4/2/17:
"Samara hosts 15 at AP, Dennis hosts 4 at The Bubble!":
This Sunday featured the first outdoor session of GTA Sunday Tennis in quite some time as March had not been kind to us in 2017. After a late-February start that misled us into thinking we could really be off and running after the early start of the season, the weather got much worse (i.e. either colder or wetter than it should be at this time of year) and caused us to have a much less than active March (on average) than we did in previous seasons.
Finally, we had a day that was sunny (just a little breezy, not windy) and with a peak temperature of about 62 degrees. All week long, "Hollywood" Frank Samara said he would get the session started at Albion Park in Clifton as "Hollywood" Frank Samara around 11am. But as this Sunday unfolded, he found himself getting off to a much earlier start than originally planned.
First, he made a pit stop at the Dunkin' Donuts on the corner of Valley and Fenner. Still, he had finished his hot coffee and breakfast sandwich by 9:15am. During this time, he had exchanged text messages with "The Legendary" Chazz Weldon. Weldon had initially reached out to him about the possibility of playing with "Big Ed" Edward Gasca in order to get him qualified for entry into the upcoming GTA Intermediate Invitational Men's Singles Tournament.
Frank then had the bright idea (it happens once in a while) of asking Chazz to notify the entire league that the session would get off to a much earlier start...around 9:30am. Weldon did it and then Samara got himself over to the courts by 9:25. With all three courts vacant, Frank decided to wait in the car.
Turns out Samara's sudden change of plans and Weldon's willingness to share that info with the league was just what the doctor ordered as so many players were hungry for some outdoor tennis on a Sunday after a mean and miserable month of March which did not allow such a thing.
At 9:40, "The Bronx Bomber" Steve Mingo pulled up behind Frank and the two of them then took the North Court for a hitting session. Steve said that his buddy, "Big George" Jorge Solano was on his way as well. But first, it was GTA Champion: "King Crush" Chris Chiaro heading to the courts at 10am. Five minutes later, Solano did the same.
Just when it looked like we were going to launch into Chiaro/Samara versus Solano/Mingo, "Nitro" Natalia Sout arrived at 10:10 and Frank allowed her to take his place on the court. The hitting session continued. And then just when it looked like it would be Chiaro/Sout vs. Solano/Mingo, "Instant" Moka Pathan made his way to the courts at 10:20.
Moka was somewhat surprised to find that the weekly Sunday football game that is hosted by "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli at Latteri Park in Clifton was not happening on this day.
Anyway, it was mutually decided that it made more sense to have Chiaro and Pathan face one another in Singles while Samara and Sout would team to take on Solano and Mingo. As that Doubles One-Setter got underway on the North Court, Chris and Moka had entered into a hitting session on Center Court. "Latino Heat" Jose Gonzales arrived at 10:35 and he took a bench alongside the North Court before eventually making his way over to Center Court to join in on that sparring session.
Next to make his way though the gate to the courts was "The Lumberjack" Ryan Pienciak at 10:45. This motivated the three guys on Center Court (Chiaro, Pathan and Gonzales) to shift over to the South Court and they then got their official action underway at 10:50 with Chris and Jose teaming to take on Moka and Ryan.
At the same time they were getting that second Doubles One-Setter of the day started, "The Vin Man" Vinnie De Benedetto, Nihar Panda and Rana Purupati were all making their way down the hill and toward the courts. Vin said he had just seen the e-mail (as a few others later said during the session) a short while ago, otherwise he would have arrived much earlier.
"Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes arrived at 11:10, but he stayed out on the patio area near the baseball clubhouse (he even took a seat at a picnic bench and made some calls) while waiting for an opening to occur or an invitation to be offered. The reason being is that Panda and Purupati had already entered into a Singles One-Setter against one another on Center Court just five minutes earlier while De Benedetto was content to ride the bench until the opportunity to play Doubles would arise.
