Tennis: Breakers perfect at home

Nicole Gibbs never gave up on the second-to-last point of women’s singles on Tuesday night.

Gibbs, of the Orange County Breakers, played several defensive strokes. She barely stayed in the point against Pauline Parmentier of the Springfield Lasers, before eventually getting to the net and winning the point on an overhead.

The effort earned her a standing ovation from much of the crowd at the Newport Beach Tennis Club, including Breakers owner Lorne Abony. On the next point, she won the set when Parmentier hit a backhand into the net.

That kind of grit has been typical of the Breakers throughout the World Team Tennis season, especially at home. They finished off a perfect home campaign by beating the Lasers, 24-17.

With four road matches remaining, Orange County is now 6-2, which is tied for first in the six-team league with the San Diego Aviators. The Philadelphia Freedoms and Washington Kastles are both two matches back at 4-4.

The top two teams in the regular season advance to the championship match in New York on Aug. 26.

Breakers Coach Rick Leach just smiled after the match when asked about Gibbs’ remarkable point. She ended up beating Parmentier, 5-2, in the set.

“I wish that could have been on camera, because it’s one of the greatest points I’ve ever seen,” Leach said. “[Gibbs] said that too. She goes, ‘I don’t think I’ve ever played a better point.’ She’s such a fighter and she moves so well. She’s always in these long points. That was incredible. I wish it could have been on video. It might have made ESPN Play of the Day.”

The Breakers had plenty of highlight plays against the Lasers. As usual, they started the match with a victory in men’s doubles. Scott Lipsky and Dennis Novikov beat Springfield’s Benjamin Becker and Jean Andersen, 5-2.

After Gibbs’ women’s singles win, Orange County had a 10-4 lead. But Springfield did not go away.

“I think Springfield kind of knew they had to win to have any chance for the playoffs,” Leach said. “Their back was against the wall, and they were competing hard. It was very hard-fought. Every set was tough, close games. It’s especially gratifying because we go undefeated at home. I think our home fans really appreciated that and loved that.”

Becker edged Novikov, 5-4, in men’s singles. Then in mixed doubles, the Lasers’ Andersen and Michaella Krajicek opened up a 4-2 advantage on Lipsky and Alla Kudryavtseva. That narrowed Orange County’s overall match lead to 16-13.

But a volley by Lipsky on a 3-3 game point broke Krajicek’s serve, then Kudryavtseva held serve to bring the set to 4-4. The Breakers then won the ensuing tiebreaker, 5-2.

Lipsky and Kudryavtseva, who advanced to the Wimbledon mixed doubles quarterfinals this year, are leading World Team Tennis in that set this season.

“I don’t think I served as well as I could have,” Lipsky said. “We started off slow, but in team tennis every game matters. It was important to go into the last set with the lead … we played a good tiebreaker to close it out. We’re all fighters. Even if we lose a couple of games, we’re not just going to roll over. We’re going to keep it as close as we can for everyone else, so they don’t feel too much pressure.”

Gibbs and Kudryavtseva then closed out the match with another tiebreaker win, 5-4, in women’s doubles.

Orange County will close out the regular season with four road matches in four nights, starting at Springfield in a rematch on Wednesday. The Breakers then play at New York on Thursday, Philadelphia on Friday and Washington on Saturday.

“I’m glad that we’re tied for first and we’ve done this well so far, but we’ve got a lot of work to do still,” Leach said.

At this point, the goal of the team is clear. The Breakers are trying to win the King Trophy awarded to the league champion for the second time in franchise history, and first since 2004.

“We’re going to have five matches in a row, basically, and I look forward to it,” Kudryavtseva said. “You know, I feel like we have a very good chemistry on the team. I think on the road that’s going to show under pressure. That’s what World Team Tennis is all about.”