6/29

Weldon-Shiao part of 16 at C.G. as 2 players return!":

               

GTA Wednesday Night Tennis only took place at The Cedar Grove Courts, but there was much action and we had results reported by seven different players.

 

The most comprehensive reporting came from the two guys involved in The Main Event – the GTA Intermediate Title Match as GTA Intermediate Champ: "The Legendary" Chazz Weldon defended his Title against the 2016 Intermediate Invitational Winner: Tony "Sure Shot" Shiao.

 

Since they got their match started earliest (still in the mid-afternoon hours), we will first go to their combined report.

 

We will then follow with a bouillabaisse of a report featuring scores and commentary sent in by "Ice Berg" Scott Bergenfeld, "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli, "Dominant" Dawn Peterson, "Bravo" Brenda Jordan and "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes.

 

The Cedar Grove Results:

 

GTA Intermediate Title Match:

Chazz Weldon over Tony Shiao, 7-5, 6-2, to complete his first successful GTA Intermediate Title defense of his third reign as well as becoming the New # 10 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division!  Tony: 2 Aces (1 in each set).

 

The Sure Shot from Shiao: Chazz and I played our match. We met at The Cedar Grove Courts at 4:30 and it was hot and the sun was beating down on us.  After 20 minutes or so of practice, we started our match.  Chazz took an early lead and was up 3-1, but then I was able to battle back to take it to 5-4 in my favor.  I had Set Point at 40-30, but blew the chance to close it out.  Chazz took that game and then ended up taking the set at 7-5. I was out of breath and extremely exhausted after that set which lasted about 1 hour 20minutes. 

It was now 6:20 and some people from Verona had the courts reserved at 6:30 and we got kicked out.  We decided to move down the street to the shitty courts…and indeed it was shitty!  The net did not have a secured middle strap and it looked like a volley ball net!  The fence had gaps so when your ball rolled to the fence it would end up on the grass on the other side and there were some soft spots on the court that made the ball bounce funny.

Regardless, we decided to play on and the net issue was an obstacle we both had to overcome. I decided to mix up my game a bit and tried to set up for my cross-court topspin forehand, but Chazz was just able to get everything back to force me to hit one more ball.  He took the second set at 6-2. 

Chazz definitely was in better shape than me and was able to deal with the extreme heat and was just more consistent.  Good match and I hope I'll have better luck the next time we play.  This time I'll come prepared with a Plan C.  I'll be out of commission recuperating for at least a week after this grueling match. Congrats on the win, Chazz!

 

All That Jazz from Chazz: Thanks Tony for sending in your details. I would like to add that the location first was The Cedar Grove Court from 5pm to 6:20 (1st Set) and then the 2nd Set was at the old courts down from Cedar Grove, 6:40 to 7:20.  

 

The heat was hot and it was great for me as I love this weather, :-).   

 

The 1st Set was very competitive.  In this set, I raced out to a 4-1 lead and then Tony came back with some great shots to level the match at 4-4 and then he went up 5-4.  I fought back and leveled the match at 5-5 and then went up 6-5.  Serving for the set, we had some incredible exchanges with one having Tony hit an incredible would-be winning shot to my forehand side deep in the court, but I got that shot back for a winner in the opposite side of his court.  Brenda was there was this incredible exchange.  I ended up winning the set 7-5.  

 

Unfortunately, the Verona Township has two of The Cedar Grove courts reserved thru August 2nd (signs posted there), so we were forced to move our match down the street to the other not-so great courts but as they say, "the show must go on."  And indeed it did.  By this time, the heat and exhaustion was getting to Tony and that played a factor in the match and we stayed on serve until 2-2.  But from there, I won the remaining games to win the set and match and retain the GTA Intermediate Title.  

 

Tony is an incredible player with great topspin shots and he aced me once in each set.  I believe against any other Intermediate player, he would have won, because he really fought hard today. 

 

Thanks to Frank for putting together this tournament.  

 

Samara's Notes: First off, I thank both Tony and Chazz for such comprehensive reporting.  I truly appreciate it as it paints a picture of how the match truly went.  Second, congratulations to Chazz on his impressive victory but also major kudos to Tony on a hard-fought effort.  Just to clarify, Tony was the tournament winner who then earned the shot at the existing Champ, Chazz.  Now Mr. Weldon is free to put that Title on the line against any competitor in The Top 10 of The Intermediate Division.

 

One more thing – I think Verona booking the Cedar Grove Courts for so long (while theirs are currently under repair) is also something that, as Tony said earlier, is "shitty."  Furthermore, I am not going to mention any names (as I believe the individual that I am speaking about still has ties to players in our league, though he asked to be removed from the mailing list…come to think of it, there are two such individuals that fit that description), I think one of the guys in that Verona group started playing with us at Cedar Grove just last season.  Then, at the end of the season, he asked to be removed from our mailing list.  So I guess he got all the "intel" he needed.  And he must also know that it interferes with our group.

 

More often than not, we end up inviting quality people into this group.  But every once in a while, a jerk-weed springs up amongst them…oh well!

 

It was nice to see Scott Bergenfeld reaching back out to the group to see if anyone could play.  He told me he had a hitting session with Jordan Bachvaroff, but he also ended up in a Doubles One-Setter as well.  We now go to the somewhat mutual report from Dawn and Brenda (though Brenda had some additional info) and then we will go to Spin and Nate to close it out.

 

Jorge Solano/Brenda Jordan over Scott Bergenfeld/Dawn Peterson, 6-2!  No Aces (apparently).  It was the official GTA Return of Scott Bergenfeld.

 

2 out of 3 Sets Mixed Doubles Match:

David Cardenas/Dawn Peterson over Jorge Solano/Brenda Jordan, 6-3, 6-3, as both teams entered the Mixed Doubles Division as the New # 29 and # 30 Ranked Teams respectively!  No Aces (apparently).

 

Tito Castolo/Brenda Jordan over Jordan Bachvaroff/Dan Martinelli, 6-2!  No Aces.

 

Dan Martinelli/Tito Castolo over Omar Santos/Sonny De La Cruz, 6-2!  Spin: 1 Ace on Omar.  It was the official GTA Return of Sonny De La Cruz.

 

Michel Encarnacion/Nathan Fernandes over Jordan Bachvaroff/Dan Martinelli, 6-2!  No Aces.

 

Michel Encarnacion/Nathan Fernandes over Raj Shah/Joe Rodrigues, 6-3!  No Aces.

 

Raj Shah/Joe Rodrigues over Michel Encarnacion/Nathan Fernandes, 6-2!  No Aces.

 

Samara's Notes: I truly appreciate everyone's efforts toward making the session and the subsequent report a success.  The league thrives when all those involved actually get involved and send in their scores.  It doesn't have to be "a book" (though that is always greatly appreciated)…it can just be the simple result and that is it.  I know personal issues on my end have prevented me from hosting as much as I would like to…so I thank all those that have stepped up and picked up the slack on my behalf.  Kudos to all involved!

 

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

6/28

Chiaro-Celis at Sperling, 4 play at C.G., Samara at Salamon's party in F.L.!

               

GTA Tuesday Night Tennis took place at three locations: Sperling Park in Clifton (off of Speer Ave. and featuring the GTA Championship Match between New 2-Time GTA Champion: "King Crush" Chris Chiaro and "Coach" Dino Celis as most recent Former Champ: "Instant" Moka Pathan turned down his right to an immediate rematch), The Cedar Grove Courts (with Chiaro sending in those scores as well) and at The Fair Lawn Racquet Club (a tennis event and party hosted by "The Olympian" Marie Salamon and attended by invitee "Hollywood" Frank Samara who managed to get some of the results to count for the GTA).

 

We will go to all the scores sent in by Chiaro first and then the full recap from Fair Lawn.

 

The Sperling Park Result:

 

GTA Championship Match:

Chris Chiaro over Dino Celis, 6-2, 6-0, to complete his first successful GTA Championship defense of his second reign!  No Aces.

