The 11th season opener for the New York Buzz lost a bit of star power when 15-year-old phenom Sesil Karatantcheva failed to make the trip with the visiting Kansas City Explorers. More pressing was the loss of real power -- a blown transformer rendered MVP Stadium in Schenectady's Central Park unplayable. As a result, the match was moved indoors to the humid, cramped confines of the Schenectady Racquet & Fitness Club. The atmosphere was subdued, but a couple hundred fans did take advantage of the free admission, alternately standing and sitting on adjacent courts as they watched the action play out.

The fact that Schenectady is known as "the Electric City" (the Buzz, in fact, were formerly known as the Electrics) lent a certain irony to the mishap. However, any humor in the situation was understandably lost on Buzz owner Nitty Singh, who'd been lobbying the city for several days to get power restored. "I would say that it's extremely disappointing, because it's such a beautiful night; would have been perfect for outside, especially our opening night," said Singh. "We lost quite a bit of revenue tonight."

First set: men's doubles -- Crabb/Vahaly vs. MacPherson/MacPhie

Playing doubles together for the first time, Brian Vahaly and Jaymon Crabb of the Buzz had a tough assignment. 38-year-old David MacPherson and 33-year-old Brian MacPhie are a pair of lefties with an absolute wealth of doubles expertise and years of World TeamTennis experience. However, it was the Buzz who struck first blood. A beautifully executed topspin lob by Crabb fell into the corner, completing a break of MacPherson's serve for a 3-1 lead. Vahaly was pushed to deuce (a winner-take-all "game point" in WTT's no ad scoring) in Game 5, but MacPhie's shanked return hit the racquet club's relatively low ceiling, making it 4-1 Buzz.

Lindsey Buckingham lookalike MacPhie held to 2-4, putting the pressure on Crabb to serve out the opening set. Jaymon built a 40-15 lead, but promptly got the yips, throwing in two double faults on the next three points, dropping serve to 3-4. Could wily old MacPherson now serve this set into a tiebreak? Not if Vahaly had anything to say about it -- he opened Game 8 with back-to-back winners. The set-ending break was made official when MacPherson netted a low backhand volley.

Despite MacPhie and MacPherson's advanced age, the Buzz's 5-3 win in men's doubles had to be considered a minor upset. But if Buzz coach Jolene Watanabe was surprised, she hid it well when I asked if this was an encouraging start for Crabb and Vahaly. "I was pretty confident that they were gonna do well in doubles," Watanabe said after the match. "I mean, Brian is solid, all around. He's so competitive. He wants to win and he can carry it through."

OVERALL SCORE: BUZZ 5, EXPLORERS 3

Second set: women's doubles -- Dominikovic/Stewart vs. Granville/Miyagi

What a difference a year makes. The Buzz's final home match of 2004 saw affable Aussie Bryanne Stewart not only forced out of the starting lineup, but reduced to selling raffle tickets. A year later, Stewart is fresh off a doubles semifinal showing at Wimbledon, having worked her to way into the top echelon of women's doubs. All of this bodes well for Stewart as the lone returning member of last year's Buzz squad. However, mere days after that breakthrough on the lawns in London, she had reason to be a bit fatigued and flat. Looking to take full advantage were former NCAA champion Laura Granville (filling in for the absent Karatantcheva) and former Buzz standout Nana Miyagi.

From the opening game on, this set was an absolute massacre. Miyagi may be 34 years old, but her endless array of cutesy drop shots and picture perfect lobs proved an ideal complement to Granville's sturdy ground game. Stewart and her Aussie compatriot Evie Dominikovic failed to win more than two points in any game, getting swiftly bageled 5-0. Asked when her women's doubles tandem would get its act together, Coach Watanabe enthusiastically replied, "Tomorrow! Tomorrow, they'll be good." More than anything, Watanabe was impressed by the quality of the opposition. "The other team maybe had one unforced error or maybe zero."

