Samara hosts 14 at HP, then hosts 12 at C.G.!":
GTA Tuesday Night Tennis took place at two locations: a late afternoon/early evening session at Holster Park in Clifton (hosted by "Hollywood" Frank Samara) and then an evening session at The Cedar Grove Courts (also hosted by Samara).
The usual Cedar Grove host, "Papa K" Kris Srinivasan was unable to attend as the family was celebrating their son (and brother) Jay's birthday in New York City. On behalf of the entire GTA, we wish him a Happy Birthday!
When Samara pulled into the parking lot at Holster Park at 5:20, he saw many familiar cars there. As he walked uphill toward the courts, he saw two of three courts filled with GTA players.
On Center Court, it was Tommy Reszkowski and Nik Agharkar doing battle in a Singles One-Setter.
On Championship Court, it was a Mixed Doubles One-Setter being played "Battle of The Sexes" style as "The S Bomber" Genalin Capan and "The Argentine Machine" Fernanda Toker teamed to take on "The Sultan of Swing" Raj Shah and "Holy Moly" Mike Mole. Gen and Fernanda wanted to get some practice together as they are a team in the upcoming W2 Women's Doubles Tournament to crown New Champs.
And sitting on the sidelines of Championship Court was Fernanda's nephew, Juani D'Andres. He wowed the crowd at The Cedar Grove Courts on Sunday night and he was looking to compete with some of the better players in the GTA on this night.
For those that do not know about young Juani – he recently turned 17 years old and is the 19th Ranked Player on the South American Juniors Circuit (he represents Argentina). To say that he is already very highly skilled would be a tremendous understatement.
Juani asked Frank if he wanted to hit, so the two of them went over to the Entrance Court. A ten minute hitting session was followed by a very lopsided Singles One-Setter (don't think I have to tell you in whose favor said set was lopsided for…LOL!).
Five minutes into it, "The Vin Man" Vinnie De Benedetto arrived at 5:50. He then watched from Championship Court the slaughter his Doubles partner was experiencing over on the Entrance Court. Others viewed the action as well as the Doubles One-Setter on that court (Championship Court) had just ended.
Samara was put out of his misery at 6:04. Twenty minutes later, GTA Champion: "King Crush" Chris Chiaro arrived. This is the player that Juani was looking forward to playing the most. As Chris came in, Mike and Gen went out as they were both done for the day.
At 6:30, both Frank and Chris started hitting against Juani on Center Court. Meanwhile, another Doubles One-Setter had already started on Championship Court as Raj and Vin faced Tommy and Fernanda.
At 6:45, Samara stepped off Center Court allowing Chiaro to tackle the challenge of D'Andres in another Singles One-Setter.
At that same time, four more players all arrived: "Latino Heat" Jose Gonzales, Dennis "The Menace" Cabanatan, "The Hitman" Tom La and Jay "The Rising" Phoenix. They took over the Entrance Court and soon it would be Jose and Jay facing Dennis and Tom in three consecutive Doubles One-Setters.
At 7:40, "El Tio" Carlos Perez arrive and stood in the shady area outside the courts. Ten minutes later, he came in with a bucket of balls once Championship Court had cleared.
At 7:55, Chiaro, Samara and Shah all headed up to Cedar Grove separately (and in that order). The last of the three Doubles One-Setters was still taking place on the Entrance Court and Jose later sent in that final score via text to Frank.
We ended up with a total of fourteen players…pretty impressive for a weeknight at Holster Park.
The Holster Park Results:
Juani D'Andres over Nik Agharkar, 6-0! Juani: 3 Aces, and Nik: 1 Ace! This one got started around 5pm on Center Court and lasted about 15 minutes.
Raj Shah/Mike Mole over Genalin Capan/Fernanda Toker, 6-3! Raj: 1 Ace on Gen. They got this one underway on Champinoship Court around 5pm and it ended at 5:50.
Gen's Notes: Mike and I arrived at HP at 4pm to hit. Nik arrived at 4:30 and Raj did the same at 4:45. Then, Fernanda and Juani hit the courts and would be followed by Tommy soon after.
Tommy Reszkowski over Nik Agharkar, 6-2! No Aces. This was also played on Center Court and likely lasted from 5:20 to 5:55.
