"Samara hosts 6 (1 New) at RHP, Laura-Jane part of 14 at C.G.!":
GTA Friday Night Tennis took place at two locations: Robin Hood Park in Clifton (hosted by "Hollywood" Frank Samara) and at The Cedar Grove Courts (hosted by "Papa K" Kris Srinivasan and featuring the GTA Women's Championship Tournament Quarterfinal Match between Laura "The Aura" Gawley and "Fun" Jane Fan).
First, we go to the RHP recap. After that, up to Cedar Grove we will go.
Samara rolled up to RHP at 5:35. Out on Championship Court, he saw "Lucky" Leo Victor in a hitting session with Sachiko "Sachi" Tokuda. Leo said they had a similar hitting session together the day before.
Frank soon took Sachi's side in hitting against Leo. And then, at 5:45, "The Vin Man" Vinnie De Benedetto made his way toward the courts and took Leo's side to balance the teams.
Just as we were about to start a Doubles One-Setter, Jay "The Rising" Phoenix arrived at 5:50. So Samara opted out and let Phoenix take his place instead. They got it underway exactly at 5:56 as Frank then held Center Court.
A few minutes later, "J-Rod" Joe Rodrigues pulled up to the courts at 6pm. He soon entered into a fairly lengthy hitting session with Samara on Center Court.
When that first One-Setter ended exactly at 6:23, Sachi decided to leave. She said she had played a full Singles Match earlier in the day. Again, Frank opted out and let Joe step in instead.
That next One-Setter lasted just twenty minutes, from 6:24 to 6:44. During that time, a family of four (father, mother, son and daughter) took the Entrance Court.
Phoenix headed home after the second One-Setter and that enabled Samara to officially join the action. And that would be our total of actual competitors for the session…just six! It was a surprisingly low turnout given how beautiful the weather was – sunny and in the 70 degree range, nearly perfect!
At 7:10, a father/son combo took Center Court. Since all the children present at RHP were so young, it was beginning to feel like Romper Room.
When that third One-Setter ended exactly at 7:27, we decided it would be the last. Leo, Vin and Joe all headed home while Frank headed up to Cedar Grove. But before we get to that, let's go to the scores from RHP.
The RHP Results:
Leo Victor/Vinnie De Benedetto over Jay Phoenix/Sachiko Tokuda, 6-3! No Aces. It was the official GTA Debut of Sachiko Tokuda. This took place on Championship Court from 5:56 to 6:23.
Jay Phoenix/Joe Rodrigues over Leo Victor/Vinnie De Benedetto, 6-1! Joe: 1 Ace on Leo. This one was also done on Championship Court as it lasted from 6:24 to 6:44.
Frank Samara/Vinnie De Benedetto over Joe Rodrigues/Leo Victor, 6-4! No Aces. It went like this: Joe was broken (15-Love to 15-30 where Joe hit a big-time winner for 30-All, Break Point and another winner from Joe for Deuce, Break Point and a Double Fault to break himself), Frank was broken at Love facing the setting sun (as did Joe) as Leo hit the winner for Love-30 and then he hit a great get/winner combo for the break and then Leo was the first to hold serve (an un-returned serve, a blown volley by Vin and another un-returned serve led to Triple Game Point, it was then Double Game Point where Frank hit a mishit drop shot winner for Game Point, but then Joe hit a winning Overhead Smash to secure his partner's hold) to go up 2-1. Vin had a Love hold to level it at 2-2, but then Rodrigues held (as the sun was starting to set and get out of our line of sight by now) despite starting off with a Double Fault, it then shifted to 30-15 with an un-returned serve along the way, it then went to 30-All where Joe hit a Backhand Volley that clipped the top of the tape to become a net-cord winner for Game Point where he hit another un-returned serve for the hold to go up 3-2. Samara also held (15-Love then point for point to 30-All with an un-returned serve along the way, but then Leo hit a scorching return winner for Break Point, then it was Deuce where Frank hit a long-distance passing shot winner for Game Point and then came the hold to tie things again, this time at 3-3. Victor was broken (Vin hit a winning Overhead Smash to make it Love-30, then at 15-30 he hit another winning Overhead Smash to set up Double Break Point, but that was where Joe hit a winner for Break Point, then came the break), but De Benedetto held again (30-Love shifted to 30-All right after Joe