11/13/16:
"Samara hosts 13 (2 New) at AP, Kris hosts 5 (1 Return) at C.G.!:
There were two sessions of GTA Sunday Tennis: the usual morning session at The Albion Park Courts hosted by "Hollywood" Frank Samara, then an afternoon session at The Cedar Grove Courts hosted by "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan.
We will first recount how the Albion session unfolded before we turn this report over to Kris for how the Cedar Grove session developed.
When Samara pulled up to the courts at 9:45, he saw that all three courts were vacant. He decided to take the South Court as the North Court was half covered in shadows from the trees.
Within five minutes of Frank's arrival, a man and two women walked onto the courts. They approached Samara and the man asked what needs to be done in order to be able to play tennis at the Albion courts.
Frank's reply was that they are free public courts and anyone is welcome to play there...but then Samara also mentioned the GTA. The man said he was definitely interested and he shared his contact info with Samara.
He introduced himself as Jorge Alvarez and his wife said we could also just call him George. It was a nice and friendly (albeit brief) conversation and then Jorge left with the two ladies (the second woman may have been his sister-in-law...I'm not sure).
At 10am, "The Lumberjack" Ryan Pienciak pulled up to the courts and soon joined Samara out on South Court for a hitting session. Ten minutes later, "The Vin Man" Vinnie De Benedetto also arrived and then took Frank' side in hitting against Ryan.
Despite the beautiful weather (the temps were rapidly reaching the 60 degree range), the turnout was weak in the early stages. The trio on South Court were starting to wonder if they would ever get a fourth player to enable some official Doubles action.
At 10:30, "The Acclerator" Abhilash Gadi arrived and immediately took Ryan's side in hitting against Frank and Vin. And then, at exactly 10:43, they launched into a One-Setter.
Of course, just two minutes later we had the arrival of Natalia "Nitro" Sout at 10:45. Poor Nat had to be the lone "fifth wheel" for quite a while. She practiced a little bit on Center Court. It was also her first time at Albion.
She thought her prayers (to end her loneliness) were answered when Tito "Touch" Castolo pulled up to the courts at 11am. But when he walked down the hill to actually head onto the courts, he was dressed in his street clothes! He was only there to make a cameo appearance and inform Samara about his GTA Mixed Doubles Championship Match scheduled for the following day (which Frank already knew about). He did, however, take some time to talk to Natalia as well.
"Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes arrived at 11:05. For a while, he talked with both Tito and Natalia. But once Castolo was ready to leave, it then turned into a hitting session.
And then, after a lengthy absence, "RK Fire" Rafaelo Kazakov returned to the courts of the GTA as he arrived at 11:10 and joined in on the hitting session with Nate and Nat. This was also Rafaelo's first outing at Albion and he liked it much better than Robin Hood Park.
The next to arrive was "Big Kaz" Mike Kazlauskas at 11:25. But instead of joining the other three for a hitting session, the group split into two hitting sessions with Nate and Natalia continuing to hit on Center Court while Rafaelo shifted over to the North Court to hit with Mike.
Once they saw that the first foursome was now heading into a second One-Setter, they then decided to play their own Doubles. It got underway on the North Court at 11:40 and eventually became a full 2 out of 3 Sets Match.
"Latino Heat" Jose Gonzales was the next to arrive at 11:50. Like Natalia and Rafaelo before him, he also had never been to Albion before. He had to wait a while and watch the Doubles action on the South Court.
"Holy Moly" Mike Mole made his way to the courts at 12noon. He and Jose then had a hitting session on Center Court just as a couple that we have seen before Albion made their way onto the courts. They waited on the sidelines of the North Court for a while, hoping to get a court.
"Coach" Dino Celis arrived at 12:10. The second Doubles One-Setter on South Court then finished at 12:15. Just as Vin was leaving for the day, the couple decided to leave as well...frustrated with not getting a court. But their timing was foolish as Center Court would soon open once Gonzales and Mole were able to get into Doubles action on South Court.
Dino was content to sit on the benches alongside South Court with Frank while waiting to eventually play. When "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli arrived at 12:35 to make an extended cameo appearance (once again sore after having played his weekly Sunday football game), he also rode the bench and went into full Heckler mode.
When Celis was finally able to get officially involved in some Doubles action at 12:55, we thought we would just equal our total amount of eleven players from last Sunday.
But then Alvarez (the inquiring gentleman from earlier in the session) returned with a friend of his and they started hitting on Center Court. After that One-Setter finished on South Court, Samara invited Jorge and his friend over to get some Doubles with us in order to officially bring them into the league.
The friend's name is Julio Linaberg. After the One-Setter, he explained he is both rusty and having some movement issues as he had double knee surgery just eight months ago. So, for now, we will give him the nickname of "New Knees" while Alvarez will have the moniker of "Just George" in order to differentiate him from "Big George" Jorge Solano.
So we ended up with a total of thirteen official competitors, two of them new. Jorge and Julio continued to hit with one another after the Doubles action. Likewise, Nate and Nat were having a hitting session on the North Court while Frank, Spin, Dino and Mike watched.