Mr. Martinelli (aka Spin) made his grand entrance at 11:25. He, too, took a bench until his services would be needed. "Lean" Dean Delgado arrived at 12noon and he was able to start hitting almost immediately as the first Doubles One-Setter to be played on the South Court ended just as he arrived.
At 12:15, Brad Gero arrived. Soon after (and separately), his older brother Glenn Gero arrived to make an extended cameo appearance and watch his younger brother play. Glenn said he used to play tennis many years ago. Late in the session, he hit a bit with Brad and was reminded why he stopped playing the sport when he did - the toll it takes on his knees!
The last extended cameo appearance of the day was made when the still-injured "Coach" Dino Celis arrived at 12:50. After all the official action had ended just prior to 1:30, Samara, Martinelli and Celis had a bull session that ran all the way until 2:30! Ah, just like the good old days!
It was a great session that featured fifteen competitors and some welcome weather that finally felt like a glorious spring day after the extended winter we had with the month that had just past. Here's to hoping that April comes in like a sweet little lamb...and then stays that way!
Let's get to the scores!
The Albion Park Results:
Jorge Solano/Steve Mingo over Frank Samara/Natalia Sout, 7-5! Steve: 2 Aces (one on each)! It went like this: Jorge was broken (Steve hit a winning volley for 15-Love, but then it shifted straight to Double Break Point after Frank hit a winner and Steve blew a volley, then an un-returned serve made it Break Point only to have a Double Fault end the service), and Frank held serve (Jorge hit a winning volley for Love-15, then Frank hit a winning lob for 15-All and then it went point for point to Break Point, Deuce, an un-returned serve for Game Point, 2nd Deuce where Steve hit a winner to set up Break Point, 3rd Deuce, Game Point, 4th Deuce, Game Point where a truly un-returnable serve secured the hold) to take a 2-0 lead. Steve held (a truly un-returnable serve for 15-Love, then a Double Fault for 15-All, but then on the way to Double Game Point with another un-returned serve along the way and then it was an impressive corner Ace against Natalia for the hold) to get his team on the scoreboard, but then Natalia held as well (Love-15 then point for point until 30-All with two un-returned serves along the way and then it shifted to Game Point where Natalia scored with an excellently executed winning lob for the hold) to go up 3-1. Solano was broken again (he got off to a 30-Love start, then at 30-15 he hit a Double Fault for 30-All where Natalia hit a winning return to set up Break Point and then came the break) as his team fell to 1-4! But then Samara was also broken (it was Love-30 where an un-returned serve made it 15-30, then it went to Double Break Point, Break Point and the break), but Mingo held again (an un-returned serve for 15-Love where Frank hit a winner for 15-All only to have it go straight to Double Game Point as Jorge hit a winning volley along the way and then the hold came on Game Point) to pull to 3-4. Sout was broken at Love to knot the score at 4-4 only to have Big George be broken once more (Steve hit a winning volley for 15-Love, then it went to 30-Love only to have a winning Windmill Overhead Smash from Frank begin the shift to Break Point where Frank hit another winner to get the break) to fall to 4-5. Hollywood was also broken again (Love-30 was where Frank hit a winner for 15-30, but then it went to Double Break Point where an un-returned serve made it Break Point, but then came the break) to tie thing again, this time at 5-5! The Bronx Bomber held a third straight time (Love-15 shifted to 30-15 shifted again to Break Point where he nailed Frank with an excellent sideline Ace to make it Deuce, then came Game Point and the hold) and Nitro was then broken again (a 15-Love start then went straight to Double Break/Match Point as Steve hit a winner along the way and then that was where the break came) to take a tough loss as the opposition had just successfully mounted and closed an excellent comeback! We played this one on the North Court from 10:30 to 11:20.
