On their most star-studded night of the year, Serena Williams and the Washington Kastles put on a show for a boisterous sold-out home crowd of 3,000 Kastles fans, defeating the Newport Beach Breakers 22-12 at Kastles Stadium last night. The win was the Kastles’ (5-4) fifth straight, giving them sole possession of second-place (and a playoff spot) in the Eastern Conference. The ten-game margin of victory was the second biggest for the team this season. “It’s great to be back in D.C.,” Williams said with a smile before the match. The atmosphere in the stadium was electric from the beginning, with notables like WTT founder Billie Jean King and Redskins starting quarterback Jason Campbell in attendance and a standing ovation for the 22-time Grand Slam champion as she walked on the court.
The Wimbledon champion once again brought fans to their seats as she walked on the court for her mixed doubles set with fellow Grand Slam winner Leander Paes. After a 5-1 mixed doubles victory last night, the pair set the performance bar high for tonight’s encore and they did not disappoint. The flashbulbs popped as Williams took her first serve in the third game of the set, with her team already up 2-0. From there, the dynamic duo did not falter, sweeping the event 5-0 to give the Kastles a 12-9 lead entering halftime. After halftime, Williams and the Kastles continued to control the action. Along with 2008 WTT women’s MVP Rennae Stubbs, the two Wimbledon doubles finalists handled opponents Julie Ditty and Marie-Eve Pelletier easily, winning the event 5-1 to give the Kastles a commanding 17-10 lead entering the final event, women’s singles.
Even with an insurmountable lead, not a fan left the stadium as Williams took the court alone against Pelletier. The world’s no. 2 player took care of business once again, defeating the Canadian 5-2 with a mixture of a power and finesse to win the match for her team on a night that fans will remember for years to come.
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