"Pillay-Toker finish at R.P., Monk Semi part of 10 at C.G.!":
GTA Monday Night Tennis took place at two locations: Fellowship Park in Ridgefield Park (featuring the conclusion of the in-progress GAH6 Final between "Spicy" Sally Pillay and "The Argentine Machine" Fernanda Toker, with both sending in the final score and their own commentary) and The Cedar Grove Courts with "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan acting as host and featuring the Cedar Grove Final/Monk Memorial Semifinal as "The Sultan of Swing" Raj Shah and "Kaboom" Raj Boddu (aka Team Raj) faced off against "The Secret Weapon" Sairaj Srinivasan and "J-Rod" Joe Rodrigues.
The Cedar Grove session also featured the long-awaited return (well, behind the scenes somewhat) of "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes. What some of us already knew while many others did not (mainly because I had yet to address it publicly) was that Nate was away in India for close to a month to mourn the unexpected passing of his father.
This was something that came up suddenly. When Nate informed a handful of us that he had to make an emergency trip back to India (after having already spent some vacation time there late in the summer), we knew it was because he had to deal with the ill health (at the very least) of a close family member. But it was not until much later in his trip did we know that his father had passed. He also needed to spend time there to help his mother and sister with all that needs to be done in such a situation.
Having just lost my father last year, I can relate to what he is going through…though he lost his dad at a much earlier age for both of them…and this was not something he saw coming…so that makes it worse.
I have already offered him my condolences as have others, but let me just say that the league now welcomes him back after his absence. I hope that tennis with us can be a welcome distraction for him as it has so often been for me and others as well.
I also thank all those who were involved in tournament matches which were delayed because of these circumstances for their patience in this matter. Due to the gravity of the situation, some extra leeway was granted…as well it should be. But he is now back and ready to fulfill his commitments to the tournaments in which he is still involved.
We will first go to the final result of the Pillay-Toker match with comments from both of them before we turn this report over to Kris.
The Fellowship Park Result:
GAH6 Final Match:
Fernanda Toker leading Sally Pillay, 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, to become the New # 2 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division as well as the winner of the 6th Annual Gail-ann Hamilton Memorial Women's Singles Tournament! No Aces.
Toker's Take: We agreed to resume the match at Fellowship Park at 5:45. Because of the cold and windy conditions, our warm-up session took longer than the balance of the match did. Sally came in with an attacking style, but I was luckily able to send everything back. Thankfully, I was on my game and kept focus.
Sally's Spicy Dish: It was difficult for me start the 3rd Set with her up at 4-1 as every point was crucial for me. We only played two games in which there were several Deuces and I had a window of opportunity to get the break, but kudos to Fernanda with her great defense that she was able to hold her serve and then break my serve for the win.
Samara's Notes: I thank both of them for their very timely reporting. And I congratulate Fernanda on a very impressive victory and overall tournament win.
The Consequences: Fernanda is now the Top Contender eligible to receive the next Title shot against the reigning GTA Women's Champion: Laura "The Aura" Gawley. In fact, that only tells half the story. Due to the fact that Fernanda is a Former Champ who voluntarily forfeited the Championship due to a serious injury and then never received the immediate rematch for it…she is actually entitled to the next two shots in a row against Gawley.
While I do not expect both of them to be played this season, it would be nice if at least the first one can take place before this 2016 Season expires…weather permitting.
We now let the man known as The K take it away!
With temperatures dropping, the turnout (as expected) was relatively on the low end. I was tied up for a while, but I believe Brenda and Dawn were amongst the early players to start the proceedings.
Samara's Notes: Since neither sent in any scores, whatever they played will have to remain unofficial. We now go back to Kris.
Then, of course there was the Monk Memorial Men's Doubles Semifinal/Cedar Grove Final set to start at 6:30. I was a late-show (close to 8pm) upon hearing from Chris Chiaro that they were looking for a fourth player.
The Cedar Grove Results:
Monk Memorial Semifinal/Cedar Grove Final:
Raj Shah/Raj Boddu over Sairaj Srinivasan/Joe Rodrigues, 6-2, 6-4, to advance to the Monk Memorial Finals while both teams entered the Doubles Division as the New # 64 and # 65 Ranked Teams respectively! No Aces (apparently).
Apparently, it was a good match. Joe and Sairaj were leading 3-1 in the 2nd Set when I came across the street, but Shah and Boddu were focused on closing the match out in straight sets. As per the feedback from Doinks, all the players did well and the errors made the difference. It also seemed that Joe brought out the best in Sairaj.
The Consequences: Team Raj now advances to face the team of "The Lumberjack" Ryan Pienciak and "Chito" Nick Inciong in a full 2 out of 3 Sets Match. The match can be played anywhere. The winning team will be the next Top Contenders to the reigning GTA Doubles Champions: "Stormin" Norman Taclob and Tito "Touch" Castolo. That means the winners will be the New # 2 Ranked Team in the Doubles Division…unless the still ongoing M2 Men's Doubles Tournament somehow catches up and finishes first. The M2 Semi featuring Chiaro and Shah vs. Fernandes and "Instant" Moka Pathan is set to take place on Tuesday night. The winners of that match will face "Super Mario" Marijus Kuzavas and "Big Kaz" Mike Kazlauskas (aka M&M, aka The Lanky Lithuanians) in the M2 Finals.
It should also be said that Taclob/Castolo need to play a full Non-Title Match (it can involve a 10-Point Super Tiebreak if the first two sets are split) as soon as reasonably possible while they wait for this pair of Top Contending Teams to emerge in order to avoid an Inactivity Elimination from the GTA Rankings.
Back to Kris we go once more!
2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:
Chris Chiaro/Lou La Forgia over Nathan Fernandes/Kris Srinivasan, 6-2, 6-4, to successfully defend their #11 Rank in the Doubles Division while Fernandes/Srinivasan entered the division as the New # 66 Ranked Team! No Aces.
It was great to see Nate back in action. He certainly has not lost his touch. Both Chris and Lou were on fire. Chris was especially brilliant and brutal with incredible shots. His amazing shots were only marginalized sometimes by the brilliant gets by Nate, but it was one of the best days for Chris.
Lou was equally firing on all cylinders, but it was some of his drop shots that just failed to get over the net in what would have been absolute winners. He has lovely touch and, combined with his whipping shots, his play is a delight to watch. Nate was superb, especially the way he was holding his services despite trailing Love-40. Indeed, I was the odd man out, but the 2nd Set was a lot closer…especially when we missed out going up 5-4 multiple times. Nate was pretty good but, with a better partner, he could have done more damage…:-).
Chris Chiaro/Kris Srinivasan over T.J. Shah/Rajan Shah, 6-3! No Aces.
Chris was superlative, but it should not take away the brilliant performance of both Teej and Rajan. They could have easily won if they didn't have to face Chris who put away the balls in the smallest openings for winners. The balls were flying like "bullets" from the racket of Chiaro all night long.
Then, it was a small hitting session that involved Dino Celis, Doinks and me before we wrapped up the night. It ended up being a relatively quiet night, but the action was intense! Cheers!
Samara's Notes: As always, thanks to Kris for all he does for the GTA up at Cedar Grove. It sounds like it ended up being an impactful session despite the reduced turnout. Sometimes, quality prevails over quantity…so I would suggest this session was rather epic as well.
Sincerely,
Frank Samara
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