The Skinny: Samara and Sout got off to an excellent start as Natalia was truly the Nitro factor because the opposition was quite surprised at her level of offense (not to mention defense as well). She did very little wrong and held her own throughout several lengthy and fast-paced rallies. It was clear to many in attendance why she was the Most Improved Women's Player of the Year for 2016 and she may soon be off and running for that same accolade this season as well. Frank held up his end of the bargain while both Jorge and Steve were somewhat hit and miss with their game. The shift came when they were able to clean things up a bit while also taking more control of the flow of the points. The true difference maker was Mingo as he was never broken on serve and that wicked and whipping forehand of his is quite an effective weapon. He is sure to be a forceful factor in the upcoming GTA Intermediate Invitational Tournament.
Moka Pathan/Ryan Pienciak over Chris Chiaro/Jose Gonzales, 6-4! No Aces. This took place on the South Court and lasted from 10:50 to 11:20.
Nihar Panda over Rana Purupati, 6-1! No Aces. This battle of buddies occupied Center Court from 11:05 to 11:40. Also of note is the fact that Purupati has now registered for the GTA Intermediate Invitational (Panda was already registered for it).
Nathan Fernandes/Vinnie De Benedetto over Jorge Solano/Steve Mingo, 6-2! No Aces. They played this on the North Court from 11:25 to 11:50.
Moka Pathan/Ryan Pienciak over Chris Chiaro/Natalia Sout, 6-4! Moka: 1 Ace on Natalia (he said it was a soft one). This one took place on the South Court and lasted from 11:25 to 12noon.
Nihar Panda/Rana Purupati over Frank Samara/Dan Martinelli, 6-0! Rana: 1 Ace on Spin! Here's how it went down: Rana held (started with a corner Ace on Spin, Double Fault for 15-All, an un-returned serve for 30-15, Double Game Point, Game Point and a truly un-returnable serve for the hold), Frank was broken as a 30-Love lead shifted to 30-All, then it went to Game Point, Deuce where Spin hit an excellent passing shot winner for Game Point again, 2nd Deuce, Break Point and the break, then Nihar held at Love after three consecutive un-returned serves set up Triple Game Point where he then hit a roller of a winner over the net-cord for the hold, Spin was broken as a Love-30 start shifted to 30-All only to have it then go to Break Point and the break and then Purupati held again (15-Love, 15-All and then an awesome passing shot winner got him off an running to a Double Game Point lead only to have that cut down to Deuce where a truly un-returnable serve set up Game Point, 2nd Deuce, Game Point again and the hold) to go up 5-0! Samara wanted to at least get his team onto the scoreboard, but was broken again (15-Love then point for point until 30-All, then Break/Match Point where Nihar made an amazing get/winner combo to get the win) to eat a late-morning/early-afternoon bagel as we played this one on Center Court from 11:43 to 12:10!
The Skinny: The Foundation (Samara/Martinelli) not only crumbled, they were completely decimated as they got served by The Panda Express (and we are not talking about getting served some delicious Chicken Teriyaki)! Spin only hit for about two minutes before diving right into this one. He was immediately greeted with an Ace and it was seemingly all downhill from there for both he and his partner (Samara hit two shots that he should have let sail long during his first service game) did very little right. Meanwhile, their competition did very little wrong. This sorry situation was somewhat ironic as it was Martinelli's tenant, "Lucky" Leo Victor who recruited Panda for the league (and then Panda recruited Purupati). They are both solid competitors who surely look to make their individual and impacting impressions on the coming GTA Intermediate Invitational.
Nathan Fernandes/Vinnie De Benedetto over Jose Gonzales/Steve Mingo, 6-2! Jose: 1 Ace on Vinnie. This was also on the North Court and it lasted from 11:52 to 12:20.
Ryan Pienciak/Nihar Panda over Chris Chiaro/Dean Delgado, 6-2! Dean: 1 Ace on Ryan. They held this one on the South Court from 12:12 to 12:30.
Jorge Solano/Rana Purupati over Dan Martinelli/Natalia Sout, 6-1! Rana: 1 Ace on Natalia; Jorge: 1 Ace on Spin; and Spin: 1 Ace on Jorge! Center Court hosted this one from 12:13 to 12:35. After this one, Jorge left and Spin and Rana continued to hit to Natalia who weathered the storm solo!
