5/30

“Zhang-Sout at C.G.!”:

               

GTA Memorial Day Monday Tennis only took place at The Cedar Grove Courts in the evening (featuring the GTA Women’s Championship Tournament Round of 16 Match between “The Amazing” Mindy Zhang and Natalia “Nitro” Sout). 

 

Early morning rains killed the chance of any morning session at Robin Hood Park (besides, “Hollywood” Frank Samara had said he would be unavailable anyway).

 

“Papa K” Kris Srinivasan said he was out and came back home late.  He saw “The Pilot” Greg Swierczek, “Kevlar” Kevin Doyle and “Bravo” Brenda Jordan there, so he thought there may be some official action.  But as none of them reported any scores, it will have to remain as unofficial.

 

Mindy, however, did report the result of her match with Natalia.

 

The Cedar Grove Result:

 

GTA Women’s Championship Tournament Round of 16 Match:

Mindy Zhang over Natalia Sout, 6-3, 6-2, to successfully defend her # 14 Rank in the Women’s Division while also advancing to the Quarterfinals of the GTA Women’s Championship Tournament!  In the process, Sout entered the division as the New # 17 Ranked Player.  No Aces (apparently).

 

The Skinny: This match-up came about during a whirlwind of behind the scenes attempts at scheduling.  There were two Round of 16 Matches left to be played.  On one side of the draw, it was supposed to be Zhang facing “Dominant” Dawn Peterson.  And on the other side of the draw, it would have been Sout going against “C.A.T.” Christine Toth.

 

Both of these pairings were having a very hard time finding a mutually convenient time to play one another.  So early Monday morning, the idea was floated to all four players to mix up the match-ups if it helped get things done.  Mindy let it be known that she was available and Natalia answered the call.  That now leaves Christine and Dawn to face each other in the last Round of 16 Match.

 

The Consequences: Zhang advances to face “The Excellent” Evonne Tan in the Quarters.  This will be a rematch as they faced one another in the match where both became qualified for competition in this tourney.  The winner of Toth-Peterson will advance to face “The S Bomber” Genalin Capan.

 

Samara’s Notes: I thank Mindy for sending in that score in a very timely fashion.  I’m also happy to see Natalia finally make the jump to the Women’s Division.   

 

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

5/29

“Z-Flax in F.L., Samara hosts 16 at RHP, Riz hosts 4 at NTC, Kris hosts 12 at C.G.!”:

               

GTA Sunday Tennis took place at four locations: TJ Field in Fair Lawn (featuring a full 3 out of 5 Sets Challenge Match between buddies, “The Z Man” Dave Zapusek and “The Flax Machine” Mike Flax, as reported by Dave), Robin Hood Park in Clifton (hosted by “Hollywood” Frank Samara), Nutley Tennis Club (hosted by “The Riz” John Rizzo) and then up at The Cedar Grove Courts (hosted by “Papa K” Kris Srinivasan). 

 

Let’s go to the result from TJ Field result first, the full recap from RHP and then the NTC scores from John and the full C.G. report from Kris.

 

The TJ Field Result:

 

3 out of 5 Sets Challenge Match:

Dave Zapusek over Mike Flax, 6-4, 7-5, 6-1, to successfully defend his # 33 Rank in the Intermediate Division!  No Aces.  It took place in Fair Lawn from 9am to 11:30.

 

And now for the full recap from Robin Hood Park

 

Upon his arrival at RHP at 9:45, Samara found five interlopers (four men and one woman) sitting in the Doubles Alley of the Entrance Court…but also keeping their racquets on the net of Center Court.  Frank thought, “Oh great!  We’re already down to one of the three courts!”

 

But, as it turned out, these five were already done playing and they would clear out of there by 10:05.

 

At 9:55, a car service dropped off Barbara “Bobbie” Grass.  She started hitting with Samara on Championship Court.  Ten minutes later, “Latino Heat” Jose Gonzales arrived.  But he said he was not looking to just hit as he is currently suffering from plantar fasciitis.  He would wait until he could play some Doubles.

 

At 10:10, both “The Vin Man” Vinnie De Benedetto and Tito “Touch” Castolo walked out onto the courts.  Samara decided to pair Tito with Bobbie and Jose with Vin.  Samara then shifted over to Center Court to hold that one.

 

Frank would not have to wait alone all that long as, at 10:25, both Pranav Sinha and “Sadistic” Syed Rashid made their way to the courts.  Sinha has engaged in GTA action in the past, but it was always up at The Wayne Bubble.  This was his first time making it down to RHP.

 

Another five minutes later, another twosome arrived: “Chito” Nick Inciong and “The Assassin” Alfred Chen.  So Samara let the two of them face Sinha and Rashid on Center Court while Frank once again shifted over…this time to the Entrance Court.  Right around this time, “Dynamite” Danny Loor made a dog-walking cameo.  He said he finally feels better and will return to competition this season.

 

At 10:35, we had “The Legendary” Chazz Weldon and “C.A.T.” Christine Toth both arrive at the same time.  Samara hit with them until five minutes later when “Spin Doctor” Dan Martinelli made his way through the gate.  All four of them started hitting, but not for long.

 

When Grass was finished with that first One-Setter, Samara suggested sending Weldon over to Championship Court for Men’s Doubles action while Bobbie could come in for some Mixed Doubles teaming with Frank against Spin and Christine.

 

During that One-Setter, “Big George” Jorge Solano arrived at 11:15 and then “Nate the Great” Nathan Fernandes arrived at 11:20.

 

After that One-Setter ended, Frank took Barbara home from 11:45 to 11:55.  Just prior to that, “Coach” Dino Celis arrived to make an extended cameo appearance.  He only ended up in a brief hitting session while Samara was away as he was both sore and tired from a lot of action this week. 

 

And somewhere along the way, Zapusek made his usual Cujo-walking cameo where he reported his score from earlier in the day.

 

At 12:05, Sachiko “Sachi” Tokuda arrived and had a hitting session with Chen on Center Court until finally being able to get involved in some Doubles a little later.

 

The sixteenth and final official competitor to arrive was “Lucky” Leo Victor at 12:25.

 

At 12:45, “The Uni-Bomber” Uni Mendoza arrived with his daughter, Natasha, and they had a hitting session on the Entrance Court.  At 1:10, Uni’s other daughter (the older one) Natalie arrived with a guy named Danny (who we assume is her boyfriend or husband).  They are all very nice.

 

Uni and Natalie took Center Court to hit with one another while Natasha and Danny did the same on the Entrance Court.  At 1:25, they entered into a Mixed Doubles Match (may have been just a One-Setter) on the Entrance Court with it being Uni and Natalie versus Danny and Natasha.  Uni described this one as revenge as he and the elder sister beat the younger sister and the likely son-in-law (but would be married to the older sister).  I didn’t bother asking them for the score even though both Uni and Natasha have competed with us in the past.

 

The final official GTA action of the day ended at 2:02.  From there, Frank, Spin, Dino, Nate and Chazz had a bull session that ran until 2:50.

