"Kris hosts 15 at C.G. as Chiaro/Shah-Dwights TBC!":
GTA Wednesday Night Tennis only took place at The Cedar Grove Courts (hosted by "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan, but with additional results details directly sent in by GTA Champion: "Kid Crush" Chris Chiaro about his incomplete match teaming with "The Sultan of Swing" Raj Shah going up against Dwight Thomas Sr. and Jr. in their much-delayed M2 Men's Doubles Tournament Quarterfinal Match).
So we now turn this report over to Kris with the details from Chris sprinkled in along the way.
It was a confounded Wednesday night session of sorts as the availability of the courts was an irritant factor…but then again, we could have helped ourselves a bit by showing up earlier to secure at least two courts.
The Verona Crew was out there occupying two courts. My son Sairaj was the first to go out there and was waiting forever for our players. I joined him at 7pm and soon Marie Salamon came.
The Wednesday Ladies finished a few minutes after 7pm and we moved to Court One. We couldn't hold onto Court Two as two young guys seized it to occupy it for two full hours!
Luckily, The Dwights, waiting on the sidelines, took Court Three at 8pm to play their M2 Men's Doubles Tournament Quarterfinal Match against Chiaro and Shah. This was probability the highlight of the night, but conventional wisdom would have influenced their start time much earlier and on a day other than Wednesday.
The Cedar Grove Results:
Kris Srinivasan/Marie Salamon over Rob Ryan/Sairaj Srinivasan, 6-4! No Aces.
It was a good match where Sairaj almost single-handedly decided the outcome. He had great winners, but just as many unforced errors that cost his side the set. It was good to see Rob and he was just limbering up in this first match to warm-up. We then gave the waiting players an opportunity to play.
Nathan Fernandes/Ryan Pienciak over Rob Ryan/Senthil Kumar, 6-1! No Aces (apparently).
Hitting drop shots against Nate and Ryan was not a good option. Senthil and Ryan were just starting to get into the rhythm, but before long the game was over. In the meantime, we got to see a great Men's Doubles Match in progress on the other side.
M2 Quarterfinal Match:
Chris Chiaro/Raj Shah tied with Dwight Thomas Sr./Dwight Thomas Jr., 3-6, 6-4, stopped there due to diminishing time! Dwight Sr.: 1 Ace on Chris in the 1st Set! Chris provided the details on the score and the Ace.
The Say from the K: It was a great match that I had felt from the moment the draw was picked would be a close and well-contested one. Indeed it was, as the last year's Champions got to face tough opponents who were serving well and especially adept at the net play as they came together in tandem to put pressure and challenge Chiaro and Shah to take them on.
Chris had his usual say with backhand shots, but also erred in his anxiety to put some of them away. Raj was defy and crafty but The Dwights looked like the veterans in their Doubles approach. The volleys between the players were a treat to watch. One of the gets by Junior to a smoking shot by Shah was mind-boggling! He did miss a couple of put-aways at the net set up beautifully by his father.
Still, the father/son combo pulled the strings at the right times in the 1st Set to have an edge. The finish was a bit contested as in the middle of what turned out to be a crucial game, when the ball was picked up from the other side, I happened to check with Chiaro that if it was still the 1st Set. But on his next serve that was returned as well, it appeared that Junior was not ready. Chris probably felt deprived on his passing shot that looked to be a winner. Senior had requested a replay upon seeing that his son was not looking up. They did replay it. Chiaro was serving and he lost the replayed point and then the next one as well resulting in the loss of the set! An infuriated Chris wasn't especially kind to his racquet. This concerned The Dwights, but they were appeased by a calming Shah and I also conveyed to The Dwights that Chris is one hell of an intense and passionate player, and his emotions are going to kindle his competitiveness.
Indeed it did as he would go on to win the 2nd Set with Shah, though it was another tight set, keeping us all on edge. I didn't get to see most of the 2nd Set, but it was 2-Love for Chiaro/Shah when I got another chance to play. This set finished 10 minutes to 10pm and they decided to wrap up the deciding 3rd Set on another day. It was a classic match and has been evenly played at this juncture.
Rob Gawley/Laura Gawley over Senthil Kumar/Marie Salamon, 6-1! No Aces (apparently).
Senthil Kumar/Marie Salamon leading Rob Gawley/Laura Gawley, 5-4 (Incomplete when the lights went on at 10pm)! No Aces (apparently).
The Gawleys showed they are a force to reckon with. But Senthil and Marie displayed a strong showing. Senthil started to play his solid game as he was continuously egged on by Marie in one of the longest turnaround games.
Dino Celis/Nathan Fernandes over Kris Srinivasan/Ryan Pienciak, 6-2! No Aces.
Dino Celis/Nathan Fernandes leading Kris Srinivasan/Ryan Pienciak, 4-1 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)! No Aces.
Another classic performance from Dino and Nate who had lovely overheads, attacking shots to the net player and great gets. Ryan's cross-court shots were amazing, but we erred quite a bit. It was a delight to watch Dino's backhand shots. One of the shots was so exquisite that even though it was not a winner, it was a joy to watch from the other side. It's also great to see Dino approaching the net more often these days.
Still, it turned out to be a great night of GTA Tennis here. Cheers!
Samara's Notes: As always, thanks to Kris for all he does on behalf of the GTA up at Cedar Grove.
Samara signing off!
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