Nathan Fernandes/Vinnie De Benedetto over Frank Samara/Brad Gero, 6-2! No Aces. The dirty lowdown: Nathan held at Love after he hit a winning Overhead Smash for 30-Love and then Vin hit a winning Overhead Smash of his own on Triple Game Point to secure his partner's hold, Frank held (Nate hit a winning volley for Love-15, it then went to Love-30 before shifting to Game Point as Vin blew a volley along the way and then came the hold), but Vinnie was the first to be broken (un-returned serve for 15-Love only to have it go straight to Double Break Point as Brad hit a winning Overhead Smash along the way and then Vin broke himself with a Double Fault to end his service) to fall to 1-2. Brad was also broken (Nate hit a winning volley for Love-30, an un-returned serve made it 15-30, but then a Double Fault set up Double Break Point and then came the break) and then Fernandes held again (30-Love, 30-15 where Vin hit a winning Overhead Smash to set up Double Game Point and then came the hold) to take the first lead for his team at 3-2. Samara was broken (un-returned serve for 15-Love, but then straight to Double Break Point as Vin made an absolutely incredible get/winner combo along the way and then Vin hit another winner to get the break) and De Benedetto held (Nate hit a winning volley for 15-Love, it was then 30-Love where Vin blew an overhead to drop one point and then Frank hit a winning return to level it at 30-All, but then came Game Point and the hold) to take a 5-2 lead for his team. And then Gero was broken again (Nate made an awesome get which led to Love-15, then it was 15-All before heading straight to Double Break/Match Point which is where the break game) to take the loss. We played this one on the North Court from 12:25 to 12:50.
The Skinny: Nate and Vin went 3-0 for the day and every time they won, the score was 6-2! They joked that this was in honor of Spin who will be celebrating his 62nd Birthday in three more Sundays (on the 23rd). But perhaps more impressive was the performance of De Benedetto who is now already 68! And he readily admitted that it helped to have "The Insurance Policy" (Fernandes) on his side.
Chris Chiaro/Dean Delgado over Ryan Pienciak/Nihar Panda, 7-6 (7-2)! No Aces. South Court hosted this lengthy battle from 12:32 to 1:26. Chris was happy to head home with at least one victory. The Champ is finding that the competition is stepping up their game and victories (at least in Doubles) will be harder to come by as the season grows older.
Nathan Fernandes/Natalia Sout over Rana Purupati/Brad Gero, 6-4! No Aces. This one got underway on the North Court at 12:52, but actually ended a couple of minutes sooner than the previous battle did as this one closed at 1:24. The Nate/Nat combo was quite effective against the impressive tandem of Rana and Brad (while his older brother Glenn cheered him on).
Then, later in the afternoon (perhaps early evening) there was a Night Owl session at The Wayne Bubble. It seems like perhaps only one of the two sessions was attended as usual hosts Chiaro, "The Riz" John Rizzo and "Kevlar" Kevin Doyle all could not attend. So, Dennis "The Menace" Cabanatan stepped up as an impromptu host and reported the following scores.
The Wayne Bubble Results:
Tom La/Kathy Sheldon over Dennis Cabanatan/Ryan Sherry, 6-3! No Aces (apparently).
Tom La/Kathy Sheldon over Dennis Cabanatan/Ryan Sherry, 6-4! No Aces (apparently).
Dennis Cabanatan/Ryan Sherry over Tom La/Kathy Sheldon, 6-1! No Aces (apparently).
The Details from Dennis: Dan Hwang, Senthil Kumar and Meet Rana, I believe, alternated playing Singles with one another. Also, Mike Sindler and Syed Rashid played Singles with one another.
Samara's Notes: I thank Dennis for providing those results. And all of the possible Singles scores that may have taken place will have to remain unofficial since they went unreported.
This Sunday was a great way to get the 2017 Season back on track and hopefully we can now build off of the unprecedented momentum we experienced at the very start of the season in late February.
