New York Buzz vs. Kansas City Explorers
by Christopher Gerby
One can only assume that World Team Tennis founder Billie Jean King has
some kind of grudge against the league's Kansas City franchise. The
Explorers once again failed to acquire any name players in the annual
"draft." Fresh-faced doubles specialist Jessica Steck was their "first
round pick" and her season-long teammates are Tara Snyder, Brent
Haygarth, and Jeff Coetzee. Not exactly Murderer's Row. Making matters worse for Kansas City on
Monday night was Coetzee's absence. While this didn't send shock
waves through the crowd like Monica Seles's inability to play the
previous night, it did give the hometown New York Buzz a major
advantage. Coetzee had played every point of men's singles for
Kansas City this season and had joined Haygarth in one of the league's
better men's doubles teams. Jeff's place would be taken by a young
man named Michael Lang, who has no ATP ranking and can boast four
years of college experience as his only claim to tennis fame. All signs pointed to a
third consecutive win for the Buzz.
First set -- mixed doubles: Bhupathi/De Villiers vs. Haygarth/Steck
Brent Haygarth immediately looked comfortable on the court he called
home during the 2000 WTT season. He hit two winners in a row to open
the first game, a break of Mahesh Bhupathi's serve. However, the Buzz
broke right back, Bhupathi shouting "come on!" after his backhand on
game point overwhelmed Steck. Form held for the rest of the set, each
team scoring three service holds to send the 4-4 set into a tiebreaker.
- Haygarth rips a forehand winner past a flinching Nannie de Villiers -- 1-0 KANSAS CITY
- De Villiers whacks Steck in the back with a smash and apologizes profusely -- 1-1
- Haygarth tosses in a double fault-- 2-1 NEW YORK
- Bhupathi drives a forehand into the net -- 2-2
- Haygarth punches home a winning forehand volley -- 3-2 KANSAS CITY
- Steck nets a defensive volley -- 3-3
- A lobbed return from De Villiers sails long -- 4-3 KANSAS CITY
- A forceful Haygarth volley deflects off De Villiers's racquet -- 5-3 KANSAS CITY
Brent Haygarth was the undisputed star of that first set, really ripping
the ball regardless of whether a man or woman was on the receiving end.
The Buzz may have been wishing he was still on their team.
OVERALL SCORE: KANSAS CITY 5, NEW YORK 4
Second set -- women's singles: Jill Craybas vs. Tara Snyder
Jill Craybas and Tara Snyder met once before tonight, in the final of
a 1998 challenger event. Snyder won that match in Houston, but their
fortunes have changed dramatically in the interim. After rising to
# 33 in the world rankings that year, Snyder suffered an injury and
never got back to top form. Craybas, on the other hand, is riding
high at her personal best ranking (81st -- five spots ahead of Mary
Pierce) and is one day removed from a very strong performance against
Magdalena Maleeva. Craybas kept her roll going by taking a 2-0 lead
over Snyder and opening a 0-30 lead in Game 3. The Kansas native
finally got on track, though, winning four points in a row to hold
for 1-2.
Game 4 was a bit tricky for Craybas, but she won it when a serve
trickled over the net cord for a lucky ace. (Lets are played in
Team Tennis.) Snyder made all kinds of mistakes in Game 5, looking
utterly frustrated as Craybas broke her for a 4-1 lead. A couple
minutes later, Craybas had her first match point. Tara was still determined,
though, and she ran Jill all over the court with solid forehands.
Snyder got to deuce, which is a sudden death "game point" in Team
Tennis. Incredibly, Craybas got another serve to skip off the tape
and fall in for an ace before Snyder could react. "I got a little
lucky in a couple of the games," Jill admitted after the 5-1 win.
"I felt pretty good out there. I was moving well. I wish I would
have returned a little bit better, but other than that I thought I
played pretty well." I asked her what she thinks about the league's rule on playing
lets, which certainly benefited her tonight. "I feel like it's a
little bit unfair, but you know, it can happen to me too. I was
telling Nannie on the sidelines that it would be nice if we could do
that on purpose."
OVERALL SCORE: NEW YORK 9, KANSAS CITY 6
Third set -- women's doubles: Craybas/De Villiers vs. Snyder/Steck
The Buzz extended their lead early in Set 3, breaking Steck's serve
for a 2-0 lead. The following game went to 40-all, at which point
Snyder smacked a winning forehand pass. Unfortunately for Tara, that
was one of the last good shots she made tonight. She double faulted
to end Game 4, handing the momentum right back to the Buzz. De
Villiers completed a love hold for 4-1 with an ace. Steck then had a
40-30 lead on her serve, but threw it away with a double fault and
an errant forehand volley. It was an ugly evening for the Kansas City
women, who dropped two consecutive 5-1 sets.
OVERALL SCORE: NEW YORK 14, KANSAS CITY 7
Fourth set -- men's singles: Justin Bower vs. Michael Lang
Brent Haygarth excelled in mixed doubles tonight, but still didn't get
the call in singles. Kansas City coach Paul Smith turned the reigns
over to Michael Lang, a righty with a one-handed backhand and a very
short resume. Lang was a
bit less hopeless than I was expecting -- he was at least able to keep
the ball in play more often than not. However, he had no weapons with
which to hurt Justin Bower, who's been playing fairly well for the
Buzz. The South African dropped just two
service points in a 5-0 set which was only slightly more competitive
than the score suggests. Bower remains undefeated while wearing a red
headband.
OVERALL SCORE: NEW YORK 19, KANSAS CITY 7
Fifth set -- men's doubles: Bhupathi/Bower vs. Haygarth/Lang
Haygarth finally got back onto the court, long after his team had any
realistic chance to pull out a victory. After Bhupathi and Bower
stormed out to a 3-0 lead (extending the Buzz's winning streak to 11
consecutive games) in this set, you could have excused the Explorers for tanking.
However, Lang scratched out a hold for 1-3. At 40-40 in the next game, Haygarth ran down a
drop volley and sent back a winning forehand for 2-3. Brent then served
well in a hold for 3-3. When the Explorers snared a 0-40 lead against
Bhupathi's serve, the set suddenly looked like it was Kansas City's for
the taking. Not so fast -- the Buzz won four points in a row, Bower striking a
victorious pose after his drop volley made it 4-3. A surprising love
hold from Lang forced a tiebreaker, but it was no contest. Bower
and Bhupathi served impeccably, as an unreturnable delivery from
Mahesh closed out the 5-0 shutout.
FINAL SCORE: NEW YORK 24, KANSAS CITY 11
After a long, draining victory over Hartford on Sunday night, the Buzz avoided
the letdown one might have expected. "Usually if you have a big win
the night before, then it's very hard the next day, but I think we
enjoyed this match," said Nannie de Villiers. The easy victory upped
New York's record to 4-2, a winning record which matters to Mahesh
Bhupathi. "It's obviously very important to the team, the owner, and
everything. I usually don't play much during this part of the season,
so I thought I'd give (Team Tennis) a shot. And when you're playing,
you obviously want to win. I'd be home resting if I didn't want to."
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Last updated 26 September 2015
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