Breakers use star power to win

Rick Devereux

For the second straight year, the Newport Beach Breakers will

participate in the World Team Tennis playoffs.

The postseason berth was secured with Saturday’s 22-16 victory

over the visiting St. Louis Aces at the Palisades Tennis Club. The

Breakers (9-4) could become the No. 1 team in the Western Conference

if they beat the first-place Sacramento Capitals today at 4 p.m. at

Palisades.

“I don’t think I had a very day,” Ramon Delgado said. “But the

important thing was we won and we’re in the playoffs.”

Delgado, the defending league MVP and the central figure behind

the success of the Breakers this season, had his mind on the health

of his coach, Dick Leach, who was not at the game due to unspecified

health reasons.

Newport Beach , the defending WTT champions, got a, 5-4 (1),

victory from Delgado in men’s singles over St. Louis’ Andy Ram. But

Delgado was noticeably off his game, missing groundstrokes and not

blasting his serve as powerfully as he has in the past.

“I was worried about Coach and couldn’t really focus on my match,”

Delgado said.

Delgado and former Estancia High standout Devin Bowen pushed the

men’s doubles to a tiebreaker, but Ram and Jonathan Erlich were able

to hold on for the, 5-4(2), victory.

The Breakers were down, 14-12, after the first three sets, but the

intensity was raised significantly after Maria Sharapova entered the

match for women’s doubles.

“I just wanted to try to play my best,” Sharapova said. “I didn’t

have a big game plan or anything.”

Sharapova teamed with fellow Russian Anastassia Rodionova to

defeat Jennifer Russell and Jamea Jackson, 5-2, in women’s doubles

and take a 17-16 lead in the match.

“It was good to play with [Sharapova],” Rodionova said. “She is a

lot of fun and she is easy to play with. I think it may be because we

are both Russian.”

Sharapova dominated women’s singles, beating Jackson, 5-0. Jackson

never got more than two points in any game and only seven points

total in all five games.

Sharapova was hitting forehand and backhand shots with precision,

leaving Jackson guessing where the next shot would land.

“I feel good about how I played,” Sharapova said. “This is my

first match since Wimbledon (where she advanced to the semifinals) so

I pleased with how I played.”

Sharapova brought a sense of excitement that other tennis players

had not experienced before.

“It was unbelievable,” Bowen said. “I have never seen a crowd like

this before. It was simple unbelievable the type of reaction

[Sharapova] received.”

The recepetion from the fans was welcomed by Sharapova.

“I am happy to be back in Newport Beach,” she said. “I was a

little nervous before my first match because I knew about the playoff

[implications], but it felt good once I got on the court.”

Carsten Hoffman served as the head coach in Leach’s absence and

successfully challenged two calls that were reversed in Newport

Beach’s favor.

While first place lies in the balance in today’s match against

Sacramento, just making the playoffs was the ultimate concern for the

Breakers.

“With World Team Tennis, it’s hard just to make the playoffs,”

Bowen said. “There are only four teams that make the playoffs, and it

only takes two more matches [to win the WTT title].”

Delgado said, “Our goal has been achieved, and that’s to make the

playoffs. I don’t think it matters if you’re in first or second place

going into the playoffs, as long as you’re in. We’re going to try our

best [today] against Sacramento, but the important thing was getting

in to the playoffs.”

Beating Sacramento (9-3) is no given.

“Sacramento is a very good team,” Rodionova said. “It’s great that

we got into the playoffs, and we would like to be in first, but the

title is are main goal.”

Newport has beaten the Capitals two of the three times the teams

played this year, including a 19-15 win at home July 7. Sacramento

beat the Breakers, 22-21, July 20 in a 7-4 super-tiebreaker at

Sacramento.