All the best,
Frank Samara
"Samara hosts 15 at AP, Dennis hosts 4 at The Bubble!":
This Sunday featured the first outdoor session of GTA Sunday Tennis in quite some time as March had not been kind to us in 2017. After a late-February start that misled us into thinking we could really be off and running after the early start of the season, the weather got much worse (i.e. either colder or wetter than it should be at this time of year) and caused us to have a much less than active March (on average) than we did in previous seasons.
Finally, we had a day that was sunny (just a little breezy, not windy) and with a peak temperature of about 62 degrees. All week long, "Hollywood" Frank Samara said he would get the session started at Albion Park in Clifton as "Hollywood" Frank Samara around 11am. But as this Sunday unfolded, he found himself getting off to a much earlier start than originally planned.
First, he made a pit stop at the Dunkin' Donuts on the corner of Valley and Fenner. Still, he had finished his hot coffee and breakfast sandwich by 9:15am. During this time, he had exchanged text messages with "The Legendary" Chazz Weldon. Weldon had initially reached out to him about the possibility of playing with "Big Ed" Edward Gasca in order to get him qualified for entry into the upcoming GTA Intermediate Invitational Men's Singles Tournament.
Frank then had the bright idea (it happens once in a while) of asking Chazz to notify the entire league that the session would get off to a much earlier start...around 9:30am. Weldon did it and then Samara got himself over to the courts by 9:25. With all three courts vacant, Frank decided to wait in the car.
Turns out Samara's sudden change of plans and Weldon's willingness to share that info with the league was just what the doctor ordered as so many players were hungry for some outdoor tennis on a Sunday after a mean and miserable month of March which did not allow such a thing.
At 9:40, "The Bronx Bomber" Steve Mingo pulled up behind Frank and the two of them then took the North Court for a hitting session. Steve said that his buddy, "Big George" Jorge Solano was on his way as well. But first, it was GTA Champion: "King Crush" Chris Chiaro heading to the courts at 10am. Five minutes later, Solano did the same.
Just when it looked like we were going to launch into Chiaro/Samara versus Solano/Mingo, "Nitro" Natalia Sout arrived at 10:10 and Frank allowed her to take his place on the court. The hitting session continued. And then just when it looked like it would be Chiaro/Sout vs. Solano/Mingo, "Instant" Moka Pathan made his way to the courts at 10:20.
Moka was somewhat surprised to find that the weekly Sunday football game that is hosted by "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli at Latteri Park in Clifton was not happening on this day.
Anyway, it was mutually decided that it made more sense to have Chiaro and Pathan face one another in Singles while Samara and Sout would team to take on Solano and Mingo. As that Doubles One-Setter got underway on the North Court, Chris and Moka had entered into a hitting session on Center Court. "Latino Heat" Jose Gonzales arrived at 10:35 and he took a bench alongside the North Court before eventually making his way over to Center Court to join in on that sparring session.
Next to make his way though the gate to the courts was "The Lumberjack" Ryan Pienciak at 10:45. This motivated the three guys on Center Court (Chiaro, Pathan and Gonzales) to shift over to the South Court and they then got their official action underway at 10:50 with Chris and Jose teaming to take on Moka and Ryan.
At the same time they were getting that second Doubles One-Setter of the day started, "The Vin Man" Vinnie De Benedetto, Nihar Panda and Rana Purupati were all making their way down the hill and toward the courts. Vin said he had just seen the e-mail (as a few others later said during the session) a short while ago, otherwise he would have arrived much earlier.
"Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes arrived at 11:10, but he stayed out on the patio area near the baseball clubhouse (he even took a seat at a picnic bench and made some calls) while waiting for an opening to occur or an invitation to be offered. The reason being is that Panda and Purupati had already entered into a Singles One-Setter against one another on Center Court just five minutes earlier while De Benedetto was content to ride the bench until the opportunity to play Doubles would arise.
