The Philadelphia Freedoms rallied from two sets down to edge the Orange County Breakers and maintain their slim lead over Chicago for first place in the WTT standings on Friday at the Greenbrier in West Virginia.
After Taylor Fritz and Sofia Kenin were knocked off in singles, the Freedoms took over in doubles.
Taylor Townsend notched back-to-back doubles victories, winning the decisive match tiebreaker with Fabrice Martin, over Steve Johnson and Gabriela Dabrowski.
“I thought the veteran leadership of Fabrice, Donald and Taylor was crucial especially down the stretch,” said Freedoms head coach Craig Kardon. “The fact we won today says a lot about the character of this team.”
The Chicago Smash kept pace with the Freedoms thanks to another exceptional performance by Brandon Nakashima, who dropped just one game between his doubles (with Rajeev Ram) and singles matches.
Nakashima pushed past Tommy Paul 5-1 to help the Smash to a 10-1 lead after two matches. It was enough for them to close out a 22-15 win over the Washington Kastles.
“It’s great to come out with a good start, for myself and the team, and to play well in the doubles and singles,” 18-year-old Nakashima said. “It was really good for my confidence and definitely helped the team out in the end.”
The New York Empire pulled into third place thanks to wins by Jack Sock and Kim Clijsters, as they got past the Vegas Rollers 25-17.
Philadelphia Freedoms 22, Orange County Breakers 21
Men's Singles - Steve Johnson (Breakers) def. Taylor Fritz (Freedoms), 5-3
Women’s Singles - Jennifer Brady (Breakers) def. Sofia Kenin (Freedoms), 5-4
Men’s Doubles - Fabrice Martin\Donald Young (Freedoms) def. Johnson\Austin Krajicek (Breakers), 5-4
Women’s Doubles - Taylor Townsend\Caroline Dolehide (Fre
edoms) def. Andreja Klepac\Gabriela Dabrowski (Breakers), 5-3
Mixed Doubles – Martin\Townsend (Freedoms) def. Johnson\Dabrowski (Breakers), 5-4
New York Empire 25, Vegas Rollers 17
Men's Singles - Jack Sock (Empire) def. Sam Querrey (Rollers), 5-3
Women's Doubles - Kim Clijsters\Kveta Peschke (Empire) def. Monica Puig\Ajla Tomljanovic (Rollers), 5-2
Mixed Doubles - Sock\Clijsters (Empire) def. Mike Bryan\Tomljanovic (Rollers), 5-4
Women's Singles - Clijsters (Empire) def. Puig (Rollers), 5-4
Men's Doubles - Sock\Neal Skupski (Empire) def. Bob Bryan\M. Bryan (Rollers), 5-4
Chicago Smash 21, Washington Kastles 15 (EP)
Men's Doubles - Rajeev Ram\Brandon Nakashima (Smash) def. Nick Monroe\Marcelo Arevalo (Kastles), 5-0
Men's Singles - Nakashima (Smash) def. Tommy Paul (Kastles), 5-1
Mixed Doubles - Bethanie Mattek-Sands\Ram (Smash) def. Bernarda Pera\Arevalo (Kastles), 5-4
Women's Singles - Venus Williams (Kastles) def. Sloane Stephens (Smash), 5-4
Women's Doubles - Williams\Arina Rodionova (Kastles) def. Mattek-Sands\Genie Bouchard (Smash), 5-1
Extended Play - Women's Doubles - Mattek-Sands\Bouchard (Smash) def. Williams\Rodionova (Kastles), 1-0
(EP) - Extended Play Saturday's Schedule:
Philadelphia Freedoms vs. Orlando Storm, 9 a.m. ET, CBS Sports app / Facebook Watch
Orange County Breakers vs. Springfield Lasers, 12 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network
San Diego Aviators vs. Washington Kastles, 3 p.m. ET, Tennis Channel
New York Empire vs. Chicago Smash, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN+