8/13/17:
"Pathan-Tailor at HP, M2 Semi, Kumar-Samara + at AP, 6 at NTC, 5 at C.G.!:
There were four sessions of GTA Sunday Tennis: an early morning one at Holster Park in Clifton featuring the Grove Cup XX Round of 32 Match between "Instant" Moka Pathan and "Tailor Made" Raj Tailor (with Moka reporting); the usual early morning into early afternoon one at Albion Park in Clifton as "Hollywood" Frank Samara hosting and also facing "The Webmaster" Senthil Kumar in their Grove Cup XX Round of 32 Match while the other half of the Double Main Event was the M2 Semifinal Match featuring "The Lumberjack" Ryan Pienciak and "Chito" Nick Inciong taking on "The Speed Demon" Dan Praport and "The Lion Tamer" Andrew Ramer; an early evening one at Nutley Tennis Club with "The Riz" John Rizzo acting as host; and then the usual evening one up at The Cedar Grove Courts with "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan and "The Marathon Woman" Doinks Srinivasan acting as co-hosts.
So first we will get the result from Moka, recap the comings and goings at Albion and get the scores from John before turning this report over to Kris and Doinks.
The Holster Park Result:
Grove Cup XX Round of 32 Match:
Moka Pathan over Raj Tailor, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, to successfully defend his # 13 Rank in the Advanced Division while also advancing to the Round of 16 in the 20th Annual Grove Cup Tournament! Raj: 10 Aces! Moka: 2 Aces.
The Moka Memo: We met at Holster Park at 10:15 and the match started roughly at 10:30am and ended roughly at 12:45pm. Raj was serving really well, especially in the 1st and 2nd sets. In the 1st Set, he jumped out to a 4-0 lead before I made a mini-comeback to get it to 4-3, then we exchanged service holds and he took the set at 6-4. In the 2nd Set, he broke me to start and went up 2-0 before I held to make it 2-1, then we exchanged holds until I broke him to make it 3-3, and held to go up 4-3. Then we exchanged service holds until 6-5 where I broke him to win the set at 7-5. In the 3rd Set, I broke him and ended up going up 3-0 before he held to make it 3-1. Then we exchanged service holds the rest of the set until I won at 6-3. He saved two Match Points while I was up 5-2, and then the last game was a 13 Deuce game on my serve where he fought off another 9 Match Points! It was a really close match and I feel fortunate to come out with the win as it could've gone either way.
Samara's Notes: I thank Moka for reporting that result in a timely fashion and also congratulate him on the very impressive victory as well. This looks like it could be a definite Nominee for Singles Match of The Year at season's end. Next up for Moka in the Round of 16 will be "Latino Heat" Jose Gonales.
And now we stay in Clifton, but shift over to Albion Park.
Senthil sent Frank a text message a few minutes after 9am stating he was heading to Albion and should be there on time (the agreed upon starting time for the match was 9:30). Samara's reply was that he was running late and may be closer to 9:45. Kumar was OK with that.
When Frank pulled up to the courts at 9:40, he saw Senthil already there...waiting out on the South Court. Center Court was vacant.
On the North Court, the two teams due to battle in the M2 Semi were already hitting against one another. Soon, Kumar and Samara started doing the same thing on their court. The M2 Semi started precisely at 9:49 and the Grove Cup match began just one minute later.
The weather was beautiful as it was sunny and heading to the mid 80 degree range, but it was also a bit windier than expected (more breezy than truly windy).
For a while, these were the only two matches going as nobody else had arrived yet. That all changed when "Vintage" Vinnie De Benedetto walked down the hill at 10:35...mere minutes before the 1st Set of Kumar-Samara ended at 10:39. Vin took a seat on the bench along side that South Court to watch the match.
At 10:55, both the GTA Champion: "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes and "Sue B. Newbie" Suzanne Bujara made their way across the park and to the courts. Soon the two of them and Vin got out onto Center Court for a hitting session.
"Coach" Dino Celis arrived ten minutes later and joined them in that hitting session (taking Nate's side as he had been solo against Vin and Suzanne). When "Latino Heat" Jose Gonzales and "Big George" Jorge Solano made their way down to the courts just another five minutes later, they would have to wait along the fence behind Center Court for just a short while.
Their timing was quite good, actually, as the M2 Semi finished four minutes later. The two of them (Gonzales/Solano) were then able to challenge the now M2 Finalists (Pienciak/Inciong) to a Doubles One-Setter.
