Paes, Oudsema Dazzle Home Crowd As Kastles Win Third Straight

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Sunday, July 12th 2009

Capitalizing on the momentum from a two-match winning streak, Leander Paes and his Washington Kastles teammates stormed out to a quick 5-0 lead and won another match convincingly Sunday, this time by a score of 19-15 against the New York Buzz on USTA Family Day at Kastles Stadium in Washington, D.C.

The mood was festive and family-friendly before the match, which had an early 5 p.m. start time, as stilt-walkers, face-painters and the Kastles' mascot Top Spin entertained fans young and old as part of USTA Family Day. 

Once the match began, the mood at Kastles Stadium got serious about the tennis but remained upbeat. The Kastles, who entered the match with the WTT's best mixed doubles record this season, started where they left off Friday night against the New York Sportimes: dominantly. Grand Slam winners Rennae Stubbs and Leander Paes were too much for the Buzz's Jarmere Jenkins and Sloane Stephens, as the dynamic duo won the first event 5-0.

In matches closer than the scores indicated, Stubbs and teammate Olga Puchkova dropped the women's doubles event 5-2 to Stephens and Mallory Burdette and Puchkova dropped the women's singles event 5-2 to Stephens. In the two sets combined, the Kastles lost all six deciding three-all points and the Kastles (3-4) found themselves down 10-9 at halftime to the Buzz (2-4), who are comprised of the best junior tennis players in the United States this season.

In need of a strong finish, Paes and Scott "Boom Boom" Oudsema delivered. Now with the league's best men's doubles record on the season, the Kastles got one of the most dazzling sequences of the season from Paes, who punctuated an emphatic forehand winner down the line with a fist-pump and a "Come on!" to the excited fans in attendance. The point won the Kastles the game and tied the match at 11-11, but Paes wasn't done yet. Just a few points later, the recent mixed doubles Wimbledon finalist put on a one-man show as he staved off two slams from the Buzz, then finished the point with an unreachable cross-court winner.

The Kastles won the event 5-1 to give them a 14-11 lead heading into the afternoon's final event, men's singles, where Oudsema took on 6-foot-7 Alex Domijan, who has been winning most of his WTT matches this season. Oudsema was overpowering with his serve, acing his opponent six times to help him win the event 5-4. But "Boom Boom" also showed off his serve and volleying ability, a new focus of his game which will make him very dangerous in all matches as the season progresses.

"Both of us were serving pretty large tonight," Oudsema said understatedly about Domijan and himself.

Now winners of three and a row and just a half-match out of a playoff spot and one and a half matches out of first place, the Kastles will be joined by Wimbledon champion Serena Williams Monday night in Philadelphia.

The squad returns to Washington Tuesday night for their sold-out home match against the Newport Beach Breakers (5-2). Gates open at 5:15 p.m., with the match starting at 7 p.m. On Thursday, the Kastles will take on tennis legend John McEnroe and the Sportimes in a match that is selling fast. 

Tags: tennis, kastles