 

The RHP Results:

 

Tito Castolo/Barbara Grass over Jose Gonzales/Vinnie De Benedetto, 6-3!  No Aces.  This one took place on Championship Court from 10:20 to 10:47.  The match was kept at a gentlemanly pace.

 

Alfred Chen/Nick Inciong over Syed Rashid/Pranav Sinha, 6-0!  No Aces.  This one got underway on Center Court at 10:48.  It ended somewhere around 11:25 as they switched partners and went into another one.

 

Dan Martinelli/Christine Toth over Frank Samara/Barbara Grass, 7-5!  Frank: 1 Ace on Christine.  It went like this: Christine held at Love as she hit the winner for 30-Love and Spin hit a winner on Triple Game Point.  Barbara was broken (Spin hit a winning return for Love-15, then it was Love-30, but Frank hit a winner on the way to 30-All, but then Break Point and the break) to go down 0-2, but then Spin was also broken (Frank hit a winner for Love-30, Triple Break Point was cut to Break Point, but then came the break) to make it 2-1.  Frank was also broken in a crazy struggle (Spin hit an amazing get/winner combo to make it Love-15 and then Christine hit a winning volley for Love-30, it was 15-30 where Spin hit a rare Backhand Volley winner to set up Double Break Point, but then it went to Deuce where Frank hit a nice passing shot winner for Game Point, then 2^nd Deuce where Frank hit yet another impressive passing shot winner to make it Game Point again, but then 3^rd Deuce, Break Point, 4^th Deuce, Game Point, 5^th Deuce where Christine hit a winning volley for Break Point, 6^th Deuce where Christine once again hit a winning volley for Break Point and then came the break) to go down 1-3!  Toth was broken (Love-15, 15-All and then onto Double Break Point as Barbara hit a winning drop shot return along the way and then came the break) and Grass held (Love-15 then point for point until 30-All, Game Point where an un-returnable serve went off the sideline) to level matters at 3-3!  Martinelli held (15-Love where Spin blew an overhead for 15-All, but then it went right to Double Game Point, but that was brought to Deuce, Break Point, 2^nd Deuce and a truly un-returnable serve made it Game Point where Christine then secured her partner’s hold with a winning Backhand Volley) and Samara was broken again and this time it was at Love as Spin hit both a passing shot winner and a winning passing shot return on the way to Triple Break Point and then Christine hit a winner on Triple Break Point to get the Love break and make it 5-3 for her team!  C.A.T. was broken at Love as Frank opened up the game with a major winning return and then Bobbie held again (Love-30 went to Game Point as an un-returned serve set up the G.P. and then Frank ended the game with a big winner) to tie things again, this time at 5-5!  But The Doc held for the third straight time (un-returnable serve for 15-Love and then Frank blew an overhead to make it 30-Love and then an awesome rally that led to 30-15 which was where Spin hit a winner to set up Double Game Point where Christine hit the winner to secure her partner’s hold) and The Wood was broken a third straight time (Love-15 and then a short and soft Ace on Christine for 15-All, but then straight to Double Break/Match Point and then the break and the loss) to go down!  We played this one on the Entrance Court from 10:49 to 11:42!

 

Chazz Weldon/Jose Gonzales over Tito Castolo/Vinnie De Benedetto, 6-4!  No Aces.  They played this on Championship Court from 10:58 to 11:30..

 

Syed Rashid/Nick Inciong over Alfred Chen/Pranav Sinha, 6-2!  Nick: 1 Ace on Pranav.  This one took place on Center Court and lasted from 11:30 to 11:58.

 

Tito Castolo/Vinnie De Benedetto over Jorge Solano/Nathan Fernandes, 6-3!  No Aces.  Championship Court hosted this one from 11:33 to 12:08.  Afterward, Jorge and Nate engaged in a lengthy hitting session.

 

Frank Samara/Jose Gonzales over Chazz Weldon/Christine Toth, 6-2!  Jose: 1 Ace on Christine.  Here’s how it went down: Jose held (15-Love to 15-30 to Game Point, Deuce where Frank hit a winner for Break Point and then Frank hit a passing shot winner to secure his partner’s hold), Christine was broken at Love as Frank hit a winning return, Jose hit a passing shot winner, Frank hit a winner and then Jose hit another passing shot winner and Frank finally held (Jose blew an overhead for Love-15, but then Frank hit a winner on the way to 30-15, it then shifted to Break Point where an un-returned serve made it Deuce, then it was Game Point where Jose hit the winner to secure his partner’s hold) to go up 3-0.  Chazz held (30-Love, 30-15, Double Game Point and the hold) and said he was happy just to avoid a bagel and then Gonzales held again (Love-30 shifted to 30-All where he scored a soft and short Ace against Christine for Game Point, then Deuce and all Game Points until 3^rd Deuce, Game Point and the hold) to go up 4-1, but Toth also held (Frank hit a winning return for Love-15, then it was Love-30 where both Chazz and Christine hit amazing winners to bring it to Game Point where Frank blew it with a failed volley) to pull to 2-4.  But from there, Samara held again (two un-returned serves led to Triple Game Point, but then Jose blew an overhead to make it Double Game Point and then came the hold) and then Weldon was broken (Christine hit a winner for 15-Love which was where Jose hit a scorching return winner for 15-All, then it was 15-30 where Frank blew a volley to make it 30-All, then it was Break/Match Point, Deuce, 2^nd Break/Match Point, 2^nd Deuce, Game Point, 3^rd Deuce, then the 3^rd Break/Match Point was where it finally ended) to get the “L!”  At least it was no bagel or bread stick!  We played this one on the Entrance Court from 12noon to 12:42.

 

Nathan Fernandes/Sachiko Tokuda over Jorge Solano/Leo Victor, 6-3!  No Aces.  This one was conducted on Championship Court from 12:27 to 1:05.

 

Chazz Weldon/Jose Gonzales over Jorge Solano/Nathan Fernandes, 6-2!  Jose: 1 Ace on Nate.  Jorge and Nate were up 2-1 only to drop five straight games for the loss!  This one also got done on Championship Court and it lasted from 1:10 to 2:02!

 

And now we go to a late-afternoon/early evening session at The Nutley Tennis Club that was hosted by “The Riz” John Rizzo.

 

The NTC Results:

 

Alfred Chen/Bryan Mun over John Rizzo/Nick Inciong, 7-5!  No Aces (apparently).

 

Alfred Chen/Bryan Mun over John Rizzo/Nick Inciong, 6-1!  No Aces (apparently).

 

Nick Inciong/Bryan Mun over John Rizzo/Alfred Chen, 6-1!  No Aces (apparently).

 

Nick Inciong/Bryan Mun over John Rizzo/Alfred Chen, 6-3!  No Aces (apparently).

 

Samara’s Notes: I thank John for sending in those scores…in a very timely manner.  It was my fault that I neglected to include them in the initial sending of this report (too many interruptions on my end).

 

And now we head up to Cedar Grove to let Papa K take it away!

 

Again, only have time to report the scores.

 

The Cedar Grove Results:

 

2 out of 3 Set Mixed Doubles Match:

Jose Gonzales/Sally Pillay over Kris Srinivasan/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-1, 6-3, to become the New # 5 Ranked Team in the Mixed Doubles Division!  No Aces.

