NEW YORK - With a performance nothing short of overwhelming, Serena Williams and the rest of her Washington Kastles teammates made easy work of the Eastern Conference-leading New York Sportimes Friday night, leading from start to finish en route to a 25-13 victory to put the team only one game out of a playoff spot.
The match began with a triple-dose of Williams. After Sportimes coach Chuck Adams selected mixed doubles, women's doubles and women's singles as the first three events of the night, Williams took the court undaunted by having to play three consecutive sets. True to form, she played at a world-class level during all three events. With fellow Grand Slam winners Leander Paes and Rennae Stubbs playing beside Williams during the doubles matches, the 22-time Grand Slam champion hardly had to do all the work herself. The mixed and women's doubles teams dropped just three games during the sets and were broken just once, as the duos showed chemistry befitting of lifelong teammates.
First, Williams and Paes took on Abigail Spears and David Martin in mixed doubles, which they won handily, 5-1. The blowout gave the Kastles a 27-21 record in mixed doubles sets this season, the best win percentage in the WTT. After the hot start, the teaming of Stubbs and Williams continued on their success from the previous night, defeating Spears and teammate Christina Fusano by a 5-2 score to bring their record to 10-2 over the last two matches.
Next it was Williams' turn to complete her hat trick. Wearing her custom-made Kastles uniform, the 2009 ladies' singles and doubles Wimbledon champion was too much for Spears, who rose the level of her game, but Williams ultimately prevailed 5-3. Thanks to Williams' performance, the Kastles had built a large 15-6 lead after three events.
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