2008 Boston Lobsters season

In January 2008, after playing their home matches during the previous three seasons on the campus of Harvard University, the Lobsters announced plans to move to the North Shore region. On March 18, 2008, the Lobsters selected Ferncroft Country Club in Middleton, Massachusetts as their new home. Lobsters owner and CEO Bahar Uttam said a stadium with a seating capacity between 1,500 and 2,000 would be constructed on the grounds of the club. Uttam said that studies conducted by the team revealed that the North Shore had the highest concentration of tennis players in Greater Boston. The Lobsters had also considered moving to the Bass River Tennis Club, but that club only has indoor courts and scrapped plans to build an outdoor stadium, because management felt the $40,000 rent the Lobsters offered to pay did not justify the projected $300,000 stadium construction costs. While announcing the move, the Lobsters also named Tim Mayotte their new head coach, replacing Anne Smith.[1][2]

In announcing the team's move to Middleton the previous day, the Lobsters also made known their intention to draft and sign Martina Navratilova for the 2008 season. On March 19, 2008, it became official, as Navratilova was selected with the third pick in the Marquee Player Draft.[3] In the Roster Player Draft, the Lobsters chose Jan-Michael Gambill in the first round and left Christina Fusano unprotected. Fusano was selected in the fourth round by the Delaware Smash. In the second round, the Lobsters protected Amir Hadad. This filled the Lobsters' quota of two full-time male players and meant they could not protect Nikita Kryvonos in the third round, where they selected Marie-Ève Pelletier. Raquel Kops-Jones was the team's final selection in the draft, leaving Julie Ditty unprotected. The Lobsters did not select any roster-exempt players.[4]

The Lobsters opened their season on the road against the New York Sportimes on July 3, 2008, and found themselves leading 12–9 after three sets on the strength of Marie-Ève Pelletier's set win in women's singles which followed her women's doubles set win paired with Raquel Kops-Jones. However, the Sportimes won the final two sets and squeezed out of 19–18 victory.[5]

After another loss on the road at the hands of the New York Buzz, the Lobsters hosted the Delaware Smash in the inaugural match on their new home court at the Ferncroft Country Club on July 7, 2008. Jan-Michael Gambill gave the Lobsters an early lead with a 5–3 set win in the opening set of men's singles. Kops-Jones teamed with Pelletier and Amir Hadad for set wins in women's and mixed doubles. After dropping the final set of women's singles to Madison Brengle, Pelletier clinched a 23–19 victory for the Lobsters when she won the third game of overtime.[6]

The following evening, the Lobsters visited Serena Williams and the expansion Washington Kastles in the inaugural home match for the Kastles. Hadad and Gambill opened the match with a 5–1 set win in men's doubles. Hadad then teamed with Kops-Jones for a 5–2 set win over Williams and Justin Gimelstob in mixed doubles. In the third set, Gambill won a men's singles tiebreaker to give the Lobsters a 15–7 lead. Williams and Mashona Washington took the women's doubles set over Kops-Jones and Pelletier in a tiebreaker. After Williams won the final set of women's singles, Pelletier won the third game of overtime to give the Lobsters a 22–19 triumph that evened their record at 2 wins and 2 losses.[7]

Venus Williams led the Philadelphia Freedoms into Ferncroft Country Club on July 10, 2008. She won the opening set of women's singles over Pelletier in a tiebreaker. Williams then paired with Lisa Raymond for a 5–2 set win in women's doubles over Pelletier and Kops-Jones. The Lobsters rebounded when Kops-Jones and Hadad earned a 5–3 set win over Williams and Travis Parrott. After Gambill won a tiebreaker in men's singles, he teamed with Hadad to take another tiebreaker in men's doubles that sent the match to a super tiebreaker. The match came down to a deciding point, which Parrott and Alex Bogomolov Jr. were able to win, giving the Freedoms a 22–21 victory.[8]