 

Raj Boddu/Natalia Sout over Greg Swierczek/Kathy Sheldon, 7-5!  No Aces (apparently).

 

Greg Swierczek/Natalia Sout over Dan Martinelli/Doinks Srinivasan, 7-6 (7-4)!  No Aces (apparently).

 

The Say from Papa K: The above One-Setter was a superb match!  The highlight was an incredible dive by Greg as he was airborne for a while and the conclusion was anything but a three-point landing…J!

 

Samara’s Notes: Hopefully, Greg lands planes better than he does his own body.  And now we go back to Kris.

 

Kris Srinivasan/Raj Boddu over Jordan Bachvaroff/Santosh Reddy, 6-4!  No Aces.

 

Kris Srinivasan/Sally Pillay over Greg Swierczek/Jordan Bachvaroff, 7-5!  No Aces.

 

I know there was one match earlier where Santosh teamed with Jonathan Hegarty against Jose Gonzales and Natalia Sout.

 

Samara’s Notes: As nobody reported that last one, it will have to remain as unofficial.  And as always, I thank Kris for all he does on behalf of the GTA up at Cedar Grove.   

 

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

5/28

“Rizzo-Barbera at NTC, Kris hosts 5 at C.G.!”:

               

GTA Saturday Tennis took place at two locations: The Nutley Tennis Club (featuring a full 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match between “The Riz” John Rizzo and “Flyin” Brian Barbera) 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 and then the full recap of C.G. scores from Kris.

 

The NTC Result:

 

2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:

Brian Barbera over John Rizzo, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, to become the New # 17 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division!  No Aces.

 

The Skinny: John and Brian had played the first two sets of this match on Thursday night, but then they ran out of daylight.  So then they played just the 3^rd Set on Saturday.  It seemed like a good opportunity for Rizzo to make a successful rank defense as he usually comes out strong in that initial set, but Barbera was able to better weather the higher temperatures and came out on top in this one.  I am fairly sure there will be a rematch in the near future.

 

And now we let Papa K take it away!

 

Again, I did not have time to write up the details, so here are the scores.

 

The Cedar Grove Results:

 

Doinks Srinivasan/Kathy Sheldon over Sally Pillay/Brenda Jordan, 6-3!  No Aces.

 

Sally Pillay/Brenda Jordan over Doinks Srinivasan/Kathy Sheldon, 6-3!  No Aces.

 

Sally Pillay/Brenda Jordan over Kris Srinivasan/Doinks Srinivasan, 7-6 (7-4)!  No Aces.

 

There was plenty of help in drying the courts (as it had rained earlier in the day) from Dan Martinelli (aka Spin), Jose Gonzales, Sally and Doinks.  If I left out any scores, I apologize.

 

Samara’s Notes: As always, I thank Kris for all he does on behalf of the GTA up at Cedar Grove.   

 

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

5/27

"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.

 

1^st 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, 2^nd 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, 2^nd Deuce, Game Point where Frank hit a running passing shot winner for 3^rd 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.

 

2^nd 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 2^nd Set, John could never regain the momentum he had in the 1^st 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

5/26

"Kumar-Mehta in Wayne, Kris-Suresh, Pathan-Chiaro part of 18 at C.G.!":

               

GTA Thursday Night Tennis took place at The Nellis Drive Courts in Wayne (hosted by "The Webmaster" Senthil Kumar and featuring his GTA Intermediate Invitational Semifinal Match against "Steppin' to the AM" Anish Mehta) and then a combined report of a morning and then an evening session up at The Cedar Grove Courts (hosted by "Papa K" Kris Srinivasan and featuring his full 3 out of 5 Sets Challenge Match against his buddy, Suresh Poosala, and then also the GTA Championship Match between New GTA Champion: "Instant" Moka Pathan and Former Champ: "Kid Crush" Chris Chiaro). 

 

Let's go to the report from Senthil first (even though we are not going in true chronological order here) and then the C.G. report from Kris.

 

The Nellis Drive Result:

 

GTA Intermediate Invitational Semifinal Match:

Senthil Kumar over Anish Mehta, 6-3, 6-2, to successfully defend his # 11 Rank in the Advanced Division and his # 2 Rank in the Intermediate Division while also advancing to the Finals of the GTA Intermediate Invitational Tournament!  Senthil: 1 Ace in the 1st Set; and Anish: 2 Aces in the 2nd Set!

The Woven Web: Anish and I agreed to play in Wayne around 7:30pm, but since I reached the courts early from work, we settled for 7pm as the start time. It was 86 degrees when we started the warm-up on Court 8. After a 10 minute warm-up, Senthil won the toss and started the match play around 7:10pm.

 

Senthil and Anish were able to hold the serve until 3-3. There were a couple of Deuce games. Senthil served for 4-3 and fought hard to hold the serve. The first service break helped Senthil to take the lead in the set 5-3 and Senthil served out the next game for 6-3.

In the first three games, Senthil was making lot of unforced errors and was struggling to handle Anish's topspin shots/fast serves. In those first three games, Anish won each of his service games (losing just a few points) as Senthil was struggling to hold his own service games.  Luckily, the 8th game break helped Senthil to get the 1st Set.

The daylight may have played a role in Senthil's favor. We tried to turn on the lights, but they didn't work, so we had to move to the other side and take Court 2.

After a few shots warm-up, we started the 2nd Set. Senthil broke Anish in the 1st game and held his serve for 2-0. Anish realized his shots were not getting the work done and started a more defensive game plan. There were a lot of 5 to 10 shot long rallies with heavy slices and baseline game from both players. But in a couple of instances, Senthil was lucky and got the score to a 5-1 lead. Anish was down 0-30 and started serving really strong and won the game to stay in the set. He served his two Aces in that game. Now the score was 5-2 where Senthil served for the match, 0-15, 15-15, 30-15, 40-15, and two big overhead shots by Senthil, but Anish's defense was admirable. And it was the 3rd put away shot that won the match for Senthil.

 

Samara's Notes: Congratulations to Senthil on such a hard-fought victory and also some major kudos to Anish who had a nice run through his very first tourney here in the GTA!  I also want to thank The Webmaster for a very comprehensive write-up (as well as all he does for our website).  He is now the first one into the Finals where he awaits the winner of the other Semi – Tony Shiao vs. Praful Nair!

 

And now we let Papa K take it away!

 

There was plenty of action here in Cedar Grove.  As Suresh Poosala was going in the early afternoon, we played Singles in the morning.  

 

We had a compelling Singles Match in the evening between Chiaro and Pathan. Coach Dino Celis showcased his coaching skills as he gave an exhausting drill to Natalie Guzman. I liked his drills and would be delighted to be a part of such drills.

 

Except for one court occupied by non-GTA folks, we were all over the courts and there was constant and continuous action with the warm atmosphere soaked in tennis action.

