8/19/16:
"Capan-Toker part of 15 at C.G. as Samara hosts!:
"Hollywood" Frank Samara announced he most likely would be hosting GTA Friday Night Tennis at The Cedar Grove Courts (with some assistance from the usual host, "Papa K" Kris Srinivasan).
The original Main Event match was expected to be the W2 Women's Doubles Tournament Semifinal Match featuring "The Marathon Woman" Doinks Srinivasan and "Bravo" Brenda Jordan facing "The S Bomber" Genalin Capan and "The Argentine Machine" Fernanda Toker.
But somewhere along the way in the afternoon hours, Brenda reached out to the others involved in the match stating she did not feel well and would be unable to play the match later in the evening.
A disappointed Toker contacted Samara to let him know, but he turned lemons into lemonade once he suggested that Fernanda play her GAH6 Women's Singles Tournament Quarterfinal Match against Gen instead. From there, Toker reached out to Capan and the match was eventually agreed upon for later that evening.
Samara pulled into the parking lot at Cedar Grove at 6:50. On Court One, he saw the usual sparring partners "The Ambidextrous Machine" Herb Reiner and Miroslav "Mirav" Glavic having a hitting session. Courts Two and Three were vacant (though not for long).
And on Court Four, Capan was having a hitting session with "Kevlar" Kevin Doyle (Brenda's steady Mixed Doubles partner). Kevin explained that he felt she perhaps came down with heat stroke from playing too much tennis the night before.
At 6:55, Kris and his son Sairaj came across the street. At the same time, "J-Bach" Jordan Bachvaroff and a buddy of his arrived and took Court Three. Perhaps Kris suggested that the four of them play Doubles, but Jordan made it very clear that this was a Singles match that he had planned with his friend. If there would be any attempted interference with that plan, Bachvaroff would just prefer to leave the league. Kris took a laidback approach and said something along the lines of "no worries."
But now once again (after a similar experience earlier in the week), we feared a logjam situation was about to rear its ugly head as now two of the four courts were devoted to Singles action. As it turned out, it was never that much of a problem.
At 7pm, Doinks made her way across the street just as "Mr. 500" Levy Lorenzo made his arrival. The two of them took Court Two as soon as they could.
Five minutes later, both Natalia "Nitro" Sout and Toker arrived separately. Natalia made her way to Court Two as did Kevin since now Fernanda could take his place in hitting against Gen in the warm-up session. the foursome on Court Two would get a Mixed Doubles One-Setter going at 7:10.
At that same time, father and son duo Rick and Ryan Pienciak arrived and had to sit on the bench outside Court Four along with Samara. Ten minutes later, "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli made his arrival and then did the same.
It was around this time that we had a drive-by cameo from another father/son duo, Dwight Thomas Sr. and Jr. They were hoping to find their M2 Men's Doubles Tournament Quarterfinal opponents, GTA Champion: "King Crush" Chris Chiaro and "The Sultan of Swing" Raj Shah in attendance, but there was no such luck. This match has been another one of those problematic pairings in terms of scheduling.
At 7:35, Sairaj and Ryan took the place of Herb in the hitting session with Miroslav as Mr. Reiner made an early exit. Once Daddy Rick realized there was room for him over there, he joined the action on that court as well.
At 7:45, pals "The Hitman" Tom La and Dennis "The Menace" Cabanatan both arrived. They sat briefly with Samara and Martinelli. When Papa Pienciak shifted over to Court Two to replace Doinks in the next One-Setter there, Dennis made his way to Court One. Five minutes later, Tom replaced Sairaj on Court One, too.
At 8pm, "2 Tall" Dave Zhu arrived solo as his wife, Jane "Fun" Fan, is still recovering from her fairly recent wrist injury. Dave joined Frank and Spin on the sidelines.
"Latino Heat" Jose Gonzales seemingly had perfect timing as he showed up at 8:20 and was able to become the fourth player on Court Two just when that second Doubles One-Setter finished there. He took the place of Doyle who would soon depart at 8:30.
