The fourth season of World Team Tennis at Schenectady's Central Park (which used to host the now defunct OTB International Open) started off with a bang. The revamped home team won its first four matches, with team captain Dave Randall (a doubles specialist who has remained with the OTBzz since their inception) anchoring a solid roster which now includes Rachel McQuillan, Nana Miyagi, and Geoff Grant. However, the arrival of a star knocked the team for a loop. With Mary Joe Fernandez in tow for her first of just two appearances with "the Bees", New York fell to the St. Louis Aces on July 13th.

Fernandez's final match as a Bee drew a pretty good crowd of approximately 1,000 to Central Park, even though admission is being charged for the first time this season. (Team owner Nitty Singh claimed there was no choice but to introduce a $7 ticket fee in '98.) Providing the challenge on a humid evening in Schenectady were the Kansas City Explorers. With marquee attraction Jimmy Connors not making the trip, the Explorers (already carting a less than impressive 1-3 record) were without a proven singles player.

Mary Joe Fernandez may have been the only household name on hand for this match, but she showed no trace of a star ego. She chatted with a few fans on her way to the court, replying "it's getting there" to a question about the wrist injury which has kept her off the circuit for almost all of the '98 campaign. She was also mindful of any negative impact on the OTBzz team chemistry, insisting that Randall take her chair when she got the impression she'd chosen the wrong seat. Indeed, no ill will was shown to or by her, as the Bees were a rather jovial bunch throughout.

1st set -- Mixed Doubles: Randall/McQuillan vs. De Jager/Vis

The first of five sets in the Team Tennis format was mixed doubles. The steady duo of Randall and McQuillan faced off against a pair of tll players with good serves: South African John-Laffnie de Jager and Caroline Vis of the Netherlands. McQuillan did not get off to an auspicious start, missing a volley and misjudging a lob (which she let fall for a winner), putting Randall into an early 0-30 hole. Another volley error by McQuillan on break point concluded the opening game. De Jager then held serve to give Kansas City a 2-0 lead.

McQuillan redeemed herself with four service winners in the following game, but Vis smacked an ace to clinch her own hold for 3-1. Solid volleying by Randall keyed the next game, a New York hold for 3-2. De Jager (perhaps the only man ever to play doubles with both Martinas: Navratilova and Hingis) was just as convincing in his next service game, although he was annoyed by a fan who called him a "crybaby" when he questioned a call. More disputed line calls (one each argued by De Jager and Randall) followed in the next game, a McQuillan hold for 4-3.

New York needed a break soon if it was to have a shot at winning the opening set. Randall and McQuillan promptly came through with some big returns against Vis and broke at 15 to even the match at four games apiece. Easy holds by the men took the score to 5-5, at which point in Team Tennis a nine point tiebreak (first team to five wins) ensues. New York and Kansas City split the first six points of the tiebreak, but De Jager broke the deadlock with a pair of service winners. The Explorers took the tiebreak 5 points to 3 and the set by a count of 6 games to 5. OVERALL SCORE: KANSAS CITY LEADS 6-5

2nd Set -- Men's Singles: Geoff Grant vs. Robbie Koenig

An affable redhead from the Boston area, Geoff Grant has worked hard just to scrape by on the ATP Tour. In the world of Team Tennis, however, he finds himself in the top echelon of men's singles players. If nothing else, he was being counted on to win his set against Robbie Koenig of the Explorers, who rarely even plays singles. Right on cue, Koenig double faulted away the first point of the set and quickly trailed 0-40 in the opening game. He fought his way back to 40-40, which in the deuce-free scoring of Team Tennis brings up a winner-take-all "game point". Koenig won the point with a sparkling forehand pass, looked to the Kansas City bench, and triumphantly pumped his fist.

Grant had little trouble tying the set at 1-1. Despite being one of the only players in the game who hits with two hands off both sides -- an awkward looking style which usually favors power over touch -- Grant finished the game with a nice drop volley. He then jumped out to a 0-30 lead on Koenig's serve, but the South African again rallied to hang on. Grant responded by holding at 15, making the set score 2-2.

