4/24/17:
"Rodrigues-Hwang part of 12 at C.G. as Kris hosts!":
GTA Monday Night Tennis took place at The Cedar Grove Courts (featuring the third of the Round of 16 Matches in the GTA Intermediate Invitational to be played, this one between "J-Rod" Joe Rodrigues and "The DH" Dan Hwang with both respectively reporting their result) which was also hosted by "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan.
So we will turn this report over to Kris along with the comments from both Joe and Dan after their match.
It turned out to be a superb evening of GTA Tennis despite the slight drizzle that threatened the possibility of any play for the evening. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. So for those who stayed put, it became drizzle-free by 8pm to ensure play for the rest of the evening.
The Cedar Grove Results:
GTA Intermediate Invitational Round of 16 Match:
Dan Hwang over Joe Rodrigues, 6-4, 6-1, to become both the New # 20 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division and the New # 2 Ranked Player in the Intermediate Division while also advancing to the Quarterfinals of The GTA Intermediate Invitational Tournament! No Aces.
The DH delivers the following hit: We played from 6:45 to 8pm. The 1st Set was back and forth and could have gone either way. Fortunately, I took my chances and capitalized. Then, the first four games of 2nd Set were also tight, and the 2nd Set score seems a bit misleading, as Joe was in it till the very end. Joe is a great competitor. The line calls and competition were all very fair play. It was a pleasure to compete with him.
J-Rod is next up to bat: Dan played well and it was a much-deserved win. I echo the sentiment that he is a pleasure to play against and I look forward to playing him again during the summer. I wish Dan much success in the rest of the tournament.
And now The K has his say: It was the first match for the evening (originally scheduled for a 6pm start and a dry court did get to see slight drizzle for most of the second half of their match). It was a very good match with quality tennis from both the players. It was a very close 1st Set which saw Dan edge out Joe in a squeeze. Joe was serving great and that was backed up with attacking shots, but Dan is indeed a well-rounded player with exquisite forehand and backhand shots backed up with solid serves. That didn't deter Joe as he was able to draw errors with great shots.
It was a mixed bag for Joe in the 2nd Set as the serves, at times great, often faltered at other times and Dan was mixing up his shots with great placements and drop shots. It did take a toll on poor Joe, but he sure is a warrior as he played clean shots for most of the match. Congrats to Dan on a well-deserved victory! He has got a lovely game to take him deep into the tournament.
Samara's Notes: Hwang is one of the competitors that I expected to go far in this tournament and he is definitely living up to expectations. We now go back to Kris for the balance of this report.
Nathan Fernandes/Mike Mole over Dennis Cabanatan/Tom La, 6-0! No Aces (apparently).
It looked like both Dennis and Tom La needed a good warm-up before they could dish out their goods. As lop-sided the score of this set is, it did help them in the next set to come up with a good fight.
Dennis Cabanatan/Tom La over Nathan Fernandes/Mike Mole, 10-8! No Aces (apparently).
It was a well-contested match that pretty much went the distance. Tied at 6-All, they decided to play like Wimbledon in the Final Set by going for the win with a two game difference rather than play a Tiebreak. It did see some more fight, but didn't have the legs for a marathon run like the Isner-Mahut match. Since the GTA's standards are quite high, it may not qualify for a Nominee at year's end...haha!
Samara's Notes: Not so sure of that, Kris, as 10-8 is quite impressive. But without the details of multiple Match Points, etc., it lacks some drama. And I actually believe in the Tiebreak (rather than playing out the games) as a prime source of drama. But we shall see. And now we go back to Kris.
Chris Chiaro over Jordan Bachvaroff, 6-4! No Aces (apparently).
After a solid start by Chris winning the first three games, Jordan came on good getting on board with solid shots and placements. Just then, a slight drizzle started and Jordan was happy to stop, satisfied that he got on board…:-). But he was goaded into playing further by us as the courts were fairly dry for the most part. It turned out to be good for him as he won the next game. The match then turned around as Chris started making lots of errors and combined with some shots and gets from Jordan, the match went on for a while as I got to hit a bit with Lou in the meantime.
Tito Castolo/Doinks Srinivasan over Nathan Fernandes/Laurie Boughton, 6-4! No Aces (apparently).
It was a well-contested match apparently with the whole atmosphere was reverberating with the sounds of the players, especially the boisterous Laurie. Tito is his wily self, playing wicked tennis. Nate had the run of his life, running all over the place backing up Laurie, rushing to the net and Tito surely ensured that. Doinks got some nice tips from Tito and her deep shots helped her side. Laurie played great, but got suffocated with a barrage of shots thrown at her. With all the giggles and noise that she made, she is a sure nominee for having great fun last night.
Nathan Fernandes/Laurie Boughton leading Tito Castolo/Doinks Srinivasan, 3-2 (and serving when it had to be Incomplete due to lights out at 10pm)! No Aces (apparently).
Nate is a cunning fella in his own sweet way as he figured out his counterpart, Tito. That's the best part about Nate, figuring out the opponent and adapting accordingly during the play. Results started reflecting for his side, but the night was long enough!
3 out of 5 Sets Doubles Match:
Chris Chiaro/Kris Srinivasan over Lou La Forgia/Jordan Bachvaroff, 6-0, 6-4, 6-2, to successfully defend their # 26 Rank in the Doubles Division! In the process, La Forgia/Bachvaroff entered the division as the New # 54 Ranked Team. Jordan: 1 Ace on Kris in the 2nd Set!
Chris was not bothered to team with me (the weakest link), but then he and Nate most times do that to challenge themselves. It was a super finish for us as we played strong in all the three sets to two very competent players. The highlight of the night, at least from my perspective, was the ridiculously low number of errors that I committed. Shocking! :-).
Buoyed by my decent play, Chris was on a roll, especially taking on Lou's attacking shots, time and again.
The 1st Set's score could easily have been different (not the result) as Chris survived a couple of his services to hold after a lengthy game. One of them should have been an easy hold, but Lou and Jordan played beautifully to give a match throughout the night. Lou should have held a couple of games after leading as well. Lou's error on Game Point coming to the net to smoke an outright winner sent the game to Deuce and then it ended in a break of serve. One of those nights!
We saw a great comeback from Lou and Jordan. It is sheer delight to watch Lou's smooth forehand shots hit with such pace that only Chris could counter. It was a like a tug of war between the two on some rallies that Chris came out on the good. I'll be happy to be in Lou's shoes any day to play like that and lose. Jordan came on strong in the 2nd Set, serving well and muscling through his forehand shots with topspin winners. Still, we had an early break and actually were on a 9-game winning trot before Lou held his serve and got on board for the first time in the night. A couple of loose attacking shots from me changed the scenario as I deviated ever so slightly from the winning ways that I had displayed earlier. Chris and Jordan held, followed by a break on my serve. Lou was vicious on his serve for an easy hold, but that was all they would do to go further.
We dominated the 3rd Set to a great extent as we were quite focused like in the 1st Set. Jordan suddenly seemed to have lost his serve as he double-faulted thrice with the last one hammering the final nail on the coffin!
Overall, it turned out to be a night of brisk and crisp tennis, and surely a satisfying one for the winners of course…:-). Cheers!
Samara's Notes: As always, The K Man is the man for GTA Tennis up at Cedar Grove…much thanks for his efforts!
Sincerely,
Frank Samara
862-596-3354
No comments:
Post a Comment