The Lobsters' record stood at 3 wins and 5 losses on July 16, 2008, when Martina Navratilova made her season debut in a home match against the Springfield Lasers. Gambill won the opening set of men's singles and teamed with Hadad to win the third set of men's doubles and give the Lobsters a 13–11 lead. Navratilova and Kops-Jones extended the lead to 18–13 by taking the women's doubles set, 5–2. Navratilova and Hadad lost a tiebreaker in the final set of mixed doubles but won the second game of overtime to secure a 23–19 win for the Lobsters.[9]

The Lobsters hit the road the following evening looking to avenge their home loss against the Freedoms. Hadad and Gambill opened the match with a 5–3 set win in men's doubles. Pelletier followed by taking the women's singles, 5–2. After the Freedoms won the mixed doubles set, Kops-Jones and Pelletier dominated women's doubles, 5–1, to give the Lobsters an 18–11 lead. Gambill closed out the match by winning a tiebreaker in men's singles that gave the Lobsters a 23–15 victory.[10] In the midst of a tight playoff race, the split in the season series gave the Lobsters a tiebreaker edge over the Freedoms on the basis of games won in head-to-head meetings, 44–37.

Returning home the next night, the Lobsters faced another playoff contender, the Kastles. Boston won the first four sets of the match to take a 20–9 lead. Hadad paired with Gambill in the opening set and with Kops-Jones in the second set to take the men's and mixed doubles. Gambill and Pelletier each recorded 5–2 set wins in men's and women's doubles, respectively. After the Kastles won the final set of women's doubles, Kops-Jones and Pelletier won the first game of overtime to secure a 23–14 victory.[11] The win gave the Lobsters a season-high three-match winning streak and a record of 6 wins and 5 losses, the first time all season the team had a winning record. It also gave them a sweep of the season series with the Kastles and another important tiebreaker edge.

Playing for the fourth consecutive day, the Lobsters started a home-and-home series with the Newport Beach Breakers. The Breakers won the first four sets to take a 20–13 lead. Navratilova and Kops-Jones blanked Michaela Paštiková and Rebecca Bernhard, 5–0, in the final set of women's doubles to send the match to overtime with the Lobsters trailing, 20–18. However, the Breakers won the first game of overtime to take a 21–18 win and end the Lobsters' winning streak.[12]

After an off day as the teams traveled to the West Coast, the Lobsters carried the momentum they had built at the end of the first match with the Breakers into the start of the second match. Navratilova and Hadad won the opening set of mixed doubles, 5–1. Pelletier followed with a 5–0 set win in women's singles that gave the Lobsters a 10–1 lead. The Breakers turned things around when Ramón Delgado won the third set of men's singles, 5–2, over Gambill, and they went on to win the final three sets, sending the match to overtime with the Lobsters holding a slim 17–16 lead. Hadad and Gambill won the first game of overtime to secure an 18–16 victory that improved the Lobsters' record to 7 wins and 6 losses.[13] With the teams splitting their two regular-season matches, the Breakers, who were also playoff contenders, earned a tiebreaker edge over the Lobsters by winning more games in head-to-head matchups, 37–36.

On July 22, 2008, the Lobsters played their regular-season finale on the road against the defending WTT champion Sacramento Capitals. The Lobsters found themselves in a difficult position on their playoff quest. A victory would have given them a record of 8–6, and guaranteed them the best record among third-place teams in WTT. However, that would not necessarily be enough to secure the WTT wild card berth. The Capitals, as host of WTT Championship Weekend, were guaranteed the wild card berth if they did not finish first or second in the Western Conference. The Capitals record stood at 6–6, and they were in second place. The Breakers were third at 5–7, and the Lasers were fourth at 5–8. Thus, a Capitals loss would keep the Breakers and Lasers in the hunt for second place in the West. The Breakers held a tiebreaker edge over the Capitals, and the Lasers held a tiebreaker edge in the case of a three-way tie with the Capitals and Breakers at 6–8. However, a Capitals win coupled with a Breakers loss (to the Sportimes) would guarantee the Capitals second place in the Western Conference and make the wild card available to the best team not finishing first or second in its conference.