 

Samara's Notes: Sperling Park, much like Holster Park, just recently had the courts redone in the new U.S Open style (light blue surrounded by dark blue).  The only difference is that Sperling has just two courts rather than three.  Still, this is another convenient location for GTA matches (especially Singles Challenge Matches such as this one) as Speer Ave. runs parallel to Van Houten Ave. in the Athenia area of Clifton (right behind Barilari's, for those that are familiar with that restaurant).

 

The Cedar Grove Results:

 

Dan Martinelli/Nathan Fernandes over Chris Chiaro/Joe Rodrigues, 6-4!  No Aces.

 

Chris Chiaro/Joe Rodrigues leading Dan Martinelli/Nathan Fernandes, 5-1 (Incomplete, had to cut it short when lightning moved into the area)!  No Aces.

 

Samara's Notes: I'm sure Spin was the first one off the court once that first sound of thunder was heard!

 

Marie Salamon was having a season-ending tennis party for the Tuesday Night Group that she has been running for more than 20 years now.  As I have subbed for it almost a half dozen times this season, she invited me to attend the party.

 

It was perfectly planned as they had sixteen players for four courts (Courts One through Four of the five at Fair Lawn).  Tim Yu put together the matches for three rounds of action.

 

The court time ran from 7pm to 9pm.  So there would be three forty minute rounds of action.  Once time was up, the match-ups would have to switch up for the next round.  The idea behind this was an attempt to get players to engage with as many others as possible.

 

The first round of action likely had a lot of One-Setters that were cut short when you consider the fact that just about every court got things started with a ten minute warm-up hitting session.

 

After all the action subsided, there was plenty of food and drink in the very nice lounge room area of the club.  The party went past 11pm.

 

I want to thank Marie not only for the invitation to attend and play, but also for all the food she sent me home with as she knows I have a couple of mouths to feed there.  It was very thoughtful and generous of her.

 

The Fair Lawn Results:

 

Frank Samara/Penny Jung leading Tim Yu/Corry Grant, 4-3 (Incomplete at 7:40…likely started somewhere around 7:10)!  No Aces.  This Mixed Doubles One-Setter was played on Court Three.

 

Samara's Notes: This would have been the official GTA Debut of "The Party Planner" Penny Jung had it been completed.  No worries as we were able to finish the next one that we both happened to be involve in, though on opposite sides in the next one.  Penny runs tennis parties similar to this one, but often on an even grander scale (Friday nights at Tiger Tennis and Saturday nights out in Edgewater).  I think she runs others on weeknights as well.  She is a very nice person and also quite the player.

 

As for the action, we were on serve until shortly before the interruption.  Tim held, I held, Corry held, Penny held, Tim held again, I held again and then Corry was broken the second time around to give us a 4-3 lead.  Penny was just getting started with her second service of the set when it was time to switch.

 

Dan Churchill/Penny Jung over Frank Samara/Russ Johnson, 6-3!  Dan: 3 Aces on Frank!  It was the official GTA Debut of Penny Jung.  We got this one underway on Court Four shortly after 7:40.  It likely ended around 8:10.  Dan held (back-to-back Aces on me with an un-returnable serve to Russ sandwiched in between…one was up the T and the other was like a heat-seeking missile that twisted toward my body…he is an incredible server and I gave him the moniker of "The Ace Machine!"), I held, Penny held, Russ held, Dan held again, I held again, Penny held again, but Russ was the first to be broken as we fell to 3-5.  Dan held a third straight time as he scored his third Ace against me along the way.  We then had time to start another one.

 

Dan Churchill/Penny Jung leading Frank Samara/Russ Johnson, 3-1 (Incomplete at 8:20 when it was time to switch again)!  No Aces.  I was broken to start things off and then Dan held, Russ held and Penny held.  "Russell Athletic" Russ has played with us on and off in the past and he is also an impressive player (much like Dan and Penny).  Also, both Dan and Russ are lefties…making them even trickier to counter.

 

George Sienkiewicz/Russ Johnson over Frank Samara/Marie Salamon, 6-1!  No Aces.  This one took place on Court Three from 8:20 to 8:50.  I was broken in a battle (Game Point, Deuce, Double Fault for Break Point and then the break), George held, Marie was broken as she went straight from Triple Game Point all the way down to Deuce and then Break Point where she hit a Double Fault to break herself and then Russ held for a 4-0 lead!  I then held to get us onto the scoreboard, but George held again and Marie was broken again to end it.  We then had time to start one more.

 

George Sienkiewicz/Russ Johnson leading Frank Samara/Marie Salamon, 2-1 (Incomplete at 9pm, we were on serve)!  No Aces.

 

Samara's Notes: It was good to see George again and he is now completely healthy and moving around the court quite well…"Like a G6!"

 

All in all, it was a very successful event where all involved were quite happy to be part of the experience.  Kudos to Marie for a job well done!

 

Sincerely,

Frank Samara 

6/27

Samara-Rizzo at NTC!

               

GTA Monday Tennis took place at The Nutley Tennis Club (a mid-afternoon session featuring a full 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match between "Hollywood" Frank Samara and "The Riz" John Rizzo that was agreed upon earlier in the day).

 

When Samara pulled into the parking lot of NTC at 3pm, Rizzo was already out on Court Five (their usual court for these matches) waiting for him.  Three of the other four courts were occupied by Men's Doubles action.  "The Pilot" Greg Swierczek was playing on Court Four and later on Court One.

 

GTA alumni "Bionic" Bo Folchi and "Dynamic" Denise Savino also took a few moments to watch the Samara-Rizzo match which got underway after a nearly ten minute long hitting session.

 

The NTC Result:

 

2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:

Frank Samara over John Rizzo, 6-3, 6-3, to successfully defend his # 14 Rank in the Advanced Division!  Frank: 1 Ace in the 1^st Set.

 

1^st Set: Frank held serve (a lengthy rally led to Love-15 which then shifted to Double Game Point as Frank hit a winner, John blew an overhead and Frank hit another winner and then on DGP it was another winner by Frank for the hold), John was broken at Love (Frank hit a winner to set up Triple Break Point and then John blew a drop shot to break himself) and Samara held again and this time it was at Love as he started the game with a sideline Ace.  This meant he had just won 12 straight points!  But then Rizzo held as an un-returned serve, a winner and another un-returned serve took him straight to Triple Game Point, then on Double Game Point he hit another un-returned serve to secure the hold and get onto the scoreboard.  Hollywood was then broken (started with a Double Fault, then a nice get/winner combo by Frank made it 15-All, but then back-to-back winners by John set up Double Break Point where Frank hit a winner for Break Point only to be broken on the next point) to have his lead cut to 3-2.  The Riz was broken (a winning drop shot return by Frank set up Triple Break Point, the break came on Double Break Point) and Frank held (Love-15 then point for point until 30-All…and there was a drop shot winner from Frank and a winner by John along the way…but then it went to Game Point and the hold) to increase his lead to 5-2.  John held (a winning lob by John for 15-Love, then it was 30-Love where Frank hit a winner for 30-15, then came Double Game Point and the hold) to pull to 3-5, but Samara held again (Love-15 shifted to 30-15 after an un-returned serve and an especially impressive winner by Frank as he ran off the court and into the grass to almost hit the shot past the post…but not quite…and back onto the court inside the sideline, but then John hit a winner for 30-All only to have it go to Game/Set Point and then the hold) to take this initial set at 3:41 (we started it at 3:10).  After a five minute rest, we were onto the next one.