Just as that got underway, "Lean Daddy" Dean Delgado was the next to arrive at 11:35. His timing was also excellent as Dino decided to step off Center Court and allow Delgado to go in and play some Doubles. Vin chose the teams and he must be the type of guy who likes a good uphill climb as he said he would team with Suzanne to take on Nate and Dean.
"Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli took a stiff walk down to the courts as he had played his usual Sunday football game earlier than usual on this particular occasion. Initially, we thought he was only going to make an extended cameo appearance (especially given the fact that he was still wearing his spikes and did not come to the courts with racquet in hand). But eventually the temptation was too much and he went back to his car to grab said racquet.
We thought he was the final and twelfth competitor of the day when he entered into a Doubles One-Setter a couple minutes after 1pm. But after all the other action had just finished, we saw two guys walking down the hill together and then heading out onto the North Court.
At first, Frank told Spin that he thought they were interlopers. But the Doc felt that one of the guys looked familiar. When Samara took a closer look, it turned out to be "Bee Gee" Brad Gero. Brad then waved. It turns out he was playing against his son.
When they finished that set, they were greeted by the welcoming committee of Frank, Spin, Dino and Nate. The son's name is Alex and that One-Setter would end up becoming his official GTA Debut. And this gave us a total of fourteen official competitors for the day.
Now let's get to the scores!
The Albion Park Results:
M2 Semifinal Match:
Ryan Pienciak/Nick Inciong over Dan Praport/Andrew Ramer, 7-5, 6-4, to successfully defend their # 2 Rank in the Doubles Division while also advancing to the Finals of the M2 Men's Doubles Tournament! No Aces. This was played on the North Court from 9:49 to 11:14.
Samara's Notes: Next up for the still-reigning Top Contenders is the formidable tandem of "Super Mario" Marijus Kuzavas and "Big Kaz" Mike Kazlauskas.
Grove Cup XX Round of 32 Match:
Senthil Kumar over Frank Samara, 4-6, 6-1, 6-3, to successfully defend his # 18 Rank in the Advanced Division while also advancing to the Round of 16 of the 20th Annual Grove Cup Tournament! No Aces.
1st Set: Frank was broken (an un-returned serve for 30-Love only to then go straight to Break Point as Senthil hit a Backhand Volley winner along the way, but then another un-returned serve made it Deuce only to make way for another Break Point where Senthil hit a highly impressive winner for the break), Senthil was broken (15-Love shifted to 15-30 as Frank first hit a sharp-angled return winner followed by his patented Windmill Overhead Smash in the next point, but then it shifted to Game Point as Senthil hit a winning volley along the way, but then Frank hit a winner to make it Deuce, it went to Game Point again where Frank hit another winner to bring it to 2nd Deuce where he hit yet another winner to set up Break Point which Frank then ended with a winning drop shot for the break), but then Samara was the first to hold serve (Love-15 shifted to Double Game Point as Frank hit a winner and then an un-returned serve along the way and then he secured his hold with another winning drop shot) to go up 2-1. Kumar was broken again (Love-30 shifted to 30-All, but then it went to Break Point where Frank hit a winner for the break) while Hollywood held again (Senthil blew a volley for 15-Love and then it went point for point until 30-All with Frank hitting an amazing passing shot winner along the way, but then it went to Break Point where Frank scored with a very well-executed drop shot winner to make it Deuce and then it was all Game Points to 3rd Deuce and Frank hit a winning lob along the way...likely to be at 2nd Deuce to prevent himself from falling to Break Point and then it went to yet another Game Point where Frank hit an un-returned serve for the hold) to go up 4-1. The Webmaster finally held (15-Love shifted to 15-30 as Frank hit yet another drop shot winner, but then it shifted to Game Point where Senthil hit a winning volley to lock down his own hold) and pull to 2-4 only to have Frank hold yet again (Senthil made a truly great get/winner combo for Love-30, but then it went straight to Game Point as Frank hit a winner and then made a get/winner combo of his own and then hit an un-returned serve and next came the hold) to take a fairly commanding lead at 5-2. Senthil held again and this time it was at Love as he started the game off with a winning lob and then Samara soon found himself down Love-30 on his service as Kumar won six straight points! Frank hit another awesome passing shot winner to make it 15-30, but then it went to Double Break Point. Frank another super-short drop shot winner to bring it to Break Point, but then he was broken as his lead was now cut to 5-4! But Kumar was also broken (Frank scored with a highly improbable drop shot return winner for Love-15 only to have things shift to 30-15 as Senthil hit an un-returned serve followed by a winning volley, but then Frank reversed the momentum with a winner of his own and then next it was Break/Set Point where Frank hit what may have been his most emphatic passing shot winner yet to earn the break and the set) to drop this set at exactly 10:39 (we had begun the match on the South Court at 9:50). The next set got underway three minutes later.