Mr. Martinelli (aka Spin) made his grand entrance at 11:25. He, too, took a bench until his services would be needed. "Lean" Dean Delgado arrived at 12noon and he was able to start hitting almost immediately as the first Doubles One-Setter to be played on the South Court ended just as he arrived.
At 12:15, Brad Gero arrived. Soon after (and separately), his older brother Glenn Gero arrived to make an extended cameo appearance and watch his younger brother play. Glenn said he used to play tennis many years ago. Late in the session, he hit a bit with Brad and was reminded why he stopped playing the sport when he did - the toll it takes on his knees!
The last extended cameo appearance of the day was made when the still-injured "Coach" Dino Celis arrived at 12:50. After all the official action had ended just prior to 1:30, Samara, Martinelli and Celis had a bull session that ran all the way until 2:30! Ah, just like the good old days!
It was a great session that featured fifteen competitors and some welcome weather that finally felt like a glorious spring day after the extended winter we had with the month that had just past. Here's to hoping that April comes in like a sweet little lamb...and then stays that way!
Let's get to the scores!
The Albion Park Results:
Jorge Solano/Steve Mingo over Frank Samara/Natalia Sout, 7-5! Steve: 2 Aces (one on each)! It went like this: Jorge was broken (Steve hit a winning volley for 15-Love, but then it shifted straight to Double Break Point after Frank hit a winner and Steve blew a volley, then an un-returned serve made it Break Point only to have a Double Fault end the service), and Frank held serve (Jorge hit a winning volley for Love-15, then Frank hit a winning lob for 15-All and then it went point for point to Break Point, Deuce, an un-returned serve for Game Point, 2nd Deuce where Steve hit a winner to set up Break Point, 3rd Deuce, Game Point, 4th Deuce, Game Point where a truly un-returnable serve secured the hold) to take a 2-0 lead. Steve held (a truly un-returnable serve for 15-Love, then a Double Fault for 15-All, but then on the way to Double Game Point with another un-returned serve along the way and then it was an impressive corner Ace against Natalia for the hold) to get his team on the scoreboard, but then Natalia held as well (Love-15 then point for point until 30-All with two un-returned serves along the way and then it shifted to Game Point where Natalia scored with an excellently executed winning lob for the hold) to go up 3-1. Solano was broken again (he got off to a 30-Love start, then at 30-15 he hit a Double Fault for 30-All where Natalia hit a winning return to set up Break Point and then came the break) as his team fell to 1-4! But then Samara was also broken (it was Love-30 where an un-returned serve made it 15-30, then it went to Double Break Point, Break Point and the break), but Mingo held again (an un-returned serve for 15-Love where Frank hit a winner for 15-All only to have it go straight to Double Game Point as Jorge hit a winning volley along the way and then the hold came on Game Point) to pull to 3-4. Sout was broken at Love to knot the score at 4-4 only to have Big George be broken once more (Steve hit a winning volley for 15-Love, then it went to 30-Love only to have a winning Windmill Overhead Smash from Frank begin the shift to Break Point where Frank hit another winner to get the break) to fall to 4-5. Hollywood was also broken again (Love-30 was where Frank hit a winner for 15-30, but then it went to Double Break Point where an un-returned serve made it Break Point, but then came the break) to tie thing again, this time at 5-5! The Bronx Bomber held a third straight time (Love-15 shifted to 30-15 shifted again to Break Point where he nailed Frank with an excellent sideline Ace to make it Deuce, then came Game Point and the hold) and Nitro was then broken again (a 15-Love start then went straight to Double Break/Match Point as Steve hit a winner along the way and then that was where the break came) to take a tough loss as the opposition had just successfully mounted and closed an excellent comeback! We played this one on the North Court from 10:30 to 11:20.