 

2^nd Set: John held (30-Love where perhaps the rally of the match ended with a drop shot winner from Frank for 30-15, but then John hit a winner for Double Game Point and then John made a great get that forced the error from Frank) to take his first lead of the match, but Frank held as well (there were two un-returned serves on the way to Triple Game Point before that lead was cut to Game Point, but then came the hold) for 1-1.  Rizzo held at Love as he started things off with an un-returned serve and finished things off with a winning lob, but Samara also had a Love hold as he hit a winner and an un-returned serve and then a great get/winner combo to finish the game and level the set again at 2-2!  The Riz was the first to be broken in this set (John hit a winner for 15-Love, but then it shifted to 15-30 where John hit a winning Overhead Smash for 30-All, then it was Break Point where John hit another winning Overhead Smash for Deuce, but then it was Break Point again where John hit another winner to bring it to 2^nd Deuce, but then a great get by John was answered by a winner from Frank for Break Point which this time around was ended with a winner from Frank instead of the usual from John and that ended this game) and then The Wood held yet again (Love-15 shifted to Double Game Point as Frank hit an un-returned serve followed by back-to-back winners, it was then cut to Game Point but then came the hold) to go up 4-2.  John was broken (Frank hit a winning drop shot return and another winner on the way to Triple Break Point which was then reduced to Break Point where Frank hit a drop shot winner for the break) to fall to 2-5, but then Frank was finally broken in this set (Love-15, then 15-All where John hit a scorching return winner which he then followed with another winner on the way to Double Break Point where Frank hit a drop shot winner for Break Point, but then came the break) to have his lead cut to 5-3.  But then Rizzo was broken again (Love-15 then point for point all the way to Break/Match Point…and it should be noted that each point alternated with winners from each player until Match Point which ended with an error from John instead of yet another winner) to drop the set and the match at 4:25!

 

The Skinny: Rizzo was pleased with his performance considering the fact he had played three sets of Doubles the night before and then engaged in both Doubles and Singles action earlier in the day at NTC.  Both players exhibited better fitness and quickness than they did in their match with one another the month before.  Each played fairly aggressively as well.  It made for a fun and competitive match.  The weather was in the lower 80 degree range, but the humidity was increasing as the day grew older as rain was on the way (it hit our area around 6pm).

 

Said rains must have killed the chances of any results being reported from Robin Hood Park, Holster Park or The Cedar Grove Courts.

 

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

6/26

Samara hosts 12 at HP…not a typo…that is HP, not RHP!":

               

GTA Sunday Tennis took place at Holster Park in Clifton rather than Robin Hood Park in Clifton (with "Hollywood" Frank Samara acting as the host after a two week absence).

 

The courts at Holster (as well as a couple of other Clifton locations) have recently been resurfaced in the more modern light-blue/dark-blue style of the courts at The US Open in Flushing, Queens.

 

The difference between Holster now and what it used to be is a complete night and day comparison as the courts there used to be horrible.  Even the improvement over the RHP courts is considerable.

 

When Samara arrived at Holster (behind School # 16 on Grove Street) at 10:15, he saw two of the three courts occupied by GTA players. 

 

On the Entrance Court, there was an in-progress Doubles One-Setter featuring "Latino Heat" Jose Gonzales and "Holy Moly" Mike Mole taking on "The Legendary" Chazz Weldon and "The Vin Man" Vinnie De Benedetto.

 

On Center Court, "Big George" Jorge Solano was having a hitting session with "DC3" David Cardenas.  Cardenas has played with us in the past.  He was originally brought into the league by "ME" Michel Encarnacion, but he also happens to be friends with Solano as well. 

 

I give him the "DC3" moniker not because he is the 3^rd with that male name in his lineage (though he may be).  It is because he is the third player in this league to have those initials behind "Coach" Dino Celis and Dennis "The Menace" Cabanatan.  Cardenas is quite the player…a lethal lefty with a wicked topspin forehand! 

 

And on Championship Court (so called because Samara and "Big G" Tom Giarraffa used to wage their battles on that court…and some of them were for the GTA Championship back in 2010), there were four older gentleman playing some impressive Doubles.  More on them a little bit later.

 

Gonzales told Samara that he had been there since 9:35 and that Weldon arrived about ten minutes later.  The Doubles One-Setter had gotten underway a mere five minutes before Frank's arrival as both Mole and De Bendetto got there around 10am.

 

As for the four guys on Championship Court, they started joking with us right away and were very nice.    When the last two were leaving around 12:25 (the first two departed at 12:05), their de facto leader named Zoltar introduced himself to Frank.

 

There are about six of them in the mix that will always require at least one court on Sundays.  We may even end up mixing them into our group.  So it should be known that we will only have two of the three courts there for the first couple of hours on Sundays.

 

Around 10:30 or so, Samara took Solano's side in hitting against Cardenas as they waited for a fourth player to arrive.

 

When the Doubles One-Setter ended at 10:43, Gonzales left a couple minutes later just as "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli was making his arrival.

 

Somewhere around 11am, GTA Champion: "King Crush" Chris Chiaro sent a text message to Samara asking him where the group was.  Frank sent an almost immediate reply as he had checked his cell phone soon after.  But Chiaro never did arrive.

 

"Quick Draw" Chris Lehmann arrived at 11:10 and "The Argentine Machine" Fernanda Toker made her way onto the courts just five minutes later.

 

"Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes stepped onto the courts at 11:30 and "RK Fire" Rafaelo Kazakov did the same fifteen minutes later.

 

The latest arrival of the day was Celis at 1:55, but it would only be for a hitting session against Martinelli and Fernandes.  We ended up with a total of twelve official competitors.

 

Nobody ever sent in any results from Robin Hood Park or The Cedar Grove Courts.

 

The RHP Results:

 

Chazz Weldon/Vinnie De Benedetto over Jose Gonzales/Mike Mole, 6-1!  Mike: 1 Ace on Vinnie.  This one took place on the Entrance Court from 10:10 to 10:43.

 

Chazz Weldon/Vinnie De Benedetto over Jorge Solano/David Cardenas, 6-2!  No Aces.  It was the official GTA Return of David Cardenas.  This was also played on the Entrance Court and it lasted from 10:50 to 11:21.

 

Mike Mole/Vinnie De Benedetto over Chris Lehmann/Dan Martinelli, 7-6 (12-10)!  No Aces.  Mike and Vin jumped out to a 4-2 lead.  During this time, Nate had joined Frank along the sidelines to watch.  As the sun was getting quite hot (courts are set up properly in a North to South fashion…unlike RHP…but there is virtually no shade at Holster unless you go out into the park), Fernandes found himself a new "Nathan Hill" to catch some cool under the trees.  Vin was broken on serve as he hit a Double Fault on Break Point to have his team's lead cut to 4-3.  They then went up 5-3 and Mike was on serve.  When they were up Double Game/Match Point, Samara suggested that Fernandes get back on court to get into the next match.  A Double Fault cut it to Game/Match Point and then it went to Deuce, Break Point and the break for 5-4.  When Chris held to level it at 5-5, Frank joked with Nate that this was "tennis karma" as a match will always go long once someone is waiting to get on court.  It should also be noted that Mike said he had time for one more, but was now way past his planned-on departure time.  Samara then made a "joke" prediction of this one going to a Tiebreak that would result in a TB score of 12-10!  Sure enough, De Benedetto was broken again to make it 5-6.  But then Martinelli was also broken as he hit a Double Fault for Triple Break Point and then the break came on Double Break Point to force this one into the as-predicted Tiebreak.  In the Breaker: Mike was broken on his lone serve after Spin hit a return that rolled over the net-cord tape to hit the court on the opposite side, but then Chris was broken on both of his serves.  Vin was also broken on both of his serves and the second was the result of a winning Overhead Smash by Chris for a 2-3 score.  Then, Chris blew what should have been another sure overhead as Spin was broken on the first of his two serves for 3-3 at the changeover.  Spin failed to hold his second as well as his team was now down 3-4.  Mole was broken on the first of his two serves as Chris hit a passing shot winner and then Mike was also broken on his second as Spin hit what may have been the most impressive winning return of his GTA career as his team was now up 5-4!  Lehmann was broken on both of his serves as his team dropped to 5-6 for the third Match Point overall and the first in the Tiebreak.  De Benedetto was then broken on the first of his two serves as Spin hit an impressive passing shot winner for 6-6 at the second changeover, but then Vin held the second of his two serves as he ended that point with a winning Overhead Smash for 7-6 to set up the 4^th Match Point!  Martinelli then held the first of his two serves as Chris hit a winning Overhead Smash, but was then broken on his second to fall to 7-8 and set up a 5^th Match Point!  Mike was broken on the first of his two serves to level it at 8-8 and then he was broken again as Spin hit another winning return as his team went up 9-8 and had the first Match Point in their favor (the 6^th M.P. overall)!  Chris was broken on the first of his two serves for 9-9 at the third changeover and was broken again to fall to 9-10 which was now the 7^th M.P. overall and the sixth in the opposing team's favor.  Vin was broken on the first of his two serves to level it again, this time at 10-10!  He then held his second serve to go up 11-10 for the 8^th M.P. overall (the 7^th in his team's favor) with service now going back to Spin.  He was then broken on his first serve to take one hell of a tough loss!  They played this one on Center Court from 11:25 to 12:22!