In the match, the Capitals blitzed the Lobsters, winning four of the five sets. Pelletier's dominant 5–1 set win in women's singles was not enough as the Lobsters fell, 21–13, and saw their record drop to 7 wins and 7 losses.[14] Later that evening, the Breakers lost to the Sportimes, clinching second place in the Western Conference for the Capitals.

With their schedule completed, the Lobsters became interested spectators on the final day of the WTT regular season. They were third in the Eastern Conference, and their record stood at 7–7, identical to that of the Philadelphia Freedoms over whom they held a tiebreaker edge. The Washington Kastles entered the final day fifth in the Eastern Conference at 5–8 and were eliminated. The Newport Beach Breakers held third place in the Western Conference at 5–8 and were also eliminated. It would seem that the Lobsters had already clinched the wild card. However, the wild card berth was to be awarded to the team that had the highest overall seeding without finishing in the top two places in its conference. That is not necessarily identical to the third-place team with the best record. In the overall seeding of the teams, it remained possible for the 7–6 Sacramento Capitals, who had already clinched second place in the Western Conference, to finish 7–7, creating a three-way tie with the Lobsters and Freedoms. The games won against common opponents tiebreaker step would apply, and the Freedoms would be first with 157, the Lobsters second with 152 and the Capitals third with 133 plus the number of games they would win in a loss to the Sportimes. The maximum number of wins against common opponents the Capitals could reach in a loss was 157. Therefore, the tiebreaker would have given the Freedoms the wild card and the #4 seed in the WTT playoffs. The Capitals, as the second-place team in the Western Conference, would have been the #5 seed. The Lobsters would be eliminated, even though they held a head-to-head tiebreaker edge over the Freedoms, and even if they finished second in the three-team tiebreaker for the #4 and #5 seeds. Therefore, the Lobsters needed a Capitals victory, which would give Sacramento an 8–6 record to avoid the three-way tie, allowing the Lobsters to win the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Freedoms.

In a tightly contested match that ended the WTT regular season, which would have given the Sportimes the Eastern Conference title had they won, the Capitals prevailed in a final-set tiebreaker, 20–19.[15] The Lobsters made the playoffs on what was literally the season's final point played.

Making their first postseason appearance since 2005, the Lobsters met the Sacramento Capitals in the Wild Card Match on July 24, 2008, at Allstate Stadium at Westfield Galleria at Roseville in Roseville, California, the predetermined site for WTT Championship Weekend, which was also the Capitals' home court. There was some familiarity between the teams, since they had played just two days earlier in the same venue. The Capitals, as the higher seed, set the order of play and opened with Sam Warburg taking the men's singles set, 5–2, from Jan-Michael Gambill. Raquel Kops-Jones and Marie-Ève Pelletier responded for the Lobsters with a 5–2 set win in women's doubles that tied the score at 7 all. After the Capitals won the mixed doubles set, 5–2, the Lobsters turned to Pelletier, who had closed the regular season by winning four of her final five women's singles sets, including a 5–1 triumph over Tamaryn Hendler in the season finale. However, Hendler turned the tables on Pelletier and won the set in a tiebreaker to give the Capitals a 17–13 lead. The Capitals closed out a 22–15 victory by winning the final set of men's doubles.[16]

In the Marquee Player Draft on March 19, 2008, the Lobsters selected Martina Navratilova in the first round. They did not make a second-round selection.[3]

The league conducted its 2008 Roster Player Draft on April 1, in Miami, Florida. The selections made[4] by the Lobsters are shown in the table below.

Round	No.	Overall	Player chosen	Prot?
1	3	3	Jan-Michael Gambill	N
2	3	14	Amir Hadad	Y
3	3	25	Marie-Ève Pelletier	N
4	3	36	Raquel Kops-Jones	N

The Lobsters did not select any roster-exempt players.

Legend
Lobsters Win	Lobsters Loss
Home team in CAPS

Legend
Lobsters Win	Lobsters Loss
Home team in CAPS

World TeamTennis Wild Card Match

• Tim Mayotte – Coach
• Jan-Michael Gambill
• Amir Hadad
• Raquel Kops-Jones
• Martina Navratilova
• Marie-Ève Pelletier

• Bahar Uttam – Owner and CEO