Breakers start out right

NEWPORT BEACH — Thanks to Wimbledon, the Newport Beach Breakers met a patched-up team in their season opener Thursday night.

At the end, Ramon Delgado found a way to rip the Washington Kastles apart.

The reigning World Team Tennis Male MVP led the Breakers to an exciting comeback, as they pulled out a 21-20 overtime victory in front of a sold-out crowd of 2,000 at Breakers Stadium.

In the final set, Delgado fought back from a five-point deficit, forcing overtime with a 5-2 set win. The match went into a super tiebreaker when Delgado tied it at 20-20.

The first to seven points wins. Delgado got their faster than Washington’s Scott Oudsema.

Newport Beach Coach Trevor Kronemann expected his top men’s singles player to finish strong.

“He had a baby girl a couple of months ago, so he’s been spending time at home and hasn’t been playing as much as he’s used to playing,” Kronemann said. “Once again, he’s the same Ramon.”

The Paraguayan electrified the fans sticking around to see him pull off another late-night winner.

More importantly to Delgado, for one night the Breakers forgot about their losing ways the past two years.

“I think it’s a great start for the team,” said Delgado, who has seen the Breakers go 8-20 the past two seasons, failing to reach the postseason each time. “It’s going to really pump us up. I hope we start and we finish good.”

The postseason is a ways away.

The Breakers have a lot to work on because Kronemann said they can’t depend on Delgado to bail them out every time out.

Washington led, 18-13, going into the men’s singles set. Remember, the Kastles missed two starters because they’ve advanced to the semifinals in their respective events at the All England Club.

Who knows how much larger the deficit might have been if the Kastles had Leander Paes and Rennae Stubbs.

While Paes prepared for his upcoming mixed doubles match and Stubbs her women’s doubles match on grass, the Kastles replaced the two with two unfamiliar names in the WTT circuit.

Lester Cook and Lindsey Nelson filled in quite admirably. Newport Beach learned a little about the two. Whenever the Breakers need stand-ins, Cook and Nelson are available.

Delgado rallied the Breakers from a big hole. In the final set of the evening, he faced a player with a strong serve. The crowd began to dwindle as fast as the Breakers’ hopes of staging a comeback. Hundreds stayed around and gave the new father support.

Delgado’s fan club, formerly know as the “Desperate Housewives for Ramon Delgado,” still looked as desperate as the Breakers on the court.

Now, the ladies are just part of the “Ramon Delgado Fan Club.” As ordinary as the new name sounds, Delgado’s performance late was not.

When Newport Beach needed him the most, he came through. The Breakers dropped the first three sets, mixed doubles, women’s singles and men’s doubles.

After newcomers Marie-Eve Pelletier and Julie Ditty in women’s doubles won the Breakers’ first set, Delgado turned it on.

Everything began to snowball, putting all the pressure on Oudsema, the player with the sleeveless shirt. Washington Coach Murphy Jensen refrained himself from ripping Oudsema’s head off.

All Oudsema had to do was win one game at any point in the overtime for the Kastles to hold on. It never happened.

“You get nervous. You have to finish it,” Delgado said. “I thought with that serve, it’s tough to break him twice. I though after the 5-2 in overtime, he had good chances of holding me. The match was right there. If he holds there, it’s over.”