Just as Kevin was leaving, "Coach" Dino Celis was arriving. Ten minutes later, Bachvaroff called out to those waiting on the sidelines to let them know his match was finished. Kris, Doinks and Spin quickly stepped out onto Court Three while Jordan did some post-match stretches. They invited him to be their fourth, but he was already too sore from the previous action and said he had another Singles Match set for the following night.
Jordan left soon after while Kris was inviting Dino to be their fourth. But Celis got caught up in watching the final stages of Capan-Toker on Court Four. That match ended exactly at 8:48.
From there, Dino and Kris had a hitting session on that court that lasted the rest of the night while Frank and Fernanda would team to take on Spin and Doinks on Court Three.
Meanwhile, Court One ended up hosting a full 2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match as Cabanatan and La teamed to face the makeshift team of Zhu and the younger Pienciak while the elder Pienciak took the bench outside of Court One to watch that one. After that match finished at 9:34, father and son had a brief hitting session with one another before deciding to call it a night.
So we ended up with a total of 15 official competitors (not counting Sairaj, Herb, Miroslav and Dino who were only involved in hitting sessions) at this session.
The Cedar Grove Results:
Levy Lorenzo/Doinks Srinivasan over Kevin Doyle/Natalia Sout, 6-2! No Aces. This one got underway on Court Two around 7:10 and finished at 7:40.
GAH6 Quarterfinal:
Fernanda Toker over Genalin Capan, 6-0, 6-2, to become the New # 4 Ranked Player in the Women's Division while advancing to the Semifinals of the 6th Annual Gail-ann Hamilton Memorial Women's Singles Tournament! No Aces.
1st Set: Fernanda held serve at Love after hitting an un-returned serve on Triple Game Point, then Gen was broken (Fernanda hit a winning Overhead Smash for Love-15, then it went 15-All, 15-30, Double Break Point and then the break), Toker held again at Love after hitting a winning lob to set up Triple Game Point,
Capan was broken again (Fernanda made a great get only to set up Gen for the winning volley for 15-Love, it then went to Triple Game Point, but that was cut down to Deuce, Break Point and the break) as Genalin fell to 0-4 in a game that she seemed to have in hand! The Argentine Machine held yet again, but got off to a shaky start this time around after Gen hit a winner for Love-30, then an un-returned serve made it 15-30, it was then 30-All where Fernanda hit a winning lob to set up Game Point, but then Gen hit another winner to bring it back to Deuce and then there was another great get by Fernanda only to be answered at the net by a winning volley from Gen for Break Point, it was 2nd Deuce where an extended rally led to Game Point which was where Gen hit another winner to make it 3rd Deuce, then came Game Point and finally the hold to go up 5-0! And then The S Bomber was on serve in an even more dramatic struggle as she initially blew a volley to make it Love-15, it then went to 15-All, 15-30 and Double Break/Set Point, Break/Set Point where we once again saw Fernanda make an awesome get only for it to be a setup from Gen as she put it away with a winning volley to now make it Deuce, then it was the 3rd Break/Set Point where Gen hit a winner for 2nd Deuce and then an un-returned serve set up Game Point, but then it was 3rd Deuce where Fernanda hit another winning lob to set up the 4th Break/Set Point only to have Gen hit another winning volley to bring it to the 4th Deuce, but then came the 5th Break/Set Point where Gen blew the volley to break herself and end the set! This set started on Court Four at 7:31 and ended at 8:05. They took a brief break as the next set got underway just two minutes later.
