The New York Sportimes had the home crowd on their side, but a pair of former Wimbledon champions helped the Washington Kastles take over the turf on Randall's Island Tuesday night.
Former world No. 1 Martina Hingis, the Kastles' premiere player and WTT favorite, partnered 2012 Wimbledon men's doubles champion Frederik Nielsen to a 5-3 victory in mixed doubles.
Nielsen and Bobby Reynolds opened with a 5-3 triumph over the Sportimes' Robert Kendrick and Jesse Witten and Anastasia Rodionova, stepping in for Hingis in singles, looked sharp in scoring a 5-1 win over Anna-Lena Groenefeld in women's singles.
A pouring rain could not dampen the spirits of the crowd. After about an hour of drying the multi-colored court, the match resumed.
Reynolds, who qualified for Wimbledon last month and won a round before losing to world No. 1 Novak Djokovic on Centre Court, showcased his powerful serve in defeating Witten, 5-3, in men's singles. Witten drew energy from enthusiastic roars from the crowd celebrating some of his passing shots, but the 138th-ranked Reynolds would not be denied.
The Kastles scored their ninth consecutive WTT win and their 11th straight victory against the Sportimes, a streak that dates back to July 15, 2010.