Rollers lose to Freedoms

Monica Puig won 5-3 in mixed doubles and 5-3 in women’s singles, but the Las Vegas Rollers fell to the Philadelphia Freedoms 21-18 Sunday in a World Teamtennis match at Orleans Arena.

The Freedoms took three of five sets to improve to 6-1 and extend their winning streak to six matches, as 2,365 tennis fans witnessed the Rollers’ second home match.

Puig and partner Bob Bryan claimed mixed doubles over Philadelphia’s Fabrice Martin and Raquel Atawo. Puig earned her second set with a singles’ victory over Danielle Collins.

The Rollers (2-5) will face the New York Empire (6-3) at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Orleans Arena in a match to be televised live on ESPN Plus. Jonathan Eskin

— I don’t get to spend a lot of time with them, but the impact on my life has been second to none,” she said. “Watching those videos in the hospital, for me that was a spark for change.”

She said she stopped feeling responsible for others and what troubled them. When her father died in 2017, she did not blame herself.

The change was dramatic.

Cherrial Odell recently was admitted to Stanford —- the same school for which the Bryans played on their way to becoming pro tennis superstars.

“When we got the news that she had been admitted, we both shed a tear,” Bob Bryan said.

On Sunday afternoon, the brothers lost in a tiebreaker to counterparts representing Philadelphia. The result momentarily quieted bushy-haired Rollers assistant coach/cheerleader Redfoo and an energized crowd at Orleans Arena during a match the visitors would win.

But it wasn’t Wimbledon or Roland Garros or even the defending WTT champion Springfield Lasers, who were in San Diego playing the … um, Aviators. Sometimes when it comes to the first to win five games in no-ad set tennis, perspective is called for.

Contact Ron Kantowski at rkantowski@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352. Follow @ronkantowski on Twitter.