 

The Skinny: This will be a definite Nominee for One-Set Doubles Match of The Year at season's end.  In fact, this may very well be the one to beat…for now.  The drama was intense and the action was often hard-hitting.  It was a fun one to watch and that made it worth the wait for those that were looking to play next.  It also made Frank look like he was Samaradamus!

 

Chazz Weldon/Fernanda Toker over Jorge Solano/David Cardenas, 7-5!  No Aces.  This one took place on the Entrance Court and lasted from 11:27 to 12:23…another lengthy and fiercely contested battle!

 

Chris Lehmann/Fernanda Toker over Rafaelo Kazakov/Nathan Fernandes, 6-4!  No Aces.  They played this one on Center Court and it lasted from 12:30 to 1:03.

 

Rafaelo Kazakov/Nathan Fernandes over Frank Samara/Fernanda Toker, 6-4!  Frank: 1 Ace on Rafaelo.  It went like this: Fernanda was broken (15-Love shifted to 15-30 as Nate hit an Overhead Smash along the way, but then an un-returned serve made it 30-All, but then a winning volley from Nate made it Break Point where an excellent rally led to Deuce, but then Rafaelo hit a winner for Break Point which was where Nate hit a winning Overhead Smash for the break), Rafaelo held (Love-15 shifted to 30-15, 30-All, Game Point and the hold), Frank was broken in a battle (15-Love shifted to 15-30, 30-All, Break Point where Frank hit a very impressive winner off the sideline for Deuce where he then nailed Rafaelo with a big Ace up the T for Game Point, then it was 2^nd Deuce where another un-returnable serve set up Game Point and then it was 3^rd Deuce, Game Point, 4^th Deuce, Break Point where Nate hit a winning Overhead Smash for the break) and Nathan held (Rafaelo hit a winner and then Nate had an un-returned serve to go up 30-Love, but then it went straight to Break Point, Deuce, Break Point, 2^nd Deuce, Game Point and the hold) as his team took a somewhat commanding lead at 4-0.  Toker then held (Nate hit a winning Overhead Smash for Love-15, but then it shifted to 30-15 where Nate hit another winning Overhead Smash for 30-All, then it went to Game Point and the hold), Kazakov was broken (15-Love then point for point to Game Point where Frank hit a missile-like winner through the middle of the opposition to make it Deuce, then it went to Break Point and the break), Samara held (Nate hit a drop shot winner to make it Love-30, but then it shifted to 30-All with another un-returnable serve along the way and then Fernanda hit a winner for Game Point, but then Nate hit a winning volley for Deuce, Game Point where Nate hit a winning drop shot return for 2^nd Deuce, but then came Game Point and the hold) and Fernandes was broken (Nate hit a winning Overhead Smash for 30-Love, but then it went straight to Break Point where Nate blew an overhead to break himself) to level the score at 4-4!  But then The Argentine Machine (Frank hit a winning Overhead Smash for 15-Love, but then it went straight to Double Break Point as Nate hit a winning return and then a winning lob which was then followed by a drop shot winner from Rafaelo along the way, it then went to Break Point, but then came the break) and RK Fire held at Love as he hit a winning lob followed by another winner which was then followed by a winning Overhead Smash by Nate to set up Triple Game/Match Point where Rafaelo hit his most impressive winner of the day as he sent a shot right to the sideline and it then sailed off the court out of reach of the opposition!  This one was played on Center Court from 1:05 to 2pm.

 

The Skinny: Both Samara and Toker had a two-week layoff from playing tennis.  Fernanda already had a couple of sets to shake off her rust, but she also became somewhat hurt and exhausted along the way.  Frank did some things well…other things not so well.  He actually returned to action with a bigger serve than we have seen from him in quite some time.  He also made some very nice gets as he dropped at least five pounds since the last time he had played.  But he lacked discipline and touch in some of his shot-making and his team ultimately paid the price as a result.  Still, it was a nice One-Setter to close out a highly competitive session.  Many of these sets lasted nearly an hour.  It seems that the beautiful new courts of Holster Park inspired an increased level of play from the competitors.  Kudos to all!

 

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

6/24

"Laura-Gen part of 7 at RHP, Marijus-Kaz part of 17 at C.G.!":

               

GTA Friday Night Tennis took place at both Robin Hood Park in Clifton (with "The S Bomber" Genalin Capan acting as host while also playing her GTA Women's Championship Semifinal Match against Laura "The Aura" Gawley) and at The Cedar Grove Courts (with scores being sent in by "Super Mario" Marijus Kuzavas, "Dominant" Dawn Peterson, "Bravo" Brenda Jordan and "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli).

 

We will first go to the RHP recap from Gen and then to the combined report from Marijus, Dawn, Brenda and Spin up at C.G.

 

Laura and I agreed to play our Semifinal Match at 6pm.  I arrived at RHP around 5:40 and walked over to Championship Court.  Raj Shah and Mike Mole were already playing their One-Setter on the Entrance Court.  Then five minutes later Laura Gawley arrived at RHP.  We hit for 10 to 15 minutes then got our match started by 6pm.

 

The RHP Results:

 

Raj Shah over Mike Mole, 6-3!  No Aces. 

 

Raj Shah over Vinnie De Benedetto, 6-3!  Vinnie: 2 Aces! 

 

GTA Women's Championship Semifinal Match:

Laura Gawley over Genalin Capan, 6-1, 6-2, to successfully defend her # 1 Rank in the Women's Division plus advance to the Finals of the GTA Women's Championship Tournament!  Laura: 1 Ace in the 1st Set. 

 

Commentary: In the 1st Set, we had a few of the games go to multi-Deuces.  It went mostly in Laura's favor.  The pace of the games was quick as we didn't waste time…especially playing under the sun with relatively no shade on the courts except for a small patch towards the back fence.  Laura took a commanding lead at 5-0 before I finally got on the board by holding my serve.  Then Laura closed out the 1st Set on her serve.  Duration of the set was from 6pm to 6:30.

 

In the 2nd Set, Laura took an early lead at 2-0. Then I held for 1-2.  Laura took next 3 games for 5-1. Then I held my serve for 2-5.  Laura served it out for the match.  Duration of the set was from 6:30 to 7pm. 

 

Both sets took about 30 minutes each.  We got this match done in one hour.  We had faced each other in a Women's Doubles Match last year.  This was our first time playing each other in Singles. 

 

This match was basically "The Laura Gawley Show".  She played really well and didn't miss much. Unfortunately for me, I never really found any sense of rhythm to my game.  There were times where I hit some good shots which were then followed by unforced errors.  We did have some nice rallies in the mix and a couple of exciting points especially when we both found each other at the net.  It was still a pretty good match…I just didn't have my "A" game on this day. 

 

Congrats to Laura on her win and advancing to the Finals.  She now awaits the winner of the Sally Pillay versus Mindy Zhang match.  Good luck to the remaining ladies in the tournament. 

 

Samara's Notes: I thank Gen for providing us with such a comprehensive report…and also in a very timely manner.  I also congratulate Laura on a very impressive victory.  We now go back to the other scores sent in by Gen.