OVERALL SCORE: EXPLORERS 8, BUZZ 5

Third set: mixed doubles -- Vahaly/Stewart vs. MacPhie/Miyagi

Playing mixed doubles for the first time in his life, Brian Vahaly came out absolutely on fire. Clocking winners and forcing errors with his wicked slapshot backhand, the man from Georgia teamed with Bryanne Stewart to snare an impressive 4-1 lead over MacPhie and Miyagi. MacPhie was pushed to deuce on his serve in Game 6, leaving the Buzz just one point away from taking the set and reclaiming the overall lead. Not so fast. The Explorers found the answers and then some, reeling off 13 points in a row, breaking Stewart at love along the way. By the time the tiebreak got started, the momentum was all Kansas City's. One last lovely drop shot from Miyagi finished up a 5-2 win of the tiebreak and a 5-4 win of the set.

You didn't have to remind WTT rookie Brian Vahaly that he and his partner had just squandered a huge lead in the mixed. "Boy, that weighs on ya," he admitted after the match. "You've gotta sit there and think about it. (Team Tennis is) completely different. I'm not used to watching and then playing, watching and playing."

OVERALL SCORE: EXPLORERS 13, BUZZ 9

Fourth set: women's singles -- Evie Dominikovic vs. Laura Granville

Laura Granville had faced Evie Dominikovic in singles once before, edging her in three sets at last year's Australian Open. You could have sworn they were squaring off in another Grand Slam on Wednesday night, entertaining what was left of the crowd with a feisty, intense, evenly matched battle. Granville was getting the better of the baseline rallies, but Dominikovic served well enough to keep pace. With nary a service break to be found, the set reached 4 games all -- tiebreak time.

LG serving: Granville's swinging volley winner ends the longest rally of the set -- 1-0 EXPLORERS

LG: Another long rally ends on a Dominikovic forehand error -- 2-0 EXPLORERS

ED: Dominikovic thumps an ace down the T -- 2-1 EXPLORERS

ED: Dominikovic's mis-hit backhand glances off the ceiling -- 3-1 EXPLORERS

LG: Granville's double fault draws some rather unsporting applause from the crowd -- 3-2 EXPLORERS

LG: Granville steers a defensive backhand wide -- 3-3 EXPLORERS

ED: After pushing a backhand long, Dominikovic angrily bounces her racquet -- 4-3 EXPLORERS

ED: Dominikovic punishes a short ball with a forehand winner and pumps her fist -- 4-4 EXPLORERS

ED: Granville steps into a big, clutch forehand winner to take the set -- 5-4 EXPLORERS

OVERALL SCORE: EXPLORERS 18, BUZZ 13

Fifth set: men's singles -- Brian Vahaly vs. Brian MacPhie

Kansas City's five point lead looked all but insurmountable as Brian Vahaly retook the court. There was mathematical hope, since World TeamTennis matches continue when the trailing team wins the final set. Winning it by a comfortable margin would be easier said than done against Brian MacPhie, whose mighty southpaw serve has earned him the nickname "The Hammer." MacPhie isn't much for singles play, however. In fact, his last singles match on the ATP Tour took place in the opening round of Hong Kong qualifying in September 2002. His opponent on that day was none other than Vahaly, who won that meeting 6-4, 6-0 and would need to deliver a similar performance here.

Nice placement made Vahaly's serve as effective as MacPhie's early on -- easy holds were all the rage as Vahaly took a 3-2 lead. MacPhie trailed 15-40 in Game 6, but rallied to deuce and charged the net on game point. Unfortunately for Kansas City, MacPhie's volley sat up. Vahaly scrambled to the ball and flicked a winning backhand pass for the break and a 4-2 lead. Hitting spots with one first serve after another, Vahaly served out a convincing 5-2 win, forcing the match into overtime.

OVERALL SCORE: EXPLORERS 20, BUZZ 18

"No pressure," a heckler teased MacPhie as he attempted to serve out a victory that seemed to be slipping from his grasp. At 30-30, Vahaly crushed a winning forehand return to earn a critical break point. MacPhie put his first serve in, but Vahaly was up to the task. His dipping forehand return drew an errant MacPhie volley. Just like that, the Buzz were back in business, only one successful Vahaly service game away from a supertiebreaker. Vahaly wasted no time making that a reality, holding at love.

OVERALL SCORE: EXPLORERS 20, BUZZ 20

A taunting voice from the sidelines suggested the Explorers "sub Granville!" The hearty fans who'd stuck around the racquet club until the bitter end were being treated to one thriller of a comeback and they were letting Brian MacPhie know about it. "The Hammer" had one last shot at redemption in the form of the supertiebreaker, where the first player to seven points would clinch victory for his team. The Buzz won the coin toss and elected to serve first.

BV serving: Vahaly opens with a service winner -- 1-0 BUZZ

BV: MacPhie finds the net with a tough backhand pass -- 2-0 BUZZ

BM: MacPhie's drop volley is ruled "not up" before Vahaly can track it down -- 2-1 BUZZ

BM: Big ace down the T from MacPhie -- 2-2

BV: Put on the defensive, Vahaly nets a forehand -- 3-2 EXPLORERS

BV: Vahaly responds with an unreturnable serve -- 3-3

BM: MacPhie surrenders the mini-break on a lunging backhand volley error -- 4-3 BUZZ

BM: The box umpire calls a double fault, deeming MacPhie's second serve long. MacPhie screams "bulls***!" and launches into a major tirade, twice calling the umpire "pathetic." Still fuming, MacPhie turns to the Buzz's owner and asks, "How much are you paying this guy, Nitty?" -- 5-3 BUZZ

BV: Vahaly rips a forehand winner down the line -- 6-3 BUZZ

BV: One last defensive backhand from MacPhie sails wide -- 7-3 BUZZ

FINAL SCORE: BUZZ 21, EXPLORERS 20

Brian Vahaly's previous experience against Brian MacPhie paid off as he snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in dramatic fashion. "I knew Brian's game coming into it. He's got an incredible serve and that's what makes him so dangerous," said Vahaly after the win. "I really struck two of my best returns all match, really when I needed 'em the most, in overtime." Vahaly's days at the University of Virginia prepared him for the World TeamTennis format. "It's a different kind of stress. It reminds me of college tennis... I'm used to that kind of atmosphere. I played it for four years, so if anything, I've learned to thrive on it." Nonetheless, Vahaly readily admits the fast-paced WTT scoring system took a lot out of him this first time around. "It's sort of do or die and it's very quick. The second you get started, you gotta be ready to play. It's honestly very tiring. I was very tired going into my singles match. It's emotionally so draining. Every point is so important."

Having fallen out of the world's top 100, Vahaly is less known for his on court accomplishments than for having been named one of the world's 25 most eligible bachelors by People Magazine in 2003. Looking back on that mixed blessing, Vahaly says, "It was fun for a while, just from an entertainment standpoint. All my buddies and everybody were laughing about. The difference was, I was used to being known as a tennis player. Now, all of a sudden, I was being known for being a single guy. That was a little bit of an adjustment." In case you were wondering, the well spoken Atlanta resident is still on the market. "I was dating a girl for a couple of years and that fell through. It's a little difficult to date girls on the road, just based on the lifestyle that we lead... You're pretty much gone ten months of the year, so dating's an afterthought."

Vahaly wants to put the focus back on his tennis as he gears up for the US Open. In the meantime, he's expecting to have quite a bit of fun with his Buzz teammates. "We're gonna go out and celebrate tonight for sure," he said with a smile. "The team atmosphere is great. It's great having people support you, rather than being out there by yourself. You go to Grand Slams or these other tournaments and you're always alone. To finally look over at the sidelines and have people that you like that care about you and want you to win, it's a really unique experience. That's kind of why I wanted to be a part of this in the first place." Will the fun continue for Vahaly and company on Friday, when the Buzz host the Delaware Smash? Better yet, will the power be back on in Central Park? Stay tuned.