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by Christopher Gerby A relatively subdued crowd filed into MVP Stadium for the New York Buzz's fifth home match of the season. There was little cause for optimism, with the Buzz coming off a loss in Philadelphia that dropped their record on the year to 2-5. The addition of living legend Martina Navratilova to the Buzz lineup backfired a bit in Philly, as Navratilova lost all three of her sets. "It was tough. This was the first time," said young Viktoriya Kutuzova about playing doubles with Martina. "We didn't know each other, but I think it's going to get better, because she's a great doubles player... I was a little bit nervous, but she's a really nice person." Navratilova was not on hand for Friday evening's tilt against the defending champions of World Team Tennis. First set: men's singles -- Justin Bower vs. Paul Goldstein Playing in the same conference for the past three seasons, Justin Bower and Paul Goldstein have squared off numerous times in Team Tennis. "Goldie" generally gets the better of it, using his steady counterpunching to good effect against Bower's flashy feast-or-famine game. However, Paul may have come into this match a changed man, having recently taken several days off to marry his college sweetheart (the aptly named Abigail McBride). Looking a tad out of rhythm on the court, Goldstein had to fight off a break point in the fourth game. There were no such worries for Bower, blasting multiple aces en route to a 4-3 lead. Looking for a break that would secure the opening set, Bower opened Game 8 on a winning note, sending a sizzling backhand down the line for 0-15. Two points later, Justin did damage with a wicked cross-court forehand pass, sending Goldstein into a daring (but futile) dive and roll on the hard court. It was all over shortly after that, as the league's reigning MVP sent two consecutive backhands into the net to drop serve and the set. OVERALL SCORE: BUZZ 5, SMASH 3 Second set: women's doubles -- Kutuzova/Stewart vs. Huber/Reeves When in doubt, the Smash can always count on their women's doubles tandem. Liezel Huber and Samantha Reeves are undefeated together in World Team Tennis this season and Liezel really seems to relish playing on her old stomping grounds. (Letting Huber go after she led them to the WTT final in 2002 was a misguided move the Buzz seem to pay for every time the spunky doubles specialist returns as a visiting player). 15-year-old Viktoriya Kutuzova's inexperience was on display early in this one. With teammate Bryanne Stewart trailing 0-30 in Game 2, Kutuzova made an ill-advised attempt at an overhead, barely even getting a racket on the ball. The very next point saw Kutuzova fail to cover the line, leaving Reeves an open alley down which to send a winner. Just like that, the Smash had a 2-0 lead in the set and a tie in the cumulative match score. Adding the proverbial exclamation point, Huber smacked back-to-back aces to close out a hold for 3-0. Kutuzova got on the board with a hold for 1-3, but the opening point of Game 5 saw Reeves come up with an excellent lob volley winner. Exuberant as ever, Smash coach Brad Dancer jumped out of his seat and shouted, "So good!" Reeves gave him a sheepish smile and a shrug of the shoulders, then proceeded to notch a love hold for 4-1. Stewart, whose serve has been an ongoing adventure this season, was then broken at 30 by the Huber/Reeves juggernaut. Still undefeated for the season, they looked particularly sharp on this occasion, winning 5-1. OVERALL SCORE: SMASH 8, BUZZ 6 Third set: mixed doubles -- Bower/Stewart vs. Wheaton/Huber Liezel Huber was so busy chatting with fellow South African (and former Buzz teammate) Justin Bower, she was still on the Buzz's side of the court when the third event was about to begin. Smiling at Buzz coach Jolene Watanabe on her way back, Huber jovially asked, "Are you taking this side? I don't know, I just show up!" What Huber couldn't do was save veteran David Wheaton from double faulting twice in Game 2, a critical break for the Buzz. The Smash nearly broke right back in the following game, but Bryanne Stewart came up big, striking an inside-out forehand winner on game point for 3-0. With a 0-40 lead against Huber's serve, the Buzz appeared poised to steamroll through mixed doubles. After Delaware saved a couple break points, Bower tried to call Stewart off a ball that was floating out. Suffering some kind of brain cramp, Stewart wound up hitting a hideous frying pan lob that meekly sailed wide. Still mad at herself, Stewart missed a return on game point and threw her racket. After the men exchanged successful service games, Bryanne got a chance to redeem herself. The likable Aussie did just that, banking the 5-2 set by handcuffing Wheaton with a good first serve. OVERALL SCORE: BUZZ 11, SMASH 10 Fourth set: women's singles -- Viktoriya Kutuzova vs. Samantha Reeves Already sporting two singles wins over Samantha Reeves in WTT this year, Viktoriya Kutuzova went for the sweep. Eschewing the usual white-and-blue Buzz color scheme, the Ukranian phenom was decked out in a midriff-baring black ensemble that made her look even more like Anna Kournikova than usual. Unfortunately, her tennis also had hints of Kournikova's current form. Flubbing volleys and struggling with her serve, Kutuzova had to fight hard to stay level at 2 games apiece. It looked as if the entire set might hinge on a mutual game point (quirk of WTT's no ad scoring format) at the end of Game 5. A fierce rally saw Reeves appear to catch the sideline with a backhand, only to have it called out. The umpire immediately overruled the call and decided they should replay the point. Another dramatic baseline duel ensued, Kutuzova finally sending a backhand wide to drop the see-saw game. Impatience growing, Kutuzova double faulted twice in the next game, handing Reeves a 4-2 lead in the set and a 14-13 edge in the overall tally. Reeves built a 40-0 cushion in Game 7, putting herself on the brink of a nice win. Viktoriya suddenly came to life, however, smacking two forehand winners in a row to stave off set points. Liezel Huber tried to encourage her teammate, shouting, "Come on, Sam! You're in control." However, Reeves was