 

Raj Shah/Vinnie De Benedetto over Rob Ryan/Sally Pillay, 6-4!  Raj: 1 Ace on Rob.  It ended by 8pm.

 

We had a couple of cameos as well. During the 1st Set, Marijus and Sally came by to watch some of our match. They arrived towards the last 2 games of the 1st Set and stayed until the conclusion of the match.

 

Afterwards, Marijus headed up to Cedar Grove.  Sally stayed around to play one set of Doubles.  Laura waited to drive back with Sally to CG.  Rob Ryan caught the last 2 games of our 2nd Set.  Then he was needed to play in the last Doubles One-Setter of the evening at RHP. 

 

Samara's Notes: Again, much thanks to Gen.  We now head up to Cedar Grove.

 

The Cedar Grove Results:

 

Santosh Reddy/Dawn Peterson over Jose Gonzales/Marie Salamon, 6-2!  No Aces (apparently).

Jose Gonzales/Dawn Peterson over Santosh Reddy/Marie Salamon, 6-2!  No Aces (apparently).

 
Santosh Reddy/Dawn Peterson over Jose Gonzales/Marie Salamon, 7-5!  No Aces (apparently).

 

Dawn's Notes: It was the first time I ever played with Marie.  She's a nice lady and good player.

 

2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:

Marijus Kuzavas over Mike Kazlauskas, 6-3, 6-3, to successfully defend his # 4 Rank in the Advanced Division!  No Aces.

 

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:
Marijus Kuzavas/Mike Kazlauskas over Norman Taclob/Edwin Ortega, 6-1, 6-3, to successfully defend their # 5 Rank in the Doubles Division!  In the process, Taclob/Ortega enter the division as the New # 41 Ranked Team!Mike: 1 Ace on Norm; and Norm: 1 Ace on Mike!

 

Kevin Doyle/Brenda Jordan over Marie Salamon/Dawn Peterson, 6-4!  No Aces (apparently).

Laura Gawley/Sally Pillay over Kevin Doyle/Brenda Jordan, 6-1!  No Aces (apparently).

Dan Martinelli/Felix Castolo over Rob Gawley/Sally Pillay, 6-2!  Spin: 1 Ace on Sally.

 

Dan Martinelli/Tito Castolo over Michel Encarnacion/Felix Castolo, 6-2!  No Aces.

 

Samara's Notes: I thank everyone for reporting in such a timely manner.  The feedback for this night of GTA activity was tremendous. 

Sincerely,

Frank Samara 

6/22

Mole-Capan 1-Setter at RHP, Brenda/Chris host 11 at C.G.!”:

               

GTA Wednesday Night Tennis took place at both Robin Hood Park in Clifton (with “The S Bomber” Genalin Capan acting as host) and at The Cedar Grove Courts (with “Bravo” Brenda Jordan acting as host at the two older courts down the street and GTA Champion: “King Crush” Chris Chiaro acting as the host at the four usual courts).

 

We will first go to the RHP recap from Gen and then to the dual report from Brenda and Chris up at C.G.

 

The RHP Result:

 

Mike Mole over Genalin Capan, 6-4!  Mike: 4 Aces.

 

Gen’s Notes: Mike was up 3-1.  I took the next two games to level it at 3-3.  Mike then went up 5-3.  On my serve and down Triple Break/Match Point, I saved all three of them and continued on to get it to Game Point.  Then it was 2^nd Deuce, Game Point and I got one more game.  Mike then closed it out on his serve.  We played this from 5:15 to 6pm.  Spin (aka Dan Martinelli) made a quick cameo appearance.

 

Samara’s Notes: I thank Gen for that recap.  And now it is up to Cedar Grove we go!

 

First we go to the commentary and scores from Brenda.

We played on the courts down the street because all the others were taken at 6:30 from the town recreation league (aka The Pickle Ballers, I assume).

 

The Cedar Grove Results:

 

Sally Pillay/Kathy Sheldon over Brenda Jordan/Dawn Peterson, 6-2!  No Aces (apparently).

 

Brenda Jordan/Dawn Peterson over Sally Pillay/Kathy Sheldon, 6-2!  No Aces (apparently).

 

We went back to the courts with the lights to play what would have been the 3rd Set, but three of them were taken by other GTA players, and the 4th court was still occupied from the town league.

 

Samara’s Notes: Those damn GTA people!  LOL!  We now turn it over to Chris.

 

Chris Chiaro/Laura Gawley over Jay Phoenix/Dan Martinelli, 6-0!  No Aces.

 

Chris Chiaro/Dan Martinelli over Laura Gawley/Sally Pillay, 6-3!  Spin: 1 Ace on Sally. 

 

Tito Castolo/Nathan Fernandes over Chris Chiaro/Raj Shah, 6-3!  No Aces. 

 

Chris Chiaro/Raj Shah over Tito Castolo/Nathan Fernandes, 6-1!  No Aces. 

 

Samara’s Notes: I thank both Brenda and Chris for reporting in such a timely manner. 

Samara signing off!

 

6/21

Nate hosts 4 at C.G.!:

               

With The Srinivasans away on vacation, the GTA scene at Cedar Grove continues to call out for impromptu hosts (especially with “Hollywood” Frank Samara still sidelined with his car situation).

 

Wednesday night it was GTA Champion: “King Crush” Chris Chiaro stepping up to act as host.  Thursday night, it was “Nate the Great” Nathan Fernandes.  Friday night, it was “The S Bomber” Genalin Capan.

 

On Saturday night, it was a combination of “Latino Heat” Jose Gonzales and “Bravo” Brenda Jordan (Jose sent his score in via text and Brenda sent hers via e-mail which I believe already went out to the entire league).

 

For Monday night, we had scores reported by “Spin Doctor” Dan Martinelli, Jay “The Rising” Phoenix and Brenda again (along with further verification from her friend, “Dominant” Dawn Peterson).

 

And now for Tuesday night, “Nate the Great” Nathan Fernandes acted as the impromptu host and sent in the following scores.

 

The Cedar Grove Results:

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:

Tito Castolo/Nathan Fernandes over Ryan Pienciak/T.J. Shah, 6-0, 6-0, as both teams entered the Doubles Division as the New # 39 and # 40 Ranked Teams respectively!  Ryan: 1 Ace on Nathan in the 2^nd Set. 

 

Ryan Pienciak/Tito Castolo over Nathan Fernandes/T.J. Shah, 6-2!  No Aces.

 

Samara’s Notes: I thank Nate for reporting in such a timely manner. 

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

6/20

6/20/16:

 

“13 play at C.G., much Doubles action!”:

               

With The Srinivasans away on vacation, the GTA scene at Cedar Grove continues to call out for impromptu hosts (especially with “Hollywood” Frank Samara still sidelined with his car situation).

 

Wednesday night it was GTA Champion: “King Crush” Chris Chiaro stepping up to act as host.  Thursday night, it was “Nate the Great” Nathan Fernandes.  Friday night, it was “The S Bomber” Genalin Capan.

 

On Saturday night, it was a combination of “Latino Heat” Jose Gonzales and “Bravo” Brenda Jordan (Jose sent his score in via text and Brenda sent hers via e-mail which I believe already went out to the entire league).

 

For Monday night, we had scores reported by “Spin Doctor” Dan Martinelli, Jay “The Rising” Phoenix and Brenda again (along with further verification from her friend, “Dominant” Dawn Peterson).

 

We go to their combined report now.

 

The Cedar Grove Results:

Dan Martinelli/Nathan Fernandes over Jay Phoenix/Santosh Reddy, 6-0!  Jay: 1 Ace on Nathan (a nice one in the corner)!  Spin said that he had to admit he was a man on fire in this one.  Time away from the courts worked wonders for him as he forgot all the mistakes he had been making prior to the layoff.  He said this one was over very quickly without any Deuce games.

