11/18/16:
"Samara hosts 12 at C.G.!:"
There was just one session of GTA Friday Night Tennis: the usual later session up at The Cedar Grove Courts hosted by "Hollywood" Frank Samara (with some assistance from the usual host there, "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan).
Let's now recap all that transpired up at Cedar Grove.
Samara pulled into the parking lot at 6:35 and saw that Court One, Two and Three were all vacant. On Court Four, however, were two Asian guys that he believed he had never seen before. So Frank decided to step out onto Court One as he figured it was the next best thing.
Just five minutes later he saw pulling into the parking lot, "J-Bach" Jordan Bachvaroff. Jordan soon joined him out on Court One, but it was all conversation until those two guys left Court One at 6:45.
At that time, Samara and Bachvaroff soon shifted over to Court Four and then began hitting against one another. And not long after that shift, a father/son combo took over Court One.
Kris crossed the street and headed out onto Court Four around 7:10 and, at first, it was a group conversation rather than a hitting session. Within the timeframe of that discussion, "The Secret Weapon" Sairaj Srinivasan, "Latino Heat" Jose Gonzales and "J-Rod" Joe Rodriuges all soon made their way out onto Court Four.
Frank and Kris debated which situations would be best in terms of splitting up the group between Courts Three and Four. During this, Srinivasan informed Samara that his wife, "The Marathon Woman" Doinks Srinivasan would soon be coming from across the street.
Frank said to let the four who had now been out on Court Four (Kris and Sairaj hitting against Jose and Jordan) continued to hit with one another (and eventually have it lead to a Doubles Setter) while Samara shifted over to Court Three to hit with Rodrigues.
Just five minutes later, Doinks joined Frank and Joe out on that court as she took the side of Rodrigues in hitting against Samara. This ended up being quite the lengthy two-on-one hitting session as it seemed that an eight player coming for the evening was starting to look like Mission Impossible.
Finally, "Mr. 500" Levy Lorenzo arrived at 8pm and soon headed out onto Court Three. Kris, upon the ending of his first Doubles One-Setter just two minutes later, suggested a shift in the talent for the next two Doubles One-Setters.
But before Frank and Kris could figure out what would be best for both courts, Jose decided to volunteer to head over to Court Three with Samara coming over to Court Four to take his place.
And so that is how it went with both starting at 8:05 and 8:06 respectively. By 8:10, Natalia "Nitro" Sout had arrived and she took a seat on the bench alongside Court Four. Levy was kind enough to go retrieve her a blanket as the temps had dropped nearly two degrees from earlier in the day (a peak temperature of 67 degrees!).
Natalia also informed us that "Coach" Dino Celis was on his way. Dino finally came thru at 8:35.
Around that same time, two other guys took Court One (the father/son combo had left quite a while ago) and started hitting with one another. Not long after when Samara headed to the side of Court Four that borders Court One, one of the two guys said "hello!"
It turns out that it was "The P.M." Paul Mysliewiec who had played with us at Robin Hood Park in Clifton in the past. Paul said that his buddy was very new to tennis, so it would not be a good idea to try to bring him into the league at this time...but maybe in the near future.
At 8:40, two more players arrived and they took Court Two (the last one available at that time). Once they were invited over to Court Three a little after 9:15...we realized it was Chris Barbieri and Andrea Lim.
They were our last two official competitors for the evening which gave us a grand total of twelve. It was a decent turnout given the fact that the temps had dropped so dramatically from just a couple hours earlier.
The Cedar Grove Results:
Jose Gonzales/Jordan Bachvaroff over Kris Srinivasan/Sairaj Srinivasan, 6-2! Jordan: 1 Ace on Sairaj. They played this one on Court Four from 7:30 to 8:02. Jordan and Jose had been up 5-0 and had two Match Points that were each saved by The Srinivasans who fought back to win two games before ultimately going down to defeat!
Jose Gonzales/Levy Lorenzo over Joe Rodrigues/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-4! No Aces. Court Three hosted this one from 8:05 to 8:43.
