6/30/17:
"2 play at Demuro, Omar-Ralph, Jay-Kris, Panda-Tailor part of 17 at C.G.!":
GTA Friday Tennis took place at two locations: a morning session at The Demuro Court in Nutley which featured a One-Setter between William "Bombs Away" Bobila and "Magic" Mike Mole (with Mike reporting) and then an extended session at The Cedar Grove Courts that got underway in the afternoon and featured three big matches (two of which ended before host "Hollywood" Frank Samara and the third was almost halfway through by the time of his arrival).
First, "Stealth" Omar Santos answered the Open Challenge issued by "The Headhunter" Ralph Bernard and they ended up playing a full 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match followed by a One-Setter (with Ralph utilizing the clipboard provided by "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan and inspired by "The Lumberjack" Ryan Pienciak).
Second was another impromptu 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match as Kris challenged Jay "The Rising" Phoenix for both of his rankings (Advanced Division and Intermediate Division ranks).
And third was the long-awaited GTA Intermediate Invitational Semifinal Match between "The Annihilator" Nihar Panda and "Tailor Made" Raj Tailor.
We will first go to the Demuro result from Mike and then detail all of what took place up at Cedar Grove.
The Demuro Result:
William Bobila over Mike Mole, 6-2! No Aces.
The Mole Memo: From 9:30 to 11am, we hit and then played a One-Setter. There was really good hitting. I think he's going to win the GTA Intermediate Title.
Samara's Notes: I thank Mike for his very timely reporting of that score as he sent it via text shortly after noon. We now head up to Cedar Grove.
"Hollywood" Frank Samara was able to get up to Cedar Grove a little earlier than originally planned as he pulled into the lot at 6:45. Upon his arrival, he saw that the GTA Intermediate Invitational Semifinal between "The Annihilator" Nihar Panda and "Tailor Made" Raj Tailor was already well underway (nearing the end of the 1st Set) on Court Four while Raj's wife Nira and young son Ronin were making a cameo appearance.
On Court Three, "The Ambidextrous Machine" Herb Reiner and Miroslav "Mirav" Glavic were having one of their usual hitting session. On Court Two, was one lone guy practicing who did not look familiar. He would be joined by a second guy at 6:55. The two of them had that court close to two hours.
And on Court One, "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan and his son "The Secret Weapon" Sairaj Srinivasan were paired together and going up against "The Marathon Woman" Doinks Srinivasan and "Vintage" Vinnie De Benedetto. This turned into an official One-Setter at 6:55.
Samara soon found out from Kris and the clipboard that he supplied (attached to the fence which is courtside of Court One) that two full 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Matches took place earlier in the day. The first one featured "Stealth" Omar Santos putting his Advanced Division ranking on the line against "The Headhunter" Ralph Bernard while Kris challenged Jay "The Rising" Phoenix for his rank in both the Advanced and Intermediate Divisions.
At 7:10, "Big George" Jorge Solano arrived. Fifteen minutes later, "Daddy O" Paul Daddio did the same. At 7:40, the two of them got the chance to get involved in some Doubles action on Court One as both Sairaj and Doinks decided to step off to make room for others.
At that same time, Herb and Mirav left Court Three. Frank and Doinks first went there to have a hitting session, but then the Panda-Tailor match ended. So they soon shifted over to Court Four and had a hitting session that involved Nihar for five minutes before he decided he had to leave.
"Latino Heat" Jose Gonzales arrived at 7:55 and took the side of Doinks in hitting against Frank. The three of them were happy to see Tito "Touch" Castolo arrive at 8:05. Jose quickly called "dibs" on Tito and this led to a completed One-Setter against Frank and Doinks and then a second incomplete one.
"Rowdy" Rob Gawley arrived at 8:30. Less than ten minutes later, he was able to get involved in some Doubles action on Court Three as Kris decided to leave Court One behind once he was that Numero Tres was available. Soon after, a lone guy took over Court One to have some one-on-one action with a Lobster. Along the way, "The Whip" Peter Wylie and two other young guys joined the middle-aged gentleman for a hitting session.
"The Young Gun" Peter Corso was dropped off for action at 8:45. "The A-Bomb" Andrew Truong soon joined him courtside on the bench at 8:55. When the two guys on Court Two finally vacated the premises, Andrew and Peter were happy to take it over for some Singles action.
At 9:10, it started to drizzle and everyone played through it. But five minutes later, it became a full-on bout of rain that soaked the courts. All but Andrew and Peter decided to leave the premises. But Truong and Corso soldiered on and Andrew would later send the result of a Singles One-Setter.
We ended up with a slightly disappointing total of 17 competitors. I say "disappointing" because we thought that the Friday night of the quasi July 4th weekend would draw a bigger turnout. But it was quite hot and humid...and it is also quite likely that many of our players were shorebound for the weekend.
Let's get to the scores!
The Cedar Grove Results:
2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:
Ralph Bernard over Omar Santos, 6-2, 6-3, to become the New # 27 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division! No Aces (apparently). This match was played on Court Two from 3:30 to 5pm.
Ralph Bernard over Omar Santos, 6-2! No Aces (apparently). Like the match before it, this was also played on Court Two. It lasted from 5:10 to 5:40.