 

The Cedar Grove Results:

 

3 out of 5 Sets Challenge Match:

Kris Srinivasan over Suresh Poosala, 6-1, 6-4, 7-5, to successfully defend his # 10 Rank in the Intermediate Division while Poosala returned to the division as the New # 42 Ranked Player!  Kris: 2 Aces (one each in the 2nd and 3rd Sets)!

 

The morning conditions are different, but there was no question that Suresh didn't play his "A" game. He was superb the night before, but strategic play from my side kept him from playing to his strengths. Still, he had some amazing gets and solid winners.

 

GTA Championship Match:

Chris Chiaro over Moka Pathan, 6-3, 6-3, to become The New 2-Time GTA Champion!  Chris: 1 Ace in the 2^nd Set.

 

It looked close, but Moka did say that Chris was brilliant and played clean tennis. It was a deserving victory for the Former Champ to go back to the top of the ladder. 

 

Samara's Notes: I want to congratulate Chris (as I did directly when he first reported the score via text) on an impressive victory and a return to the top of the GTA "mountain" (aka the Advanced Division)!  Given the fact that he has now done it twice and is getting a bit older now, maybe we should revise his moniker from "Kid Crush" to "King Crush!"  It should also be noted that there are now two Former Champs in line for a rematch before anyone else can take a shot and that is both Pathan and "Double R" Rob Ryan.  I will allow this threesome to work out the details.

 

And now we go back to Kris.

 

Praful Nair/Jane Fan over Dan Martinelli/Santosh Reddy, 7-6 (7-1)!  Santosh: 1 Ace on Jane!

 

Another well-contested and close match that went the distance!

 

Kris Srinivasan/Lou La Forgia over Moka Pathan/Jose Gonzales, 6-3!  No Aces.

It was a lovely match where the dominant play of Lou was ably assisted by decent play on my part. Jose was serving very well at first, but couldn't keep it up. Moka was steady, but we played aggressive to force some errors.

 

Lou La Forgia/Dave Zhu over Dwight Thomas Sr./Dwight Thomas Jr., 6-3!  No Aces (apparently). 

 

It was a superb match that saw all the players doing a fabulous job. Lou had the 'X' factor as The Dwights couldn't play strategically as usual and also their opponents were a force to deal with.

 

They did play another set that I believe was incomplete, but they thoroughly enjoyed the match that was well-contested and exciting.

 

Tito Castolo/Natalia Sout over Rob Gawley/Laura Gawley, 6-3!  No Aces (apparently).

 

Tito Castolo/Natalia Sout leading Rob Gawley/Laura Gawley, 5-3 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!

 

Tito was magical and Natalia was solid to take it to "The Dream Team" very well.  It was a nice match that was engrossing.

 

Kris Srinivasan leading Doinks Srinivasan, 5-2 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces.

 

Lethargic play, but we did see nice shots and gets from Doinks, but a few more unforced errors from her than usual.

 

Overall, it was a terrific night with GTA Tennis galore in C.G.  Cheers!

 

Samara's Notes: As always, I thank Kris for all he does on behalf of the GTA up at Cedar Grove.  Sorry that my personal life has kept me from getting up there recently as I do miss the action and atmosphere up there.  

 

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

5/25

5/25/16:

"Samara hosts 10 (2 New, Toker returns) at RHP, Kris hosts 8 at C.G.!":

           

GTA Wednesday Night Tennis took place at Robin Hood Park in Clifton (hosted by "Hollywood" Frank Samara) and then the evening session up at The Cedar Grove Courts (hosted by "Papa K" Kris Srinivasan). 

Let's go to the recap from RHP before we get the C.G. report from Kris.

Samara pulled up to RHP at 5:55.  At that time, all three courts were occupied.

On the Entrance Court, it was "Lucky" Leo Victor and "C.A.T." Christine Toth engaged in a hitting session with one another.

On Center Court, it was near the conclusion of a battle featuring New GTA Champion: "Instant" Moka Pathan teaming with "The S Bomber" Genalin Capan taking on two guys that we often see at the RHP courts.  In fact, Moka had already told us he went to Clifton High School with one of them.

And on Championship Court, it was two interlopers that eventually went to four and then went to six (with the addition of two kids).  They held that court until 7pm.

Back to Center Court (after the conclusion of that Doubles One-Setter), Pathan suggested that Samara retrieve their information as he believed they may be interested in joining the league.  So Frank did just that.

The first one said his name is T.J. Shah.  He then introduced his cousin who said: "I'm Raj.  Raj Shah."

Samara's reply was something like: "We already have a Raj Shah.  We're going to have to call you something else."

The new Raj said we should then use his full first name, Rajan, instead.  Both were happy to come into the league.  The two of them then played Singles with one another (until a little after 7pm), but chose not to share those scores.  Both are good players, however, and should be fine additions to the league.

That initial One-Setter was played from 5:20 to 6pm and served as the official GTA Debut for both T.J. and Rajan.  Moka left soon after, but Gen hung around for a while.

She was there long enough to say hello to both "J-Rod" Joe Rodrigues (who arrived at 6:15) and "The Argentine Machine" Fernanda Toker (who arrived at 6:20 and was looking to play a little on her ongoing road to recovery).  Capan left at 6:25.

Samara opted out of the action to allow the other four to play Mixed Doubles on the Entrance Court.  Soon after, Jay "The Rising" Phoenix arrived at 6:35 and had some time to speak with Frank while waiting for another court to become available.

At 6:45, Enrique Bernal arrived to make an extended cameo appearance while he recovers from a recent knee injury.  We also found out that he is 71 years old.  He looks very good for his age.

When that second One-Setter ended exactly at 6:52, Joe was willing to step off and allow Jay to take his place while Frank continued to remain out of the official action.

Once Championship Court became available at 7pm, Samara and Rodrigues took it over for an extended hitting session.  Ten minutes later, "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli arrived to make an extended cameo appearance.

At 7:35 and 7:40, both "Big Jake" Rich Jachens (with Chloe) and "Coach" Dino Celis also arrived to make extended cameos.  The summer-like weather (sunny and still in the 80 degree range in the early evening hours) motivated many to just hang around and take it all in as long as they could.

That third Doubles One-Setter ran long (almost an hour) and ended exactly at 7:52.  Just three minutes later, the fourth and final One-Setter of the night would get underway as Samara finally found his chance to get officially involved as the tenth official competitor.

After that, Frank, Spin and Dino had a bull session that ran until 9pm.

The RHP Results:

Moka Pathan/Genalin Capan over T.J. Shah/Rajan Shah, 6-2!  Moka: 1 Ace on Rajan; and T.J.: 1 Ace on Genalin.  It was the official GTA Debut of both T.J. Shah and Rajan Shah.  This took place on Center Court from 5:20 to 6pm.

Joe Rodrigues/Christine Toth over Leo Victor/Fernanda Toker, 6-2!  Leo: 2 Aces on Christine!  It was the official GTA Return of Fernanda Toker.  Here's the basic breakdown: Fernanda was broken (went from 30-Love to Break Point and the break) and Christine held at Love to go up 2-0.  Leo held (Love-15 shifted to 30-15, sideline Ace on Christine for Double Game Point, the hold came on Game Point) to get his team on the scoreboard, but Joe held for 3-1.  Toker was broken again (Game Point, Deuce, Break Point and the break) and Toth held again for a 5-1 lead.  Victor held again (Double Break/Match Point, Break/Match Point, Deuce, Game Point where he hit a slow and short Ace against Christine for the hold) to pull to 2-5.  But Rodrigues held again and it was at Love as he made a great get on Triple Game/Match Point!  This one was played on the Entrance Court from 6:28 to 6:52.

