(Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post)
The Washington Kastles took the win, 19-17, this past week in an exciting nail-biter against the California Dream. Washington lost the first two sets and came back to win the last three sets, thus clenching the Eastern Conference Title.
Before the match, the Kastles Martina Hingis and Leander Paes held a press conference. Having just won the mixed doubles championship for the Australian Open and Wimbledon back-to-back, they were in high spirits.
“I have to hold my own when I play with Leander, he’s tough,” Hingis commented.
“It is a pleasure playing with Hingis. She is a champion both on and off the court.” Leander told the media. “Hingis and I may come from separate cultures and different backgrounds, but we share one thing in common… we work hard, we have passion for what we do and we love to play for the Washington Kastles.”
The opening match was mixed doubles, featuring Hingis and Leander against the Dream’s Annabel Gaggigues and Ken Skupski. This contest was a huge disappointment and a shocking loss for the Kastles because they were the better team. Gaggigues and Skupski simply outplayed them… they had smarter shots, better placement and less unforced errors.
The second match was a singles match and Hingis was up against California’s Jarmila Gajdosova. Hingis no longer plays on the circuit as a singles player and is retired and this showed during this match. She was simply out powered and lost the match with a heartbreaking 1-5 score. This player is the youngest Grand Slam champion, having won her first title at the age of 15. After that she had some injuries and personal problems which made her leave tennis for a year. When Hingis came back to the tour, she just wasn’t the same, lacking the power in her petite frame that the other players had. This led her to become a doubles player. Currently she and Leander are ranked No. 1 in the World for mixed doubles.
In the last three matches, the Kasltes came out to win. They were hungry, their shots were more accurate and they made more winners; forcing the Dream to have to bump up their game which ultimately it didn’t work. The home team was just too strong. The match was tied up until the last two games when Washington’s Sam Query let go a beautiful serve, making it impossible for the Dream to return and securing the win for the Kastles, 19-17.
The next match is Wednesday July 29, 2015, against Boston Lobsters.