Frank Samara/Kris Srinivasan over Jordan Bachvaroff/Sairaj Srinivasan, 6-2! No Aces. It went like this: Frank held serve (an un-returned serve for 15-Love where Sairaj hit an excellent winning return right off of the sideline for 15-All which was where Jordan hit a mishit winner of an Overhead Smash for 15-30, but then Kris hit a Samara-like Windmill Overhead Smash to make it 30-All only to have Jordan hit a net-cord aided return winner to set up Break Point, but then another un-returned serve made it Deuce, then came Game Point and the hold) and Jordan was broken (an un-returned serve for 15-Love where Frank hit a winning return for 15-All and then Kris hit another winning Overhead Smash to make it 15-30, it was then 30-All where Kris hit a winning drop shot return for Break Point and then Jordan badly blew an overhead to break himself) to start off at 0-2! Kris was broken (Love-30 shifted to 30-All right after Kris hit a scorching winner, but then Sairaj made a great get and then followed that with an excellent return winner for the break) to allow the opposition onto the scoreboard, but Sairaj was also broken (15-Love, Double Fault for 15-All on the way to Double Break Point which was where Jordan hit an emphatic Backhand Volley winner to make it Break Point, then it went to Deuce and then Break Point again where Kris hit a whopper of a winner for the break) to fall to 1-3. Samara held again (15-Love which was where Kris blew an overhead to make it 15-All, but then it went straight to Double Game Point where Kris blew another overhead to make it Game Point and then it was Deuce where a truly un-returnable serve set up Game Point and then came another un-returned serve to secure the hold) to go up 4-1. Bachvaroff held (back-to-back winning volleys by Jordan made it 30-Love, but then he blew a volley to make it 30-15 where he then hit a blasting winner off of the net-cord to set up Double Game Point which was where Frank blew a volley to allow the hold) to pull to 2-4. But from there, Papa Srinivasan held (an un-returned serve for 30-Love, then it was 30-15 where another un-returned serve set up Double Game Point only to have yet another un-returned serve secure the hold) and Son Srinivasan was broken again (Sairaj hit a winner and followed that with an un-returned serve for 30-Love which was where Kris hit a winning volley for 30-15, it went to Double Game Point which was where Frank hit a winning drop shot return to cut the lead to Game Point and then it went to Deuce, Break/Match Point where Jordan hit a winning volley for 2nd Deuce, then it was 2nd Break/Match Point where Frank hit a drop shot winner to end it) to take the loss. We played this one on Court Four from 8:06 to 8:41.
There was another debate about how the next two Doubles One-Setter match-ups would be formed with Rodrigues leaving and Celis and Sout both set to hit the courts.
We decided on Mixed Doubles for Court Three where Jose was happy to team with Natalia in facing Levy and Doinks. Meanwhile, Dino and Frank would team to take on Kris and Jordan on Court Four.
Levy Lorenzo/Doinks Srinivasan over Jose Gonzales/Natalia Sout, 6-4! Jose: 1 Ace on Levy. This one took place on Court Three from 8:46 to 9:16.
Kris Srinivasan/Jordan Bachvaroff over Dino Celis/Frank Samara, 7-6 (9-7)! Jordan: 2 Aces on Dino; Kris: 1 Ace on Dino; and Dino: 1 Ace on Kris. Here's the breakdown (where I could not remember the winners for some of the games due to the length of some of the multiple Deuce games along the way): Jordan held serve (started with a Double Fault, but then it went straight to Double Game Point as Kris hit a drop shot that forced an error and then he hit two winning volleys along the way and then came the hold), Dino was broken (an un-returned serve for 15-Love, but then it went right to Double Break Point as Frank blew a volley along the way, a truly un-returnable serve made it Break Point, then it was Deuce where an extended and excellent rally led to Break Point and then came the break), Kris held (started with a sideline Ace on Dino and then Kris hit a drop shot winner for 30-Love which was where Dino hit a winner for 30-15, then it went to Double Game Point, Game Point and the hold) and Frank was broken (Dino hit an awesome winner for 15-Love, then it shifted to 15-30 where an un-returned serve made it 30-All, then it was Break Point where Kris hit a drop shot winner for the break) as his team got off to a surprisingly lopsided start at 0-4! Bachvaroff was broken (15-Love, Double Fault for 15-All, 15-30, Double Fault for Double Break Point, sideline Ace on Dino for Break Point which was where Kris blew a volley to allow the break) and Celis held (Love-15 then point for point to Break Point, Deuce, Game Point and the hold) to pull to 2-4. Then came an epic game with Srinivasan on serve as it went from Love-15 to 30-15 to Break Point, then Deuce, Game Point, 2nd Deuce, Break Point, 3rd Deuce, Game Point, 4th Deuce, Break Point and the break and then Samara held (an un-returned serve for 15-Love and then it went point for point to Game Point as Kris hit a drop shot winner, Frank hit an amazing winner and Jordan blew a volley along the way and then Kris blew an overhead to allow the hold) to knot the score at 4-4! J-Bach held (Jordan hit a winning lob for a 30-Love start which was where he hit a Double Fault for 30-15 and then he blew an overhead for 30-All, but then an un-returned serve set up Game Point and then came the hold), but so did Coach (Love-15 and then 15-All where a sideline Ace against Kris made it 30-15 and then it went to Double Game Point, Game Point, Deuce, Game Point and the hold) to level thing again, this time at 5-5! The K Man held (15-Love then point for point until 30-All, Break Point, Deuce, Game Point and then the hold), but so did The Wood (Love-15 went straight to Double Game Point, Game Point and the hold) and we were heading to the Tiebreak! In the Breaker: Jordan held his lone serve and then Dino was broken on his first but held his second serve for 1-2. Kris held his first but was broken on his second serve for 3-2. Frank held the first of his two serves for 3-3 at the changeover, but was then broken on his second to fall to 3-4. Bachvaroff was broken on his first to knot the score at 4-4, but then he hit a big Ace up the T against Dino on his second go-round to go up 5-4! Celis held both of his serves to shift the lead to his team's favor at 6-5, making it the first Match Point of the entire contest! Srinivasan was now on serve and a lengthy and exciting rally ended with Frank blowing a volley when he tried to land it at the feet of Kris along the baseline, but instead sailed it just a bit long. In this moment, Samara let out a Tarzan-like scream that had even Jordan saying: "Damn! He's even louder than I am!" This now made it 6-6 at the second changeover. The K Man was broken on his second serve, thus handing Hollywood a 7-6 lead (the 2nd Match Point). Frank, as he always does, called out the score and announced that it was Match Point. Jordan must have thought this was done in a cocky manner as he had a little fun questioning it. Well, Samara ended up being broken on both of his serves to now offer up an 8-7 lead (the 3rd Match Point and the first one in favor of Srinivasan/Bachvaroff) to J-Bach as he was about to serve. Now he was the one to emphasize that it was Match Point in his team's favor where he then hit an emphatic serve which was borderline un-returnable as it bounced back short off of the frame of Frank's racquet to end this hard-fought contest! We played this one on Court One from 8:47 to 9:51...one hour and four minutes!
The Skinny: Dino did not have much hitting when he said he was ready to go. But the way things got going, it looked like he could have benefited from a lengthier warm-up. His normally "money" forehand shots were often sailing long or sometimes into the net. Once he was able to dial that in, the momentum of this match shifted quite convincingly. All four players had moments to be proud of only to be balanced out by some shameful scenes. It is truly a shame that I could not remember all of the winners for every single game. The irony is that Samara may have been the most consistent player of the four, but hit the worst Unforced Error at the most crucial moment in the match. Had he landed the shot, it may not have been a pure winner...but would have likely drawn an error from Kris to end the match in his team's favor. Instead, the error extended the contest...and, well, we now know how it ultimately played out...not in his team's favor! Kudos to both Kris and Jordan on a fine and spirited effort. If it is any consolation for all involved, this is a likely Nominee for One-Set Doubles Match of The Year at season's end.
Doinks Srinivasan/Natalia Sout over Chris Barbieri/Andrea Lim, 6-4! Natalia: 1 Ace on Andrea. Court Four hosted this foursome from 9:20 to 9:54.
To close out the session, Dino and Kris had a hitting session on Court Three while Chris and Andrea did the same on Court Four. It was quite the session, indeed!
Sincerely,
Frank Samara
"Samara hosts 12 at C.G.!:"
There was just one session of GTA Friday Night Tennis: the usual later session up at The Cedar Grove Courts hosted by "Hollywood" Frank Samara (with some assistance from the usual host there, "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan).
Let's now recap all that transpired up at Cedar Grove.
Samara pulled into the parking lot at 6:35 and saw that Court One, Two and Three were all vacant. On Court Four, however, were two Asian guys that he believed he had never seen before. So Frank decided to step out onto Court One as he figured it was the next best thing.
Just five minutes later he saw pulling into the parking lot, "J-Bach" Jordan Bachvaroff. Jordan soon joined him out on Court One, but it was all conversation until those two guys left Court One at 6:45.
At that time, Samara and Bachvaroff soon shifted over to Court Four and then began hitting against one another. And not long after that shift, a father/son combo took over Court One.
Kris crossed the street and headed out onto Court Four around 7:10 and, at first, it was a group conversation rather than a hitting session. Within the timeframe of that discussion, "The Secret Weapon" Sairaj Srinivasan, "Latino Heat" Jose Gonzales and "J-Rod" Joe Rodriuges all soon made their way out onto Court Four.
Frank and Kris debated which situations would be best in terms of splitting up the group between Courts Three and Four. During this, Srinivasan informed Samara that his wife, "The Marathon Woman" Doinks Srinivasan would soon be coming from across the street.
Frank said to let the four who had now been out on Court Four (Kris and Sairaj hitting against Jose and Jordan) continued to hit with one another (and eventually have it lead to a Doubles Setter) while Samara shifted over to Court Three to hit with Rodrigues.
Just five minutes later, Doinks joined Frank and Joe out on that court as she took the side of Rodrigues in hitting against Samara. This ended up being quite the lengthy two-on-one hitting session as it seemed that an eight player coming for the evening was starting to look like Mission Impossible.
Finally, "Mr. 500" Levy Lorenzo arrived at 8pm and soon headed out onto Court Three. Kris, upon the ending of his first Doubles One-Setter just two minutes later, suggested a shift in the talent for the next two Doubles One-Setters.
But before Frank and Kris could figure out what would be best for both courts, Jose decided to volunteer to head over to Court Three with Samara coming over to Court Four to take his place.
And so that is how it went with both starting at 8:05 and 8:06 respectively. By 8:10, Natalia "Nitro" Sout had arrived and she took a seat on the bench alongside Court Four. Levy was kind enough to go retrieve her a blanket as the temps had dropped nearly two degrees from earlier in the day (a peak temperature of 67 degrees!).
Natalia also informed us that "Coach" Dino Celis was on his way. Dino finally came thru at 8:35.
Around that same time, two other guys took Court One (the father/son combo had left quite a while ago) and started hitting with one another. Not long after when Samara headed to the side of Court Four that borders Court One, one of the two guys said "hello!"
It turns out that it was "The P.M." Paul Mysliewiec who had played with us at Robin Hood Park in Clifton in the past. Paul said that his buddy was very new to tennis, so it would not be a good idea to try to bring him into the league at this time...but maybe in the near future.
At 8:40, two more players arrived and they took Court Two (the last one available at that time). Once they were invited over to Court Three a little after 9:15...we realized it was Chris Barbieri and Andrea Lim.
They were our last two official competitors for the evening which gave us a grand total of twelve. It was a decent turnout given the fact that the temps had dropped so dramatically from just a couple hours earlier.
The Cedar Grove Results:
Jose Gonzales/Jordan Bachvaroff over Kris Srinivasan/Sairaj Srinivasan, 6-2! Jordan: 1 Ace on Sairaj. They played this one on Court Four from 7:30 to 8:02. Jordan and Jose had been up 5-0 and had two Match Points that were each saved by The Srinivasans who fought back to win two games before ultimately going down to defeat!
Jose Gonzales/Levy Lorenzo over Joe Rodrigues/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-4! No Aces. Court Three hosted this one from 8:05 to 8:43.
Frank Samara/Kris Srinivasan over Jordan Bachvaroff/Sairaj Srinivasan, 6-2! No Aces. It went like this: Frank held serve (an un-returned serve for 15-Love where Sairaj hit an excellent winning return right off of the sideline for 15-All which was where Jordan hit a mishit winner of an Overhead Smash for 15-30, but then Kris hit a Samara-like Windmill Overhead Smash to make it 30-All only to have Jordan hit a net-cord aided return winner to set up Break Point, but then another un-returned serve made it Deuce, then came Game Point and the hold) and Jordan was broken (an un-returned serve for 15-Love where Frank hit a winning return for 15-All and then Kris hit another winning Overhead Smash to make it 15-30, it was then 30-All where Kris hit a winning drop shot return for Break Point and then Jordan badly blew an overhead to break himself) to start off at 0-2! Kris was broken (Love-30 shifted to 30-All right after Kris hit a scorching winner, but then Sairaj made a great get and then followed that with an excellent return winner for the break) to allow the opposition onto the scoreboard, but Sairaj was also broken (15-Love, Double Fault for 15-All on the way to Double Break Point which was where Jordan hit an emphatic Backhand Volley winner to make it Break Point, then it went to Deuce and then Break Point again where Kris hit a whopper of a winner for the break) to fall to 1-3. Samara held again (15-Love which was where Kris blew an overhead to make it 15-All, but then it went straight to Double Game Point where Kris blew another overhead to make it Game Point and then it was Deuce where a truly un-returnable serve set up Game Point and then came another un-returned serve to secure the hold) to go up 4-1. Bachvaroff held (back-to-back winning volleys by Jordan made it 30-Love, but then he blew a volley to make it 30-15 where he then hit a blasting winner off of the net-cord to set up Double Game Point which was where Frank blew a volley to allow the hold) to pull to 2-4. But from there, Papa Srinivasan held (an un-returned serve for 30-Love, then it was 30-15 where another un-returned serve set up Double Game Point only to have yet another un-returned serve secure the hold) and Son Srinivasan was broken again (Sairaj hit a winner and followed that with an un-returned serve for 30-Love which was where Kris hit a winning volley for 30-15, it went to Double Game Point which was where Frank hit a winning drop shot return to cut the lead to Game Point and then it went to Deuce, Break/Match Point where Jordan hit a winning volley for 2nd Deuce, then it was 2nd Break/Match Point where Frank hit a drop shot winner to end it) to take the loss. We played this one on Court Four from 8:06 to 8:41.
There was another debate about how the next two Doubles One-Setter match-ups would be formed with Rodrigues leaving and Celis and Sout both set to hit the courts.
We decided on Mixed Doubles for Court Three where Jose was happy to team with Natalia in facing Levy and Doinks. Meanwhile, Dino and Frank would team to take on Kris and Jordan on Court Four.
Levy Lorenzo/Doinks Srinivasan over Jose Gonzales/Natalia Sout, 6-4! Jose: 1 Ace on Levy. This one took place on Court Three from 8:46 to 9:16.
Kris Srinivasan/Jordan Bachvaroff over Dino Celis/Frank Samara, 7-6 (9-7)! Jordan: 2 Aces on Dino; Kris: 1 Ace on Dino; and Dino: 1 Ace on Kris. Here's the breakdown (where I could not remember the winners for some of the games due to the length of some of the multiple Deuce games along the way): Jordan held serve (started with a Double Fault, but then it went straight to Double Game Point as Kris hit a drop shot that forced an error and then he hit two winning volleys along the way and then came the hold), Dino was broken (an un-returned serve for 15-Love, but then it went right to Double Break Point as Frank blew a volley along the way, a truly un-returnable serve made it Break Point, then it was Deuce where an extended and excellent rally led to Break Point and then came the break), Kris held (started with a sideline Ace on Dino and then Kris hit a drop shot winner for 30-Love which was where Dino hit a winner for 30-15, then it went to Double Game Point, Game Point and the hold) and Frank was broken (Dino hit an awesome winner for 15-Love, then it shifted to 15-30 where an un-returned serve made it 30-All, then it was Break Point where Kris hit a drop shot winner for the break) as his team got off to a surprisingly lopsided start at 0-4! Bachvaroff was broken (15-Love, Double Fault for 15-All, 15-30, Double Fault for Double Break Point, sideline