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Sampras Leads Newport Beach into |
Newport Beach, Calif. (July 27, 2006) --- Pete Sampras used a hard fought victory over Nick Monroe of the Springfield Lasers to lead the Newport Beach Breakers into Saturday's semifinals of the World TeamTennis Playoffs with a 23-18 (OT 1-1) win in action Thursday at the Palisades Tennis Club in Newport Beach.
Sampras' 5-4 win in men's singles evened the match at nine all after Springfield won the opening set of women's doubles with Victoria Azarenka and Andreea Vanc teaming up to defeat the Breakers' Tina Krizan and Anastassia Rodionova, 5-4.
Sampras and Ramon Delgado were up 2-0 in men's doubles, when Sampras was substituted for at the start of the third game of the set after straining his left hamstring. The Breakers replaced Sampras with Rick Leach and went on to win men's doubles, defeating Monroe and Alex Vlaski 5-1. The Breakers then added to their lead as Leach and Krizan defeated Vanc and Vlaski in mixed doubles with a quick 5-2 win.
Vanc sent the match into overtime, capturing a 5-3 win over Rodionova in women's singles. Rodionova sealed the victory for the Breakers, winning the game in overtime.
"I was playing well tonight in both singles and doubles," Sampras said following the match. "Early in the doubles I felt I had tweaked my hamstring and I pulled myself out. I really wanted to help the team win tonight and advance, but at the same time, I was not going to risk an injury."
After the match, Sampras was listed as questionable for Saturday's semifinal.
The Breakers will now face the Western Conference champion Sacramento Capitals in the first semifinal match at 3 p.m. on Saturday. The New York Sportimes will meet Eastern Conference rival Philadelphia Freedoms in the second semifinal at 7 p.m. Saturday.
Earlier in the evening, Azarenka and New York Sportimes' David Martin were named the WTT 2006 Female and Male Rookies of the Year. The 16-year-old Azarenka finished the regular season ranked second in women's singles with a .605 winning percentage and fourth in women's doubles. Martin, from Tulsa, Okla., ended the regular season in first place in men's doubles with a winning percentage of .593% and was eighth in mixed doubles.
World TeamTennis Pro League presented by Advanta - Results for Thursday, 7/27
World TeamTennis Playoffs - Wild Card Quarterfinal Match
FINAL RESULTS - All matches complete:
Newport Beach Breakers def. SPRINGFIELD LASERS 23-18 (OT)
Women's Doubles - Victoria Azarenka\Andreea Vanc (Lasers) def. Tina Krizan\Anastassia Rodionova (Breakers) 5-4
Men's Singles - Pete Sampras (Breakers) def. Nick Monroe (Lasers) 5-4
Men's Doubles - Ramon Delgado\Rick Leach (Breakers) def. Nick Monroe\Alex Vlaski (Lasers) 5-1
Mixed Doubles - Anastassia Rodionova\Rick Leach (Breakers) def. Andreea Vanc\Nick Monroe (Lasers) 5-2
Women's Singles - Andreea Vanc (Lasers) def. Anastassia Rodionova (Breakers) 5-3
Overtime - Women's Singles - Andreea Vanc (Lasers) tied Anastassia Rodionova (Breakers) 1-1
WTT PLAYOFFS SCHEDULE:
Saturday, July 29
3 p.m. Newport Beach Breakers vs. SACRAMENTO CAPITALS
7 p.m. Philadelphia Freedoms vs. NEW YORK SPORTIMES
Sunday, July 30
1 p.m. WTT Championships Final
Tickets for all playoff matches are still available at the Newport Beach Breakers box office.
For live scoring and complete player / match statistics, please visit www.WTT.com
Media contacts: Rosie Crews - rcrews@gemgroup.com; W: 817.684.0366; C: 817.691.5424
Rosie Crews
D: 817.684.0366 | C: 817.691.5424 | F: 817.684.0365