Jay Phoenix/Christine Toth over Leo Victor/Fernanda Toker, 7-5!  Jay: 1 Ace on Leo.  This one also took place on the Entrance Court and it lasted from 6:58 to 7:52.

Frank Samara/Fernanda Toker over Jay Phoenix/Leo Victor, 6-3!  No Aces.  It went like this: Jay was broken at Love, Fernanda was broken (Love-15, 15-All and then right to Double Break Point, but then to Deuce, Game Point, 2^nd Deuce, Break Point and the break), but Leo was the first to hold serve (Triple Game Point cut down to Game Point, but then the hold) to go up 2-1.  Frank also held (30-Love, 30-15, Double Game Point and the hold) and Phoenix was broken again (Jay hit a roller over the net for 15-Love but then it went straight to Double Break Point where Frank hit an impressive passing shot winner for the break) to fall to 2-3.  Toker was broken again (Love-15 then point for point to Break Point and then the break) to level it at 3-3, but from there it was Victor broken as well (15-Love went straight to Double Break Point, the break came on Break Point), Samara held again (30-Love, 30-15, Double Game Point and the hold) and The Rising Phoenix was broken a third time (Love-15, 15-All then onto Double Break/Match Point and the break) to take the loss!  We played this one on Championship Court and it lasted from 7:55 to 8:30.

The Skinny: I did not my usual note-taking about every winner that was hit as time was of the essence with the rapidly fading sunlight.  I did note Jay's roller over the net to open that one game and my winner to close the game as I felt that was the most pivotal game of the set.  Fernanda is amazing in her recovery though she is still not 100 percent.  Still, she does not hesitate to make gets and she is hungry to get back into the Women's Division as soon as she feels closer to fully recovered.

Now let's head up to Cedar Grove and have Papa K take it away!

It turned out to be a blessing in that all the courts were available and also that we got to see Suresh Poosala back in action. It was a curtailed session for me as by the time we came to the courts (after attending the Spring Concert at Sairaj's School) it was almost 9 pm.

The Cedar Grove Results:

Raj Tailor over Mike Kazlauskas, 7-6 (7-2)!  Raj: 2 Aces; and Mike: 1 Ace!

Mike Kazlauskas/Raj Tailor over Lou La Forgia/Ryan Pienciak, 7-6 (7-3)!  No Aces (apparently).

Mike Kazlauskas/Raj Tailor tied with Lou La Forgian/Ryan Pienciak, 6-6 (Incomplete, when the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces (apparently).

2 out of 3 Sets:

Rob Gawley/Suresh Poosala over Kris Srinivasan/Natalia Sout, 6-1, 6-3!  Rob: 1 Ace on Natalia in the 1st Set!  It was the official GTA Return of Suresh Poosala.

Suresh indeed seems to be in good nick as he played freelance and his net play was brilliant. Rob was his usual crafty self and had some amazing gets. We both under performed but for a couple of games.

Natalia did play earlier with Jorge, Jane and Dave.  

Samara's Notes: Nobody sent in a score for that above foursome.  And now we go back to Kris.

My wife Doinks got to hit a bit with Laura Gawley, but didn't get to play any matches.  Dino Celis got here just in time to watch the last part of the session.

Overall, there was some brisk action thanks to a no-show by the Pickle Ballers...:-).  Cheers!

Samara's Notes: As always, I thank Kris for all he does on behalf of the GTA up at Cedar Grove.  

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

5/24

"Shiao-Mole in Montclair, Kuzavas-Celis part of 15 at C.G.!":     

GTA Wednesday Tennis took place in the early afternoon at The Mountainside Park Courts in Montclair (featuring the GTA Intermediate Invitational Quarterfinal Match between Tony "Sure Shot" Shiao and "Holy Moly" Mike Mole, score sent in by both, but details by Tony). 

Then there was the evening session up at The Cedar Grove Courts (hosted by "Papa K" Kris Srinivasan and featuring a full 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match between "Super Mario" Marijus Kuzavas and "Coach" Dino Celis, score sent in by both, but details by Dino and additional scores sent in by "Kid Crush" Chris Chiaro). 

Let's go to that first result as sent in by Mr. Shiao.

The Mountainside Park Result:

GTA Intermediate Invitational Quarterfinal Match:

Tony Shiao over Mike Mole, 6-2, 6-1, to successfully defend both his # 20 Rank in the Advanced Division and # 8 Rank in the Intermediate Division while also advancing to the Semifinals of the GTA Intermediate Invitational Tournament!  Tony and Mike: 1 Ace each in the 2^nd Set.

The Sure Shot from Shiao: After the rain stopped in the morning, Mike and I decided to meet up at Mountainside Park for our Invitational Match at 1:30pm.  Mike walked up barebones with just a racket and a can of tennis balls in hand.  No cover or large racket bag or even a water bottle!   It was hardcore and a true intimidation factor for me because the last time I played with someone who showed up with just a racket, it was Ruddy Pena and he beat me easily as if he was on a Sunday stroll.

I've never really had the chance to play against Mike in the past, but I've seen his powerful serves and crazy topspin forehands at The Bubble, so I knew I'd have to adjust my game to suit.  Although the final score does not indicate it, we had many Deuce games and they could have swung in either one's favor.  His serves were powerful and fast and, when he gets them in, they are often nonreturnable. His topspin forehands allowed Mike to hit some wicked sick angles forcing me into the alleys.  We both had Unforced Errors, but I believe the timing of when they occurred was the deciding factor to my advantage.

I enjoyed playing with Mike and we had many hard hitting rallies and I can honestly say we both did not do any pushing and went all out.  I am looking forward to playing against Mike again in the near future.

Samara's Notes: I thank Tony for providing us with all those details.  I also congratulate him on an impressive victory.  He now advances to face "Net Profit" Praful Nair in the Semis.  I also thank Mike for sending me a text of the score in a very timely fashion.

We will now head up to Cedar Grove where we will first report the result as sent in by Dino (and also confirmed by Marijus), then the couple of scores from Chris and then the balance of the report coming in from Kris.

The Cedar Grove Results:

2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:

Dino Celis over Marijus Kuzavas, 0-6, 6-4, 6-4, to become the New # 4 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division!  Marijus: 9 Aces (5 in the 1^st Set, 2 in the 2^nd Set and 2 in the 3^rd Set)!

From The Coach's Clipboard: We played from 7:30 to 9:25.  He was unstoppable in the 1^st Set.  It was a very competitive match that could have gone either way.  I managed to break him and then held serve at the right time.

Samara's Notes: I congratulate Dino on a very hard-fought victory and also offer kudos to Marijus for a spirited effort as well.  I also thank both for reporting.  And now for those two Doubles One-Setter scores from Chris.

