"Kevin hosts 4 at The Bubble!":
GTA Wednesday Night Tennis took place at The Wayne Bubble without the support of the usual hosts ("Hollywood" Frank Samara and "Mr. Arizona" John Incognito). Incognito was there, but he has reinjured the heel of his left foot (and Samara has injured the heel of his right foot…LOL!).
John hung out until 10pm and then left the session. There were only six players in attendance.
Once again, "Kevlar" Kevin Doyle stepped up to report his Doubles action. Ted Cedroski and Vladimir Smolyanskiy engaged in some Singles action, but nobody collected or reported their scores.
We will now go to Kevin's recap of the results.
The Wayne Bubble Results:
We had our Night Owl action on Court Three. We chose not to switch sides.
Brenda Jordan/Jeanette Pegg over Kevin Doyle/Robin Wilson, 6-1! No Aces (apparently).
Kevin Doyle/Robin Wilson over Brenda Jordan/Jeanette Pegg, 8-6! No Aces (apparently).
The Kevlar Commentary: Brenda's net play was devastating throughout as she spent the entire evening poaching balls from one side of the court to the other and hitting winners, either through or around her opponents. Her sore arm doesn't seem to affect her net play at all and the truth is that even her underhand serves (which she has to do because of her injury) are usually well-placed and quite tricky. The combination of Brenda and the steady/mistake-free play of her team mate (Jeanette) were too much for Robin and I in the first One-Setter and we never got any traction.
The second One-Setter, however, was much more competitive even though Brenda's amazing net play continued. The difference was that Robin, who has elevated her net play quite dramatically, established herself as a presence at the net. She even held her own in a few volley wars with Brenda (which isn't easy). Robin is getting comfortable at the net all of a sudden, and is showing great patience and awareness as she gains confidence there. We used some strategy, as I tried to drive the ball deep to set up Robin at the net - and that made the second One-Setter much more competitive. Jeanette also elevated her play in the second One-Setter by making some good shots to set up Brenda and also hitting some great lobs.
The second One-Setter was tied at 6-All and we all decided to keep playing games as opposed to going to a Tiebreak. Robin and I ended up winning the last two games which were both close and hard-fought.
Overall, it was really good and competitive tennis as Robin Wilson continues to elevate her game. S he already has nice ground-strokes and always moves well - but now, all of a sudden, she is becoming a force at the net as well. It won't be long before she becomes a formidable presence in the GTA. I also have to say that Brenda's overall level of play was amazing, especially when you consider that her arm is still injured.
Samara's Notes: As always, I thank Kevin for the role of increased responsibility that he has taken on during these Bubble sessions. His reporting (along with the comprehensive commentary) is much appreciated.
Best wishes,
Frank Samara
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