The Skinny: Samara and Sout got off to an excellent start as Natalia was truly the Nitro factor because the opposition was quite surprised at her level of offense (not to mention defense as well). She did very little wrong and held her own throughout several lengthy and fast-paced rallies. It was clear to many in attendance why she was the Most Improved Women's Player of the Year for 2016 and she may soon be off and running for that same accolade this season as well. Frank held up his end of the bargain while both Jorge and Steve were somewhat hit and miss with their game. The shift came when they were able to clean things up a bit while also taking more control of the flow of the points. The true difference maker was Mingo as he was never broken on serve and that wicked and whipping forehand of his is quite an effective weapon. He is sure to be a forceful factor in the upcoming GTA Intermediate Invitational Tournament.
Moka Pathan/Ryan Pienciak over Chris Chiaro/Jose Gonzales, 6-4! No Aces. This took place on the South Court and lasted from 10:50 to 11:20.
Nihar Panda over Rana Purupati, 6-1! No Aces. This battle of buddies occupied Center Court from 11:05 to 11:40. Also of note is the fact that Purupati has now registered for the GTA Intermediate Invitational (Panda was already registered for it).
Nathan Fernandes/Vinnie De Benedetto over Jorge Solano/Steve Mingo, 6-2! No Aces. They played this on the North Court from 11:25 to 11:50.
Moka Pathan/Ryan Pienciak over Chris Chiaro/Natalia Sout, 6-4! Moka: 1 Ace on Natalia (he said it was a soft one). This one took place on the South Court and lasted from 11:25 to 12noon.
Nihar Panda/Rana Purupati over Frank Samara/Dan Martinelli, 6-0! Rana: 1 Ace on Spin! Here's how it went down: Rana held (started with a corner Ace on Spin, Double Fault for 15-All, an un-returned serve for 30-15, Double Game Point, Game Point and a truly un-returnable serve for the hold), Frank was broken as a 30-Love lead shifted to 30-All, then it went to Game Point, Deuce where Spin hit an excellent passing shot winner for Game Point again, 2nd Deuce, Break Point and the break, then Nihar held at Love after three consecutive un-returned serves set up Triple Game Point where he then hit a roller of a winner over the net-cord for the hold, Spin was broken as a Love-30 start shifted to 30-All only to have it then go to Break Point and the break and then Purupati held again (15-Love, 15-All and then an awesome passing shot winner got him off an running to a Double Game Point lead only to have that cut down to Deuce where a truly un-returnable serve set up Game Point, 2nd Deuce, Game Point again and the hold) to go up 5-0! Samara wanted to at least get his team onto the scoreboard, but was broken again (15-Love then point for point until 30-All, then Break/Match Point where Nihar made an amazing get/winner combo to get the win) to eat a late-morning/early-afternoon bagel as we played this one on Center Court from 11:43 to 12:10!
The Skinny: The Foundation (Samara/Martinelli) not only crumbled, they were completely decimated as they got served by The Panda Express (and we are not talking about getting served some delicious Chicken Teriyaki)! Spin only hit for about two minutes before diving right into this one. He was immediately greeted with an Ace and it was seemingly all downhill from there for both he and his partner (Samara hit two shots that he should have let sail long during his first service game) did very little right. Meanwhile, their competition did very little wrong. This sorry situation was somewhat ironic as it was Martinelli's tenant, "Lucky" Leo Victor who recruited Panda for the league (and then Panda recruited Purupati). They are both solid competitors who surely look to make their individual and impacting impressions on the coming GTA Intermediate Invitational.
Nathan Fernandes/Vinnie De Benedetto over Jose Gonzales/Steve Mingo, 6-2! Jose: 1 Ace on Vinnie. This was also on the North Court and it lasted from 11:52 to 12:20.
Ryan Pienciak/Nihar Panda over Chris Chiaro/Dean Delgado, 6-2! Dean: 1 Ace on Ryan. They held this one on the South Court from 12:12 to 12:30.
Jorge Solano/Rana Purupati over Dan Martinelli/Natalia Sout, 6-1! Rana: 1 Ace on Natalia; Jorge: 1 Ace on Spin; and Spin: 1 Ace on Jorge! Center Court hosted this one from 12:13 to 12:35. After this one, Jorge left and Spin and Rana continued to hit to Natalia who weathered the storm solo!