Samara left the group behind at 2:15 (with Jorge and Julio soon to follow) as he assumed all official action was done for the day. But later in the afternoon, he received a text message from Fernandes which featured the result of a Singles One-Setter he played against Mole. It turned out to be quite the upset.
Let's now go to the results.
The Albion Park Results:
Ryan Pienciak/Abhilash Gadi over Frank Samara/Vinnie De Benedetto, 7-6 (7-5)! Ryan: 1 Ace on Frank; and Vin: 1 Ace on Ryan! It went like this: Ryan held serve (15-Love, 15-All where Ryan hit a winning volley for 30-15 and then he scored with a shard and speedy Ace up the T against Frank to set up Double Game Point where Abhi then hit a nice winner to secure his partner's hold), Vinnie held (back-to-back un-returned serves made it 30-Love, but that was where Ryan hit a winning Overhead Smash for 30-15 and then an awesome rally led to 30-All which was where a soft second serve Ace caught Ryan by surprise to set up Game Point which ended with a wicked winner of a Windmill Overhead Smash by Frank), Abhi held at Love after starting off with two straight un-returned serves and then hitting a winner to set up Triple Game Point and then Frank also held (an un-returned serve for 30-Love which was where Vin blew an overhead for 30-15 and then Frank hit a whipping winner to set up Double Game Point where he then secured his hold with an un-returned serve) as we were all on serve at 2-2. Pienciak held again (an un-returned serve for 30-Love, it shifted to 30-All, but then it went to Game Point where Vin blew a volley to allow the hold), but then De Benedetto also held again (Ryan blew what looked to be a certain overhead to make it 30-Love, but it shifted to 30-All after Ryan redeemed himself with a walloping Backhand Volley winner in his Lumberjack chop style, but then it went to Game Point where Ryan made a great get only to have Frank respond with a great get/winner combo to secure his partner's hold) to tie things again, this time at 3-3. Gadi was the first to be broken (Vin hit a vicious Backhand Volley winner for Love-30, but then Ryan hit a monster Overhead Smash winner for 15-30 where then Vin hit another winning volley to set up Double Break Point and then came the break), but Samara was also broken (Love-30 shifted to Game Point as Vin hit a winning Overhead Smash and then there was an un-returned serve, but Abhi hit an excellent passing shot winner for Deuce, then came Break Point and the break) to knot the score once more at 4-4! The Lumberjack held yet again (Frank blew a volley and then Vin blew an overhead which made it 30-Love and then Vin redeemed himself with a winning volley for 30-15, but then it went to Double Game Point where Abhi hit another passing shot winner to secure his partner's hold), but The Vin Man also held a third straight time (Vin made a great get to keep his team in the point and then Frank soon ended it with a victorious volley winner and then Ryan blew a volley and there was an un-returned serve on the way to Triple Game Point which would soon be cut down to Game Point as Vin blew a volley along the way, but then they got the hold) to level things yet again, this time at 5-5! The Accelerator was broken again (Ryan hit a winning volley for 30-Love, but then Frank hit a killer Overhead Smash winner on the way to making it 30-All, then came Break Point and the break), but so was The Wood and this time it was at Love after Abhi hit a ripping passing shot winner for Love-30 and then it was off and running to the Tiebreak! In the Breaker: Ryan was broken on his lone serve, Vinnie hit a winning Overhead Smash to secure his first service, but was then broken on his second for 2-1. Abhi hit a Double Fault on his first serve to fall to 1-3 but then held his second to pull to 2-3. Frank hit an un-returned serve for 4-2 at the changeover and then he held his second as well after Vin hit a winning Overhead Smash as they went up 5-2 in the TB...which seemed like a fairly secure lead...until it wasn't! Pienciak held his first serve after Frank blew an overhead and then Ryan held his second after he hit a winning Overhead Smash to pull to 4-5. De Benedetto was broken on his first serve after Abhi hit a blast of a winner and then he was also broken on his second when Abhi hit a winning volley and now that supposedly safe lead was now lost at 5-6 and Match Point! And then Gadi held his serve to lock down the victory! It was quite the mini-comeback as they won the last five straight points of the TB and the match! We played this on the South Court from exactly 10:43 to 11:30.
After this One-Setter, Ryan needed to go to his car to retrieve his phone (as he realized he had left it there). As he opened the gate to the park, a man had been roaming the park with his pit bull off the leash! The pit bull jumped up on Ryan (likely in a friendly manner), but Pienciak was understandably shaken by this and just gave him a "down, boy!"
The dog did go down and in Ryan's attempt to avoid the dog further, he tried to sidestep him only to end up stepping on him (his paw, I think) instead! Pienciak then fell down to his knees with one of them (likely the left one) catching the pavement that extends beyond the fence (rather than falling on the softer dirt or grass just beyond it)!
Thankfully, the pit bull never bit Ryan, and Pienciak never made a big deal of it with the owner (who showed concern and seemed somewhat apologetic). I do believe there are leash laws in Clifton and I think this guy would have been in the wrong had Ryan decided to pursue it further.
