long into the future.”

 

Kastles coach Murphy Jensen will field a trio of talented men’s players when the Mylan WTT season kicks off. Fans of the team can expect to see Anderson, Reynolds and Paes all in the lineup July 8-11 as Washington puts its 32-match unbeaten run on the line.

With victories at home over the New York Sportimes on July 8 and the Boston Lobsters on July 9, the Kastles would own the longest winning streak in major U.S. pro sports history.

Following a road match in Dallas on July 10, it will be a battle between big servers when Anderson takes on former World No. 1 Andy Roddick of the Springfield Lasers on July 11 at Kastles Stadium.

Anderson and Roddick have split four career matches on the ATP World Tour, with the new Kastle winning their most recent meetings at Delray Beach in 2012 and Beijing in 2011.

Seats to see Anderson’s three home matches at Kastles Stadium are available at Ticketmaster.com.

For exclusive Kastles news, ticket information and player updates, follow the team at www.washingtonkastles.com, on Facebook at facebook.com/washkastles, and on Twitter at twitter.com/washkastles.

 

—B. Brandt

@WashKastles to be Honored by DC Mayor and City of Washington on Monday

Posted by Admin on October 20, 2012
Posted in: Washington, Washington Kastles, World Team Tennis. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a comment

Kastles Championship Rally 2011 (Photo: Willis Bretz)

Washington Kastles to be Honored by D.C. Mayor and City – Monday, October 22

Proclamation proclaims defending champions “the best of the city”

World TeamTennis (WTT) champions Washington Kastles will be honored by the District of Columbia on Monday, October 22 in recognition of their historic, second consecutive championship season. Mayor Vincent Gray will present a proclamation to the undefeated team at 12:30 p.m. on the steps of the Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Fans are invited to join the festivities as the Kastles provide complimentary championship gear, entertainment and fare.

Kastles Championship Rally 2009 (Photo: Kevin Koski)

The Kastles won their third WTT title in four years in September, posting a perfect 16-0 season for a second straight year. It is the only time a professional sports team has had back-to-back undefeated seasons, and the Kastles two perfect seasons are the only ones in the 37 years history of World TeamTennis. The Kastles’ current 32-match winning streak puts the team one win away from tying the all-time unbeaten professional sports streak of 33 wins set by the NBA’s 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers. This is the fourth time the Kastles have been recognized by the District of Columbia.

@VenusesWilliams Leads @WashKastles to #WTT Glory Again

Posted by Admin on September 17, 2012
Posted in: Washington, Washington Kastles, World Team Tennis. Tagged: , , , , . 2 Comments

Venus Williams leads Washington Kastles to World Team Tennis title

Photo Credit: Fred & Susan Mullane/Camerawork USA

CHARLESTON, S.C. (September 16, 2012) – Venus Williams led the Washington Kastles to their second consecutive World Team Tennis title today with a 20-19 victory over the Sacramento Capitals at the Family Circle Tennis Center in Charleston, S.C. Williams was also named the Finals MVP, winning her sets in women’s doubles, mixed doubles and the decisive final set of women’s singles.

The win gives the Kastles 32 consecutive match wins, the second longest streak in U.S. pro sports history. The top mark is 33, held by the NBA’s 1971-72 Lakers.

With the overall score tied at 15-15 heading into the final set, Williams edged Coco Vandeweghe 5-4 in women’s singles to give the Kastles their third title in the past four seasons.  Although Williams was part of championship teams in Philadelphia and Washington, this was the first time she had played in the championship match.  She credited her Kastles teammates for giving her the edge in a tight final set.  “I had to come out on fire today,” said Williams.  “Knowing I had to play for my team was motivating.”

Sept. 16, 2012; Charleston, SC; Washington Kastles defeat Sacramento Capitals to win the 2012 WTT Final. ©Susan Mullane/camerawork use

“Coco played her heart out,” said Sacramento coach Wayne Bryan.  ” I’m very proud of our team and congratulations to the Kastles.”

Sacramento led early when Kevin Anderson defeated Bobby Reynolds in the opening set, winning men’s singles 5-3. Anderson served up three aces and won 79 percent of his  first serve points compared to 61 percent for Reynolds.

Washington broke Asia Muhammad’s serve twice in women’s doubles and closed out the set on Venus Williams’ serve, 5-1.

Men’s doubles was highlighted by brilliant shot-making by the Kastles’ Leander Paes but it was the Caps that broke Paes serve for a 2-1 lead.  Anderson pushed the lead to 4-2 on his serve and broke Paes serve for a second time to take the set 5-2 and lead 11-10 at halftime.

Coach Wayne Bryan started Anderson in mixed doubles to take advantage of his big serve and the strategy worked as Sacramento won the first game and broke Paes serve to lead 2-0. Washington broke back against Vandeweghe’s serve then Williams held to tie the set at 2-2. After a see-saw battle that evened the score at 4-all, Washington pulled out the set win in a 9-point tiebreak, 5-4 (1).