Nathan Fernandes/Vinnie De Benedetto over Frank Samara/Brad Gero, 6-2! No Aces. The dirty lowdown: Nathan held at Love after he hit a winning Overhead Smash for 30-Love and then Vin hit a winning Overhead Smash of his own on Triple Game Point to secure his partner's hold, Frank held (Nate hit a winning volley for Love-15, it then went to Love-30 before shifting to Game Point as Vin blew a volley along the way and then came the hold), but Vinnie was the first to be broken (un-returned serve for 15-Love only to have it go straight to Double Break Point as Brad hit a winning Overhead Smash along the way and then Vin broke himself with a Double Fault to end his service) to fall to 1-2. Brad was also broken (Nate hit a winning volley for Love-30, an un-returned serve made it 15-30, but then a Double Fault set up Double Break Point and then came the break) and then Fernandes held again (30-Love, 30-15 where Vin hit a winning Overhead Smash to set up Double Game Point and then came the hold) to take the first lead for his team at 3-2. Samara was broken (un-returned serve for 15-Love, but then straight to Double Break Point as Vin made an absolutely incredible get/winner combo along the way and then Vin hit another winner to get the break) and De Benedetto held (Nate hit a winning volley for 15-Love, it was then 30-Love where Vin blew an overhead to drop one point and then Frank hit a winning return to level it at 30-All, but then came Game Point and the hold) to take a 5-2 lead for his team. And then Gero was broken again (Nate made an awesome get which led to Love-15, then it was 15-All before heading straight to Double Break/Match Point which is where the break game) to take the loss. We played this one on the North Court from 12:25 to 12:50.
The Skinny: Nate and Vin went 3-0 for the day and every time they won, the score was 6-2! They joked that this was in honor of Spin who will be celebrating his 62nd Birthday in three more Sundays (on the 23rd). But perhaps more impressive was the performance of De Benedetto who is now already 68! And he readily admitted that it helped to have "The Insurance Policy" (Fernandes) on his side.
Chris Chiaro/Dean Delgado over Ryan Pienciak/Nihar Panda, 7-6 (7-2)! No Aces. South Court hosted this lengthy battle from 12:32 to 1:26. Chris was happy to head home with at least one victory. The Champ is finding that the competition is stepping up their game and victories (at least in Doubles) will be harder to come by as the season grows older.
Nathan Fernandes/Natalia Sout over Rana Purupati/Brad Gero, 6-4! No Aces. This one got underway on the North Court at 12:52, but actually ended a couple of minutes sooner than the previous battle did as this one closed at 1:24. The Nate/Nat combo was quite effective against the impressive tandem of Rana and Brad (while his older brother Glenn cheered him on).
Then, later in the afternoon (perhaps early evening) there was a Night Owl session at The Wayne Bubble. It seems like perhaps only one of the two sessions was attended as usual hosts Chiaro, "The Riz" John Rizzo and "Kevlar" Kevin Doyle all could not attend. So, Dennis "The Menace" Cabanatan stepped up as an impromptu host and reported the following scores.
The Wayne Bubble Results:
Tom La/Kathy Sheldon over Dennis Cabanatan/Ryan Sherry, 6-3! No Aces (apparently).
Tom La/Kathy Sheldon over Dennis Cabanatan/Ryan Sherry, 6-4! No Aces (apparently).
Dennis Cabanatan/Ryan Sherry over Tom La/Kathy Sheldon, 6-1! No Aces (apparently).
The Details from Dennis: Dan Hwang, Senthil Kumar and Meet Rana, I believe, alternated playing Singles with one another. Also, Mike Sindler and Syed Rashid played Singles with one another.
Samara's Notes: I thank Dennis for providing those results. And all of the possible Singles scores that may have taken place will have to remain unofficial since they went unreported.
This Sunday was a great way to get the 2017 Season back on track and hopefully we can now build off of the unprecedented momentum we experienced at the very start of the season in late February.
All the best,
Frank Samara
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