Coming back, Pienciak was not sure how well his knee would hold up through further play. Furthermore, De Benedetto only had time for one more set anyway. So, instead of trying to convert that initial One-Setter into a full 2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match, we instead decided to just play the next one as a stand-alone rematch One-Setter.
Ryan Pienciak/Abhilash Gadi over Frank Samara/Vinnie De Benedetto, 6-2! No Aces. Here's how it went down: Frank held serve (Vin hit a vicious volley winner for 30-Love only to have Ryan score with a wicked Backhand Volley winner and then have Abhi hit an awesome return winner for 30-All, but then an un-returned serve set up Game Point where then another un-returned serve secured the hold), Abhi held (an un-returned serve made it 15-Love, a Double Fault made it 15-All, then another un-returned serve set up 30-15 and then it went to 30-All where another Double Fault set up Break Point, but then another un-returned serve made it Deuce, it went to Break Point again where another un-returned serve made it 2nd Deuce and then came Game Point and the hold), but Vinnie was the first to be broken (Ryan hit a killer Overhead Smash winner for Love-15 where Vin hit a venomous volley winner for 15-All, but then Ryan hit a drop shot winner as it was off and running to Double Break Point and then the break) to fall to 1-2. Ryan held (an amazing get by Abhi was answered by an emphatic volley winner from Vin who was waiting at the net to make it Love-15, it was then Love-30 before shifting to 30-All as Ryan hit a winning lob along the way, but then Ryan blew an overhead to set up Break Point, but then it went to Deuce...and from here forward, I could not remember who hit what winners and when as it was all Game Points to 3rd Deuce, then one more Game Point and the hold) and then Samara was broken at Love after Abhi scored with another one of his down-the-Doubles Alley passing shot winners for Love-30 and then Ryan hit a winning volley on Triple Break Point to earn the break as his team was now up 4-1! Gadi held again (started with a Double Fault, then an un-returned serve for 15-All, another Double Fault for 15-30, another un-returned serve for 30-All where Ryan then hit a big-time Overhead Smash winner to set up Game Point and he followed that with an equally impressive Overhead Smash winner to secure his partner's hold) as his team went up 5-1! De Benedetto held (Vin hit a volley winner for 30-Love which was where Ryan replied with a villainous volley winner for 30-15, but then came Double Game Point and the hold) to pull to 2-5, but then Pienciak held again in an epic game where I could not remember who hit what winners and where as it was fast-paced and intense (15-Love, 15-All then straight to Double Game/Match Point, Game/Match Point where Frank made an amazing get that led to Deuce, Break Point, 2nd Deuce, the 3rd Game/Match Point which was then clearly the rally of the match and it led to 3rd Deuce, but then came the 4th Game/Match Point and the win) for an impressive victory! We also played this one on the South Court and it lasted from 11:35 to 12:15.
2 out of 3 Sets:
Nathan Fernandes/Rafaelo Kazakov over Mike Kazlauskas/Natalia Sout, 6-2, 6-7 (7-5), 6-2! No Aces. Once the first two sets were split, they decided to play it as a full match. The North Court hosted this battle from 11:40 to 1:45, an impressive total of two hours and five minutes!
Ryan Pienciak/Abhilash Gadi over Jose Gonzales/Mike Mole, 6-3! No Aces. This was contested on the South Court from 12:16 to 12:49. Ryan and Abhi went 3-0 on the day, quite impressive! After this one, both Jose and Abhi left for the day.
Mike Mole/Ryan Pienciak over Dino Celis/Frank Samara, 6-4! No Aces. The dirty lowdown: Ryan held at Love as he made a great get that caught Frank somewhat off-guard and forced him to blow a volley and then Frank blew an overhead in the next point as well and then Frank was broken (Mike hit a drop shot winner for Love-30 and then Dino hit a whipping passing shot winner for 15-30, but then came Double Break Point and the break) for a 0-2 start where his team only won one of the first eight points! Mike's service started off with back-to-back Double Faults for Love-30, then he hit an un-returned serve for 15-30 and then it went to Double Break Point where Dino hit a winning return for the break, but Dino was also broken (Ryan hit a drop shot winner for Love-30, it shifted to 30-All, but then came Break Point and the break) to fall to 1-3. Pienciak held again (Dino hit a blast of a return winner for Love-30, but then it went straight to Game Point, then Deuce, Game Point again and then the hold) to extend his team's lead to 4-1, but Samara held (Love-30 shifted to 30-All, Break Point, Deuce, Game Point where Ryan blew a volley to allow the hold) to enable his team to pull to 2-4. Mole held at Love as he hit two un-returned serves and Frank blew a volley along the way to now make it 5-2, but Celis also held and it was at Love as Frank hit a Backhand Volley winner for 30-Love and then an un-returned serve set up Triple Game Point (which was where the hold came) to pull to 3-5! And then came what seemed to be (at the time) a pivotal game with The Lumberjack on serve. Frank (who was in rare form temper-wise, more on that a little later) hit a shot that he suddenly realized would have been sailing out, but in the process he ended up hitting what would have to be called a Backhand Volley passing shot winner and as he did it, he exclaimed: "Ah, whatever!" It was now Love-15 but it went straight to Double Game/Match Point as Frank blew a volley along the way and then it was in this next point where I believe Dino hit the shot to the sideline that may have been wide, but Mike played it as he wasn't sure. After the point, Ryan (who thought it was out) asked Frank for his opinion. Samara wasn't sure as his view of where it had landed had been obstructed by the tape running atop the net. Pienciak let it stand and now it was Game/Match Point where Dino hit a winning volley to make it Deuce. It then went to Break Point and the break as The Lumberjack's service was broken and his team's lead was chopped down to 5-4! But then came the truly pivotal game with Hollywood on serve as it went 15-Love then point for point until 30-All where Mike hit a winner to set up Break/Match Point. It then went to Deuce and then the 2nd Break/Match Point where Frank scored with an abusive Overhead Smash winner that sailed off of the back of Ryan to make it 2nd Deuce, but then it was the 3rd Break/Match Point where Frank then scored with an angry Backhand Volley winner for 3rd Deuce, but then it went to the 4th Break/Match Point which was now the 6th M.P. overall and Mike hit a winner to finally end this one in dramatic fashion! We played this on the South Court from 12:55 to 1:37.
