Breakers take care of Sacramento

NEWPORT BEACH — Monday night was Women’s Tennis Night for the Newport Beach Breakers, with former world No. 1 Tracy Austin on hand to provide a clinic to women ticket-holders.

Once the match started, the Breakers’ Lilia Osterloh continued the lessons.

Osterloh, playing the second of her three matches for Newport Beach as a fill-in for injured Angelika Bachmann, won in women’s doubles, mixed doubles and women’s singles Monday.

The victories helped the Breakers cruise to a 23-16 victory over defending World Team Tennis champion Sacramento at Breakers Stadium at Newport Beach Country Club.

“It’s so exciting,” said Osterloh, 30, who finished the night with a tiebreaker win over Sacramento teenager Tammy Hendler. “I love being a part of the team and being in Newport. The fans are so supportive. It’s like electric out here with the music; it’s like rock-and-roll. I don’t want to let down my teammates. I’m really happy that I got the call to come down … Maybe next year I can play a full year.”

The seven-game margin made it the Breakers’ easiest win of the season, one they needed to try to keep pace in the Western Conference.

With six matches remaining, Newport Beach (3-5) pulls within a match of second-place Springfield (4-4). The top two teams from each conference, plus one wild-card team, make the WTT playoffs; Sacramento is also 3-5.

“They’re starting to jel a little bit,” Breakers Coach Trevor Kronemann said. “Everybody’s playing better and better, getting a little bit more relaxed and knowing what their individual jobs are. It just took us a little time getting going, with lots of things that happened that were just unlucky. Last week, we were a little bit snakebitten [with Bachmann’s injury]. If we can just hang in there, we’re still in the hunt for the playoffs.”

Ramon Delgado, who had been undefeated in men’s singles before Sunday, lost his second straight set against Sacramento to open Monday’s match. Sam Warburg went up, 3-0, in the set and held on for a 5-3 victory.

Osterloh and Michaela Pastikova followed that up, however, with a 5-2 victory in women’s doubles over Elena Likhovtseva and Hendler. Osterloh and Pastikova broke Sacramento’s serve three times, two of those on service games by Hendler, who, at age 15, is the youngest player in World Team Tennis this season.

And, if Delgado is going through a rough spot in singles, he and Newport Beach native Kaes Van’t Hof are peaking in men’s doubles. After losing their first five sets of the year, they have now won three straight after topping Warburg and Eric Butorac, 5-2.

The latest triumph gave the Breakers a 13-9 lead that they wouldn’t relinquish.

“I think [Van’t Hof] has loosened up,” Kronemann said. “So many elements you have to deal with. Dealing with his hometown crowd, dealing with a new format, it’s all new to him. I kept telling him, ‘Just hang in there, it’s all going to come together and you’ll be on your way.’ He’s starting to play smarter, and realizing that he doesn’t have to play as big as he thinks he does.

“He’s got that big energy, and he thinks he has to bring that every single serve and every single shot, and he doesn’t. He’s settled down; everybody’s settled down. Hopefully, we can take that 2-5 [record at the halfway mark] and turn it in the second half of the season into 5-2 or better.”

Osterloh and Van’t Hof defeated Butorac and Likhovtseva, 5-3, in the fourth set of the night, padding the lead to 18-12. Osterloh then came back from a 2-0 deficit to pull out the win against Hendler, 5-3 in the tiebreaker.

“I was just thinking, ‘Hang in there and move my feet,’ ” Osterloh said. “I was really happy to make it.”

The Breakers are back at home Wednesday night at 7 against the last-place St. Louis Aces, featuring Anna Kournikova.

Along with former UC Irvine women’s standout Becky Bernhard, the Breakers have also had former UCI men’s player Alex Sundling as an alternate in their last two matches.

MATT SZABO may be reached at (714) 966-4614 or by e-mail at matthew.szabo@latimes.com.