2nd Set: Fernanda held (15-Love where Gen hit a winner for 15-All, it then went straight to Double Game Point where an un-returned serve secured the hold) and Genalin was broken (she blew a volley for Love-15 and then came a truly extended rally of at least 30-plus strokes to make it 15-All where Gen then hit a wicked winner for 30-15, it then went to 30-All, Break Point where another lengthy rally led to Deuce followed by an equally long rally, but also a more aggressive one and that made it Break Point again and then came the break) and Toker held again (Gen hit an excellent passing shot winner for Love-15 where an un-returned serve made it 15-All and then another extended rally led to 15-30, then 30-All, Game Point and the hold) for a 3-0 lead and nine straight games! But Capan finally got herself onto the scoreboard with her first hold of serve as she got off to a 15-Love start which is where Fernanda made a great get/winner combo for 15-All, but then Gen hit a winner of her own for 30-15, it then went to Double Game Point, then Game Point where Gen hit another winner to secure her hold for 1-3. Then, The Machine held again and it was at Love and The Bomber was broken (extended rally for 15-Love, another extended rally for 30-Love, 30-15, 30-All, Break Point where what may have been the longest rally of the match...close to 40 strokes...ended with a great get from Fernanda for the break) to go down 1-5! But Fernanda was then broken for the first time (Gen hit a passing shot winner for Love-15 and then she hit a drop shot winner for Love-30, it was then Triple Break Point where Fernanda made her greatest get/winner combo to cut it to Double Break Point and then it went down to Break Point where Gen hit another passing shot winner to get the break) to have her lead cut to 5-2! And then Gen was broken yet again (this time around it was Gen making the great get only to see Fernanda put it away with a winning volley at the net for Love-15, but Gen replied with a winner for 15-All, but then it went to 15-30, Double Break/Match Point where Fernanda had one more winner up her sleeve to take the set and the match) to take a tough loss at exactly 8:48!
The Skinny: It always sounds cliche' when we say this, but it is true that this one was closer than the score indicates. There were many lengthy rallies, but the majority of them fell in favor of Fernanda as that is unfamiliar territory for Gen. The match started out in somewhat contentious fashion (perhaps due to its last-minute scheduling) as Capan and some of those in attendance felt that Toker made a few bad baseline calls early on (the third one came as early as the first point of Fernanda's second service game). In Toker's defense, it seemed she may have truly had trouble seeing those shots near her feet as she was very fair with many sideline calls that were out in front of her. Gen is quite good at hitting lines and cutting sharp angles. So maybe she felt this part of her game was being taken away from her. On the fourth potential occasion for such a baseline call (right before it went to Deuce on Fernanda's third service game), Toker looked to the crowd on the sideline for the call. They all felt it was in and Gen said: "They can't all be out."
From there, Fernanda seemed to leave it to those in attendance to call any further questionable shots. To her credit, Capan actually adjusted her style of play anyway so as not to put herself in many more tough spots where a call could possibly negate her shot. She started to play with more aggression and pull Toker from side to side where the speedy Argentine Machine would make a great get only to see her shot greeted at the net by a waiting Genalin as she put it away with a winning volley. But for as many times as this strategy paid dividends for Capan, she also failed to convert many more such opportunities by pushing back safer and softer volleys only to see Fernanda roar back to make another get, extend the point and often go on to win it. And kudos also go to Toker who often answered Capan's aggression with some aggression of her own as Fernanda is usually satisfied to keep the pace of the shots slower while extending the rallies longer.
Even as she continues to recover from a serious leg injury, Toker is quite likely to be the fastest player in the GTA Women's Division. At the very least, she is both the most patient and the most determined when it comes to get-making. Ultimately, it just became too much for Capan to overcome. But Gen walked away from the match feeling like she utilized a strategy that could be effective against Fernanda in the future. Meanwhile, Toker was happy to get through this match rather quickly as she later admitted that she started it off quite nervously.
There was an embrace between the two competitors after the match as they now will have to switch gears and go back to being Doubles partners in the ongoing W2 Women's Doubles Tournament (Semifinal Match against Doinks Srinivasan and Brenda Jordan still pending). And on top of all that, Fernanda now looks forward to facing Doinks in the Semifinals of the GAH6.
Levy Lorenzo/Natalia Sout over Kevin Doyle/Rick Pienciak, 6-3! No Aces. This one got underway on Court Two somewhere around 7:45 and it ended at 8:20.
Rick Pienciak/Levy Lorenzo over Jose Gonzales/Natalia Sout, 6-4! Rick: 2 Aces (not sure on whom). This one began on Court Two not long after 8:20 and I'm not sure when it was finished.
2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:
Dave Zhu/Ryan Pienciak over Dennis Cabanatan/Tom La, 6-2, 6-1, as both teams entered the Doubles Division as the New # 48 and # 49 Ranked Teams respectively! No Aces. This match occupied Court One from 8:38 to 9:34.