The Skinny: Spin was in full solo Heckler mode for this one as his buddies, Dino and Frank, are two of his favorite targets for ball-busting. Not sure if it was last autumn or already two years ago when Martinelli started the odd tradition of collecting what he calls "outburst leaves" for every time Samara would yell out in a self-directed fashion after each unfortunate error. Suffice to say that in this one, the total went over a dozen leaves collected by match's end!
Dino Celis/Mike Mole over Jorge Alvarez/Julio Linaberg, 6-1! No Aces. This was the official GTA Debut of both Jorge Alvarez and Julio Linaberg. This was also contested on the South Court and it lasted from 1:39 to 1:55...just sixteen minutes!
The Skinny: It likely would have been a good idea to split up Jorge and Julio, but they are friends and wanted to team together. They hit nice shots (especially Alvarez), but their limited movement (mostly Linaberg, still recovering from double knee surgery) kept them from getting to many of the hard-hitting shots coming off the racquets of both Celis and Mole. Hopefully, we will see more of both of them in the future.
Mike Mole over Nathan Fernandes, 6-4! No Aces (apparently).
Nate's Notes: This was a great set of tennis with Mike coming back from being down 2-4!
Samara's Notes: This could possibly be the unofficial One-Set Upset of The Year (if memory serves, this is a category that I created in my annual H-Wood's Unofficial Awards...which follows the annual Official GTA Achievement Awards every season). As for official recognition, it may end up being a possible Nominee for One-Set Singles Match of The Year (perhaps on the Intermediate side as Mole is still part of that division). Aside from all that, I believe this was likely played on the North Court as that is where everyone still was at the time of my departure. I do not know the start and stop times.
Sounds like it was a very exciting way to end quite a productive session.
We now turn this report over to Kris. Let The K Man take it away!
It was almost a tennis-free weekend, but I got pulled onto the courts by my wife Doinks around 12:30 with Brenda Jordan and Richard Reicht on the scene (besides Doinks). Just as I was reaching the courts, Mike Principe was entering the tennis courts as well. It was good to see him for the first time this season. Meanwhile, November is still holding good weather-wise for the outdoor folks.
The Cedar Grove Results:
Kris Srinivasan/Brenda Jordan over Richard Reicht/Mike Principe, 6-2! No Aces. It was the official GTA Return of Mike Principe.
The sun was so glorious to the point that it was blinding to serve from one side of the court. After missing our chances, we were down Love-2 before we launched our comeback to take the next 6 straight games. Brenda was the star by taking the ball in the air and thumping them between the two players for clean winners. Richard was pretty good with his serves and strokes. Mike was impressive for having not played in such a long time. While his serves were weak, he was moving with great agility and putting the ball back regularly. Brenda was precise in her placements and that made a big difference.
Doinks Srinivasan/Brenda Jordan over Richard Reicht/Mike Principe, 6-4! No Aces.
It was a superb comeback from being down 1-4 for the women to take 5 consecutive games for what looked like an improbable win. Brenda continued to play well and also had nice attacking shots at the net player when returning serves. Doinks got into her groove as the match progressed by playing deep shots and setting up nicely for Brenda to put away some easy winners.
Kris Srinivasan/Mike Principe over Doinks Srinivasan/Brenda Jordan, 6-1! No Aces.
Sorry we had to burst the bubble the women were in…J.
Overall, it turned out to be a somewhat lethargic, lazy man's game for me and the presence of more players would have ignited the atmosphere. Cheers!
Samara's Notes: Glad to know that at least a handful of players took advantage of the favorable weather up at Cedar Grove as well. As always, I thank Kris for all he does for the GTA.