Juani D'Andres over Frank Samara, 6-0! Juani: 1 Ace. It went like this: Frank was broken (two Juani winners for Love-30, 15-30 and then another Juani winner for Double Break Point and yet another for the break) and Juani held at Love as he hit an un-returnable serve that Frank "shanked" into the park, then another un-returned serve, a drop shot winner and another winner for the hold to go up 2-0. Samara was broken again (two winning returns from Juani for Love-30, an un-returned serve for 15-30 where a Juani winner set up Double Break Point and then came the break) and D'Andres held at Love again as he hit another un-returnable serve that was a body blow, made a great get/winner combo, hit a winning lob and then made another great/get winner combo for the hold to go up 4-0! Hollywood's best game came next as he was on serve and went up 30-Love via a blown drop shot from Juani and then an un-returned serve where another great get/winner combo by Juani made it 30-15 only to have another un-returned serve set up Double Game Point which was where Juani hit a winning return to cut it to Game Point and then he hit a winner for Deuce, then came Break Point and the break to fall to 0-5! Then, JDA was on serve as he blew a drop shot for Love-15, hit an un-returned serve for 15-All and then Frank hit a return that rolled over the net-cord to become a winner for 15-30, but then Juani hit a winner for 30-All and then hit an Ace up the T to set up Game/Match Point which was all the young and mighty Argentine would need to put this one away at 6:04 (we had begun it on Center Court at 5:45)!
The Skinny: Afterward, Samara asked D'Andres what is his USTA rating. Juani did not know. Frank first estimated it to be at least at a 5.0 level…but talking to others later in the session, some thought it may be as high as 5.5! There's absolutely no shame to losing to someone on Juani's level. Still, the Double Game Point opportunity on serve hurt Samara as he really wanted the chance to at least get one game on the scoreboard.
Raj Shah/Vinnie De Benedetto over Tommy Reszkowski/Fernanda Toker, 7-5! No Aces. This was played on Championship Court from 6:12 to 7pm. Tommy and Fernanda wanted to get some court time together as they are a team in the upcoming MXD2 Mixed Doubles Tournament. They had a solid showing here against a tough tandem like Raj and Vin.
Juani D'Andres over Chris Chiaro, 6-1! No Aces. Chris was down 0-3, but on serve where he was able to hold on Double Game Point to get himself on the board. But then it was pretty much all Juani from there forward…though Chiaro certainly had more moments (a couple of winners, in fact) against D'Andres than Samara did against him. Raj (aka Shahstradamus) predicted a 6-1 score here.
Jose Gonzales/Jay Phoenix over Dennis Cabanatan/Tom La, 6-2! No Aces. The two teams started hitting against one another on the Entrance Court at 6:50. The action officially started at 6:59. It was over at 7:18…just 19 minutes later!
Chris Chiaro/Raj Shah over Vinnie De Benedetto/Juani D'Andres, 6-3! Juani: 1 Ace on Raj; Raj: 1 Ace on Vin; and Chris: 1 Ace on Juani! Here's the basic breakdown: Chris held, Juani held (Double Game Point, corner Ace on Raj for the hold), Raj held (Double Break Point to Deuce, Game Point, Double Fault for 2nd Deuce, Game Point and the hold), but Vin was the first to be broken (Triple Game Point cut down to Deuce and then a blown overhead by Juani made it Break Point, 2nd Deuce, Break Point and the break) to fall to 1-3. Chiaro was also broken and D'Andres held at Love to level it at 3-3. But from there, Shah held again and this time it was at Love (30-Love, an Ace up the T against Vin to set up Triple Game Point and then came the hold), De Benedetto was broken again (Triple Break Point was brought up to Deuce, Break Point, 2nd Deuce, Break Point and the break) and King Crush held (30-15 and then an amazing Ace up the T against Juani to set up Double Game/Match Point, then it was Game/Match Point, Double Fault for Deuce and then the 3rd Game/Match Point where the hold finally came) to earn a hard-fought victory on Center Court (the duration was from 7:18 to 7:49)!
The Skinny: Vin blamed himself for the loss, but Juani was already quite exhausted by this point (he had been playing tennis all day long and even on a grass court for the first time). Yes, even 17 year olds eventually get tired. To their credit, Chris and Raj did not solely isolate Vin as they did hit to Juani on occasion as well. The Former GTA Double Champs look ready to reclaim their crown. First, they must win the ongoing M2 Men's Doubles Tournament to once again become the Top Contenders.
Dennis Cabanatan/Tom La over Jose Gonzales/Jay Phoenix, 6-2! No Aces. The Entrance Court hosted this one from 7:19 to 7:43.
Dennis Cabanatan/Tom La over Jose Gonzales/Jay Phoenix, 6-3! No Aces. This one got underway on the Entrance Court at 7:44. Not sure when it ended as we all (except these four) left HP soon after this last one was started.
Chiaro, Samara and Shah all arrived separately at Cedar Grove around 8:05 (and in that order). Speedy Chris may have gotten there closer to 8pm as he was already out on Court Two looking to get involved in some Doubles action where he would soon team with "Mr. 500" Levy Lorenzo to take on The Lanky Lithuanians – "Super Mario" Marijus Kuzavas and "Big Kaz" Mike Kazlauskas.
On Court One, it was the second of what would be three Singles One-Setters between "Ice Berg" Scott Bergenfeld and "J-Bach" Jordan Bachvaroff. It could not be played as a 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match as Bergenfeld is still in the active draw of the ongoing Grove Cup Men's Singles Tournament.