FINAL RESULTS: World TeamTennis Finals presented by GEICO

Family Circle Tennis Center – Charleston, S.C. – Sunday, September 16

WASHINGTON KASTLES def. Sacramento Capitals 20-19

Men’s Singles – Kevin Anderson (Capitals) def. Bobby Reynolds (Kastles) 5-3

Women’s Doubles – Venus Williams\Anastasia Rodionova (Kastles) def. Yasmin Schnack\Asia Muhammad (Capitals) 5-1

Men’s Doubles – Mark Knowles\Kevin Anderson (Capitals) def. Bobby Reynolds\Leander Paes (Kastles) 5-2

Mixed Doubles – Leander Paes\Venus Williams (Kastles) def. Mark Knowles\Coco Vandeweghe (Capitals) 5-4

Women’s Singles – Venus Williams (Kastles) def. Coco Vandeweghe (Capitals) 5-4

@WashKastles On Brink of 2nd Consecutive #WTT Title and Another Undefeated Season

Posted by Admin on September 16, 2012
Posted in: Charleston, Washington Kastles, World Team Tennis. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment

Washington Kastles Mascot Slice

Washington Kastles Win Eastern Conference Championship And Push Streak To 31 Matches Defending champions outlast New York Sportimes for fourth time this year, head to finals

CHARLESTON, S.C. – September 15, 2012 – Defending World Team Tennis champions Washington Kastles defeated their arch-rival, the New York Sportimes, 19-15 in the WTT Eastern Conference final, propelling the team into Sunday’s championship match for the second consecutive year and extending the team’s historic win streak to 31 matches.

With the match tied and one set remaining, four-time Olympic gold medalist Venus Williams blasted her way past Ashley Harkleroad 5-1 in women’s singles to clinch a spot for the Kastles in the WTT Finals for the third time in four years.

“We’ve been in this situation before and we knew how to win. There was a lot of pressure on us, but we just knew we had to put the ball in play and go for the shot,” said Venus Williams. “It shows why we are a great team.”

The arch-rival Sportimes had been the Kastles’ toughest opponent during the regular season, including a thrilling 21-20 Washington win on July 21, when Venus Williams rallied from six games down in the final set to complete the franchise’s largest comeback ever.

Next up is the Western Conference champion Sacramento Capitals. They defeated the Orange County Breakers 25-15 on Friday to advance to the WTT championship match. The Kastles defeated Sacramento 21-19 on July 18.

In posting 31 straight victories, the Kastles have the second-longest winning streak in major U.S. professional sports history and are within range of the 33-game streak by the NBA’s 1971-1972 Los Angeles Lakers.  They have already passed the respective records of 17 straight wins set by the NHL Pittsburgh Penguins in 1992-1993, 21 straight wins by the NFL’s New England Patriots in 2003 and 2004, and 26 wins by the 1916 MLB New York Giants.

This year’s 14-0 regular season by the Kastles marked the first time in major U.S. professional sports history in which a team has had consecutive unbeaten regular seasons. Last season, in addition to winning a second WTT title in three years, the Kastles posted a perfect 16-0 record – a first in WTT history.

Kastles’ closer Bobby Reynolds was named the 2012 WTT Male Most Valuable Player. Kastles’ Coach Murphy Jensen was selected as 2012 Coach of the Year, the second straight season he has won that honor.

The 37th WTT regular season ran July 9-28. The championship is being played this year in September to accommodate players who participated in the Olympics and US Open.

WTT: Washington Kastles Win Streak Hits 26; Huey, Gallovits-Hall, Kops-Jones to Step Up

Posted by Admin on July 23, 2012
Posted in: olympics, Washington, Washington Kastles, World Team Tennis. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

The Kastles swept the sets last night to extend their winning streak to 26. It was a team effort, and there was no let down after Venus left the sold out Kastles Stadium following her two victorious sets.

Leander Paes and Anastasia Rodionova took the mixed doubles match in their last pre-London Olympic warm-ups.

Even Doubles legend Aisam Qureshi couldn’t stop the Kastles.

Finally, Bobby Reynolds finished off Nick Monroe and the Kansas City Explorers.

Now that Anastasia Rodionova and Leander Paes have left for the Olympics, it’s time for Treat Huey and Edina Gallovits-Hall to step up as the Kastles ramp up to keep their perfect streak alive heading into the postseason. They will be joined by the newest Kastle, Raquel Kops-Jones, who was drafted over the weekend.

Treat Huey joins the Kastles Crusade

Huey is an Alexandria, Virginia native and grew up a few miles down the Potomac from Kastles Stadium at The Wharf. I interviewed Treat and his doubles partner Dom Inglot two weeks ago in Newport.

—S. Fogleman

Venus Williams Shines in Olympic Send Off at Washington Kastles (VIDEO)

Posted by Admin on July 23, 2012
Posted in: London, olympics, Washington, Washington Kastles, World Team Tennis. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a comment

Venus is packing her pooch for good luck

Last night, Serena Williams was scheduled to be in attendance at the Washington Kastles home match against the Kansas City Explorers, but decided against testing her back before London 2012. Venus Williams substituted for her younger sister and she did not disappoint in any way. After posting back-to-back 5-1 wins in womens singles and doubles to give the home team an insurmountable lead, Williams was warmly embraced by the sellout crowd and attracted so many well wishers all the way to her ride to the airport that she must have cut the flight close. You can catch that scene at the end of the video below.

Earlier, in a pre-match press conference, Wiliams was asked what she thought about grunting. She said “tonight you’ll see the intensity level go and up and down, the voices will go up and down, in the crowd and on the court. It’s just tennis.”

Venus Williams plants a kiss on WTT Washington Kastles Owner Mark Ein before departing for London

Venus Williams is about much more than just tennis. Pro tennis players rarely make an impact on our lives the way that Venus has. What else can explain the intense attachment that the fans feel for her?

–S. Fogleman