Sincerely,
Frank Samara
"Samara hosts 13 (2 New) at AP, Kris hosts 5 (1 Return) at C.G.!:
There were two sessions of GTA Sunday Tennis: the usual morning session at The Albion Park Courts hosted by "Hollywood" Frank Samara, then an afternoon session at The Cedar Grove Courts hosted by "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan.
We will first recount how the Albion session unfolded before we turn this report over to Kris for how the Cedar Grove session developed.
When Samara pulled up to the courts at 9:45, he saw that all three courts were vacant. He decided to take the South Court as the North Court was half covered in shadows from the trees.
Within five minutes of Frank's arrival, a man and two women walked onto the courts. They approached Samara and the man asked what needs to be done in order to be able to play tennis at the Albion courts.
Frank's reply was that they are free public courts and anyone is welcome to play there...but then Samara also mentioned the GTA. The man said he was definitely interested and he shared his contact info with Samara.
He introduced himself as Jorge Alvarez and his wife said we could also just call him George. It was a nice and friendly (albeit brief) conversation and then Jorge left with the two ladies (the second woman may have been his sister-in-law...I'm not sure).
At 10am, "The Lumberjack" Ryan Pienciak pulled up to the courts and soon joined Samara out on South Court for a hitting session. Ten minutes later, "The Vin Man" Vinnie De Benedetto also arrived and then took Frank' side in hitting against Ryan.
Despite the beautiful weather (the temps were rapidly reaching the 60 degree range), the turnout was weak in the early stages. The trio on South Court were starting to wonder if they would ever get a fourth player to enable some official Doubles action.
At 10:30, "The Acclerator" Abhilash Gadi arrived and immediately took Ryan's side in hitting against Frank and Vin. And then, at exactly 10:43, they launched into a One-Setter.
Of course, just two minutes later we had the arrival of Natalia "Nitro" Sout at 10:45. Poor Nat had to be the lone "fifth wheel" for quite a while. She practiced a little bit on Center Court. It was also her first time at Albion.
She thought her prayers (to end her loneliness) were answered when Tito "Touch" Castolo pulled up to the courts at 11am. But when he walked down the hill to actually head onto the courts, he was dressed in his street clothes! He was only there to make a cameo appearance and inform Samara about his GTA Mixed Doubles Championship Match scheduled for the following day (which Frank already knew about). He did, however, take some time to talk to Natalia as well.
"Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes arrived at 11:05. For a while, he talked with both Tito and Natalia. But once Castolo was ready to leave, it then turned into a hitting session.
And then, after a lengthy absence, "RK Fire" Rafaelo Kazakov returned to the courts of the GTA as he arrived at 11:10 and joined in on the hitting session with Nate and Nat. This was also Rafaelo's first outing at Albion and he liked it much better than Robin Hood Park.
The next to arrive was "Big Kaz" Mike Kazlauskas at 11:25. But instead of joining the other three for a hitting session, the group split into two hitting sessions with Nate and Natalia continuing to hit on Center Court while Rafaelo shifted over to the North Court to hit with Mike.
Once they saw that the first foursome was now heading into a second One-Setter, they then decided to play their own Doubles. It got underway on the North Court at 11:40 and eventually became a full 2 out of 3 Sets Match.
"Latino Heat" Jose Gonzales was the next to arrive at 11:50. Like Natalia and Rafaelo before him, he also had never been to Albion before. He had to wait a while and watch the Doubles action on the South Court.
"Holy Moly" Mike Mole made his way to the courts at 12noon. He and Jose then had a hitting session on Center Court just as a couple that we have seen before Albion made their way onto the courts. They waited on the sidelines of the North Court for a while, hoping to get a court.
"Coach" Dino Celis arrived at 12:10. The second Doubles One-Setter on South Court then finished at 12:15. Just as Vin was leaving for the day, the couple decided to leave as well...frustrated with not getting a court. But their timing was foolish as Center Court would soon open once Gonzales and Mole were able to get into Doubles action on South Court.
Dino was content to sit on the benches alongside South Court with Frank while waiting to eventually play. When "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli arrived at 12:35 to make an extended cameo appearance (once again sore after having played his weekly Sunday football game), he also rode the bench and went into full Heckler mode.
When Celis was finally able to get officially involved in some Doubles action at 12:55, we thought we would just equal our total amount of eleven players from last Sunday.
But then Alvarez (the inquiring gentleman from earlier in the session) returned with a friend of his and they started hitting on Center Court. After that One-Setter finished on South Court, Samara invited Jorge and his friend over to get some Doubles with us in order to officially bring them into the league.
The friend's name is Julio Linaberg. After the One-Setter, he explained he is both rusty and having some movement issues as he had double knee surgery just eight months ago. So, for now, we will give him the nickname of "New Knees" while Alvarez will have the moniker of "Just George" in order to differentiate him from "Big George" Jorge Solano.
So we ended up with a total of thirteen official competitors, two of them new. Jorge and Julio continued to hit with one another after the Doubles action. Likewise, Nate and Nat were having a hitting session on the North Court while Frank, Spin, Dino and Mike watched.