Chris Chiaro/Raj Tailor over Praful Nair/Lou La Forgia, 7-6 (8-6)!  No Aces.

Chris Chiaro/Raj Tailor over Praful Nair/Lou La Forgia, 6-4!  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: I thank Chris for those scores.  And now we will let Papa K take it away!

Tennis could commence only after 7:30pm as the Pickle Ballers took to the courts until that time.  I expect the same today even though it does mention until 9:30pm for Wednesday. There was a Doubles One-Setter three women and Spin on one court and a singles match between Dino and Marijus.

On the other side, one court was taken by Arvind (he played just a single set with us, but felt he needed to play with higher skilled players) was again involved in Doubles that might have taken up all night but for an innocent comment I made that one of the players heard I believe. While sitting on the bench, I said that we are losing precious play time without getting to play. This was after these guys had played for a while. I was afraid that Arvind may be a constant feature here when I saw him last week and it looks to be so.

Dino probably had the best result of the night taking out Marijus in 3 sets after a disastrous start. The Doubles action involving Lou and Praful against Chris and Raj Taylor looked quite solid.

I had a poor night and apparently so did Doinks.  Natalia had some terrific gets. It was Kevin who played steady and kept it deep and away from me that helped his teammate, Jose put away a bunch of points.

Sally was on fire from the get-go and it looked like she continued to be so all night until she had her Gatorade at the end of the night to cool her down…:-). Dawn was steady and it was a mixed bag for Brenda and Doinks.

Kevin Doyle/Brenda Jordan over Dan Martinelli/Dawn Peterson, 6-2!  No Aces (apparently).

Praful Nair/Sally Pillay over Kris Srinivasan/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-1!  No Aces.

Jose Gonzales/Kevin Doyle over Kris Srinivasan/Natalia Sout, 6-3!  No Aces.

Kris Srinivasan/Natalia Sout leading Jose Gonzales/Kevin Doyle, 5-4 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!  Jose: 1 Ace on Natalia.

We needed just a point and a game to wrap up the set in the last match. With just a few minutes to 10pm, it was all rush-rush, that we actually blew up 2 games and almost the third. Some days, you are not destined to win…:-). We also got to see at least 4 games (for the night) that we lost after being up 40-Love or we failed to break when the opponent was serving Love-40.

Arvind and one of his pals stayed back, and actually got to play after Dino finished his match. All in all, it was buzzing action on all the courts!  Cheers!

Samara's Notes: As always, I thank Kris for all he does on behalf of the GTA up at Cedar Grove.   And 15 official competitors is an impressive total for the night.

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

5/22

"Chris-Dean, Norm/Tito-Frank/Vin at RHP, Kris hosts 9 (1 New) at C.G.!":

This session of GTA Sunday Tennis featured fluctuating weather conditions as the day started off with light rain in the overnight/early morning hours which was followed by cloudy and cool conditions.  Then that gave way to a somewhat hot and humid setting only to then be greeted with a windy, cool-down period.

The temperature range throughout the session must have been from 60 to 70 degrees give or take a little either way.  As such, many players stayed away due to the uncertain circumstances and the turnout was lower than expected (only nine official competitors).

Earlier in the week, it had been announced that the recently vacated GTA Doubles Championship would be up for grabs in a match featuring the top two contending teams: Norman Taclob/Vito Castolo versus Frank Samara/Vinnie De Benedetto.

Samara was the first to arrive at 9:55.  He was happily surprised to see that the courts were mostly dry except for a couple of puddles near the fences.  But the playing area on all the courts was ready for action.  Once he took his place on Championship Court, he sent text messages to Taclob, Castolo and De Benedetto to assure them that RHP was OK for play.

All three sent text replies back to him to confirm they would attend.

At 10:15, "Chito" Nick Inciong pulled up to the courts just looking to play whatever he could.  Hot on his heels were both "Kid Crush" Chris Chiaro and "Lean" Dean Delgado.  And another five minutes after that, De Benedetto made his way toward the courts.

We now had five players, so Frank and Vin discussed which one should play in a Doubles One-Setter and it was De Benedetto who opted out to allow Samara to play.

After about a ten minute hitting session, a Doubles One-Setter got underway featuring Chiaro and Samara taking on Delgado and Inciong.  Vinnie watched the entire match.  And during this initial One-Setter, "Big Jake" Rich Jachens made a quick cameo appearance as he walked Chloe past the courts.

The One-Setter ended just a couple of minutes before 11am.  At that time, Norm and Tito showed up together (you know what they say: "The team that arrives together stays together," or something like that).

Chris and Dean shifted over to Center Court for what started out as a One-Setter, but ended up as a full 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match.  Meanwhile, Nick was content to watch the GTA Doubles Championship Match.  It officially got underway at 11:07.

Jachens returned to the park at 11:25, but this time around it was to play tennis.  Unfortunately for Big Jake, Chiaro and Delgado had just turned their One-Setter into a full Challenge Match at that time.  So it ended up being Jachens hitting against Inciong on the Entrance Court.

"Kaboom" Raj Boddu was a surprise arrival at 11:35.  He entered into the hitting session on the Entrance Court.  Raj later said he first went to Cedar Grove, but nobody was playing there (it is still odd to think that those four courts go unoccupied pretty much every Sunday morning).

At 11:55, Inciong, Chiaro and Delgado all left for the day.  But Raj and Rich would not have to wait too long for Doubles action as the GTA Doubles Championship Match ended exactly at 12:03.  From there, Norm left, but said he would soon come back for Tito who was still looking to play more.

Samara opted out to allow Boddu and De Benedetto to team up against Jachens and Castolo.  That one ran from 12:07 to 12:35.  Then, it was Vin who left for the day.

From there, Samara and Boddu teamed to take on Jachens and Castolo in what would be the last official action of the day at RHP.

During that one, "Double R" Rob Ryan made a cameo appearance at 12:45.  Five minutes later, "Coach" Dion Celis also did the same.

That last One-Setter of the day ended exactly at 1:18.  Raj and Rich left promptly, but Tito had to wait for a ride as Norm never came back to pick him up for a return home (Tito's wife eventually took him home).

Frank, Dino and Rob had a bull session that lasted until 2pm.  Rob confirmed what Chris had told Frank earlier in the session - that he will forego his immediate rematch for the GTA Championship this month.  That now allows New GTA Champion: "Instant" Moka Pathan to put the Title on the line against his next Top Contender, Chiaro.

That will be a rematch of sorts as Pathan defeated Chiaro in last year's Grove Cup Tournament, but then went on to lose to Ryan in the Finals which also served as the match to re-establish the GTA Championship.

During the bull session, "The Uni-Bomber" Uni Mendoza arrived at 1:45 with his daughter Natasha and her older sister (whose name escapes me at this time).  They took the Entrance Court for a hitting session.  Uni told us his shoulder is feeling better this season. 

Just minutes after The Mendozas arrived, Derek "Bruiser" Bronisz and an unknown player took Championship Court.  We never had the chance to ask Derek where he has been along with his stepson, "Lightning" Lukasz Krzesiewicz and their buddy "The PM" Paul Mysliwiec.

