"Samara-Rizzo at NTC, Tailor-Mazur part of 8 at RHP, Kris hosts 13 at C.G.!":
GTA Friday Night Tennis took place at three locations: The Nutley Tennis Club (featuring a full 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match between "Hollywood" Frank Samara and "The Riz" John Rizzo), Robin Hood Park in Clifton (also hosted by Samara) and then an evening session up at The Cedar Grove Courts (hosted by "Papa K" Kris Srinivasan).
Let's go to the result from NTC first, then the full recap from RHP and then, finally, the C.G. report from Kris.
The NTC Result:
2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:
Frank Samara over John Rizzo, 7-5, 6-1, to successfully defend his # 16 Rank in the Advanced Division! No Aces.
1st Set: John held serve (John blew a drop shot to make it Love-30, but then it shifted to 30-All after an un-returned serve and then John blew a volley to make it Break Point, but then it went to Deuce, Game Point, 2nd Deuce, Game Point and another un-returned serve for the hold) and Frank held (John hit a very impressive winning return for Love-15, but then two un-returned serves took it to Double Game Point and then came the hold) for 1-1. Rizzo was broken at Love after Frank hit a winner on Triple Break Point, but Samara was also broken (John hit a passing shot winner and a winning return on the way to Triple Break Point where there was the first truly extended rally of the match to make it Double Break Point, but then came the break) for 2-2. The Riz was broken again (John made two great gets to stay in the point until he won it for 15-Love, but then it was straight to Double Break Point as Frank hit a drop shot winner along the way and then came the break), but so was Hollywood despite hitting an un-returned serve and a passing shot winner on the way to Triple Game Point because that was where he hit a Double Fault for Double Game Point and then John hit a passing shot winner for Game Point which was where John hit a drop shot winner to make it Deuce, then it was Break Point and the break for 3-3! John then held at Love with an un-returned serve and a winner along the way to take his first lead since going up 1-0 after the first game, but Frank also held (30-Love, 30-15 where Frank hit a drop shot winner for Double Game Point where an un-returned serve secured the hold) to knot the score once more, this time at 4-4! Rizzo reclaimed the lead with another hold (John hit a winner for 30-Love, but then Frank hit a winner and it soon shifted to 30-All, but then there was a truly un-returnable serve to set up Game Point and then came the hold), but Samara also held again (15-Love, 15-All and then Frank hit a winner and an un-returned serve to make it Double Game Point where another un-returned serve earned the hold) to make it 5-5! And then came the pivotal game of the set and subsequently the match with The Riz on serve as it went from Love-15 then point for point until 30-All and then Game Point where Frank hit an impressive return winner for Deuce, but then John hit a winning lob to make it Game Point again, 2nd Deuce, Game Point where Frank hit a running passing shot winner for 3rd Deuce and then it was Break Point where Frank hit a drop shot winner for the break to reclaim the lead at 6-5 as he was now about to serve. Frank hit a winner for 30-Love, 30-15 where an un-returned serve set up Double Game/Set Point where Frank got the hold and took the set off of a nice get/winner combo! We played this initial set on Court Five from 4:27 (after a five to seven minute hitting session) to 5:13! We then took a five minute break (due to the high heat and humidity) before moving onto the next once.
2nd Set: John was broken at Love as Frank hit two winners along the way, Frank held (two un-returned serves led to 30-Love, it was 30-15 where John blew a drop shot to set up Double Game Point where another un-returned serve locked in the hold), Rizzo was broken again (Frank blew an easy overhead to make it 15-Love, but then Frank hit two winners on the way to Double Break Point, an un-returned serve made it Break Point but then came the break), Samara held again (John blew an overhead and then there was an un-returned serve for 30-Love where John hit a passing shot winner to make it 30-15, then it went to Double Game Point, Game Point and the hold) and The Riz was broken yet again as it went from 15-Love and then point for point until 30-All as Frank hit a winner along the way, but then it went to Break Point where Frank hit a drop shot winner for the break. John was now down 0-5 and explicitly said he now had to fight to avoid the bagel. The Wood was now on serve and John hit another amazing short-angle winning return and then he hit a passing shot winner to make it Love-30, then there was a Double Fault for Triple Break Point, it went to Double Break Point but then the break to allow Rizzo onto the scoreboard in this set at 5-1. But then John was broken (Frank hit a winning return that just clipped the edge of the sideline for Love-15, then John hit a passing shot winner for 15-All, but then it was right to Double Break/Match Point, the break occurred on Break/Match Point) to end his misery in the sweltering heat and humidity! The match finished at exactly 5:40.