Samara left the group behind at 2:15 (with Jorge and Julio soon to follow) as he assumed all official action was done for the day. But later in the afternoon, he received a text message from Fernandes which featured the result of a Singles One-Setter he played against Mole. It turned out to be quite the upset.
Let's now go to the results.
The Albion Park Results:
Ryan Pienciak/Abhilash Gadi over Frank Samara/Vinnie De Benedetto, 7-6 (7-5)! Ryan: 1 Ace on Frank; and Vin: 1 Ace on Ryan! It went like this: Ryan held serve (15-Love, 15-All where Ryan hit a winning volley for 30-15 and then he scored with a shard and speedy Ace up the T against Frank to set up Double Game Point where Abhi then hit a nice winner to secure his partner's hold), Vinnie held (back-to-back un-returned serves made it 30-Love, but that was where Ryan hit a winning Overhead Smash for 30-15 and then an awesome rally led to 30-All which was where a soft second serve Ace caught Ryan by surprise to set up Game Point which ended with a wicked winner of a Windmill Overhead Smash by Frank), Abhi held at Love after starting off with two straight un-returned serves and then hitting a winner to set up Triple Game Point and then Frank also held (an un-returned serve for 30-Love which was where Vin blew an overhead for 30-15 and then Frank hit a whipping winner to set up Double Game Point where he then secured his hold with an un-returned serve) as we were all on serve at 2-2. Pienciak held again (an un-returned serve for 30-Love, it shifted to 30-All, but then it went to Game Point where Vin blew a volley to allow the hold), but then De Benedetto also held again (Ryan blew what looked to be a certain overhead to make it 30-Love, but it shifted to 30-All after Ryan redeemed himself with a walloping Backhand Volley winner in his Lumberjack chop style, but then it went to Game Point where Ryan made a great get only to have Frank respond with a great get/winner combo to secure his partner's hold) to tie things again, this time at 3-3. Gadi was the first to be broken (Vin hit a vicious Backhand Volley winner for Love-30, but then Ryan hit a monster Overhead Smash winner for 15-30 where then Vin hit another winning volley to set up Double Break Point and then came the break), but Samara was also broken (Love-30 shifted to Game Point as Vin hit a winning Overhead Smash and then there was an un-returned serve, but Abhi hit an excellent passing shot winner for Deuce, then came Break Point and the break) to knot the score once more at 4-4! The Lumberjack held yet again (Frank blew a volley and then Vin blew an overhead which made it 30-Love and then Vin redeemed himself with a winning volley for 30-15, but then it went to Double Game Point where Abhi hit another passing shot winner to secure his partner's hold), but The Vin Man also held a third straight time (Vin made a great get to keep his team in the point and then Frank soon ended it with a victorious volley winner and then Ryan blew a volley and there was an un-returned serve on the way to Triple Game Point which would soon be cut down to Game Point as Vin blew a volley along the way, but then they got the hold) to level things yet again, this time at 5-5! The Accelerator was broken again (Ryan hit a winning volley for 30-Love, but then Frank hit a killer Overhead Smash winner on the way to making it 30-All, then came Break Point and the break), but so was The Wood and this time it was at Love after Abhi hit a ripping passing shot winner for Love-30 and then it was off and running to the Tiebreak! In the Breaker: Ryan was broken on his lone serve, Vinnie hit a winning Overhead Smash to secure his first service, but was then broken on his second for 2-1. Abhi hit a Double Fault on his first serve to fall to 1-3 but then held his second to pull to 2-3. Frank hit an un-returned serve for 4-2 at the changeover and then he held his second as well after Vin hit a winning Overhead Smash as they went up 5-2 in the TB...which seemed like a fairly secure lead...until it wasn't! Pienciak held his first serve after Frank blew an overhead and then Ryan held his second after he hit a winning Overhead Smash to pull to 4-5. De Benedetto was broken on his first serve after Abhi hit a blast of a winner and then he was also broken on his second when Abhi hit a winning volley and now that supposedly safe lead was now lost at 5-6 and Match Point! And then Gadi held his serve to lock down the victory! It was quite the mini-comeback as they won the last five straight points of the TB and the match! We played this on the South Court from exactly 10:43 to 11:30.
After this One-Setter, Ryan needed to go to his car to retrieve his phone (as he realized he had left it there). As he opened the gate to the park, a man had been roaming the park with his pit bull off the leash! The pit bull jumped up on Ryan (likely in a friendly manner), but Pienciak was understandably shaken by this and just gave him a "down, boy!"
The dog did go down and in Ryan's attempt to avoid the dog further, he tried to sidestep him only to end up stepping on him (his paw, I think) instead! Pienciak then fell down to his knees with one of them (likely the left one) catching the pavement that extends beyond the fence (rather than falling on the softer dirt or grass just beyond it)!
Thankfully, the pit bull never bit Ryan, and Pienciak never made a big deal of it with the owner (who showed concern and seemed somewhat apologetic). I do believe there are leash laws in Clifton and I think this guy would have been in the wrong had Ryan decided to pursue it further.