Let's get to the scores!

The RHP Results:

Chris Chiaro/Frank Samara over Dean Delgado/Nick Inciong, 6-2!  Nick: 1 Ace on Frank.  It went like this: Nick was broken (Love-15, an Ace up the T against Frank for 15-All, but then straight to Double Break Point where an un-returned serve made it Break Point, but then came the break), Frank was broken (a winning return from Nick for Love-15, then 15-All, but then straight to Double Break Point where Chris made an amazing get/volley combo for Break Point and then an un-returned serve made it Deuce, Break Point, 2nd Deuce, Break Point and the break), Dean was broken (a winner from Nick for 15-Love, then a Double Fault for 15-All and that was where Frank hit a winning volley for 15-30, then Double Break Point, the break came on Break Point) and Chris was broken at Love as on Triple Break Point he hit what should have been a winning drop shot only to see Nick rush to the net and make amazing get/winner combo!) as none of us could hold serve at 2-2!  Inciong was broken again (15-Love to 15-30, Double Fault for Double Break Point where Chris hit a winner for the break), but Samara was the first to hold and it was at Love to take a 4-2 lead for his team!  Delgado was broken again (15-Love, 15-All and then two un-returned serves brought it to Double Game Point, it was Game Point where Frank hit a drop shot winner to make it Deuce and then came Break Point and the break) and Chiaro held (there were two un-returned serves on the way to Triple Game/Match Point and that was where Chris blew a volley to make it Double Game/Match Point, it then went to Game/Match Point, but that was where the hold came to finally seal the deal) for the victory!  We played this on Championship Court from 10:30 to 10:58.

The Skinny: Although he may not have hit his usual amount of winners, Chiaro was still the dominant force in this one as his game play achieved many forced errors from the opposition.

2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:
Chris Chiaro over Dean Delgado, 6-2, 6-1, to successfully defend his # 3 Rank in the Advanced Division!  No Aces.  This was contested on Center Court from 11:01 to 11:45 with the 2nd Set starting at 11:25.

GTA Doubles Championship Match:
Norman Taclob/Tito Castolo over Frank Samara/Vinnie De Benedetto, 6-1, 6-3, to become the New GTA Champions!  Norm: 2 Aces in the 2nd Set (one on each)!

1st Set: Frank was broken (Love-15 shifted straight to Double Game Point after Frank hit a winning lob followed by an impressive passing shot winner, but then it shifted to Deuce as Tito had back-to-back winning Overhead Smashes along the way and then on Break Point it was Tito once again hitting a winning Overhead Smash), Norman held (a winning lob from Norm and an un-returned serve eventually led to Triple Game Point where Frank hit a drop shot winner to make it Double Game Point, but that was where Tito hit a winning Overhead Smash for the hold), Vinnie was broken (Love-30 shifted to 30-All where Norm hit a drop shot winner to set up Break Point and then Norm hit another winner to earn the break), Tito held (Love-15 shifted straight to Double Game Point as Tito hit a winner and a winning Backhand Volley along the way, then Vin hit a winner for Game Point, but then came the hold) and Samara was then broken at Love as Tito hit a winning Backhand Volley and a winning passing shot return along the way to what was starting to look like an absolute rout with Taclob/Castolo up 5-0!  Taclob was then broken (Love-15 and an un-returned serve for 15-All, but then straight to Double Break Point where Frank hit a winning Overhead Smash for the break) to allow the opposition onto the scoreboard, but De Benedetto was broken again as Tito hit a winning lob for Love-15, it was Love-30 where Norm blew a volley for 15-30, but then came Double Break/Set Point and the break as this initial set ended at exactly 11:28 (it got underway on Championship Court at 11:07).

2nd Set: Tito was broken at Love as Frank hit a winner on the way to Triple Break Point and then Tito blew a volley to break himself, Vinnie was broken (Vin hit a winning lob for 15-Love, but then it shifted to 15-30 as Norm hit a drop shot winner along the way, it was then 30-All and then Break Point where Tito hit a winning volley for the break), but Norman was the first to hold in this set (as Tito hit a winning volley, Norm hit a winning volley and then Tito hit another winning volley to make it Triple Game Point, it was then Double Game Point where Vin hit a winning lob for Game Point, then it was Deuce, Break Point where Norm nailed Frank with a corner Ace to bring it back to 2nd Deuce which was where Tito hit a winning volley for Game Point and then Tito did the exact same thing again to secure his partner's hold) and that made it 2-1.  Frank also held (Tito hit a winning volley for Love-15, but then it went point for point until 30-All as Tito hit one more winning volley along the way there, but then we had Vin hit a winning Overhead Smash to make it Game Point where an un-returned serve secured the hold) to level the set at 2-2.  Castolo held (un-returned serve for 15-Love, then it was 30-Love where Tito blew a volley for 30-15, it went to Double Game Point where Vin hit a winning Overhead Smash to make it Game Point, but then came the hold) and De Benedetto was broken again (Love-30, 15-30, Double Break Point where Tito hit a winning volley for the break) to go down 2-4.  Taclob was broken (Love-30 where he hit an Ace up the T against Vin for 15-30, but then Tito blew a volley to set up Double Break Point and then came the break) to have his team's lead cut to 4-3.  But from there, Samara was also broken (Love-15 where Vin hit a winning lob for 15-All, but then Norm hit three consecutive drop shot winners which took it all the way through Double Break Point and earned the break) and Tito Touch held again (15-Love shifted to 15-30 as Vin hit a winning lob along the way, but then it shifted again and went to Game/Match Point which is where this one ended) to take the victory and the Titles that were up for grabs as this one ended exactly at 12:03!

The Skinny: Norm and Tito got off to a hot start as Frank and Vin were starting to fear getting entirely swept off the court.  Getting one game before dropping the 1st Set may not seem like much, but it was a moral victory.  After that, the 2nd Set felt very close until the bottom dropped out at the end.  The tandem of Taclob and Castolo is very effective and they play Doubles in the proper manner as each player seeks to get up to the net and then force the opposition to either lob them or pass them.  Sometimes we were able to do this successfully, but usually it was too much to overcome.  Congratulations to both Norm and Tito as the match was closet than it looks...yet still, it was quite the convincing victory.

The Consequences: Now Norm and Tito will be told to hold off on defending the Titles until a new Top Contender emerges from the upcoming M2 Men's Doubles Tournament.  In that event (details soon to be announced), Former GTA Doubles Champs: Chiaro and Raj Shah will be given a Wild Card/Top Seed entry as they never lost the Titles on the court.  From there, Samara/De Benedetto will be the 2nd Seed and we will our way down the ranks of the Doubles Division until we can invite a total of 16 Teams (obviously with no one player being repeated along the way).  Once the brackets/matches are announced, those matches can be played anywhere and at any time (provided they are within a reasonable time period given the weather circumstances at that time).