The Skinny: This was "a tale of two sets." Rizzo, a member of NTC who plays their regularly, is quite fond of (and familiar with) the red clay surface there. Samara plays there perhaps a handful of times in any given year. So John used that edge in experience to push the initial set. When Frank had Triple Game Point on his serve only to see it all fade away in an eventual break, he thought he would lose the set. Instead, he fought back from there and wore The Riz down as the temps were still near 90 degrees, the sun was bright and the humidity was high. The 3-Deuce game where John was on serve, but failed to hold was pivotal as it turned the set back in favor of Frank and it also set the tone for the balance of the match. In the 2nd Set, John could never regain the momentum he had in the 1st Set and it all faded away quite quickly. His fitness level (combined with some still ongoing foot issues) is such that he can put together a really fine set…but once it stretches into a full match, he is still having some stamina problems. As he continues to drop weight over the course of the season, he will likely correct that issue.
Rizzo left soon after the match, but Samara didn't get going until 6:15.
Upon his arrival at RHP at 6:30, he found "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli pulling up to the curb at the exact same time. The Foundation than made their mutual entrance to find the frequent crew of Arabic guys occupying the Entrance Court while "The Vin Man" Vinnie De Benedetto was hitting against both "Coach" Dino Celis and "Lucky" Leo Victor on Center Court.
And on Championship Court, there was a full "Battle of The Sexes" Match going on between "Tailor Made" Raj Tailor and "Automatic" Anna Mazur.
Spin took Vin's side in hitting against Dino and Leo. Then, "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes arrived at 6:35. Leo, who was already in a pool of sweat, was happy to let Nate take his place. And that would soon lead to a Doubles One-Setter.
When Tailor-Mazur finished at 7:05, Raj headed home. But Anna was eager to play more. So Frank and Leo took that court with her and soon entered into a session of Canadian Doubles which saw Leo jump out to a lead of 3-1-1 only to have Frank rally back to a lead of 5-4-4 by the time we ended it in favor of a proper Doubles One-Setter as Nate offered his services after that other Doubles One-Setter got finished at 7:40.
The last Doubles One-Setter of the night was played from 7:42 to 8:28. Somewhere along the way, the crew of four Arablic guys became six and they would also eventually take over Center Court as well.
Anna left after that last battle ended, but Frank, Spin, Dino and Nate had a bull session that ran until 8:45…just long enough to make them reconsider the idea of heading up to Cedar Grove (i.e. they never did).
The RHP Results:
"Battle of the Sexes" Match:
Anna Mazur over Raj Tailor, 6-2, 6-4! No Aces. They played this one on Championship Court from 5:50 to 7:05.
The Skinny: Both players had recently issued Open Challenges to the league via e-mail that went unanswered. It led to each reaching out to the other and that was how they set up this match. It ended up being a very impressive victory for Anna whose consistency frustrated Raj. She said that Tailor is quite the player…he just made far too many Unforced Errors.
Dan Martinelli/Vinnie De Bendetto over Dino Celis/Nathan Fernandes, 6-4! No Aces. Spin and Vin jumped out to a 3-0 lead and navigated the waters from there to stay out ahead of their younger opponents. Some might say that upsets had just occurred on both courts. This one took place on Center Court and lasted from 6:52 to 7:40.