anything but in control, double faulting to bring up game point. Reeves nearly won it by swinging a big serve out wide, but it was deemed a fault. Samantha pleaded "no no no noooo!" in a whiny voice that drew some laughter from the crowd, but the call stood. Reeves then hit the second serve long, getting Kutuzova right back in the hunt at 3-4. Kutuzova's been experimenting with her serve (incorporating more spin and a different toss) and it shows. It let her down yet again as she opened Game 8 with a double fault of her own. A winner from Reeves and error from Kutuzova followed, giving Delaware another fistful of set points. David Wheaton's voice rang loudest now as he intoned, "Here we go! Let's go, Sammer!" The roller coaster finally came to a stop as Kutuzova sent one last backhand long. Walking slowly to her chair after the 5-3 win, Sam Reeves looked utterly drained, albeit relieved. She had gotten the job done in the end, but Smash coach Brad Dancer saw fit to have a long talk with her between sets. OVERALL SCORE: SMASH 15, BUZZ 14 Fifth set: men's doubles -- Bower/Rudman vs. Goldstein/Wheaton Here we go again. With just one game separating the two teams, the New York Buzz would rely on their men's doubles pairing to win the pivotal closing event. To the shock of nobody who's seen them scuffling this season, the South Africans fell behind an early service break. With his team needing only to hold serve the rest of the way to secure victory, Paul Goldstein got a fluke ace (a serve dribbling off the net cord -- only in Team Tennis) in Game 4. That helped him dig out of trouble and eventually hold for 3-1. The next game saw Wheaton make a desperate defensive stab, tossing up a lob that drew an errant overhead from Bower. Goldstein was so excited, he jumped into the air as he high fived his taller partner. The Smash were clearly feeling it now, but Justin Bower unleashed some monster serves in battling back to 2-3. Holds from Wheaton and Shaun Rudman made it 4-3 in favor of the visitors. 27-year-old Goldstein stepped to the line, hoping to serve his team to the victory, but Rudman had other ideas. The lefty hit a winner off the tape for 0-30 and then knocked off a clean return to earn break points at 15-40. The first break point was hotly contested, with Rudman's two-fisted forehand error ending a great rally. Break point number two saw Goldstein come up with a clutch service winner. Simultaneously facing a break point and holding a match point, Goldstein delivered another good first serve. Rudman mis-hit his return off the frame and the ball floated towards the baseline, ultimately landing a couple inches long. In a battle that was even closer than its 5-3 score indicates, Goldstein and Wheaton had survived. FINAL SCORE: SMASH 20, BUZZ 17 Brad Dancer called his squad together immediately following the match for a team meeting that had the distinct feel of a pep rally. Once Samantha Reeves had emerged from the upbeat huddle, I called the night's unofficial MVP over for a Q & A session. A little grin of recognition crossed her face when I asked if the topsy turvy singles duel with Viktoriya Kutuzova was one of the more frustrating sets she's ever won. "It was disappointing at 4-2, to be up 40-0 (and lose the game), just because every game counts in Team Tennis," she admitted. "So, you know, obviously in your head you're thinking, this is the game that I should have won that would have made our lead going into the final match a little bit bigger. So I was thinking about that a little bit and you can't think about stuff like that when you're playing... If you get frustrated, then you lose a game and that game is, like, half the set!" Of obvious help in those moments are Delaware's incredibly involved coach and supportive teammates. "It's great. It's such a wonderful break from the regular tour," said Sam in her endearing Cindy Brady lisp. "Basically, the whole team is rooting for you and cheering for you, coaching you, giving you support. If you're not playing well, they're constantly there, cheering you up. That helps a lot. It's a lot of fun, too." Then again, playing with a take charge personality like Liezel Huber has both advantages and disadvantages. "It's a great experience, because she's one of the top doubles players in the world, so I've learned a lot from her... She kind of tells me a lot of times what to do, which can get annoying." Improving their record to 5-3, Delaware moved into a tie for the Eastern Conference lead. As for their odds of repeating as World Team Tennis champions, Reeves says, "Well, so far, so good. We're just taking it one match at a time." Upon hearing that, David Wheaton poked a bit of fun, noting, "That's the biggest cliche in sports right there." Finishing her thought, Samantha said, "We hope so, but the most important thing is that we all really get along on the team and enjoy our time out here playing and play well as a team. If we make it to the finals, great. If not, it's just a great experience to be out here playing." The experience should be even better now that Reeves no longer has to face that pesky Kutuzova, who dropped two losses on her early in the season. "Yeah, finally, now I don't have to see her anymore! Third time's the charm, right? She's great. She's 15 years old, she's gonna be a great player. This is a great experience for her, because it's short sets, makes you really have a good start, have to focus with the music and everything." For her part, Kutuzova blamed the Buzz loss on fatigue, explaining that they'd driven home from Philadelphia in the middle of the night. "I was really, really tired because we come back yesterday at 3 o'clock at night and I go to bed at 6 AM... We need to go tomorrow again, so I'm just waiting for a holiday." Regarding the major turning point in singles (an overrule which went against Kutuzova on game point at 2-2), Viktoriya was matter of fact. "I saw the ball. It was out. I won game and they say, no, play again." It's been that kind of season for the New York Buzz. "Sometimes, you know, I play good, Justin was playing bad. Now sometimes I play not good, he's playing good." For the Buzz to salvage their lost season, it would help if they were all playing well at the same time. |