 

Dan Martinelli/Nathan Fernandes over Joe Rodrigues/Santosh Reddy, 6-1!  Joe: 1 Ace on Spin (a second serve one that was also quite nice)!

 

Dan Martinelli/Nathan Fernandes over Joe Rodrigues/Santosh Reddy, 6-2!  No Aces.  Spin said it was funny to note that Rodrigues said that “The Real Joe” was going to show up in this one…and all that amounted to was one more game for his team…LOL!

 

Mike Kazlauskas over Jay Phoenix, 6-2!  No Aces (apparently).

 

Norman Taclob over Jay Phoenix, 6-3!  No Aces (apparently).

 

Samara’s Notes: The first three scores were reported by Spin.  Those last two came from Jay.  And these next two full match results were reported by both Brenda and Dawn.  There was a discrepancy in their scores, however, so I chose to go with the ones as reported by Ms. Jordan.

 

2 out of 3 Sets Mixed Doubles Match:

Raj Shah/Dawn Peterson over Kevin Doyle/Brenda Jordan, 6-2, 6-2, to become the New # 11 Ranked Team in the Mixed Doubles Division!  No Aces (apparently).

 

2 out of 3 Sets Women’s Doubles Match:

Kathy Sheldon/Dawn Peterson over Brenda Jordan/Mary Rosado, 6-4, 6-3, to successfully defend the # 6 Rank in the Women’s Doubles Division!  In the process, Jordan/Rosado entered said division as the New # 12 Ranked Team!  No Aces (apparently).

 

Samara’s Notes: I thank all those who contributed to this report in a very timely manner. 

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

6/18

“Jose/Brenda host 6 at C.G.!”:

               

With The Srinivasans away on vacation, the GTA scene at Cedar Grove continues to call out for impromptu hosts (especially with “Hollywood” Frank Samara still sidelined with his car situation).

 

Wednesday night it was GTA Champion: “King Crush” Chris Chiaro stepping up to act as host.  Thursday night, it was “Nate the Great” Nathan Fernandes.  Friday night, it was “The S Bomber” Genalin Capan.

 

On Saturday night, it was a combination of “Latino Heat” Jose Gonzales and “Bravo” Brenda Jordan (Jose sent his score in via text and Brenda sent hers via e-mail which I believe already went out to the entire league).

 

We go to their combined report now.

 

The Cedar Grove Results:

Jay Phoenix/Mike Mole over Jose Gonzales/Natalia Sout, 6-3!  No Aces.

 

Mike Mole/Brenda Jordan over Jay Phoenix/Dawn Peterson, 6-4!  No Aces.

 

The father and son duo of Dwight Thomas Sr. and Jr. were hitting on another court.

 

Ryan Pienciak showed up and he was hitting with Tony Shiao.

 

Samara’s Notes: I thank both Jose and Brenda for sending in those scores in a very timely manner. 

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

6/17

“Gen hosts 7 at C.G.!”:

               

With The Srinivasans away on vacation, the GTA scene at Cedar Grove continues to call out for impromptu hosts (especially with “Hollywood” Frank Samara still sidelined with his car situation).

 

Wednesday night it was GTA Champion: “King Crush” Chris Chiaro stepping up to act as host.  Thursday night, it was “Nate the Great” Nathan Fernandes.

 

On Friday night, it was “The S Bomber” Genalin Capan.

 

We go to Gen’s report now.

 

The day was sunny, hot and humid.  The evening turned out to be very pleasant as it felt cooler with much less humidity.  It was the ideal set of conditions for playing tennis under the lights of The Cedar Grove Courts. 

It started with Joe Rodrigues and Jose Gonzales sending out an e-mail to the GTA stating that they would be playing at Cedar Grove around 6pm.  Moka Pathan and I were the next two to arrive by 6:30.  

The two of us hit against Joe/Jose for 15 minutes then got the first Doubles One-Setter started.

Nathan Fernandes and Marie Salamon were the next arrivals. The two started hitting and then they awaited the conclusion of our set. Mr. Herb Reiner was already hitting with someone on the adjacent court prior to us playing the first Doubles One-Setter.

The Cedar Grove Results:

Jose Gonzales/Joe Rodrigues over Moka Pathan/Genalin Capan, 6-3!  No Aces.  Joe was on fire as he hit some nice winners.

For the next Doubles One-Setter, Joe and I decided to hit and eventually play a Singles One-Setter while the following Doubles One-Setter transpired.

Moka Pathan/Jose Gonzales over Nathan Fernandes/Marie Salamon, 6-3!  No Aces (apparently).

Joe Rodrigues over Genalin Capan, 6-2!  Gen: 1 Ace!  It started with back-to-back breaks.  I was broken again and Joe held to go up 3-1.  Then I held after a battle for 2-3, but then Joe took the next 3 games for the win.  This one ended by 7:55.

Both Moka and Joe had to leave by 8pm.  I was needed for the next One-Setter.

Nathan Fernandes/Marie Salamon over Jose Gonzales/Genalin Capan, 6-0!  No Aces.  This lasted from 8pm to 8:20.

Jose Gonzales/Nathan Fernandes over Norman Taclob/Marie Salamon, 6-4!  No Aces (apparently).

 

Spin (aka Dan Martinelli) arrived around 8:30 to check on us.  I was getting ready to leave, but stayed to catch up with Spin. We left by 9:15.

I don't know the other results.  Hopefully, someone else will send to you.

Samara’s Notes: I thank Gen for sending in those scores in a very timely manner.  And nobody sent in anything additional from that session…so whatever transpired will have to remain as unofficial.

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

6/15

6/15/16:

 

“Toth drops out! Mole-Capan 1-Setter at RHP!”:

               

Much like the day prior, before any official session could occur, the biggest news of the day came via e-mail from “C.A.T.” Christine Toth.  She informed both “Hollywood” Frank Samara and “The S Bomber” Genalin Capan that she would have to drop out of the GTA Women’s Championship Tournament.

 

The reason: Her mother is in deteriorating health.  As such, she requires more of Christine’s care and attention.  It is hard for Christine to commit to any set and/or scheduled matches as things can change for her at a moment’s notice.

 

On behalf of the entire GTA, I wish Christine, her mom and her entire family all the best that is possible at this time.  I can relate to her situation as I experienced a similar set of circumstances with my now late father a little over a year ago.  Everything is day to day as you don’t know what the next one will bring.

 

As a result, Gen now advances to the Semifinals via a bye where she will face Laura “The Aura” Gawley.

 

Speaking of Ms. Capan, she acted as the impromptu host of a small session at Robin Hood Park.  There were no results sent in from Cedar Grove.

 

We go to Gen’s report now.

 

The RHP Result:

 

Mike Mole over Genalin Capan, 6-3!  No Aces.  It was played from 5:15 to 5:55.

 

Vinnie De Benedetto arrived just as Mike was leaving.  Vin and I hit for another 15 to 20 minutes before calling it a night.  Mike and I had started hitting at 4:45.

 

Samara’s Notes: I thank Gen for sending in her notes in a very timely manner.

 

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

6/14

"Tan drops out! Kumar-Shiao in Wayne, the I-M Final!":

               

Before any official session could occur, perhaps the biggest news of the day came via text message from "Excellent" Evonne Tan to "Hollywood" Frank Samara as she informed him that she would have to drop out of the GTA Women's Championship Tournament and the GTA Women's Division altogether.

 

The reason: She is now pregnant with her second child.  So first, we offer her hearty congratulations on the good news!  She said she is already experiencing morning sickness and the like…which is why she cannot continue further.  And as she will not be able to play for the balance of this season, it just makes sense to remove her from the ranks now.

 

She said she enjoyed being back in the league again even though her stay was brief.  If we are lucky, maybe we will be graced with her presence again sometime next season.

 

As a result, "The Amazing" Mindy Zhang advances to the Semifinals via a bye.  She will face "Spicy" Sally Pillay in that round.  On the other side of the draw, Laura "The Aura" Gawley is still waiting for the winner of the Quarterfinal Match between "The S Bomber" Genalin Capan and "C.A.T." Christine Toth.  Gen is hopeful that match will be played by the end of this coming weekend.

