8/11/17:
"Shiao-Mole in Montclair, Cup WD, Panda-Daddio TBC at C.G. as Kris hosts!":
There were two sessions of GTA Friday Tennis: first there was one in Mountainside Park in Montclair as Tony "Sure Shot" Shiao and "Magic" Mike Mole got together for their Grove Cup XX Round of 32 Match (as reported by both of them); and then it was the usual evening one at The Cedar Grove Courts hosted by "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan. The Main Event was the Grove Cup XX Round of 32 Match featuring "The Annihilator" Nihar Panda going up against "Daddy O" Paul Daddio.
But Mother Nature had other plans as that match and the night in general was cut short by rain.
So first we will go to Tony and Mike, then to "King Crush" Chris Chiaro about a development in his Grove Cup XX Round of 32 Match with "Big George" Jorge Solano and then we will turn this report over to Kris.
The Mountainside Park Result:
Grove Cup XX Round of 32 Match:
Mike Mole over Tony Shiao, 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7-4), to become the New # 9 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division while advancing to the Round of 16 of the 20th Annual Grove Cup Tournament! No Aces.
The Mole Memo: We started this match on Tuesday and split the first two sets within the time period of 4pm to 6:15. We decided to play the 3rd Set on Friday as we both had to go. We played the 3rd Set from 2pm to 3:15. It was a roller-coaster match with so many breaks of serve! The 3rd Set was awesome! Tony saved 5 Match Points to take it to the Tiebreak! I managed to finally win it there.
Tony's Take: We initially met up on Tuesday at 4pm and ended up splitting sets and then we played the final set Friday at 2pm. On Tuesday, I took the 1st Set 6-3 and felt that Mike was still dialing in his shots and adjusting his game to suit mine. The 2nd Set he was very consistent and moved me around the court. His heavy topspin forehand kept me back and I couldn't hit deep enough to control the rallies. Any ball that landed mid-court he would just kill with a winner…cross-court, inside out, body shots, between the legs....that dude had a bag of tricks and it was working!! I tried to attack his backhand, but that young buck kept on running around them to hit a forehand and I was not successful in converting. Mike took the 2nd Set easily at 6-1. We started to play the 3rd Set at about 5:30 knowing that I would have to have a hard stop at 6:15. I was on serve at 3-4 when I had to hang up my tennis shoes for the day to tend to my kids. On Friday, I gave Mike the decision to start where we left off or to start a new set. He opted to start a new set and it was one close match. I took an early break on Mike's serve, but he just broke back. We traded games and had many Deuces. At one point I was up 4-3 and on serve, but Mike broke back at such a critical point. After about an hour of play we ended up at 6-6...all tied up...do or die!
The Tiebreak was uneventful as Mike was always up a few points and not before long he won it at 7-4. Believe it or not, we had no aces in the match. Mike's serve was on point and it had a crazy kick which forced me to hit above my shoulders. His heavy topspin forehand is probably one of the best in the GTA and he drastically improved on his consistency over the last year. Fo Shizzle…one thing that Mike hasn't changed is his mentality to try to hit winners on every shot and to treat every freaking second serve as if it was the first. I'm rooting for Mike in this tournament and he definitely earned the win.
Samara's Notes: I thank Mike for sending in this result in a very timely manner...mere minutes after it finished. I congratulate him on a hard-fought victory and I also offer kudos to Tony for a spirited effort and thank him for his commentary as well. This is a breakthrough win for Mike and it likely puts him back in the lead for Most Improved Player of the Year in 2017 (on the Men's side). This match is also a likely contender for Singles Match of the Year as well.
The Consequences: Next up for Mole is another Mike…"Big Kaz" Mike Kazlauskas! And Mole's opponent in the Round of 41 was "MC Quick" Mike Carucci. We should have called that section of the draw "The Mike Quarter!"
As we talk about the Grove Cup, Chris Chiaro sent the following announcement on this Friday: My match with Jorge was set for Saturday, but he said his knee is still bad and he did not want to risk it. So he decided to withdraw instead.
The Consequences: Chiaro advances via a bye to the Round of 16 where he will face Lou La Forgia.
And now we head up to Cedar Grove and let Kris take it away!
There was the Grove Cup match between Panda and Daddio scheduled for the evening. Nihar, who had come earlier, got to hit a bit and played an incomplete Doubles, teaming with Doinks.
The Cedar Grove Results:
Grove Cup XX Round of 32 Match:
Nihar Panda leading Paul Daddio, 5-4 (Incomplete when the rain came)!
It looked like a close match with each player running the other side to side. Paul was leading 4-1 before Nihar bounced back to get the next four games. Serving at 5-4, Nihar lost the first point after a 15-plus shot rally. The rains descended at this time to curtail further tennis for the night.
Kevin Doyle/Brenda Jordan over Kris Srinivasan/Dawn Peterson, 6-1! No Aces.
I take full credit for our performance...:-).
Natalia Sout teamed up with Dawn in my place for the next match. Spin (aka Dan Martinelli) came in his usual dashing and dazzling green T-shirt…:-). He got into action with Dennis Cabanatan and Ryan Pienciak, I think? Then the rain had its say! Cheers!
Samara's Notes: I received no other results from that night, so I have to assume everything else ended up as incomplete. I thank Kris for hosting up at Cedar Grove and always submitting these results in such a timely manner.
Sincerely,
Frank Samara
862-596-3354
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