Frank Samara/Fernanda Toker over Dan Martinelli/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-2! No Aces. It went like this: Doinks was broken (Frank blew an overhead for 15-Love, then it was a Double Fault for 15-All, a great rally that led to 30-15, but then it shifted to Break Point where Frank hit the winner for the break), Frank held (un-returned serve for 15-Love, 15-All where another extended rally led to 30-15, then it was Double Game Point where a drop shot from Frank led to the hold) and Spin was broken (Love-15 shifted to 30-15 as there was an un-returned serve and a drop shot winner from Spin along the way, but then it was 30-All where Frank hit a passing shot winner to set up Break Point where Fernanda hit a net-cord winner for the break) to get off to a 0-3 start. Fernanda was broken (un-returned serve for 15-Love where Spin hit a winning return for 15-All, 30-15 where Spin hit another winning return for 30-All and then Spin hit another drop shot winner to set up Break Point and then came the break) to allow the opposition onto the scoreboard, but then Srinivasan was broken again (Love-15 then point for point until 30-All where she had two un-returned serves against Frank along the way and then Spin hit a passing shot winner to make it Game Point, but then there was a Double Fault for Deuce, then Break Point and the break) to fall to 1-4. Samara held again and it was at Love as he got things started with his most impressive winner of the match and then he hit an un-returned serve on Triple Game Point to lock down the hold for 5-1, but Martinelli held as well (15-Love where Doinks made one of the silliest Unforced Errors we had ever seen...it was good for a laugh from all of us...including herself...and that made it 15-All and then it went to 15-30 before shifting gears to Game Point as Frank blew a gift of an overhead opportunity along the way) to pull to 2-5. But then Toker held (30-Love, 30-15, Double Game/Match Point and the hold) to get the win! We played this one on Court Three from 9pm to 9:30. We agreed to a rematch. But there was what would prove to be a costly six minute delay between One-Setters while Fernanda had to check her phone and Frank needed to meet with Levy...this would cost this team dearly!
Frank Samara/Fernanda Toker leading Dan Martinelli/Doinks Srinivasan, 5-0 and 30-All (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)! No Aces. Here's how it was going: Doinks was broken (Doinks hit a winner for 15-Love, Fernanda hit a winner for 15-All, then it was 15-30 where an extended rally made it 30-All and then Frank hit a winning Overhead Smash to make it Break Point where Frank then hit a passing shot winner for the break), Frank held (Love-15 shifted to Double Game Point as Frank hit a drop shot winner and then an even more impressive winner along the way), Spin was broken (Frank hit a drop shot winner to make it Love-15 which was where Spin made a great get/winner combo for 15-All, but then it went right to Double Break Point and the break), Fernanda held (15-Love then point for point to Game Point as what may have been the rally of the night between these two teams ended with a winner from Frank to set up that GP after which came the hold), Srinivasan was broken again (Love-30 where Frank blew an overhead to make it 15-30, then Double Break Point where Frank blew another overhead to cut it down to Break Point, but then he redeemed himself with a sizzling winner for the break) as his team was now up 5-0, but with just three minutes to go before lights out at 10pm as they rushed to change sides of the court at the changeover. Frank was on serve where he got things started with another missile-like winner for 15-Love, but then he made a foolish Unforced Error where he drilled it into the net for 15-All, then it was 30-15 where Frank did the same stupid thing again to make it 30-All and then he tossed his would-be serve into the air only to have it enveloped in darkness as the lights called it a night!
The Skinny: Doinks and Spin then celebrated like she had just won the NYC Marathon while he just earned a free upgrade for what would be his 41st smart phone! I've never seen two people so happy to avoid an official bagel. They exhibited the glee of a couple of teenagers who got away with playing "hookie" for the day. We can blame the delayed start for the inconclusive conclusion of this one, but Frank should also question why he dumped two would-be winners into the net.
Oh well! I would say all's well that ends well, but that certainly is not the case here. Still, it was a lot of fun (as was the previous complete One-Setter) and a great way to end an exciting session of GTA Tennis at Cedar Grove.