Raj Boddu/Vinnie De Benedetto over Rich Jachens/Tito Castolo, 6-1!  No Aces.  Here's the basic breakdown: At 1-1, Tito was broken in a multiple Deuce game that resulted in a 1-2 score.  Then Vin held, Rich was broken and Raj held (Game Point, Deuce, Double Fault for Break Point, 2nd Deuce, Game Point and the hold) to go up 5-1.  Then, Castolo was broken again (Triple Break/Match Point, Double Break/Match Point where Tito hit a winner to make it Break/Match Point, then it was Deuce where Tito blew another volley attempt to set up the 4th Break/Match Point where Raj hit a very impressive passing shot winner to earn the victory!) to take the loss.  This was conducted on Championship Court and it lasted from 12:07 to 12:35.

Rich Jachens/Tito Castolo over Frank Samara/Raj Boddu, 6-4!  Tito: 1 Ace on Raj; and Raj: 1 Ace on Rich.  It went like this: Tito held (Tito hit a winner for 15-Love, then 15-All where Tito hit a sideline Ace on Raj to go up 30-15 where Tito hit another winner to make it Double Game Point, but then he blew a volley to cut it to Game Point, but then he hit an un-returned serve to secure the hold) and Frank was broken as he got off to a Love-30 start which was where Raj hit his big Kaboom-style Overhead Smash for the point and on the way to 30-All, but then Tito hit a drop shot that was not a winner but enough to lead to Break Point, then Deuce, Break Point, 2nd Deuce where Rich hit a very impressive winner to make it Break Point and then came the break) to get off to an 0-2 start.  Rich was broken at Love, but Raj was also broken (Love-15 shifted to 30-15 and then a service-line Ace against Rich made it Double Game Point, but then it was cut down to Deuce, Break Point, 2nd Deuce, Game Point, 3rd Deuce, Game Point, 4th Deuce, Break Point and the break) to fall to 1-3.  Castolo was broken (Tito hit a drop shot winner for 15-Love, but then he blew two volleys on the way to Double Break Point, the break came on Break Point) and Samara held (30-Love shifted to 30-All, but on Game Point it was Raj who hit a highly impressive passing shot winner to secure his partner's hold) to level the scene at 3-3!  Jachens held (a winning volley by Tito for 15-Love, then a Double Fault for 15-All, but then it went straight to Double Game Point as Tito hit a winning Overhead Smash along the way and then that hold came on D.G.P.) to go up 4-3, but Boddu also held (a truly un-returnable serve for 15-Love, a Double Fault for 15-All, but then another un-returnable serve on the way to Double Game Point where Raj hit yet another powerful passing shot winner to secure the hold) to knot the score once more at 4-4!  But Tito Touch held (a winning volley by Tito for 15-Love, it was then 15-All where Frank blew a volley and then Rich hit a very nice passing shot winner of his own on the way to Double Game Point where Rich hit another winner to secure his partner's hold) and then Hollywood was broken (a winning volley by Tito made it Love-30, it shifted to 30-All after Frank hit a drop shot winner, but then came Break/Match Point where Rich hit a winning return to end it) to take a tough loss!  We played this one on Championship Court from 12:40 to 1:18.

The Skinny: The main difference between this One-Setter and the one prior to it (where Boddu teamed with De Benedetto rather than Samara) was the much-improved play from Jachens in the latter one.  In the prior one, Rich was trying to shake off the rust and he lacked a lot of confidence.  Tito was also making some rare mistakes as perhaps he was trying to overachieve in an attempt to carry the team.  But Big Jake came up big in his second opportunity of the day and it was some of the best play we have seen from him in quite a while.  It was also nice to see Mr. Boddu back at the courts of RHP as he no longer lives close to the area.  We hope to see more of him even as we realize it is not something we should expect all the time.

It was a very fun yet productive session at Robin Hood Park.

We now turn this report over to Kris.

The Cedar Grove Results:

We did have some tennis on Sunday even though Saturday pretty much survived the rains that were expected to curtail our tennis. We didn't get to play on Saturday focusing on other plans.

We were quite a late show for the evening session that we had originally planned to commence at 4pm. First to come was Natalia Sout, followed by Jose Gonzales, Senthil Kumar, Mike Sindler, Joe Rodrigues, good old Spin (aka Dan Martinelli), Mary Rosado, my wife Doinks and myself.  So there were a couple of new players to play with us in Cedar Grove and we welcome them to our league.

The Cedar Grove Results:

Mike Sindler/Doinks Srinivasan over Senthil Kumar/Natalia Sout, 6-2!  No Aces (apparently).

This was the first match among our players. I believe there was one prior to this involving Herb Reiner, Melvin Hyman, Jose Gonzales and Mike Sindler (perhaps?). We got to see Mike for the first time here. Normally a clay court player, Mike played solid tennis and we got to see more interesting matches subsequent to this one.

Jose Gonzales/Joe Rodrigues over Senthil Kumar/Mike Sindler, 6-2!  No Aces (apparently).

Senthil Kumar/Joe Rodrigues over Jose Gonzales/Mike Sindler, 6-4!  No Aces (apparently).

Joe Rodrigues/Mike Sindler over Jose Gonzales/Senthil Kumar, 6-4!  No Aces (apparently).

These were close and competitive matches that saw all the players doing a great job. Joe was the man of the day. Per Senthil, Joe was the most consistent player. They had some nice rallies, gets and put-aways. Joe had hurt his feet which had limited his movements. Senthil is in good form and that reflected in his game.

2 out of 3 Sets Mixed Doubles Match:
Kris Srinivasan/Natalia Sout over Dan Martinelli/Doinks Srinivasan, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, to become the New # 30 Ranked Team in the Mixed Doubles Division!  No Aces.

This was a full and very competitive match that saw lots of twists and turns, with plenty of fun for all. In all the sets, we started off taking the first two games before the comeback from Spin and Doinks. Spin did a lot of sprinting and made some amazing gets. Doinks was brilliant with both her baseline and net plays. She came on aggressively and some of her approaches to the net were putting great pressure on us. But Natalia did splendidly well hitting aggressive shots that Doinks couldn't handle from the net and also a beautiful dipping shot that evaded her racquet. Doinks also had nice topspin shots over my head on Natalia's serves and, besides that, some down-the-line shots that both Spin and Doinks dished out on me. In the last set, perhaps Spin had lost a couple of springs in his step and this time around, we kept extending our lead to seal the deal. We did have Mary Rosado, cheering us for all the good shots with both Spin and I bellowing for all the winners and misses.

Mary Rosado got to hit a bit with Senthil before we all played one last One-Setter.

Jose Gonzales/Doinks Srinivasan over Kris Srinivasan/Mary Rosado, 6-3!  Jose: 1 Ace on Mary!  It was the official GTA Debut of Mary Rosado.

Mary had some very nice ground-strokes that kept us in the game. Apparently, she hasn't served much but, with more practice, she is going to get cracking with her serves. She did have fun playing with us and I expect to see more of her playing with us.

Overall, it turned out to be fun for all on a relatively quiet night.  Cheers!

Samara's Notes: As always, I thank Kris for consistently hosting, recruiting and reporting for the league up at Cedar Grove.

Samara signing off!

The official GTA Rankings have now changed and are as follows: