4/26/17:
GTA Wednesday Night Tennis took place at The Cedar Grove Courts as "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan acted as host. We now turn over this report to Kris.
We were blessed to be able to play some GTA Tennis last night after witnessing a steady drizzle at the beginning of our evening session with ominous clouds. Unlike the other night, the courts were getting a bit wet, but we started a Doubles Match in quick time so that "the rain gods" could take a break and watch us play...:-). Indeed, three games into our match, the drizzle relented and the coast was clear from there on.
The Cedar Grove Courts:
2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:
Nathan Fernandes/Tom La over Kris Srinivasan/Jordan Bachvaroff, 7-5, 6-1, as both teams entered the Doubles Division as the New # 53 and # 54 Ranked Teams respectively! No Aces.
The 1st Set was quite competitive and in balance until the end. Nate played smart and was well-supported by Tom who can be quite proud of some of his shots. He was particularly good in protecting the Doubles Alley as Jordan was trying some down-the-line shots time and time again only to see an agile Tom swiftly put the ball away between his opponents. Despite not getting in his first serves, Jordan did well on his second serves and the highlight of this set was his return of serves (which were brutal) to set up an easy point at the net.
It was a far cry in the 2nd Set with both our games faltering. Jordan does most damage from the baseline with his forehand shots, but he did the damage (to us) at the net…:-). We surely lost some focus while both Nate and Tom played with more intensity.
Mike Mole/Ryan Pienciak over Jorge Solano/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-0! No Aces (apparently).
The players who had trickled in while we were in the midst of our match got to play Doubles, but didn't make balanced teams as the score reflects.
Nathan Fernandes/Kris Srinivasan over Jay Phoenix/Mike Mole, 6-2! No Aces.
The somewhat facile victory was certainly achieved by Nate's consistent and authoritative overheads. But Mike's serves were top-notch…some of the best serves that had plenty of fizz and zip! They were vicious and kicking! What an improvement from him and zero Double Faults! His ground-strokes were equally impressive, but an attacking game by us at the net threw him off. Jay jumped right into the match and as he plays with such intensity and gusto, he's on from the first point. The best shot was the one in which he threw the kitchen sink into his shot from the baseline down the line beating Nate.
Ryan Pienciak/Jorge Solano leading Jordan Bachvaroff/Tom La, 4-1 (Incomplete when Tom La had to leave)! No Aces (apparently).
This One-Setter didn't get to see its completion, but I was surprised at the score when they stopped as Tom had to go. This was played for quite sometime…so much so that I actually thought this was their second One-Setter. Jorge was on a role and had wished that they had played the set out to its proper conclusion.
Jay Phoenix/Natalia Sout over Mike Mole/Laurie Boughton, 6-2! No Aces (apparently).
It looked like it was a very competitive match. Jay had nicely warmed up and was fired up. Mike was a force with his serves and topspin shots with solid support from Laurie. She is thoroughly enjoying her time when she plays tennis for sure. But the highlight of this match was the superior play by Natalia with aggressive returns to Mike's serves and overall she stole the limelight with her attacking shots!
Jordan Bachvaroff/Jorge Solano over Kris Srinivasan/Ryan Pienciak, 6-2! No Aces.
Sitting out for a while had completely cooled me off and I was off my rhythm. Ryan was not his aggressive self either. We were confident if we could only get our groove back, but we ended up playing an insipid set after all.
Kris Srinivasan/Ryan Pienciak over Jordan Bachvaroff/Jorge Solano, 6-2! No Aces.
The loss in the earlier set was rankling and obviously we wanted to set it right. Jorge wanted to go, but was talked into playing one more. Some of us can be persuasive...:-). Our intent was clear and we upped the pace of the game. Ryan got his serves going and started hitting hard. In fact, I was the victim of one of his shots when I got slapped hard on the back of my head! With a rapid-fire start, we got the first two games only to blow the next two with silly errors and good plays by both Jordan and Jorge. But that's all they would win for the rest of the night as we ramped up our games to see the finish line in quick time. Not sure, Jorge will get to sleep well...:-).
The women got to hit the ball by challenging Nate for 20 minutes or so and they seemed to be having a heck a lot of fun in the process. All in all, a gray and gloomy evening turned into a fistful of adventures with the weather improving significantly by the minute! Cheers!
Samara's Notes: Besides the fact that Kris is so often willing to host GTA Tennis up at Cedar Grove and provide us with his colorful and comprehensive reports, I am even more thankful to him this season for the way he is now announcing to the league that tennis will be possible on nights when that status would otherwise be uncertain. I can easily see how it has improved the turnout thus far this year.
Sincerely,
Frank Samara
862-596-3354
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