All the best,
Frank Samara
"Capan-Toker part of 15 at C.G. as Samara hosts!:
"Hollywood" Frank Samara announced he most likely would be hosting GTA Friday Night Tennis at The Cedar Grove Courts (with some assistance from the usual host, "Papa K" Kris Srinivasan).
The original Main Event match was expected to be the W2 Women's Doubles Tournament Semifinal Match featuring "The Marathon Woman" Doinks Srinivasan and "Bravo" Brenda Jordan facing "The S Bomber" Genalin Capan and "The Argentine Machine" Fernanda Toker.
But somewhere along the way in the afternoon hours, Brenda reached out to the others involved in the match stating she did not feel well and would be unable to play the match later in the evening.
A disappointed Toker contacted Samara to let him know, but he turned lemons into lemonade once he suggested that Fernanda play her GAH6 Women's Singles Tournament Quarterfinal Match against Gen instead. From there, Toker reached out to Capan and the match was eventually agreed upon for later that evening.
Samara pulled into the parking lot at Cedar Grove at 6:50. On Court One, he saw the usual sparring partners "The Ambidextrous Machine" Herb Reiner and Miroslav "Mirav" Glavic having a hitting session. Courts Two and Three were vacant (though not for long).
And on Court Four, Capan was having a hitting session with "Kevlar" Kevin Doyle (Brenda's steady Mixed Doubles partner). Kevin explained that he felt she perhaps came down with heat stroke from playing too much tennis the night before.
At 6:55, Kris and his son Sairaj came across the street. At the same time, "J-Bach" Jordan Bachvaroff and a buddy of his arrived and took Court Three. Perhaps Kris suggested that the four of them play Doubles, but Jordan made it very clear that this was a Singles match that he had planned with his friend. If there would be any attempted interference with that plan, Bachvaroff would just prefer to leave the league. Kris took a laidback approach and said something along the lines of "no worries."
But now once again (after a similar experience earlier in the week), we feared a logjam situation was about to rear its ugly head as now two of the four courts were devoted to Singles action. As it turned out, it was never that much of a problem.
At 7pm, Doinks made her way across the street just as "Mr. 500" Levy Lorenzo made his arrival. The two of them took Court Two as soon as they could.
Five minutes later, both Natalia "Nitro" Sout and Toker arrived separately. Natalia made her way to Court Two as did Kevin since now Fernanda could take his place in hitting against Gen in the warm-up session. the foursome on Court Two would get a Mixed Doubles One-Setter going at 7:10.
At that same time, father and son duo Rick and Ryan Pienciak arrived and had to sit on the bench outside Court Four along with Samara. Ten minutes later, "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli made his arrival and then did the same.
It was around this time that we had a drive-by cameo from another father/son duo, Dwight Thomas Sr. and Jr. They were hoping to find their M2 Men's Doubles Tournament Quarterfinal opponents, GTA Champion: "King Crush" Chris Chiaro and "The Sultan of Swing" Raj Shah in attendance, but there was no such luck. This match has been another one of those problematic pairings in terms of scheduling.
At 7:35, Sairaj and Ryan took the place of Herb in the hitting session with Miroslav as Mr. Reiner made an early exit. Once Daddy Rick realized there was room for him over there, he joined the action on that court as well.
At 7:45, pals "The Hitman" Tom La and Dennis "The Menace" Cabanatan both arrived. They sat briefly with Samara and Martinelli. When Papa Pienciak shifted over to Court Two to replace Doinks in the next One-Setter there, Dennis made his way to Court One. Five minutes later, Tom replaced Sairaj on Court One, too.
At 8pm, "2 Tall" Dave Zhu arrived solo as his wife, Jane "Fun" Fan, is still recovering from her fairly recent wrist injury. Dave joined Frank and Spin on the sidelines.
"Latino Heat" Jose Gonzales seemingly had perfect timing as he showed up at 8:20 and was able to become the fourth player on Court Two just when that second Doubles One-Setter finished there. He took the place of Doyle who would soon depart at 8:30.