made a great get/winner combo right at the net to answer a drop shot by Frank, but he couldn't get the next one as Frank scored the drop shot winner to set up Game Point, but Joe hit a winning Overhead Smash for Deuce, then Game Point again only to have Joe hit another winning Overhead Smash for 2nd Deuce, Game Point again where the third time was the charm in an opposite kind of way as Joe blew a third overhead attempt which allowed the hold) to go up 5-3! J-Rod held again in the longest game of the match (Vin hit a winning drop shot return for Love-15, it shifted to 30-15 with a truly un-returnable serve along the way, then it was 30-All where another un-returned serve made it Game Point, then Deuce, Game Point, 2nd Deuce, Double Fault for Break Point, another un-returned serve for 3rd Deuce, Break Point and another un-returned serve for 4th Deuce, Break Point and still another un-returned serve for 5th Deuce, Game Point and then Leo hit the winner to finally get the hold for his partner) to pull to 4-5. But Hollywood had another hold up his sleeve as well as it went from Love-30 to 30-All with a winner from Frank along the way and then Vin hit a mishit volley winner to set up Game/Match Point, it was then Deuce where an un-returned serve set up the 2nd Game/Match Point and then came the hold for a hard-fought victory! We played this one on Championship Court from 6:45 to 7:27.
The Skinny: Samara and De Benedetto wanted to get some practice teaming together as their upcoming GTA Doubles Championship Match against "Stormin" Norman Taclob and Tito "Touch" Castolo looms in the distance (near distance, hopefully). Rodrigues and Victor were up to the task as both played very well and awfully hard. Joe's hold in that last 5 Deuce game was particularly impressive as he hit so many un-returned serves to extend it long enough to finally have it converted. Leo has become one of the better get-makers in the league. When he adds some consistency to his game, he may just go from Lucky Leo to Lethal Leo.
From there, it was off to Cedar Grove for Mr. Samara. And upon his arrival at 7:45, he saw all four courts occupied…though it was not all GTA action.
Court One saw "The Ambidextrous Machine" Herb Reiner and his buddy Miroslav "Mirav" Glavic in an extended hitting session. On Court Two, it was "The Webmaster" Senthil Kumar teaming with "Big Kaz" Mike Kazlauskas against Taclob and "Rowdy" Rob Gawley.
Over on Court Three we had "Papa K" Kris Srinivasan paired with "Big George" Jorge Solano as they were taking on "Latino Heat" Jose Gonzales and "The Marathon Woman" Doinks Srinivasan. And on Court Four, "Coach" Dino Celis was in the latter stages of a non-GTA Singles Challenge Match against an opponent in the ongoing Bergen Tennis Tournament.
"Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli was sitting at the sidelines of Court Three. "2 Tall" Dave Zhu was also sitting solo, but on the bench outside Court Four. And Laura Gawley and Jane Fan were sitting on the bench outside Court One as they had already finished their Quarterfinal Match earlier in the evening (there were other results that had already concluded as well as both Laura and Spin soon brought Frank up to speed).
The last arrival and official fourteenth competitor of the night was Natalia "Nitro" Sout when she rolled in at 8:05. Samara and Celis never entered into any official action as they were content to ride the bench outside Court Four and heckle Spin for the balance of the night as he teamed with Ms. Gawley to take on the Zhu/Fan combo.
So much we can talk about here, but let's just get to the scores!
The Cedar Grove Results:
GTA Women's Championship Tournament Quarterfinal Match:
Laura Gawley over Jane Fan, 6-0, 6-1, to successfully defend her # 1 Rank in the Women's Division while also becoming the first lady to advance to the Semifinals of the GTA Women's Championship Tournament! No Aces. They played this on Court Two, approximately from 6:10 to 6:40.
Rob Gawley/Laura Gawley over Mike Kazlauskas/Jane Fan, 6-4! No Aces. They played this one on Court Two after the previous match had finished.
Jose Gonzales/Dan Martinelli over Jorge Solano/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-0! Jose: 1 Ace on Jorge. This took place on Court Three. Spin could not remember the start and stop times, but said it lasted about twenty minutes.
