Venus seeing stars
The tennis star drops all three sets as the Capitals clinch a playoff spot.
By Melody Gutierrez -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PDT Sunday, July 24, 2005
Venus Williams said she planned to use Saturday's appearance in Sacramento to
hone her skills before jumping back on the tour. She may want to stay a
couple days longer as it appears this year's Wimbledon champion is a little
rusty.
The Capitals capitalized on Williams' loose play, defeating the visiting
Delaware Smash 25-11 at Allstate Stadium in Citrus Heights in front of a
sold-out crowd of 4,300.
The win guarantees the Capitals (10-3) a World TeamTennis playoff spot.
"This is always the goal, to get to the playoffs," Capitals coach Wayne Bryan
said. "I thought everyone played well."
Except Williams, who lost all three of her sets. Before the match, Williams
said she was excited to play in Sacramento in front of a sold-out crowd.
"I get to enjoy the atmosphere more," Williams said of playing World
TeamTennis. "I can step back and enjoy the moment. It's just really fun."
Williams now heads to Stanford to make her 10th appearance in the Bank of the
West Classic, which starts Monday. She will follow that appearance with stops
at the Nordea Nordic Light Open and Rogers Cup before heading to New York for
the U.S. Open.
"No time for vacation," Williams said. "I have two more events and obviously
I want to win them, then the U.S. Open. I'd like to win that one, too."
Saturday, it appeared there was a 16-year-old who wanted the win more. Nicole
Vaidisova looked calm as she pulled off a 5-2 win over Williams in women's
singles.
It was Vaidisova's second face-off with Williams this year after the two met
in the finals at a Tier III event in Instanbul on May 21. Williams defeated
Vaidisova 6-3, 6-2 in that match.
"I did OK," said Vaidisova, who is ranked No. 28 in the world. "Plus, it's
World TeamTennis and it's a shorter set. I'm just happy to help the team."
It was Vaidisova's second time defeating a player fresh off a Wimbledon
championship. Vaidisova beat Maria Sharapova last year in a match at Newport
Beach.
"She played well," Bryan said. "Obviously, Venus didn't play her best. I
thought Nicole served very well and returned very well."
Vaidisova and Elena Likhovtseva beat Williams and Rennae Stubbs 5-3 in
women's doubles. In mixed doubles, Likhovtseva and Warburg combined to defeat
Williams and a combination of Roger Anderson and Robbie Koenig in a
tiebreaker 5-4.
Warburg and Wesley Moodie, filling in for Mark Knowles, teamed for a 5-2 win
over Anderson and Koenig.
Moodie beat Anderson 5-1 in men's singles. Koenig substituted halfway through
the set.
The Capitals finish the regular season today against the Newport Beach
Breakers, who are vying for a Western Conference playoff spot.
The World TeamTennis Championships will be held in Sacramento on Sept. 16-17
with the top two teams in both the Western and Eastern conferences duking it
out for the title.
Still alive in the Western Conference are the Breakers (9-4) and St. Louis
Aces (9-4). In the East, the New York Sportimes have clinched, and three
teams are jockeying for the second spot.
"It's unbelievable," said Illana Kloss, CEO/commissioner of World TeamTennis.
"We have never gone down to the wire with teams having a legitimate shot. We
are thrilled. The matches seem so much closer this year."