Just as Kevin was leaving, "Coach" Dino Celis was arriving. Ten minutes later, Bachvaroff called out to those waiting on the sidelines to let them know his match was finished. Kris, Doinks and Spin quickly stepped out onto Court Three while Jordan did some post-match stretches. They invited him to be their fourth, but he was already too sore from the previous action and said he had another Singles Match set for the following night.
Jordan left soon after while Kris was inviting Dino to be their fourth. But Celis got caught up in watching the final stages of Capan-Toker on Court Four. That match ended exactly at 8:48.
From there, Dino and Kris had a hitting session on that court that lasted the rest of the night while Frank and Fernanda would team to take on Spin and Doinks on Court Three.
Meanwhile, Court One ended up hosting a full 2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match as Cabanatan and La teamed to face the makeshift team of Zhu and the younger Pienciak while the elder Pienciak took the bench outside of Court One to watch that one. After that match finished at 9:34, father and son had a brief hitting session with one another before deciding to call it a night.
So we ended up with a total of 15 official competitors (not counting Sairaj, Herb, Miroslav and Dino who were only involved in hitting sessions) at this session.
The Cedar Grove Results:
Levy Lorenzo/Doinks Srinivasan over Kevin Doyle/Natalia Sout, 6-2! No Aces. This one got underway on Court Two around 7:10 and finished at 7:40.
GAH6 Quarterfinal:
Fernanda Toker over Genalin Capan, 6-0, 6-2, to become the New # 4 Ranked Player in the Women's Division while advancing to the Semifinals of the 6th Annual Gail-ann Hamilton Memorial Women's Singles Tournament! No Aces.
1st Set: Fernanda held serve at Love after hitting an un-returned serve on Triple Game Point, then Gen was broken (Fernanda hit a winning Overhead Smash for Love-15, then it went 15-All, 15-30, Double Break Point and then the break), Toker held again at Love after hitting a winning lob to set up Triple Game Point,
Capan was broken again (Fernanda made a great get only to set up Gen for the winning volley for 15-Love, it then went to Triple Game Point, but that was cut down to Deuce, Break Point and the break) as Genalin fell to 0-4 in a game that she seemed to have in hand! The Argentine Machine held yet again, but got off to a shaky start this time around after Gen hit a winner for Love-30, then an un-returned serve made it 15-30, it was then 30-All where Fernanda hit a winning lob to set up Game Point, but then Gen hit another winner to bring it back to Deuce and then there was another great get by Fernanda only to be answered at the net by a winning volley from Gen for Break Point, it was 2nd Deuce where an extended rally led to Game Point which was where Gen hit another winner to make it 3rd Deuce, then came Game Point and finally the hold to go up 5-0! And then The S Bomber was on serve in an even more dramatic struggle as she initially blew a volley to make it Love-15, it then went to 15-All, 15-30 and Double Break/Set Point, Break/Set Point where we once again saw Fernanda make an awesome get only for it to be a setup from Gen as she put it away with a winning volley to now make it Deuce, then it was the 3rd Break/Set Point where Gen hit a winner for 2nd Deuce and then an un-returned serve set up Game Point, but then it was 3rd Deuce where Fernanda hit another winning lob to set up the 4th Break/Set Point only to have Gen hit another winning volley to bring it to the 4th Deuce, but then came the 5th Break/Set Point where Gen blew the volley to break herself and end the set! This set started on Court Four at 7:31 and ended at 8:05. They took a brief break as the next set got underway just two minutes later.