For the third consecutive time, Grant got out to an early lead against Koenig's serve, leading 15-40 in the set's fifth game. The next point proved that playing the lets (a proposed rule changed recently mulled over by the International Tennis Federation) can make a difference on big points. Koenig's serve trickled off the tape and fell for a lucky ace, getting him back to 30-40. Koenig fought off yet another break point before Grant finally secured a 3-2 lead by drilling a backhand cross-court winner on game point.

Grant faced a break point himself in the following game, but shrugged it off to take a 4-2 advantage. The sound guy (who chimes in with music and sound effects between points) celebrated with the "bad bad bad bad boy" refrain from "Feel So Good" by Mase. Apparently it's become a theme song of sorts for Grant. The bad boy broke serve again to go up 5-2. Koenig (who looks like a cross between Jason Stoltenberg and Jack Waite, if that comparison means anything to you) offered little resistance in the eighth game. Grant held at love, wrapping up the 6-2 set with an ace and a service winner. OVERALL SCORE: NEW YORK LEADS 11-8

3rd Set -- Men's Doubles: Grant/Randall vs. De Jager/Koenig

Kansas City had to be hoping to win this third set, so as to eliminate the overall deficit before Fernandez took the court. However, they were up against a very determined Dave Randall. He held serve for a 1-0 lead, which was upped to 2-0 when De Jager was broken. A very nice backhand reflex volley by Randall closed out a love hold for Grant, staking the Bees to a 3-0 edge in the set and a 14-8 lead overall. The next game featured a fun rally, a series of little flip shots at the net which ended when Koenig sent a winner down the line. Kansas City took that game, but Randall held again to go up 4-1.

New York's captain simply took over in the next game. Randall smoked a clean return winner for 0-30 and a backhand volley winner to take a 0-40 advantage on Koenig's serve. Not done yet, he finished off the break with a lunging cross-court winner. A 5-1 lead in hand, Randall had to laugh at his run of great play. Even the opposition got into the act. When Randall failed to return a smash hit at him in the seventh game (it would have been a nearly impossible feat), De Jager joked, "Dave, you have to make those shots." He smiled and replied, "I thought I had that one."

All kidding aside, Randall later acknowledged his sterling play in the set. "I just caught fire. The ball was looking like a grapefruit. Nine years in the pros and I've maybe felt that way seven times. If I could bottle it, I would have made a lot of money on the tour." The end came quickly -- Grant hammered home a service winner to close out a 15 hold and win the set 6-1. OVERALL SCORE: NEW YORK LEADS 17-9

Nana Miyagi saw her most high profile action of the night during the intermission. Forced out of the lineup by Fernandez for this match (McQuillan had sat out the previous match), Miyagi was merely on hand to lend moral support and act as a practice partner between sets. True to her trademark good nature, the Seattle native (who now hails from Japan) was more than happy to hit some autographed balls to the crowd as they waited for the match to resume.

4th Set -- Women's Singles: Mary Joe Fernandez vs. Patricia Tarabini

Although she has teamed with Conchita Martinez to form one of the more successful women's doubles partnerships of the past few years, Patricia Tarabini no longer makes any of her money from singles play. However, she was pressed into such duty for the Explorers. Fernandez had to be feeling a bit awkward herself, lacking match toughness due to her wrist woes. It was the perennial Top 10 contender who got off to the better start, using penetrating approach shots to earn a service break and a hold. Fernandez put together a run of ten points in a row on her way to a 3-0 lead.

"Gosh, she's having a hard time," one fan observed as Tarabini scrambled to get back Fernandez's accurate shots. Perhaps already convinced that she had nothing to lose, "Pato" started playing to the crowd. She made a mock attempt to distract Fernandez, screaming out as her much higher ranked opponent put away an overhead smash. When Tarabini surprisingly won the game on a Fernandez error, she declared, "that's it for today!" on her way to the chair (changeovers take place after every four games in Team Tennis). She even took a page out of Irina Spirlea's book, deliberately bumping into Fernandez as they changed ends. The humorous move was taken in the right spirit. "We go back together a long way," Mary Joe said after the match. "We're good friends, actually."

Tarabini's fun continued in the fifth game. She lifted her arms in jubilation after hitting a backhand down the line for 15-0 and grumbled "I know it" when her next serve was called a fault. Tarabini requested an air conditioner later in the game -- a pleasantly warm night for those of us in the stands was perhaps a little too warm for players running around under the lights. Still, she held serve with an athletic volley. The Argentine checked the scoreboard and asked, "20-10? That's all?" "No, you have 11," the umpire responded. (The ball kids are a little slow about updating the manual on-court scoreboards.)

Matching her antics with great play, Tarabini did a 360 degree spin during a rally in the sixth game before winning that point with a forehand volley. The rather remarkable display drew a standing ovation from the Kansas City bench and the biggest hand of the night from the New York crowd. Fernandez stopped the bleeding, though, storming back to hold and break for a 5-2 lead. The announcer decided to dedicate a song to Tarabini -- snippets of "Don't Worry, Be Happy" were played in her honor for the rest of the set. After opening the eighth game with a winner, Pato pretended to get fired up. She barked, "Come on! Let's go! Come on! Put pressure!"

Regardless of how much she meant that, Tarabini DID succeed in putting the pressure on Mary Joe. She got the break back and held serve to narrow the gap to 5-4. Tarabini suddenly found herself one point away from a tiebreak, sneaking a touch volley over the net for a 30-40 lead. However, Tarabini then missed a backhand and Fernandez finished the set with a would-be let dropping for an ace. The cheap ace was an appropriately freaky end to a highly entertaining set of tennis. Fernandez raised her arms and grinned from ear to ear, having taken the set 6-4. OVERALL SCORE: NEW YORK LEADS 23-13

Taking the court during the break between sets, Nitty Singh made a point of shaking hands with Tarabini and talking to her, no doubt thanking the Argentine for providing the night's best dose of goofy crowd pleasing. Singh then took over the umpire's microphone to make a speech in which she thanked Fernandez for joining the team (brief though her stay was) and wished her luck in Fed Cup. Singh also stated how important it is for the fans to come out and support the team. "Tell your friends," she intoned, even implying that the OTBzz won't be back next season unless the '98 campaign is a financial success.

Fifth set -- Women's Doubles: Fernandez/McQuillan vs. Tarabini/Vis

"It's never over" in Team Tennis. No matter how much a team trails by after four sets, they can keep the match alive by winning the final event. With Mary Joe Fernandez and Rachel McQuillan both in good form, though, winning the fifth set would be easier said than done for Kansas City. Good serving by McQuillan made it 1-0 and bad serving by Vis (a pair of double faults) increased the set lead to 2-0 and the overall gap to a staggering 12 games. Tarabini missed an overhead in the third game and playfully offered her racquet to a heckler. Fernandez held at love. She was obviously loose at this point, dancing along with the "Hot Hot Hot" sound bites and mouthing the words to "Don't Worry, Be Happy".

A quick break of Tarabini increased the New York lead to an imposing 4-0. McQuillan opened the fifth game with a wildly mis-hit serve which nearly took off Tarabini's head. "What is this?", Pato asked with a stunned expression on her face. The sound guy jumped in with part of the "Twilight Zone" theme. Vis hit a big service return at McQuillan's feet to break back for 4-1, but it appeared to be too little too late. Of course, Patricia Tarabini was still having fun -- she even made a showy between-the-legs shot in the next game, but McQuillan knocked off a forehand volley for a 0-40 lead.

Playing like she had a plane to catch, Vis missed an easy overhead two points later, giving back the break and allowing Fernandez a chance to serve out the match. She and McQuillan made short work of that task, holding at 15. Fernandez's service winner was the final straw in a very lopsided 29-14 verdict. Tarabini may have stolen the show, but the OTBzz (especially Randall) had played the superior tennis. It was a satisfying end to Fernandez's abbreviated Team Tennis campaign. "This was good for me. It gave me confidence." The Bees she leaves behind had to be feeling plenty confident themselves, ending the night with a WTT-leading win/loss record of 5-1.