10/31/17:
"Edwin-Kris part of 13 (1 new) at C.G.!":
There was just one session of GTA Tuesday Night Tennis…a special Halloween edition at The Cedar Grove Courts which began in the late afternoon and carried on until late in the evening as it started with a full 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match between "Salsa Picante" Edwin Ortega and "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan (with Kris reporting and then taking over the hosting duties for the rest of the evening). Also, "GDP" Guy Dupoux reported his results directly.
So we will now turn this report over to Kris and squeeze the scores from Guy in along the way.
It turned out to be a day streaming in GTA action despite the lack of a big turnout given the cold evening combined with the fact that it was Halloween. As the kids preferred to go for Trick or Treat out on their own, it left their parents free for some tennis. That was the case for us and Edwin (who wanted to play on Monday but as I was tied up, I offered to play on Tuesday instead).
We started our Singles Match around 4:30 with the sun out in all its glory, glistening on the colorful leaves, making it a beautiful sight. While I enjoyed this nature's beauty, the sunlight coming off the bright red leaves seemed to affect Edwin. It was quite windy when we started, making it chilly all the more.
The Cedar Grove Results:
2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:
Kris Srinivasan over Edwin Ortega, 6-0, 4-6, 6-2, to become both the New # 15 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division and the New # 3 Ranked Player in the Intermediate Division! No Aces.
The 1st Set was played in a controlled measure by me, given the windy conditions and the new balls. This worked against Edwin's play as I didn't want to let go of the hold.
By the time, we started the 2nd Set, the winds were dying down and, after losing the first game, Edwin went on a roll by winning three games in a row. He had a great strategy of playing aggressive and approaching the net, to put away nice shots with great volleys. I also tried to up my tempo and it cost me dearly as some of my shots sailed long. Finally, I stopped the bleeding to get to 2-4, but the relief was brief as Edwin won the next game to sit pretty at 5-2. With my back to the wall, I did my best to focus on each point and went on to win the next two games and was then serving up 30-Love to tie the set at 5-All. It was then when Edwin came up with some good shots and I blew a couple of points on basic shots to lose the set, 4-6, to level the match.
The 3rd Set started off great for me as I won the first three games before Edwin came on board winning two games of his own. Then it was another good run for me to conclude the match, but I was lucky with plenty of free points, especially some sitters at the net that I had actually given up on only to see (in disbelief) Edwin blow it.
Overall, it was a good match that saw a lot of great shots from both of us, incredible gets by Edwin and quite a few unforced errors to keep the match close and competitive. I felt good with some of my passing cross-court shots, stranding Edwin at the net.
We wrapped our match by 6:20 and as Edwin had to go and Doinks had yet to show up, I packed up to go home. Doinks didn't want me to hit the showers as she wanted to play, with the promise of some other players coming a little later in the evening. After freshening up and grabbing a bite, I would get to have my second dose of tennis for the night.
I joined Fadia Nicolas and Doinks in a hitting session at 7:15. It was both women against me when Nathan Fernandes joined us. Just as we started the match, Jose Gonzales joined us and got to play the next one.
Nathan Fernandes/Kris Srinivasan over Doinks Srinivasan/Fadia Nicolas, 6-0! No Aces.
Nathan Fernandes/Doinks Srinivasan over Jose Gonzales/Fadia Nicolas, 6-1! No Aces.
Jose wanted to team up with Fadia and they started off on a good note. But it looks like Nate and Doinks proved to be stronger and controlled the set overall.
Jose left shortly thereafter despite Fadia offering to sit out the next one.
Nate was incredible to note a slowing down car that it was Edgar Valencia. Indeed, it was Edgar who pulled in to lot to be followed by Runa Mendoza (not Rona as Levy Lorenzo had me believe the other night) and her hubby, Virgilio.
Kris Srinivasan/Edgar Valencia over Virgilio Mendoza/Runa Mendoza, 6-3! Edgar: 2 Aces (one on each); and Virgilio: 1 Ace on Edgar! It was the official GTA Debut of Virgilio Mendoza.
It was the first time for me to play Virgilio. He is affectionately called "Biju." He is brilliant and it was such a pleasure to watch his game. Nice serves, but his return game is top-notch, especially to some of Edgar's superb serves. His net play was awesome and he has "stand and deliver" shots that are exquisite. The only handicap is his ailing knees which have restricted his mobility big time. It was the first time to play Runa and, boy, was she as steady as it gets! She had great placements and even returned some terrific serves. She did great at the net as well. For us, Edgar was brilliant on his serves and net play. His ground-strokes were smooth. It was a great set that had high quality shots throughout the contest.
Samara's Notes: I interrupt Kris to go to those scores from Guy now (Kris attempted to report them, but had some of the pairings mixed up along the way).
Nathan Fernandes/Fadia Nicolas over Levy Lorenzo/Guy Dupoux, 6-4! No Aces.
The Gist from Guy: We lost this would-be 1st Set due to too many enforced errors on my part.
Levy Lorenzo/Guy Dupoux over Nathan Fernandes/Fadia Nicolas, 6-0! Guy: 5 Aces (3 on Fadia and 2 on Nate…they may not all have been in this set, but since Guy did not differentiate…I report them all here on their victorious set)!
The Gist from Guy: We then turned things around as I played a lot better and Levy was a wall up at the net.
Nathan Fernandes/Fadia Nicolas leading Levy Lorenzo/Guy Dupoux, 3-2 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)! No Aces.
The Gist from Guy: We were down 0-3, but came back and made it 2-3. Although my ribs and right side is still sore (from the accident), it was a great match (had it gone the distance). It was a really chilly night but, as always, a fun one. Nate hit a great drop shot that took me off guard. Levy's ground-strokes were phenomenal but Nate, at times, hit effective sliced very deep. Fadia was consistent on her serve and hit some nice shots. Nate as always played a very smart match. I will take maybe a week off and see how my right side is at that time.
The K has his say: It looked like a would-be close match that had well-fought points and excellent rallies. I'm pretty sure Guy served up some Aces, but not sure of how to report them. Nate played smart, especially with his placements. Levy was his usual self, heaving the ball back.
Kris Srinivasan/Doinks Srinivasan over Edgar Valencia/Runa Mendoza, 6-3! No Aces.
We won the first three games, but a good comeback by Edgar and Runa tied the match at 3-All. We had another good run to close the set. Save for a couple of mishits, Doinks' aggressive play paid off. Edgar punished her well though on her serves with his drop shot returns. Runa was solid and we truly got away with avoiding some of her backhand fast-paced shots that would certainly have been winners had they not instead found their way into the net.
Kris Srinivasan/Doinks Srinivasan leading Edgar Valencia/Runa Mendoza, 4-2 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)! No Aces.
Another good set where Runa continued to impress. We got away with taking some close games.
Despite the cold temps, the action was brisk right through the night. Luckily, the winds had taken a good break for the entire duration, making it easy on us. It was an exhilarating night of GTA Tennis for sure. Cheers!
Samara's Notes: As always, I thank Kris for all he does for the GTA up at Cedar Grove…not just by reporting the results, but also acting as a true host by inviting and welcoming new players to the league there whenever he has the chance. I also thank Guy for his contributions to this report as well.
As for the e-mail from Umang "Ash" Jain (to the league) stating that he played at The Park Ave. Courts in Nutley, I am sure he did. What I am unsure about is who he played with as they were quite likely to be non-GTA players given the fact that the usual Park Ave. host, "Richie Running Things" Rich Liu was not there. Rich is usually only there on Monday, Wednesday and Friday nights. So his official GTA Debut will have to wait for a later date.
Sincerely,
Frank Samara
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