2nd Set: Fernanda held (15-Love where Gen hit a winner for 15-All, it then went straight to Double Game Point where an un-returned serve secured the hold) and Genalin was broken (she blew a volley for Love-15 and then came a truly extended rally of at least 30-plus strokes to make it 15-All where Gen then hit a wicked winner for 30-15, it then went to 30-All, Break Point where another lengthy rally led to Deuce followed by an equally long rally, but also a more aggressive one and that made it Break Point again and then came the break) and Toker held again (Gen hit an excellent passing shot winner for Love-15 where an un-returned serve made it 15-All and then another extended rally led to 15-30, then 30-All, Game Point and the hold) for a 3-0 lead and nine straight games! But Capan finally got herself onto the scoreboard with her first hold of serve as she got off to a 15-Love start which is where Fernanda made a great get/winner combo for 15-All, but then Gen hit a winner of her own for 30-15, it then went to Double Game Point, then Game Point where Gen hit another winner to secure her hold for 1-3. Then, The Machine held again and it was at Love and The Bomber was broken (extended rally for 15-Love, another extended rally for 30-Love, 30-15, 30-All, Break Point where what may have been the longest rally of the match...close to 40 strokes...ended with a great get from Fernanda for the break) to go down 1-5! But Fernanda was then broken for the first time (Gen hit a passing shot winner for Love-15 and then she hit a drop shot winner for Love-30, it was then Triple Break Point where Fernanda made her greatest get/winner combo to cut it to Double Break Point and then it went down to Break Point where Gen hit another passing shot winner to get the break) to have her lead cut to 5-2! And then Gen was broken yet again (this time around it was Gen making the great get only to see Fernanda put it away with a winning volley at the net for Love-15, but Gen replied with a winner for 15-All, but then it went to 15-30, Double Break/Match Point where Fernanda had one more winner up her sleeve to take the set and the match) to take a tough loss at exactly 8:48!
The Skinny: It always sounds cliche' when we say this, but it is true that this one was closer than the score indicates. There were many lengthy rallies, but the majority of them fell in favor of Fernanda as that is unfamiliar territory for Gen. The match started out in somewhat contentious fashion (perhaps due to its last-minute scheduling) as Capan and some of those in attendance felt that Toker made a few bad baseline calls early on (the third one came as early as the first point of Fernanda's second service game). In Toker's defense, it seemed she may have truly had trouble seeing those shots near her feet as she was very fair with many sideline calls that were out in front of her. Gen is quite good at hitting lines and cutting sharp angles. So maybe she felt this part of her game was being taken away from her. On the fourth potential occasion for such a baseline call (right before it went to Deuce on Fernanda's third service game), Toker looked to the crowd on the sideline for the call. They all felt it was in and Gen said: "They can't all be out."
From there, Fernanda seemed to leave it to those in attendance to call any further questionable shots. To her credit, Capan actually adjusted her style of play anyway so as not to put herself in many more tough spots where a call could possibly negate her shot. She started to play with more aggression and pull Toker from side to side where the speedy Argentine Machine would make a great get only to see her shot greeted at the net by a waiting Genalin as she put it away with a winning volley. But for as many times as this strategy paid dividends for Capan, she also failed to convert many more such opportunities by pushing back safer and softer volleys only to see Fernanda roar back to make another get, extend the point and often go on to win it. And kudos also go to Toker who often answered Capan's aggression with some aggression of her own as Fernanda is usually satisfied to keep the pace of the shots slower while extending the rallies longer.
Even as she continues to recover from a serious leg injury, Toker is quite likely to be the fastest player in the GTA Women's Division. At the very least, she is both the most patient and the most determined when it comes to get-making. Ultimately, it just became too much for Capan to overcome. But Gen walked away from the match feeling like she utilized a strategy that could be effective against Fernanda in the future. Meanwhile, Toker was happy to get through this match rather quickly as she later admitted that she started it off quite nervously.
There was an embrace between the two competitors after the match as they now will have to switch gears and go back to being Doubles partners in the ongoing W2 Women's Doubles Tournament (Semifinal Match against Doinks Srinivasan and Brenda Jordan still pending). And on top of all that, Fernanda now looks forward to facing Doinks in the Semifinals of the GAH6.
Levy Lorenzo/Natalia Sout over Kevin Doyle/Rick Pienciak, 6-3! No Aces. This one got underway on Court Two somewhere around 7:45 and it ended at 8:20.
Rick Pienciak/Levy Lorenzo over Jose Gonzales/Natalia Sout, 6-4! Rick: 2 Aces (not sure on whom). This one began on Court Two not long after 8:20 and I'm not sure when it was finished.
2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:
Dave Zhu/Ryan Pienciak over Dennis Cabanatan/Tom La, 6-2, 6-1, as both teams entered the Doubles Division as the New # 48 and # 49 Ranked Teams respectively! No Aces. This match occupied Court One from 8:38 to 9:34.
