Team Tennis Returns to Southland

Called out of Southern California for lack of major sponsors and public support for a team after the 1994 season, World TeamTennis this week makes its return to the area.

The Newport Beach Breakers, who make their debut in the World TeamTennis Pro League at Sacramento tonight, feature Lindsay Davenport, a three-time Grand Slam tournament winner, and Brian MacPhie, three-time league most valuable player. The team also has Russia’s Maria Sharapova and WTT newcomers Josh Eagle of Australia and Eva Dyrberg of Denmark.

Coached by former USC men’s tennis coach Dick Leach, the newest addition to the 10-team league is expected to challenge the defending champion Sacramento Capitals for the WTT title.

“It’s quick, it’s fast, it’s fun,” said Ken Stuart, a former NCAA doubles champion and onetime WTT player, said of the league. Stuart owns Palisades Tennis Club, the Breakers’ home site.

After tonight’s season opener, the Breakers and Capitals will complete the home-and-home series Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Newport Beach club.

MacPhie, a Laguna Niguel resident and former three-time All-American at USC who helped Sacramento to five championships in the last six years before being acquired by the Breakers in a draft in April, is looking forward to playing in front of a home crowd after competing in ATP and Grand Slam events in Europe the last two months.

“It’s so different from playing on tour,” he said. “You can relax, but it’s still good tennis. You’re never really bored, the fans get into it, and you’re out having fun. It can be pretty interesting.”

World TeamTennis uses no-ad scoring, with no deuces or advantages, and lets are played. There are two men and two women on the roster, plus one designated “marquee” player who is available on a limited basis, usually for between two and four matches.

Davenport, a Laguna Beach resident who was acquired in a trade with the New York Buzz, is the Breakers’ marquee player and scheduled to play Tuesday and Saturday against the Springfield (Mo.) Lasers. John McEnroe, who plays for the New York Sportimes, is scheduled to play at Newport Beach on July 15. Martina Navratilova and the Philadelphia Freedoms face the Breakers on July 26.

WTT matches consist of five events: a single set each of men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles, with the first team to win five games taking the set. A point is awarded to teams for each game won and added up for the cumulative final team scores.

The order of events may vary and is determined by the home team. There are also overtimes, nine-point tiebreakers and 13-point super-tiebreakers to decide matches that are often tight. The shorter-than-usual sets can make for quick matches that usually last about two hours. The pace of the schedule is similarly fast, with each team playing 14 matches in a season that lasts 20 days, ending July 27. The WTT championship match will take place Aug. 23 at the U.S. Open.