Empire Fall to Lasers in Super Tiebreaker
Buoyed by one of the game’s all-time great doubles players, the Springfield Lasers scored a 23-22 Super Tiebreaker victory over the visiting New York Empire presented by Citi on Thursday night in exciting World TeamTennis presented by GEICO action.
Canada’s Daniel Nestor, a former world No. 1 and owner of 12 all-time Grand Slam doubles titles, decided the match with a big serve and volley with the score tied in games 22-22 and knotted at 6-all in the deciding Super Tiebreaker.
Teamed with recent Wimbledon women’s doubles semifinalist Abigail Spears, Nestor and Spears jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the Super Tiebreaker against the Empire’s Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez and Neal Skupski only to see Martinez Sanchez and Skupski come back to tie it at 5-all. At 6-6, Nestor then closed it out with his big left-handed serve.
The tiebreaker was a common theme throughout the night as four of the five sets ended in a first-to-five point tiebreaker after the set score was tied at 4-4.
Men’s singles started things off as Springfield’s Miomir Kecmanovic posted a 5-4 win over the Empire’s Dennis Novikov on the fast indoor courts.
Tatjana Maria and Martinez Sanchez then knotted the score at 9-9 with their 5-4 win against Vania King and Spears in women’s doubles.
The Empire headed into intermission with a slim 14-13 advantage following Novikov and Skupski’s 5-4 win over Miomir Kecmanovic and Nestor in men’s doubles.
Spears came up big in women’s singles downing Maria 5-3 in the only non-tiebreaker set.
Martinez Sanchez and Skupski beat Spears and Nestor 5-4 to tie the score at 22-22 and send the match into the deciding Super Tiebreaker.
The Empire falls to 0-4 on the season while the Lasers are now even at 2-2.
►Men’s Singles: Kecmanovic (SL) def. Novikov (NYE), 5-4
►Women’s Doubles: Maria/Martinez Sanchez (NYE) def. King/Spears (SL), 5-4
►Men’s Doubles: Novikov/Skupski (NYE) def. Kecmanovic/Nestor (SL), 5-4
►Women’s Singles: Spears (SL) def. Maria (NYE), 5-3
â–ºMixed Doubles: Martinez Sanchez/Skupski (NYE) def. Spears/Nestor (SL), 5-4
â–ºSuper Tiebreaker: Spears/Nestor (SL) def. Martinez Sanchez/Skupski (NYE), 1-0 (7-6)
The New York Empire return home to Court 17 at the Billie Jean King USTA National Tennis Center on Friday, July 20 at 7:00 p.m. as they host the San Diego Aviators.
Group tickets and various hospitality packages are available by calling the New York Empire office at 844-5-EMPIRE (844-536-7473) or by visiting www.nyempiretennis.com.
New York Empire tickets can be purchased by visiting Ticketmaster or by calling the New York Empire office at 844-5-EMPIRE (844-536-7473). The 2018 WTT regular season will take place from July 15 – August 2 with the No. 1-seeded team hosting the championship match for the King Trophy on August 5.
For more information on World TeamTennis, visit www.WTT.com.
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