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by Christopher Gerby Embarking on their tenth season of World Team Tennis, the New York Buzz return half of the roster that managed a disappointing 4-10 record last year. South African lefties Justin Bower and Shaun Rudman are the holdovers, joined by promising 15-year-old Viktoriya Kutuzova and Sydney, Australia native Bryanne Stewart. The ageless Martina Navratilova will join the Buzz late in the season, but the squad isn't terribly imposing on paper without her. Fortunately, their opponents in the 2004 home opener also came in short-handed. The absence of Lisa Raymond (off preparing for her Fed Cup duties alongside Navratilova) left Philly with a couple doubles specialists (Josh Eagle and Elena Tatarkova) and a pair of largely unproven young Americans (John Paul Fruterro and Ansley Cargill). The Freedoms, like the Buzz, suffered a season-opening loss on Monday night. This wouldn't be a terribly star-studded affair, but it was one that figured to be competitive and important for both teams' long-term aspirations. It's worth noting at the top that the Buzz's most vocal fans -- a handful of ruffians who managed to amuse even Andy Roddick with their spirited antics last year -- were in attendance. I took to referring to them as The Back Row Rowdies, but team owner Nitty Singh has a couple other nicknames for them. "They're the Buzz Boys, the Buzz Brigade from Amsterdam." She meant a neighboring city in upstate New York, but it's likely the boys would have their share of fun in that legally lenient part of the Netherlands. "Some of them work at Home Depot," Singh added. "I didn't recognize them with their clothes on." That was, I assure you, a reference to the rowdies' fondness for writing B-U-Z-Z on their bare chests. At any rate, the Brigade was in full voice right from the start, welcoming Justin Bower back with a "Bower Power" chant. Justin looked up at their corner of the stands and replied, "I love you guys!" The Freedoms, meanwhile, found themselves on the receiving end of taunts like "go back to Philly!" and "fly away Eagle!" First set: mixed doubles: Bower/Stewart vs. Eagle/Tatarkova The match got off on an ominous note for New York, as Bower had his serve broken at love. A series of holds saw Philadelphia extend that lead to 3-2, but semi-retired Josh Eagle found trouble in Game 6. In the fast paced no-ad scoring of World Team Tennis, deuce brings up a winner take all game point. That was the scenario here and it was Bower taking advantage, sending a backhand return down the line for a clean winner, tying the set at 3-3. Bryanne Stewart's second love hold of the evening gave the Buzz their first lead at 4-3. Tatarkova saved a pair of set points in Game 8, but the Buzz momentum would not be denied. Stewart cracked a winning cross-court forehand return on game point to claim the break and the set. Duly impressed, Bower gave his new teammate an "I'm not worthy" bow. OVERALL SCORE: BUZZ 5, FREEDOMS 3 Second set: women's doubles -- Kutuzova/Stewart vs. Cargill/Tatarkova Viktoriya Kutuzova and Bryanne Stewart have relatively big shoes to fill in Schenectady, replacing rising star Shenay Perry and crowd favorite Nannie de Villiers. They didn't make a brilliant first impression as a doubles tandem, looking helpless at times against Ansley Cargill and Elena Tatarkova. The turning point was Game 4, which saw young Kutuzova double fault on break point. The Ukranian teen seemed to be rushing and looked a bit out of sorts. Cargill, on the other hand, was happy and relaxed, playing well and appearing to enjoy the running commentary from the Buzz Boys. She and veteran Tatarkova dropped only three points on serve in an impressive 5-2 win of the set. OVERALL SCORE: FREEDOMS 8, BUZZ 7 Third set: men's doubles -- Bower/Rudman vs. Eagle/Fruterro "Whose house is this!?!" shouted Justin Bower during a closely contested set of men's doubles. He and Shaun Rudman (dubbed "Shauny McNasty" by the Buzz Boys) came out serving well, but struggled to win return points against Philadelphia's solid duo. The set went with serve rather uneventfully to 4-4, forcing a first-to-five-points tiebreak. Bower got it off to a