Frank Samara/Fernanda Toker over Dan Martinelli/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-2! No Aces. It went like this: Doinks was broken (Frank blew an overhead for 15-Love, then it was a Double Fault for 15-All, a great rally that led to 30-15, but then it shifted to Break Point where Frank hit the winner for the break), Frank held (un-returned serve for 15-Love, 15-All where another extended rally led to 30-15, then it was Double Game Point where a drop shot from Frank led to the hold) and Spin was broken (Love-15 shifted to 30-15 as there was an un-returned serve and a drop shot winner from Spin along the way, but then it was 30-All where Frank hit a passing shot winner to set up Break Point where Fernanda hit a net-cord winner for the break) to get off to a 0-3 start. Fernanda was broken (un-returned serve for 15-Love where Spin hit a winning return for 15-All, 30-15 where Spin hit another winning return for 30-All and then Spin hit another drop shot winner to set up Break Point and then came the break) to allow the opposition onto the scoreboard, but then Srinivasan was broken again (Love-15 then point for point until 30-All where she had two un-returned serves against Frank along the way and then Spin hit a passing shot winner to make it Game Point, but then there was a Double Fault for Deuce, then Break Point and the break) to fall to 1-4. Samara held again and it was at Love as he got things started with his most impressive winner of the match and then he hit an un-returned serve on Triple Game Point to lock down the hold for 5-1, but Martinelli held as well (15-Love where Doinks made one of the silliest Unforced Errors we had ever seen...it was good for a laugh from all of us...including herself...and that made it 15-All and then it went to 15-30 before shifting gears to Game Point as Frank blew a gift of an overhead opportunity along the way) to pull to 2-5. But then Toker held (30-Love, 30-15, Double Game/Match Point and the hold) to get the win! We played this one on Court Three from 9pm to 9:30. We agreed to a rematch. But there was what would prove to be a costly six minute delay between One-Setters while Fernanda had to check her phone and Frank needed to meet with Levy...this would cost this team dearly!
Frank Samara/Fernanda Toker leading Dan Martinelli/Doinks Srinivasan, 5-0 and 30-All (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)! No Aces. Here's how it was going: Doinks was broken (Doinks hit a winner for 15-Love, Fernanda hit a winner for 15-All, then it was 15-30 where an extended rally made it 30-All and then Frank hit a winning Overhead Smash to make it Break Point where Frank then hit a passing shot winner for the break), Frank held (Love-15 shifted to Double Game Point as Frank hit a drop shot winner and then an even more impressive winner along the way), Spin was broken (Frank hit a drop shot winner to make it Love-15 which was where Spin made a great get/winner combo for 15-All, but then it went right to Double Break Point and the break), Fernanda held (15-Love then point for point to Game Point as what may have been the rally of the night between these two teams ended with a winner from Frank to set up that GP after which came the hold), Srinivasan was broken again (Love-30 where Frank blew an overhead to make it 15-30, then Double Break Point where Frank blew another overhead to cut it down to Break Point, but then he redeemed himself with a sizzling winner for the break) as his team was now up 5-0, but with just three minutes to go before lights out at 10pm as they rushed to change sides of the court at the changeover. Frank was on serve where he got things started with another missile-like winner for 15-Love, but then he made a foolish Unforced Error where he drilled it into the net for 15-All, then it was 30-15 where Frank did the same stupid thing again to make it 30-All and then he tossed his would-be serve into the air only to have it enveloped in darkness as the lights called it a night!
The Skinny: Doinks and Spin then celebrated like she had just won the NYC Marathon while he just earned a free upgrade for what would be his 41st smart phone! I've never seen two people so happy to avoid an official bagel. They exhibited the glee of a couple of teenagers who got away with playing "hookie" for the day. We can blame the delayed start for the inconclusive conclusion of this one, but Frank should also question why he dumped two would-be winners into the net.
Oh well! I would say all's well that ends well, but that certainly is not the case here. Still, it was a lot of fun (as was the previous complete One-Setter) and a great way to end an exciting session of GTA Tennis at Cedar Grove.
All the best,
Frank Samara
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