2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:
Kris Srinivasan over Jay Phoenix, 6-1, 7-6 (7-5), to become the New # 15 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division and the New # 4 Ranked Player in the Intermediate Division! No Aces. This one took place on Court One from 5:05 to 6:35.
Kris Srinivasan/Sairaj Srinivasan over Vinnie De Benedetto/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-1! No Aces. They played this one on Court One from 6:55 to 7:30.
GTA Intermediate Invitational Semifinal Match:
Nihar Panda over Raj Tailor, 6-1, 6-1, to successfully defend his # 10 Rank in the Advanced Division while becoming the New # 6 Ranked Player in the Intermediate Division while also advancing to the Finals of the GTA Intermediate Invitational Tournament! Raj: 1 Ace (on a second serve) in the 1st Set! They both estimated they got this one underway on Court Four around 6:45. It finished exactly at 7:42. Raj admitted (and Nihar concurred with the self-assessment) that he made way too many unforced errors and also hit too many Double Faults.
Samara's Notes: Now Panda advances to the Finals where he will face William "Bombs Away" Bobila. It should be an excellent match.
Kris Srinivasan/Vinnie De Benedetto over Jorge Solano/Paul Daddio, 6-3! No Aces. Court One hosted this one from 7:40 to 8:20.
Jose Gonzales/Tito Castolo over Frank Samara/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-4! Tito: 1 Ace on Frank! It went like this: Frank was broken as Love-30 shifted straight to Break Point as Jose hit a winner and then a marathon rally led to Jose finishing it off with a winning volley and then Tito made an amazing get that led to the break, Jose held serve (Love-15 shifted to 30-15 as Jose made a winning volley and then Frank blew an overhead along the way, then it went to 30-All and Game Point where Jose then hit a truly un-returnable serve), Doinks was broken at Love after hitting a Double Fault to set up Triple Break Point and then Tito held (hit a sideline Ace on Frank to set up 30-Love, then went to Triple Game Point before having his lead cut down to Double Game Point, only for the hold to come there) to take a 4-0 lead for his team! Samara then held (an un-returned serve for 15-Love where Tito hit a winner for 15-All which was where Jose hit a wicked Backhand Volley winner to set up 15-30 only to have two consecutive un-returned serves shift the momentum to Game Point which was where Doinks hit a winner to secure her partner's hold), Gonzales was broken (Triple Break Point where an un-returned serve started the momentum shift all the way to Deuce, but then a Double Fault for Break Point and that was where Frank got the break with a dramatically-sliced drop shot winner), Srinivasan held (Tito hit a winning lob for Love-15 and then it went point for point until 30-All which had immediately followed a truly un-returnable serve and then it became Game Point which was where Frank hit a stunning Backhand Volley winner for the hold) and Castolo was broken in a battle (30-Love, 30-15, Double Game Point cut down to Deuce, Game Point, 2nd Deuce, Game Point, 3rd Deuce, Break Point and then the break...couldn't remember who hit what winners where and when in this one) to knot the score at 4-4! Hollywood was broken in a greater struggle (15-Love shifted to 15-30, then came 30-All, Break Point, Deuce, Break Point, 2nd Deuce, Break Point, 3rd Deuce, Game Point, 4th Deuce, Break Point and the hold...again, cannot remember the winners in this one) and then Latino Heat held (Jose hit a vicious volley winner for 15-Love, it then shifted to 15-30 after Frank hit a drop shot that led to gaining the point and then it shifted again to Game/Match Point after an un-returned serve) to earn the hard-fought victory! We played this on Court Four from 8:12 to 8:58.
The Skinny: At first, it looked like smooth sailing to a very lopsided score for Jose and Tito. But then, Doinks really came alive with aggressive play while she was ably supported by Frank who was pretty much on his game in this one. Afterward, the losers were willing to step off the court to allow Andrew and Peter to take their place, Truong and Corso, however, decided to keep playing Singles. So soon after, the four of us agreed to a rematch. Little did we know that Mother Nature would soon have other plans for this session.
Jorge Solano/Paul Daddio over Kris Srinivasan/Rob Gawley, 6-4! Rob: 1 Ace on Jorge. Court Three hosted this contest which lasted from 8:38 to 8:58.
Frank Samara/Doinks Srinivasan leading Jose Gonzales/Tito Castolo, 2-1 (Incomplete when the rain became heavier at 9:15)! No Aces. Here's how it was going: Frank held at Love after Jose blew a volley, there was an un-returned serve and then an excellent rally led to Doinks scoring with an awesome passing shot winner, Jose held (another marathon rally started this game and it led to a sizzling passing shot winner made by Tito, then 30-Love shifted to 30-All, Game Point, Deuce, Break Point, 2nd Deuce, Game Point and an un-returned serve to secure the hold), Doinks held at Love after an un-returned serve was followed by the Windmill Overhead Smash winner from Frank and then Doinks hit an amazing passing shot winner to secure her own hold) and then Tito was serving (at 15-All, I believe) when the rain became too heavy and we called it a night at 9:15 (this rematch got underway on Court Four at 9:05)!
Andrew Troung over Peter Corso, 6-4! Peter: 1 Ace. This one got started on Court Two at 9:05 and not sure when it ended because they continued playing in the rain long after everyone else had left. Andrew later sent this result via e-mail where he also mentioned how impressed he is with Peter's level of play. He feels the young Master Corso surely can mix it up with all the adult players in the league as well.
Samara signing off!
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