Senthil Kumar/Mike Kazlauskas over Norman Taclob/Rob Gawley, 6-3! Norm: 1 Ace on Senthil. This was played on Court Two. Not sure when it started as it was already underway at the time of my arrival and then it went right into a second One-Setter which we will detail a little later.
Jose Gonzales/Doinks Srinivasan over Kris Srinivasan/Jorge Solano, 6-3! No Aces. This one was also already underway, but on Court Three. It finished at 8:10.
Norman Taclob/Rob Gawley over Senthil Kumar/Mike Kazlauskas, 6-1! No Aces. This one ended on Court Two at 8:30 and Norm left soon afterward.
Dave Zhu/Jane Fan over Dan Martinelli/Laura Gawley, 6-4! Dave: 1 Ace on Laura. It was 2-2 and then Spin and Laura went up 3-2. It went to 3-3 and then Dave and Jane went up 5-3. Martinelli and Gawley pulled to 4-5 and then Jane was on serve. She was down Double Break Point, but then went straight through Deuce and onto Game/Match Point and an impressive victory! This one was played on Court Four and it lasted from 8:02 to 8:43. Both teams decided upon a rematch which we will get to later.
Kris Srinivasan/Jorge Solano over Doinks Srinivasan/Natalia Sout, 6-0! No Aces. This "Battle of The Sexes" One-Setter took place on Court Three from 8:12 to 8:39. Kris said it should be noted that it took 5 Match Points to finally put the ladies away!
Jose Gonzales/Natalia Sout over Jorge Solano/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-3! No Aces. This one was also played on Court Three and it lasted from 8:41 to 9:12.
Kris Srinivasan/Mike Kazlauskas over Senthil Kumar/Rob Gawley, 7-5! No Aces. Kris and Mike were up 5-3 and had three Match Points in their favor only to have them all saved by Senthil and Rob to extend the match. This one was contested on Court One from 8:42 to 9:22.
Dan Martinelli/Laura Gawley over Dave Zhu/Jane Fan, 7-5! Spin: 1 Ace on Jane; and Dave: 1 Ace on Laura! Here's the basic breakdown: Spin held in a multiple-Deuce game with the Ace on Jane along the way and it lasted 7 minutes, Dave held (Break Point, Deuce, Game Point and the hold), Laura held and Jane held as all were on serve at 2-2. Martinelli was the first to be broken and it was at Love as he sadly hit a Double Fault on Triple Break Point, but Zhu held again to put his team up 4-2. Gawley responded with a Love hold and Fan was then broken in a multiple Deuce game where she, too, hit a Double Fault on Break Point and this knotted the score once more at 4-4! The Doc held for 5-4, but so did 2-Tall Zhu as he scored the corner Ace on Laura on the way to Triple Game Point, hit a Double Fault to make it Double Game Point, Game Point, Deuce, Game Point and then the hold for 5-5! The Aura held (Game Point, Deuce, Game Point, 2nd Deuce, Game Point and the hold) for 6-5 and then Fun Fan was broken in a true battle (Double Game Point was cut down to Deuce, Game Point, 2nd Deuce, Game Point, 3rd Deuce, Break/Match Point, 4th Deuce where Spin made an amazing get/winner combo to set up the 2nd Break/Match Point, but then Dave hit a winning volley for 5th Deuce and then Laura hit a winning Backhand Volley to make it the 3rd Break/Match Point where Spin hit a winning return for a truly hard-fought victory) that ended up being a marathon! This took place on Court Four from 8:44 to 9:41!
The Skinny: Spin was having an off night. So much so that he was the constant target of Dave and Jane for most of the two One-Setters, but especially this second one as they smelled blood in the water. Laura did her best to keep the ship afloat. Martinelli, so frustrated with his poor play, started to confess his dislike of tennis (well, only when the chips are down) to his partner along the way. He redeemed himself with the late get/winner combo and the ripping return to close out the match. Later, he said had he gone out as a two-time loser…he would have taken a break from playing for a while.
Jose Gonzales/Natalia Sout over Jorge Solano/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-4! No Aces. They played this one on Court Three from 9:15 to 9:44, the last official action of the night.
But a hitting session developed on Court Four as it would be Dave (eventually joined by Jose) against The Srinivasans to close out the evening.
Sincerely,
Frank Samara
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