 

"Big Jake" Rich Jachens sent out a group-wide e-mail to the league stating he went up to Cedar Grove at 6:30 and saw no one there.  He likely went there too early.  But Tuesday night is also the evening for The Pickle Ballers…so maybe they dominated the courts once they got there.

 

Nobody reported any results from Cedar Grove, so I will assume nothing GTA-related happened there (and the same holds true for Robin Hood Park in Clifton).

 

But a very important result was reported from The Nellis Drive Courts in Wayne as the GTA Intermediate Invitational Tournament Final was finally played between "The Webmaster" Senthil Kumar and Tony "Sure Shot" Shiao.  The score was sent in by Tony and commentary was delivered by both players.

 

The Nellis Drive Result:

 

GTA Intermediate Invitational Final Match:

Tony Shiao over Senthil Kumar, 6-4, 6-3, to become both the New # 10 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division and the New # 2 Ranked Player in the Intermediate Division while winning the 2016 GTA Intermediate Invitational Tournament!  Tony: 1 Ace in the 1^st Set.

 

The Sure Shot from Shiao: Senthil and I played our GTA Intermediate Invitational Final Match in the evening in Wayne.  Knowing that Wayne would be Senthil's home court advantage, I suggested playing at Mountainside Park in Montclair or at Cedar Grove.  He mentioned that the courts in Wayne were freshly paved and painted and I wanted to check them out, so we decided to meet at 6:30pm at the courts across from The Bubble. 

 

We warmed up for about 15 minutes and started our match.  In the 1st Set, we were trading games until I was able to break and hold.  I took it at 6-4 with an Ace down the line.  The 2nd Set was equally as grueling and we were both moving the ball well.  I was able to also take the set at 6-3 with the Match Point being a lob winner.  Senthil was very consistent, quick, and he mixed up his shots.  I was running side to side and to the net and back.  I had to adjust my game to suit his style and luckily it worked out in my favor.  The lights never turned on, but we finished before it got too dark to see the ball.

 

The Untangled Web from Senthil:  Tony and I know each other's game very well as he was my hitting partner last summer. His game plan this time around came with new strategy which caught me by surprise and he chased down many of my would-be winning shots and kept them in play. 

 

His strength and young legs kept me off balance throughout the match. Unable to hold my serve during critical moments cost me the match.  In the 2nd Set, while serving for the match, he pushed me to the net and made three perfect lobs to win the match.  Most points in the match were rallies of five shots and above.  There were hardly any easy points. 

 

Samara's Notes: Congratulations to Tony as I know he's been trying to win this tourney for a few years now. Each season, he did better than the last.  Kudos also to Senthil who had a very good run in this event...I think better than most expected.

 

The Consequences: Next, Shiao will challenge GTA Intermediate Champ: "The Legendary" Chazz Weldon for that Title.

 

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

6/13

“Just 4 officially at C.G.!”:

               

I was almost going to end that subject line with a question mark rather than an exclamation point.  Given the beautiful weather we had, I find it hard to believe that only four people played GTA Tennis.

 

But as it stands, we have only one full Doubles Match and then a Doubles One-Setter that took place up at Cedar Grove for GTA Monday Night Tennis. 

 

I thank “Nate the Great” Nathan Fernandes for reporting it in a very timely manner.

 

The Cedar Grove Results:

 

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:

Chris Chiaro/Joe Rodrigues over Chris Lehmann/Nathan Fernandes, 6-3, 6-0, as both teams entered the Doubles Division as the New # 37 and # 38 Ranked Teams respectively!  No Aces (apparently).

 

Chris Lehmann/Nathan Fernandes over Chris Chiaro/Joe Rodrigues, 6-0!  No Aces (apparently).

 

Samara’s Notes: My apologies for the initial report that was sent out to the group.  I received an e-mail notification of what Nate had sent me via Facebook (an Inbox message).  For some reason, only the last One-Setter showed up in the e-mail.  It was only after I got onto FB (for the first time since last Friday) did I see the full match that they played first.

 

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

6/12

"Samara hosts 9 at RHP, Chazz-Jay part of 12 at C.G.!":

"Hollywood" Frank Samara said he would find a way to host GTA Sunday Tennis despite not having a car.  So right upfront, thanks to "Coach" Dino Celis for the ride up to Robin Hood Park in Clifton and also much gratitude to "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli for the ride back home.

Celis and Samara arrived at RHP at 10:45.  Pulling up to the park at exactly the same time was Martinelli. 

Upon their arrival, they saw "Sadistic" Syed Rashid going solo as he hit against both "The Vin Man" Vinnie De Benedetto and Barbara "Bobbie" Grass.  Sadly, none of these three ever made into any official action.

On Center Court, GTA Champion: "King Crush" Chris Chiaro and "Lean" Dean Delgado were doing battle in what was the last of three Singles One-Setters.

So the Three Amigos (Celis, Samara and Martinelli) took Championship Court.  The day prior (Saturday), a challenge was issued via both Facebook and text as "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes and "Instant" Moka Pathan called out The Foundation (Samara/Martinelli) for a full 2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Challenge Match as they were looking to get ranked in the Doubles Division

When Frank pointed out the fact that the team also known as Spin City had long fallen out of the "D" Division for team inactivity, Nate countered with the response being one of just looking to get ranked against two guys that they figured would be at the courts on this day.

One problem was that Samara was once again a man without a racquet.  Upon hearing this, Syed was kind enough to pull two spare racquets out of his car and he gave Frank the choice of which one he would want to use.  He also allowed Samara to hold onto the racquet after his departure.  So another thank you is due and this one goes to Syed for being benevolent rather than "sadistic".  It was a very nice gesture on his part.

Speaking of nice gestures, Vin took Bobbie home from 11:10 to 11:25.  While he was away, both Fernandes and "Big Returns" Ralph Bernard arrived at 11:15.  This led to both Spin and Ralph hitting against Nate on Championship Court.  Around the same time, Celis started hitting with Chiaro on Center Court.  And that eventually led to a fairly lengthy Singles One-Setter.

When Pathan arrived at 11:25 for the planned Doubles Match, Bernard shifted over to the Entrance Court to hit with Rashid.  De Benedetto decided to leave at 11:30 as he felt he had already hit a lot and there was seemingly no place for him at this point in the session.

The Doubles Match occupied Championship Court from 11:30 to 12:04, to be exact.  During that time period, "The Olympian" Marie Salamon arrived at 11:45.  After a lengthy yoga-style stretching session in the park just outside the fence of the courts, she then jumped onto the Entrance Court to join the hitting session between Bernard and Rashid.  She ended up becoming the ninth and final official competitor of the day.

Late cameo appearances were made by "Double R" Rob Ryan as he was attempting to fly a kite (it was certainly windy enough for it) with his young daughter Rachel out in the park.  Around that same time, "Big Jake" Rich Jachens walked Chloe around the park, but also took a moment to say hello and see some of the action.

The turnout may have been somewhat on the low side given the nice weather (again, albeit windy) with just nine officially (it could have been twelve if timing of players in and out of the session was more opportune), but it was still an enjoyable and action-packed session.

The RHP Results:

Chris Chiaro over Dean Delgado, 6-0!  No Aces.

Chris Chiaro over Dean Delgado, 6-0!  No Aces.

Chris Chiaro over Dean Delgado, 6-0!  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: No, that is not a typo.  The exact same result and score occurred three times in a row!  They estimated that they got the action underway on Center Court at 9:30 and it then ended at 11:10.

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Challenge Match:
Moka Pathan/Nathan Fernandes over Frank Samara/Dan Martinelli, 6-3, 6-2, as both teams entered the Doubles Division as the New # 35 and # 36 Ranked Teams respectively!  No Aces.