2nd Set: Frank was broken (Senthil hit a winning volley for Love-30, it was then 15-30 and Double Break Point where Frank whipped out another Windmill Overhead Smash winner to make it Break Point, but then came the break), Senthil had another love hold as three consecutive un-returned serves (all really horribly executed returns by Frank) set up Triple Break Point and then came the hold, Samara was broken again (an un-returned serve for 15-Love only to straight thru Double Break Point to the break) and Kumar held again (Senthil hit a winning lob for 30-Love where Frank then hit a winning volley for 30-15 which was where what was likely to be the best rally of the match set up Double Game Point where Frank hit another winning volley to cut it to Game Point, but then came the hold) to take a fairly fast 4-0 lead! The Wood held to finally get on the scoreboard in this set (an un-returned serve followed by a winner made it 30-Love which was where Senthil hit an excellent Backhand Volley winner for 30-15, it then went to Double Game Point, Game Point and the hold), but then The Webmaster held yet again (15-Love where Frank hit a winning lob to reverse the momentum and soon it was 15-30, but then it shifted again to Game Point and the hold) and then Frank was broken once more (Frank hit a winning lob for 15-Love only to have it then go straight to Double Break/Set Point with a winner from Senthil along the way and then came the break) to lose the set and level the match at 11:03. The next set got going four minutes later.
3rd Set: Senthil had his third Love hold of the match as he had a winning volley and an awesome Overhead Smash on the way to Triple Game Point where he earned the hold with a vicious volley winner and then Frank was broken (Senthil blew a volley for 15-Love, but then he scored with a Backhand Volley winner and that reversed the momentum all the way thru Double Break Point and onto the break) to be down 0-2. Kumar held again (started with a Double Fault and then it went to Love-30, but then he hit a winning volley and soon hit an un-returned serve to set up Game Point and then he got the hold) to jump out to a 3-0 lead. Samara finally held (two un-returned serves led to 30-Love, 30-15, Double Game Point where another un-returned serve earned the hold) and then The Webmaster was broken (Frank hit a winning drop shot return for Love-15, it then went to 15-All, 15-30, Double Fault for Double Break Point, Break Point and then the break) to have his lead cut to 3-2. The pivotal game came next with The Wood on service as Senthil blew a volley to make it 15-Love, then it went to 15-All where Senthil hit a Backhand Volley winner followed by another winning volley to make it Double Break Point, but then that was reduced to Deuce only to have another Break Point come and then the break to fall to 2-4. Senthil held (Senthil hit a winning volley for 15-Love and then it went point for point until 30-All as Frank hit a winning return to set up 30-All and then hit yet another winning return to make it Break Point, but then it went to Deuce, Game Point and the hold) for a fairly commanding lead of 5-2. Frank held in a struggle of a game (Love-15 and then point for point until 30-All as each player hit a winner each time and then Frank hit a winning lob to make it Game Point, then it was Deuce and Break/Match Point, 2nd Deuce, 2nd Break/Match Point where Frank hit his riskiest winning lob yet as it just caught the back of the baseline to make it 3rd Deuce and then came Game Point and the hold) to pull to 3-5. But then Kumar held (Triple Game/Match Point where Frank hit another impressive passing shot winner to make it Double Game/Match Point and then came the hold on the 4th M.P. overall) for a hard-fought victory as this match ended at 11:45!
Samara's Notes: Coming into this match, many asked me what I felt my chances were. I said that under normal circumstances, I felt it was a 50/50 toss-up as Senthil has improved greatly over the past couple of seasons while my game has regressed somewhat mainly due to lack of playing time (especially in Singles). And then in light of recent developments in my personal life, I really was not sure what I would bring to the table on this day. What I thought may be a close match could have ended up becoming a blowout (in his favor) if I did not have my head on right.
I usually play better angry and I was able to channel that into a focused attack in the 1st Set. I think my level of aggression caught him off-guard as I am usually known for more defensive tennis and playing out the points until my opponent either hits a winner or makes an error. Instead, I was going for winners whenever I could set them up properly. I jumped out to what felt like a comfortable lead only to almost lose it due to getting somewhat tight in trying to close it out.
As the 2nd Set got underway, the crowd started entering the courts and I lost that aggressive focus just as Senthil decided to shift gears and play a much more aggressive serve-and-volley style of play (even making an effort to come into net whenever possible as the returner as well). I recognized the strategic shift immediately, but often had a hard time countering it as would-be passing shots or lobs would either sail long or wide. He swept through that set rather quickly (in just 21 minutes) and suddenly the much longer 1st Set (49 minutes) was somewhat negated as now we were on an even playing field heading into the deciding 3rd Set.
In that set, he again quickly jumped out to a lead (3-0 rather than 4-0 like he had in the previous set) and it felt like the entire match was slipping away from me. The one thing I felt good about was that it was never about fitness or stamina. In fact, even at the higher weight (as compared to most of the recent seasons), I was often making gets that took Senthil by surprise. Instead, I was losing the mental game. It was only halfway through this last set where I finally started to launch a proper defensive counterattack. The problem was that I had already dug too deep a hole to get out of and my usual late-match tenacity (which was there once again) was just not enough as there are only so many Match Points one can save before the odds work against you.
I offer Senthil my most hearty congratulations. While we have faced off before in Doubles situations, this was our first Singles match against one another. He was a perfect sportsman on line calls as there were some shots I made that he could have called out and I would not have questioned them as it was often hard to see with the bright sun and many shadows on the east side of the court. I wish him well in his next match and possibly beyond in the tourney.
Senthil says: Frank has a style of play with nice placements, lobs and a side-to-side push. The score is deceiving as it was a close match with many good rallies.
The Consequences: Kumar now advances to face Pienciak in the Round of 16.
Ryan Pienciak/Nick Inciong over Jose Gonzales/Jorge Solano, 6-3! No Aces. This was played on the North Court from 11:20 to 11:58.
Nathan Fernandes/Dean Delgado over Vinnie De Benedetto/Suzanne Bujara, 6-1! No Aces. You would have thought that Vin and Suzanne had won the match when they made it 1-1 as De Benedetto strutted like a proud rooster (much like the one crowing in the distance) just for having taken a game! But it was all downhill from there...LOL! Center Court hosted this one from 11:40 to 12:02.
Nathan Fernandes/Dean Delgado over Jose Gonzales/Jorge Solano, 6-3! Jorge: 1 Ace on Dean on the very first point of the match; and Dean: 1 Ace on Jorge for revenge! Again, Center Court was "the place to be" as this one lasted from 12:09 to 12:44.
Senthil Kumar/Vinnie De Benedetto over Frank Samara/Suzanne Bujara, 6-4! Suzanne: 1 Ace on Vinnie; and Senthil: 1 Ace on Suzanne! It went like this: Senthil held at Love as he had two un-returned serves on the way to Triple Game Point which was where he hit a winner for the hold, Frank held (Love-30 shifted to Game Point as Frank hit back-to-back winners followed by an un-returned serve, but then it went to Deuce, Game Point again and then the hold), Vinnie held (Triple Game Point, Double Game Point and an un-returned serve for the hold) and Suzanne held as well (started with a Double Fault and then hit a slow and short Ace against a statuesque Vinnie for 15-All and then it went point for until 30-All, then Game Point where Frank hit a winner to secure his partner's hold) as we were all on serve at 2-2. Kumar held again (Senthil hit a winning volley for 15-Love, Frank hit a winner for 15-All, Double Fault for 15-30, 30-All and then a soft and slow Ace on Suzanne to set up Game Point and then came the hold), Samara held again (Senthil hit a winner for Love-15 and then it was point for point until 30-All where Frank hit a winner to make it Game Point and then came the hold), De Benedetto held again (an un-returned serve for 15-Love and then it was point for point to Game Point as Frank hit a winning Windmill Overhead Smash along the way and there was also another un-returned serve in there as well, but then came the hold) and Bujara also held again (Love-30 shifted straight to Game Point as Frank hit a winner right before the Game Point and then another one right after for the hold) as we were still all on serve at 4-4! The Webmaster held a third straight time (15-Love, a winning lob from Frank for 15-All, but then straight to Double Game Point and the hold), but then The Wood was finally broken (Vin hit a quick-reflex stab volley that Spin called "the shot of the day" and that set up Triple Break/Match Point which was where Suzanne made an awesome passing shot winner that Spin felt was the runner-up for "shot of the day" to cut it down to Double Break/Match Point and then it went to Break/Match Point where the longest and best rally of the match was played until it ultimately led to the lone break of the set) to take another tough loss! We played this one on the South Court from 12:22 to 12:59.
Nathan Fernandes over Dean Delgado, 6-0! No Aces. Center Court hosted this one from 12:46 to 1:06.
Frank Samara/Dan Martinelli over Jose Gonzales/Suzanne Bujara, 6-2! No Aces. Here's how it went down: Suzanne held (Jose hit a winner for 15-Love, but then blew a volley for 15-All only to follow that with a winner and then an un-returned serve set up Double Game Point where Frank hit an Overhead Smash winner for Game Point, but then came the hold), Frank held (Frank hit a winner for 15-Love, Double Fault for 15-All and then Jose hit a winner for 15-30 only to have the game shift to Game Point where Frank hit a winner for the hold), but Jose was the first to be broken (Jose hit a winner for 15-Love, but then it shifted straight to Double Break Point as Jose blew a volley along the way, but then it shifted back to Deuce as he hit an un-returned serve along the way, but then came another Break Point and the break) to fall to 1-2. Spin held (Frank hit a winner for 15-Love, Jose hit a winning volley for 15-All but then it went right to Double Game Point where Frank hit another winner to secure his partner's hold), Bujara was broken (two consecutive un-returned serves made it 30-Love, then a Double Fault for 30-15, 30-All, Game Point, Deuce, Break Point and the break) and Samara held again (Frank hit a winner and an un-returned serve on the way to Triple Game Point, it then went to Double Game Point where he hit another winner to earn the hold) to take a commanding 5-1 lead. Gonzales held (15-Love where Frank hit a winner for 15-All only to have Jose make an awesome get/winner combo to shift the momentum and then take it to Double Game Point where Jose then hit a wicked winner to lock down the hold) to pull to 2-5, but then Martinelli held again (Love-15 went straight to Double Game/Match Point as Frank hit a winning Windmill Overhead Smash along the way and there was also a truly un-returnable serve as well and then Jose blew a volley to end it) to get the win! We played this one on the South Court from 1:02 to 1:32.
Nathan Fernandes over Dean Delgado, 6-0! No Aces. Again, Center Court was the place...but the set was five minutes shorter than the previous one (1:10 to 1:25).
Alex Gero over Brad Gero, 6-2! No Aces. It was the official GTA Debut of Alex Gero. It was played on the North Court from 1:50 to 2:15 (after a ten minute hitting session). Call it a case of patricide as Alex had no mercy on his old man. But Brad the Dad did brag that he got a win over the older son, Steve (well, they split those sets).
From there, it was two separate bull sessions (Frank and Nate...with a late cameo by Spin) and Dino and Spin all the way to 2:30. As we all were talking, it seemed that the Geros entered into another One-Setter…and indeed they did!
Alex Gero leading Brad Gero, 4-2 (Incomplete when both decided to call it a day due to the heat)! No Aces.
It ended up being a very smooth playing session as the attendance level was just right...nobody ever had to wait more than five minutes (except for Vinnie early on) to get into the action. We had a total of 14 different competitors with one of them being new and making their debut.
We now go to NTC for The Riz Report.
The NTC Results:
Dan Hwang/Alfred Chen over Joe Rodrigues/John Rizzo, 7-5! No Aces.
Joe Rodrigues/Alfred Chen over Dan Hwang/Ray Spadaro, 6-4! No Aces.
Dan Hwang/Alfred Chen over Tom La/Ray Spadaro, 6-4! No Aces.
Samara's Notes: I thank John for reporting those results in a very timely manner. We now head up to Cedar Grove for the dual report from Kris and Doinks.
The Cedar Grove Results:
T.J. Shah/Doinks Srinivasan over Mike Mole/Levy Lorenzo, 6-4! No Aces.
Kris Srinivasan/Levy Lorenzo over T.J. Shah/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-4! Kris: 1 Ace on Doinks; T.J.: 2 Aces (one on each)!
We had other players who only got to hit fir a long while, notable amongst them, were Guy, Mike Sindler and Syed. Guy's net play was terrific!
Samara's Notes: I thank Kris and Doinks 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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