Coming back, Pienciak was not sure how well his knee would hold up through further play. Furthermore, De Benedetto only had time for one more set anyway. So, instead of trying to convert that initial One-Setter into a full 2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match, we instead decided to just play the next one as a stand-alone rematch One-Setter.
Ryan Pienciak/Abhilash Gadi over Frank Samara/Vinnie De Benedetto, 6-2! No Aces. Here's how it went down: Frank held serve (Vin hit a vicious volley winner for 30-Love only to have Ryan score with a wicked Backhand Volley winner and then have Abhi hit an awesome return winner for 30-All, but then an un-returned serve set up Game Point where then another un-returned serve secured the hold), Abhi held (an un-returned serve made it 15-Love, a Double Fault made it 15-All, then another un-returned serve set up 30-15 and then it went to 30-All where another Double Fault set up Break Point, but then another un-returned serve made it Deuce, it went to Break Point again where another un-returned serve made it 2nd Deuce and then came Game Point and the hold), but Vinnie was the first to be broken (Ryan hit a killer Overhead Smash winner for Love-15 where Vin hit a venomous volley winner for 15-All, but then Ryan hit a drop shot winner as it was off and running to Double Break Point and then the break) to fall to 1-2. Ryan held (an amazing get by Abhi was answered by an emphatic volley winner from Vin who was waiting at the net to make it Love-15, it was then Love-30 before shifting to 30-All as Ryan hit a winning lob along the way, but then Ryan blew an overhead to set up Break Point, but then it went to Deuce...and from here forward, I could not remember who hit what winners and when as it was all Game Points to 3rd Deuce, then one more Game Point and the hold) and then Samara was broken at Love after Abhi scored with another one of his down-the-Doubles Alley passing shot winners for Love-30 and then Ryan hit a winning volley on Triple Break Point to earn the break as his team was now up 4-1! Gadi held again (started with a Double Fault, then an un-returned serve for 15-All, another Double Fault for 15-30, another un-returned serve for 30-All where Ryan then hit a big-time Overhead Smash winner to set up Game Point and he followed that with an equally impressive Overhead Smash winner to secure his partner's hold) as his team went up 5-1! De Benedetto held (Vin hit a volley winner for 30-Love which was where Ryan replied with a villainous volley winner for 30-15, but then came Double Game Point and the hold) to pull to 2-5, but then Pienciak held again in an epic game where I could not remember who hit what winners and where as it was fast-paced and intense (15-Love, 15-All then straight to Double Game/Match Point, Game/Match Point where Frank made an amazing get that led to Deuce, Break Point, 2nd Deuce, the 3rd Game/Match Point which was then clearly the rally of the match and it led to 3rd Deuce, but then came the 4th Game/Match Point and the win) for an impressive victory! We also played this one on the South Court and it lasted from 11:35 to 12:15.
2 out of 3 Sets:
Nathan Fernandes/Rafaelo Kazakov over Mike Kazlauskas/Natalia Sout, 6-2, 6-7 (7-5), 6-2! No Aces. Once the first two sets were split, they decided to play it as a full match. The North Court hosted this battle from 11:40 to 1:45, an impressive total of two hours and five minutes!
Ryan Pienciak/Abhilash Gadi over Jose Gonzales/Mike Mole, 6-3! No Aces. This was contested on the South Court from 12:16 to 12:49. Ryan and Abhi went 3-0 on the day, quite impressive! After this one, both Jose and Abhi left for the day.
Mike Mole/Ryan Pienciak over Dino Celis/Frank Samara, 6-4! No Aces. The dirty lowdown: Ryan held at Love as he made a great get that caught Frank somewhat off-guard and forced him to blow a volley and then Frank blew an overhead in the next point as well and then Frank was broken (Mike hit a drop shot winner for Love-30 and then Dino hit a whipping passing shot winner for 15-30, but then came Double Break Point and the break) for a 0-2 start where his team only won one of the first eight points! Mike's service started off with back-to-back Double Faults for Love-30, then he hit an un-returned serve for 15-30 and then it went to Double Break Point where Dino hit a winning return for the break, but Dino was also broken (Ryan hit a drop shot winner for Love-30, it shifted to 30-All, but then came Break Point and the break) to fall to 1-3. Pienciak held again (Dino hit a blast of a return winner for Love-30, but then it went straight to Game Point, then Deuce, Game Point again and then the hold) to extend his team's lead to 4-1, but Samara held (Love-30 shifted to 30-All, Break Point, Deuce, Game Point where Ryan blew a volley to allow the hold) to enable his team to pull to 2-4. Mole held at Love as he hit two un-returned serves and Frank blew a volley along the way to now make it 5-2, but Celis also held and it was at Love as Frank hit a Backhand Volley winner for 30-Love and then an un-returned serve set up Triple Game Point (which was where the hold came) to pull to 3-5! And then came what seemed to be (at the time) a pivotal game with The Lumberjack on serve. Frank (who was in rare form temper-wise, more on that a little later) hit a shot that he suddenly realized would have been sailing out, but in the process he ended up hitting what would have to be called a Backhand Volley passing shot winner and as he did it, he exclaimed: "Ah, whatever!" It was now Love-15 but it went straight to Double Game/Match Point as Frank blew a volley along the way and then it was in this next point where I believe Dino hit the shot to the sideline that may have been wide, but Mike played it as he wasn't sure. After the point, Ryan (who thought it was out) asked Frank for his opinion. Samara wasn't sure as his view of where it had landed had been obstructed by the tape running atop the net. Pienciak let it stand and now it was Game/Match Point where Dino hit a winning volley to make it Deuce. It then went to Break Point and the break as The Lumberjack's service was broken and his team's lead was chopped down to 5-4! But then came the truly pivotal game with Hollywood on serve as it went 15-Love then point for point until 30-All where Mike hit a winner to set up Break/Match Point. It then went to Deuce and then the 2nd Break/Match Point where Frank scored with an abusive Overhead Smash winner that sailed off of the back of Ryan to make it 2nd Deuce, but then it was the 3rd Break/Match Point where Frank then scored with an angry Backhand Volley winner for 3rd Deuce, but then it went to the 4th Break/Match Point which was now the 6th M.P. overall and Mike hit a winner to finally end this one in dramatic fashion! We played this on the South Court from 12:55 to 1:37.