1st Set: Spin held serve (Moka blew a volley and an un-returned serve led to Triple Game Point, then Double Game Point was an excellent rally that resulted in a hold), Moka held (15-Love, 15-All and then two un-returned serves led to Double Game Point, Game Point, Double Fault for Deuce, an un-returned serve for Game Point where Frank hit a drop shot winner for 2nd Deuce and then another un-returned serve for Game Point and then yet another un-returned serve for the hold), but Frank was the first to be broken (started with a Double Fault and then Spin made a great get for 15-All and then it was point for point to Break Point and then the break) as his team was down 1-2.  Nathan held (Nathan hit a drop shot winner for 30-Love, but then it shifted to 30-All, then Game Point, Deuce, Game Point, 2nd Deuce, Game Point and the hold) and Martinelli was broken (Nathan hit another drop shot winner to make it Love-15, then it was Love-30, 15-30, Double Break Point and the break) as The Foundation crumbled to 1-4!  Pathan was also broken (Frank hit a winning Overhead Smash in one point and made a great get in another on the way to Triple Break Point where an un-returned serve made it Double Break Point, but then came the break) and Samara held (Love-15 went straight to Double Game Point as Frank hit a winner along the way and then came the hold) as his team pulled to 3-4.  But Fernandes then held at Love as he hit a drop shot winner on the way to Triple Game Point and that was where he hit an un-returned serve to secure his own hold and then The Doc was broken again (Love-15 shifted to 30-15, but then a Double Fault for 30-All and then it ended on Break/Set Point) as Spin City had their heads spinning in the heat as this set was played on Championship Court from 11:30 to 12:04.  After a three minute break, the next one got underway.

2nd Set: Moka held (started with a Double Fault, then Love-30, 15-30, Double Break Point and then two un-returned serves brought it to Deuce, then another un-returned serve for Game Point, 2nd Deuce and yet another un-returned serve for Game Point, then 3rd Deuce, Game Point and the hold), Spin held (Love-15 shifted to 30-15 with two un-returned serves, then it was 30-All, Game Point, Deuce where Moka blew an overhead to make it Game Point, 2nd Deuce where Frank hit a winner to set up Game Point and then the hold), Nathan held (Nathan hit a winning Overhead Smash on the way to Triple Game Point, but that was cut to Game Point where Nathan hit another winning Overhead Smash), but Frank was the first to be broken in this set (Nathan hit a winning Overhead Smash and another winner on the way to Triple Break Point, then it was Double Break Point where Moka hit a passing shot winner for the break) for a score of 1-3.  Pathan then held again (two un-returned serves made it 30-Love, but that was where Frank hit a drop shot winner for 30-15, but then came Double Game Point where Nathan hit a winner to secure his partner's hold) and Martinelli was broken (Moka hit a winning volley for Love-15, then it was 15-30 where Moka hit a winning Overhead Smash to make it Double Break Point where Moka then hit a winning roller over he net for the break) to fall to 1-5!  Fernandes was also broken (Frank hit an impressive winner for Love-15 and it was then off and running to Triple Break Point, it was then Double Break Point where an un-returned serve brought it to Break Point, but then came the break) to allow the opposition to pull to 2-5, but then Samara squandered it as Nathan got his team rolling with a drop shot winner for Love-30 and then it was Triple Break/Match Point where The Foundation fully crumbled in a Love break to go down in a heap at 12:42!

The Skinny: Despite having not teamed together for quite some time, The Blues Brothers (aka The Blue and Black Attack) also known as Pathan and Fernandes functioned in unison quite well.  Despite the occasional One-Setter here and there, Samara and Martinelli did not do all that much together as of late either.  Spin often complained about feeling lethargic and sluggish.  He said he was sleepy, but not tired (I'm not entirely sure of the difference).  The Doc hit many a limp shot into the net, but he also had his usual round of amazing gets as well...so it cannot be said that he did not go down without a fight.  It should also be noted that Moka and Nate switched their return of service sides going into the 2nd Set and perhaps that made a slight difference as well.  Yet, the match did feel somewhat closer than the score indicates.

Chris Chiaro over Dino Celis, 6-4!  No Aces.  Actually, Chris was leading 5-4 and they were at Deuce when Dino pulled a groin muscle and retired.  This one took place on Center Court from 11:35 to 12:12 and it was quite close until it had to end abruptly.

Ralph Bernard/Frank Samara over Nathan Fernandes/Marie Salamon, 6-3!  Ralph: 1 Ace on Marie.  It went like this: Ralph held (Marie hit a winning Backhand Volley for Love-15 and it was off and running to Triple Break Point as Nathan hit a winner along the way, but then an un-returned serve made it Double Break Point and then when it was Break Point, Frank hit a winning Backhand Volley to make it Deuce where an un-returned serve set up Game Point and then came the hold), Marie was broken (30-Love, Double Fault for 30-15, then it shifted to Break Point where Frank hit a passing shot winner for the break) and Frank held (Ralph hit a winner and then made a great get in the next point to make it 30-Love, but then it shifted straight to Break Point, then Deuce, Game Point, 2nd Deuce, Game Point, 3rd Deuce where Frank hit a drop shot that led to Game Point and then came the hold) as his team got off to a hot start at 3-0.  Nathan then impressively held at Love with three un-returned serves to put his team on the scoreboard, but Bernard held again (Love-15 shifted right to Double Game Point as two un-returned serves sandwiched a winner by Ralph) and Salamon was broken again (started with a Double Fault, then 15-All would lead to Double Break Point as Ralph hit a winner along the way, there was an un-returned serve for Break Point, but then came the break) to go down 1-5.  Samara was broken (an excellent rally ended with Frank sailing what should have been a winning Overhead Smash long to make it Love-30, then it was 15-30, Double Break Point, Break Point and the break) to have his team's lead cut to 5-2 and then Fernandes held (another awesome rally got things started at 15-Love and then it was point for point to Game Point where Marie hit a drop shot winner to secure her partner's hold) to pull to 3-5.  But Big Returns held a third straight time and this time it was at Love as he got off to a 30-Love start and then hit a wind-aided Ace against Marie to set up Triple Game/Match Point and that was where it ended!  We played this one on Championship Court from 12:47 to 1:25.   

This was the last official action of the day at RHP as the session ended somewhat earlier than usual.  And now we head up to Cedar Grove where a full 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match between GTA Intermediate Champion: "The Legendary" Chazz Weldon and Jay "The Rising" Phoenix took place where only the Advanced Division rank of Weldon was on the line.  Chazz reported the score in a very timely manner...almost immediately after it ended via text message.

The Cedar Grove Results:

2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:
Chazz Weldon over Jay Phoenix, 6-3, 6-4, to successfully defend his # 17 Rank in the Advanced Division!  No Aces.  It got underway at 10:33am and ended exactly at 11:42.  Chazz described it as a very competitive match.

Samara's Notes: I thank Chazz for sending in that score so swiftly and now we get the rest of the results from "Papa K" Kris Srinivasan as to what took place in Cedar Grove later in the day and in the evening.

Pressed for time…so here's a very brief report of the results.

Jose Gonzales/Greg Swierczek over Kris Srinivasan/Joe Rodrigues, 6-2!  No Aces.

Jose Gonzales/Greg Swierczek over Chris Lehmann/Fernanda Toker, 7-5!  No Aces (apparently).

Chris Lehmann/Fernanda Toker over Greg Swierczek/Joe Rodrigues, 7-5!  No Aces (apparently).

Chris Lehmann/Fernanda Toker over Kris Srinivasan/Greg Swierczek, 6-3!  No Aces.

Rob Gawley/Laura Gawley over Senthil Kumar/Mike Mole, 6-4!  No Aces (apparently).

Senthil Kumar/Mike Mole over Jose Gonzales/Fernanda Toker, 6-3!  No Aces (apparently).

It was also good to see that Genalin Capan is back.  She just had a hitting session with Herb Reiner.  It was so windy that the ball was doing a salsa in the air!  Cheers!

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

All the best,
Frank Samara