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By Steve Pratt
© Travis VanDenBerg

(July 16, 2010) It was Lindsay Davenport's homecoming, but Lester Cook made sure the home team prevailed.

Three-time Grand Slam singles champion, former World No. 1 and 1996 Olympic Gold Medalist Davenport received a warm homecoming welcome from the crowd at The Tennis Club Newport Beach and didn’t disappoint in winning two sets for St. Louis.

However, Newport Beach Breakers singles player Cook figured one good rally deserved another, rallying the Breakers from three games down in the final set by blanking his opponent, Andrei Pavel, en route to a 16-14 Breakers victory that snapped the team’s two-match losing streak in the WTT Pro League presented by GEICO.

"I absolutely love it. The team puts a lot of faith in me in putting me last (in the match)," Cook said. "This is what we play for. The good thing and bad thing about TeamTennis is that we always know the score. You have to."

Cook saw Davenport’s 5-0 women’s singles victory that gave St. Louis its first lead at 14-11 after the first four sets, and raised his arms following a 5-0 closing victory over Pavel. The win vaulted Cook to the top of the WTT men’s singles leaders, having won 38 of his 66 games (a 57.6 games won percentage). The Breakers and Aces stand at 4-4 and are one game out of first place in WTT’s Western Conference.

"Lester finally broke through and the men’s doubles finally broke through," Breakers coach Trevor Kronemann said. "I know Lester can play and it’s just a comfort zone we’ve had for a few years now (playing the men’s singles set last). It’s something that I think we’ll keep. Lester, he’s so go-go-go when the point is going on."

The Breakers opened the match with set wins in men’s and women’s doubles as Cook and David Martin and Julie Ditty and Marie-Eve Pelletier won their respective doubles matches by identical 5-2 scores.

A Newport Beach Breakers player in 2003 and 2008, Davenport won two of her three sets for the Aces, teaming with Pavel in mixed doubles for a 5-1 win before blanking Pelletier 5-0 to give the Aces their first lead of the match at 14-11.

"It's super exciting to be back here and playing. I've been in Orange County since I was 18," the 34-year-old Davenport said. "Slightly bittersweet that I'm not actually on the Newport team, but great to still be able to play here in front of my friends and family, just to be on the court again. I have two kids. Just to be able to compete is pretty special for me right now. I think this is a perfect venue for me in terms of only sets to five, and the team atmosphere."

Thursday was “Ladies Night” in which the Breakers partnered with the Orange County Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure to raise awareness in support of breast cancer research. A portion of the proceeds from Ladies Night will benefit the Komen Orange County Affiliate.

Davenport and Breakers co-owner at WTT co-founder Billie Jean King appeared at the Breakers’ pre-match women’s tennis clinic and engaged in a brief conversation with the whopping crowd of about 250 females who received free lessons from Breakers coach Trevor Kronemann and his players.

Results:

Men’s Doubles – David Martin/Lester Cook (NB) def. Andrei Pavel/Tripp Phillips (StL), 5-2

Women’s Doubles – Marie-Eve Pelletier/Julie Ditty (NB) def. Lindsay Davenport/Liga Dekmeijere (StL), 5-2

Mixed Doubles – Andrei Pavel/Lindsay Davenport (StL) def. David Martin/Marie-Eve Pelletier (NB), 5-1

Women’s Singles – Lindsay Davenport (StL) def. Marie-Eve Pelletier (NB), 5-0
Men’s Singles – Lester Cook (NB) def. Andrei Pavel (StL), 5-0

Final: Newport Beach Breakers 16, St. Louis Aces 14

The Breakers begin a three-mach road trip over four days tomorrow at the Kansas City Explorers, featuring one of the world’s top-ranked doubles team in the Bryan twins (Bob and Mike), before returning to the Tennis Club Newport Beach on Tuesday, July 20, against Kansas City.

The Breakers will feature former World No. 1 and three-time Grand Slam singles champion Maria Sharapova in their next home match. This will be the sixth season in which Manhattan Beach resident Sharapova has played for the Breakers.

Tickets and team information for the Breakers’ final three home matches next week can be found at www.NewportBeachBreakers.com or through the ticket sales office at (714) 352-6301. General admission tickets for Tuesday’s match featuring Sharapova are $45.

For more information on the WTT Pro League, visit www.WTT.com.