fine start for New York, knocking off an unreturnable volley and whipping a forehand winner on the dead run for a 2-0 lead. Fruterro took care of his service points, staying on level pegging at 2-2. Rudman then opened the door for the Freedoms, double faulting to 2-3. He reached 3-3 with a service winner, but that's when John Paul Fruterro took over. The 23-year-old showed power with a forceful overhead smash and deft touch with a winning drop volley, clinching a 5-3 win of the tiebreak. OVERALL SCORE: FREEDOMS 13, BUZZ 11 Fourth set: women's singles -- Viktoriya Kutuzova vs. Ansley Cargill Having abandoned the juniors scene at the tender age of 15 to pursue her WTA Tour dreams, Viktoriya Kutuzova does not lack for ambition. With her confident walk and long blonde braided ponytail, she could evoke comparisons to Anna Kournikova (who will be in town to face the Buzz on Thursday night). There are definite similarities in their games: Kutuzova is a hard-hitting baseliner who, at this stage of her career, lacks consistency and modulation. Ansley Cargill seemed content to keep the ball in play while Kutuzova forced the action, aiming for the lines and often missing by a mere inch or two. Before long, the American southpaw had eased her way to a 3-0 lead. Kutuzova did hold serve to 1-3, but Buzz coach Jolene Watanabe was still eagerly giving her instructions, even following her out to the court after the changeover. Cargill staved off a couple break chances in Game 5, holding when Kutuzova's lunging volley found the net. Game 6 also went to deuce and Cargill appeared to have the set on her racket as he struck a nice forehand approach. Kutuzova had the answer, though, lacing a forehand pass down the line to hold for 2-4. After a slow start, Viktoriya was showing real flashes of potential. A beautiful running forehand winner in Game 7 earned her another break opportunity. Cargill, however, held firm. She put away a smash to bring up game point and promptly launched a service winner to wrap up the 5-2 set. Good stuff from Ansley, who's scheduled to be back in Schenectady a couple weeks from now for a USTA $50k women's challenger tournament. OVERALL SCORE: FREEDOMS 18, BUZZ 13 Fifth set: men's singles -- Justin Bower vs. John Paul Fruterro Looking very David Wheaton in a stars-and-stripes headband, John Paul Fruterro aimed to close out what by now seemed like an inevitable Freedoms victory. Justin Bower had the colors of the South African flag on his own headband, though, and had plenty of fight left. On game point at 1-1, Bower rifled a sizzling forehand and began skipping around like the dwarf in the "Safety Dance" video. A more subdued Fruterro was quietly playing great tennis, backing up his heavy serves with well-timed net approaches and penetrating groundstrokes. Seven games went into the books without either man losing serve. Needing to win this set to force overtime, Bower asked the fans, "You guys wanna see a comeback, don't you?" They answered in the affirmative, of course, and Justin did his best to appease them. Down 40-30 in Game 8, he sent a lovely backhand winner down the line and celebrated with a full on Tiger Woods fist pump. Alas, Fruterro came right back with a service winner. Deadlocked at 4 games apiece, it was tiebreak time. FINAL SCORE: FREEDOMS 23, BUZZ 17 If nothing else, Justin Bower did put on a show for the home crowd. "I've always been animated and I love the fans," he said after the loss. Midway through that last tiebreak, Bower motioned to the Buzz bench, searching in vain for an answer to his opponent's sterling play. "I'm asking for his weakness, 'cause I can't figure it out," he explained. Indeed, it had been a surprisingly strong showing by the Philadelphia Freedoms, particularly John Paul Fruterro and Ansley Cargill. Nevertheless, it must be viewed as a missed opportunity for the Buzz. "We'll just have to keep playing hard and find a way to get a win," said Jolene Watanabe, smiling ruefully after her team's second defeat in as many nights. Things aren't about to get any easier, with the defending World Team Tennis champion Delaware Smash (who routed the Buzz 24-12 in the season opener) coming to Schenectady on Wednesday. |