On Court Three, it was four non-GTA guys (hard to tell if it was The Verona Crew or the four Polish guys, but I think it may have been the Polish guys).
And on Court Four was an in-progress Doubles One-Setter featuring "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes and "J-Rod" Joe Rodrigues versus New GTA Women's Champion: Laura "The Aura" Gawley.
At 8:10, "Coach" Dino Celis arrived and he sat alongside Samara and Shah in the bench area outside of Court One. Raj never got involved in any official action as he left at 8:40…mere minutes before he would have had the opportunity.
At 8:45, Samara saw an opportunity to tell a father and son combo to take a now vacant court (they had been sitting on the bench alongside Court Four for about fifteen minutes at that point) and they were thankful for the invitation. We need to be mindful of others in situations like these.
At 8:55, Dwight Thomas Senior and Junior were able to take over Court Three as that one had also recently been vacated. They just had a hitting session with one another.
We ended up with a total of twelve official competitors (not counting The Dwights above). It was a fun session that moved at a fast pace.
The Cedar Grove Results:
Scott Bergenfeld over Jordan Bachvaroff, 6-2! No Aces. Scott said they got started on Court One at 6:40. Not sure when this finished as it went right into this next one.
Jordan Bachvaroff over Scott Bergenfeld, 7-5! No Aces. This one ended at 8:10. They both agreed to settle the score by playing a third and deciding One-Setter.
Scott Bergenfeld over Jordan Bachvaroff, 6-2! No Aces. This one was finished exactly at 8:41.
Nathan Fernandes/Joe Rodrigues over Dan Martinelli/Laura Gawley, 7-5! Spin: 1 Ace on Joe (which Spin described as a cheap one). The Doc said it pretty much went game for game all the way until Nate and Joe were able to jump ahead right at the end. This one got started on Court Four around 7:45 and it did not end until 8:55! It could possibly be a Nominee for One-Set Specialty Doubles Match of The Year at season's end.
Marijus Kuzavas/Mike Kazlauskas over Chris Chiaro/Levy Lorenzo, 6-2! No Aces. Court Two hosted this one from 8:15 to 8:40.
Marijus Kuzavas/Mike Kazlauskas over Chris Chiaro/Dino Celis, 7-6 (7-2)! No Aces. The guys shifted over to Court One for this one (allowing the father/son duo to have Court Two). It got underway at 8:45 and ended at 9:40. After The Lithuanians left the scene, Chris and Dino continued to hit with one another almost until lights out at 10pm.
Nathan Fernandes/Laura Gawley over Scott Bergenfeld/Levy Lorenzo, 6-2! Scott: 2 Aces (one on each and back-to-back in the same game)! This one took place on Court Four from 9pm to 9:27. You can give Mr. Martinelli the moniker of Spinstradamus as he rightfully predicted the winner and score once he saw the match-up at the beginning.
The guys wanted to get in one more, but Laura was done for the night. This meant Frank had to get his ass off of The Hecklers' bench. Scott said he wanted to team with Nate (thusly forming "The Great Ones" as it is "Great Scott!" and "Nate the Great").
Scott Bergenfeld/Nathan Fernandes over Frank Samara/Levy Lorenzo, 6-2! No Aces. The rundown (minus the usual mention of winners save a few exceptions): Scott held at Love as he hit two un-returned serves and Nate scored a drop shot winner for the hold, Frank was broken (Love-30, 15-30, Double Break Point and then the break), Nathan held (Love-15 went straight to Double Game Point and the hold), Levy was broken (Triple Break Point, the break came on Double Break Point) and Bergenfeld held again (Triple Game Point got cut down to Game Point, but then came the hold) to take a very commanding lead at 5-0! Samara held (15-Love, 15-All and then straight to Double Game Point which was then cut down to Deuce, but the hold came on the next Game Point) to get his team on the board and then Fernandes was broken (Frank hit a dramatic winner to make it Love-30, but then Nate hit a winner for 15-30, it was Double Break Point where Scott hit a monster winner for Break Point, but then Levy hit a winner of his own to get the break in what was the game of the match) to have his team's lead cut to 5-2. Lorenzo was then broken again (Love-15 shifted to 30-15 shifted to Break/Match Point where this one ended unceremoniously with a Double Fault) to take a tough loss! We played this one on Court Four from 9:29 to 9:53.
The Skinny: Scott and Nate together was quite an impressive tandem and very worthy of the moniker, "The Great Ones!" Levy is quite the player himself and is especially amazing when you consider the fact that he is 68 years old (which we found out last night…I thought he may have just reached 60). It was a fun One-Setter that I'm glad we were able to finish ahead of lights out at 10pm. It was a nice way to close out the session.
Sincerely,
Frank Samara
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