The Skinny: Spin was in full solo Heckler mode for this one as his buddies, Dino and Frank, are two of his favorite targets for ball-busting. Not sure if it was last autumn or already two years ago when Martinelli started the odd tradition of collecting what he calls "outburst leaves" for every time Samara would yell out in a self-directed fashion after each unfortunate error. Suffice to say that in this one, the total went over a dozen leaves collected by match's end!
Dino Celis/Mike Mole over Jorge Alvarez/Julio Linaberg, 6-1! No Aces. This was the official GTA Debut of both Jorge Alvarez and Julio Linaberg. This was also contested on the South Court and it lasted from 1:39 to 1:55...just sixteen minutes!
The Skinny: It likely would have been a good idea to split up Jorge and Julio, but they are friends and wanted to team together. They hit nice shots (especially Alvarez), but their limited movement (mostly Linaberg, still recovering from double knee surgery) kept them from getting to many of the hard-hitting shots coming off the racquets of both Celis and Mole. Hopefully, we will see more of both of them in the future.
Mike Mole over Nathan Fernandes, 6-4! No Aces (apparently).
Nate's Notes: This was a great set of tennis with Mike coming back from being down 2-4!
Samara's Notes: This could possibly be the unofficial One-Set Upset of The Year (if memory serves, this is a category that I created in my annual H-Wood's Unofficial Awards...which follows the annual Official GTA Achievement Awards every season). As for official recognition, it may end up being a possible Nominee for One-Set Singles Match of The Year (perhaps on the Intermediate side as Mole is still part of that division). Aside from all that, I believe this was likely played on the North Court as that is where everyone still was at the time of my departure. I do not know the start and stop times.
Sounds like it was a very exciting way to end quite a productive session.
We now turn this report over to Kris. Let The K Man take it away!
It was almost a tennis-free weekend, but I got pulled onto the courts by my wife Doinks around 12:30 with Brenda Jordan and Richard Reicht on the scene (besides Doinks). Just as I was reaching the courts, Mike Principe was entering the tennis courts as well. It was good to see him for the first time this season. Meanwhile, November is still holding good weather-wise for the outdoor folks.
The Cedar Grove Results:
Kris Srinivasan/Brenda Jordan over Richard Reicht/Mike Principe, 6-2! No Aces. It was the official GTA Return of Mike Principe.
The sun was so glorious to the point that it was blinding to serve from one side of the court. After missing our chances, we were down Love-2 before we launched our comeback to take the next 6 straight games. Brenda was the star by taking the ball in the air and thumping them between the two players for clean winners. Richard was pretty good with his serves and strokes. Mike was impressive for having not played in such a long time. While his serves were weak, he was moving with great agility and putting the ball back regularly. Brenda was precise in her placements and that made a big difference.
Doinks Srinivasan/Brenda Jordan over Richard Reicht/Mike Principe, 6-4! No Aces.
It was a superb comeback from being down 1-4 for the women to take 5 consecutive games for what looked like an improbable win. Brenda continued to play well and also had nice attacking shots at the net player when returning serves. Doinks got into her groove as the match progressed by playing deep shots and setting up nicely for Brenda to put away some easy winners.
Kris Srinivasan/Mike Principe over Doinks Srinivasan/Brenda Jordan, 6-1! No Aces.
Sorry we had to burst the bubble the women were in…J.
Overall, it turned out to be a somewhat lethargic, lazy man's game for me and the presence of more players would have ignited the atmosphere. Cheers!
Samara's Notes: Glad to know that at least a handful of players took advantage of the favorable weather up at Cedar Grove as well. As always, I thank Kris for all he does for the GTA.
Sincerely,
Frank Samara
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