Ace on Dino for Break Point which was where Kris blew a volley to allow the break) and Celis held (Love-15 then point for point to Break Point, Deuce, Game Point and the hold) to pull to 2-4. Then came an epic game with Srinivasan on serve as it went from Love-15 to 30-15 to Break Point, then Deuce, Game Point, 2nd Deuce, Break Point, 3rd Deuce, Game Point, 4th Deuce, Break Point and the break and then Samara held (an un-returned serve for 15-Love and then it went point for point to Game Point as Kris hit a drop shot winner, Frank hit an amazing winner and Jordan blew a volley along the way and then Kris blew an overhead to allow the hold) to knot the score at 4-4! J-Bach held (Jordan hit a winning lob for a 30-Love start which was where he hit a Double Fault for 30-15 and then he blew an overhead for 30-All, but then an un-returned serve set up Game Point and then came the hold), but so did Coach (Love-15 and then 15-All where a sideline Ace against Kris made it 30-15 and then it went to Double Game Point, Game Point, Deuce, Game Point and the hold) to level thing again, this time at 5-5! The K Man held (15-Love then point for point until 30-All, Break Point, Deuce, Game Point and then the hold), but so did The Wood (Love-15 went straight to Double Game Point, Game Point and the hold) and we were heading to the Tiebreak! In the Breaker: Jordan held his lone serve and then Dino was broken on his first but held his second serve for 1-2. Kris held his first but was broken on his second serve for 3-2. Frank held the first of his two serves for 3-3 at the changeover, but was then broken on his second to fall to 3-4. Bachvaroff was broken on his first to knot the score at 4-4, but then he hit a big Ace up the T against Dino on his second go-round to go up 5-4! Celis held both of his serves to shift the lead to his team's favor at 6-5, making it the first Match Point of the entire contest! Srinivasan was now on serve and a lengthy and exciting rally ended with Frank blowing a volley when he tried to land it at the feet of Kris along the baseline, but instead sailed it just a bit long. In this moment, Samara let out a Tarzan-like scream that had even Jordan saying: "Damn! He's even louder than I am!" This now made it 6-6 at the second changeover. The K Man was broken on his second serve, thus handing Hollywood a 7-6 lead (the 2nd Match Point). Frank, as he always does, called out the score and announced that it was Match Point. Jordan must have thought this was done in a cocky manner as he had a little fun questioning it. Well, Samara ended up being broken on both of his serves to now offer up an 8-7 lead (the 3rd Match Point and the first one in favor of Srinivasan/Bachvaroff) to J-Bach as he was about to serve. Now he was the one to emphasize that it was Match Point in his team's favor where he then hit an emphatic serve which was borderline un-returnable as it bounced back short off of the frame of Frank's racquet to end this hard-fought contest! We played this one on Court One from 8:47 to 9:51...one hour and four minutes!
The Skinny: Dino did not have much hitting when he said he was ready to go. But the way things got going, it looked like he could have benefited from a lengthier warm-up. His normally "money" forehand shots were often sailing long or sometimes into the net. Once he was able to dial that in, the momentum of this match shifted quite convincingly. All four players had moments to be proud of only to be balanced out by some shameful scenes. It is truly a shame that I could not remember all of the winners for every single game. The irony is that Samara may have been the most consistent player of the four, but hit the worst Unforced Error at the most crucial moment in the match. Had he landed the shot, it may not have been a pure winner...but would have likely drawn an error from Kris to end the match in his team's favor. Instead, the error extended the contest...and, well, we now know how it ultimately played out...not in his team's favor! Kudos to both Kris and Jordan on a fine and spirited effort. If it is any consolation for all involved, this is a likely Nominee for One-Set Doubles Match of The Year at season's end.
Doinks Srinivasan/Natalia Sout over Chris Barbieri/Andrea Lim, 6-4! Natalia: 1 Ace on Andrea. Court Four hosted this foursome from 9:20 to 9:54.
To close out the session, Dino and Kris had a hitting session on Court Three while Chris and Andrea did the same on Court Four. It was quite the session, indeed!
Sincerely,
Frank Samara
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