Nathan Fernandes/Anna Mazur over Frank Samara/Leo Victor, 6-4! Frank: 1 Ace on Anna. It went like this: Frank was broken (15-Love to 15-30 where Frank hit a winning net-cord volley to make it 30-All, but then it was Break Point where Frank blew a drop shot to break himself) and Anna held serve (15-Love where Frank hit a winning Overhead Smash to make it 15-All, but then it was straight to Double Game Point where Frank hit a winner to cut it to Game Point, but then came the hold) to go up 2-0. Leo held at Love as Frank hit a winning Overhead Smash and a winning Backhand Volley along the way), but then Nathan held as well (15-Love where Frank hit a winning return off the net-cord for 15-All, but then it went right to Double Game Point where Nate made a great get on a roller over the net from Leo…it was amazing he still had room to scoop it and pop it up over the net…but Nate paid the price as the softly upward-sailing ball was met with a vicious Overhead Smash from Leo that ended up finding the side of Nate's face! "In the face!" from "The Hangover" was what immediately came to mind. Leo went out of his way to apologize to Nate who took it all in good stride as he realized it was unintentional…and he was OK…this cut it to Game Point, but then came the hold) for 3-1. Samara was broken again (another wildly swinging overhead attempt from Leo led to something unprecedented…a disappearing ball! Where did the shot go? It was getting dark, but it wasn't that dark yet. Oh wait, it was in the triangular shaped hole that separates the racquet handle from the frame. "It's in the hole!" from "Caddyshack" was what came to mind here…funny stuff. And that made it Love-15…then it was 15-All, but then right to Double Break Point where back-to-back winners by Leo and Frank made it Deuce, but then it was Break Point again where Nate hit a winning drop shot return for the break) to fall to 1-4! Mazur was also broken (an excellent rally made it Love-15 and then it was point for point until 30-All where Frank blew a drop shot to make it Game Point, but then it was Deuce where Frank hit a winning volley to make it Break Point and then Frank hit a winning Overhead Smash for the break) to cut her team's lead to 4-2, but then Victor was also broken (Love-15 and then an un-returned serve for 15-All, but then straight to Double Break Point and then it went to Deuce after Frank hit a winning volley, but then Break Point again and the break) to fall to 2-5! Fernandes was also broken (Leo hit a blistering return winner to set up Triple Break Point, but then it went all the way down to Deuce where Leo hit another winner to set up Break Point and then came the break) and then Hollywood finally held (Frank hit a winner for 15-Love and then it was 15-All where Frank hit a sideline Ace against Anna for 30-15, it was then on Double Game Point where Frank hit an amazing passing shot winner to secure his own hold) to pull to 4-5! But then Automatic Anna once again lived up to her moniker as she held serve in the clutch (Love-15 shifted to 30-15 after Nate hit a winner, but then it shifted again as it went to Break Point, but then Deuce, Game/Match Point and the hold for the win) to earn the victory! We played this one on Championship Court from 7:42 to 8:28.
And now we let Papa K take it away!
There was a heavy non-GTA presence here (Arvind and the like). I did what I could to move them along. I did not have time to write up the details, so here are the scores.
The Cedar Grove Results:
Mike Kazlauskas/Jose Gonzales over Kris Srinivasan/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-3! No Aces.
2 out of 3 Sets Mixed Doubles Match:
Rob Gawley/Laura Gawley over Dave Zhu/Jane Fan, 6-2, 6-4, to successfully defend their # 25 Rank in the Mixed Doubles Division! No Aces (apparently).
Kris Srinivasan/Doinks Srinivasan over Jose Gonzales/Natalia Sout, 6-2! Kris: 1 Ace on Jose; and Jose: 1 Ace on Kris!
Norman Taclob/Tito Castolo over Dwight Thomas Sr./Ted Cedroski, 6-1! No Aces (apparently).
Samara's Notes: As always, I thank Kris for all he does on behalf of the GTA up at Cedar Grove.
Sincerely,
Frank Samara
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