5/11/17:
"Mitra-Praport in Nutley, Kris hosts 22 (1 return) at C.G.!":
There were two sessions of GTA Thursday Night Tennis: an evening session which began at The Demuro Courts in Nutley, but soon had to be transferred to The Park Ave. Courts in Nutley (featuring a full 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match between "The Chef" Sukumar Mitra and "The Speed Demon" Dan Praport, as reported by both) and then the usual evening session at The Cedar Grove Courts hosted by the most frequent host, "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan.
We first go to the recap from Nutley.
The Park Ave. Result:
2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:
Dan Praport over Sukumar Mitra, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, to become the New # 30 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division! No Aces.
The Chef's Dish: I can't believe I am writing to you about a match after such a long time. I met up with Dan and we played an interesting match. We started out at one side of Nutley (Demuro) and ran out of daylight when Dan was leading 3-2 in the 1st Set. Then we had to drive over to Park Ave. to finish it. Both of us were coming back from a long recess, but we played with the same spirit as before. Congrats to him!
The Demon demonstrates: I met Kumar at The Demuro Courts in Nutley at 7:30. We decided to try to get a match in. I was leading 3-2 at around 8:15 and the lights were still not on so we decided to check out The Park Ave. Courts in Nutley. When we got there, all four courts were empty and the lights were on. It could once again be a great spot for the GTA. I plan on calling the Township of Nutley on Friday to find out why the lights still are not on at Demuro. Anyway, we continued playing at Park Ave. and I ended up winning the 1st Set, 6-3. The 2nd Set Kumar won 6-4. The 3rd Set I was up 5-0 and Kumar fought back to make it 5-3. I ended up winning the 3rd Set, 6-3. Kumar's patented spin/slice drop shot was in full effect. He must have dropped at least 10 to 15 balls just a foot over the net.
Samara's Notes: I thank both of them for their very timely reporting. I congratulate Dan on a hard-fought victory and also offer kudos to Kumar for his fine effort. Praport returns solely to the Advanced Division as he established himself as strictly being an "A" Division-level player when he cracked The Top 5 some years ago.
I also concur with Dan that the Park Ave. Courts would be a great place for some GTA Weeknight Tennis action once again. I have often noticed when driving by there (day or night) that hardly anyone plays there anymore. I would be willing to host some sessions to revive the GTA scene there.
By no means should this be seen as competition for the Cedar Grove sessions. Quite the contrary, I think the league is growing so big that we need to have concurrent sessions to give our players some options as Cedar Grove sometimes has a logjam situation. Plus, many of our players reside in the Nutley/Lyndhurst area (and some even further east) and would find this spot to be more convenient.
We now turn this report over to Kris.
We knew beforehand that some players had already indicated that they would not be playing on this night. One of them, Dan Martinelli (aka Spin) being our captivating host of recent times. Also, Samara's presence impacts the turnout significantly and he also wasn't going to come. By all means, a low turnout was in the cards.
When GTA Champion: Chris Chiaro showed interest and intent to play, an e-mail blast was sent out. As it turns out, Chris did change his plans…but the message must have done wonders…for we would see a night with a solid GTA presence with non-stop jamming.
From occupying two courts at the outset of the evening, we got to enjoy the monopoly of all the courts halfway through the night. The first part of the night was quite pleasant and enjoyable to play even though the temps did dip later. There was plenty of spirited action, one-sided results, amazing plays and some disappointments as well. It was all worth it and the atmosphere was charged with excitement, animated and enthusiastic action.
The Cedar Grove Results:
William Bobila/Fred Suba over Levy Lorenzo/Jorge Solano, 6-0! No Aces.
William and Fred make for great doubles partners as they can play a teasing game. With two earnest competitors playing against them, Fred and Will were relentless and thorough. Jorge would exclaim at the end of the night that these two guys were "berry good, berry good." Jorge and Levy were indeed outgunned and Levy would get his first bagel for the night.
Nathan Fernandes/Joe Rodrigues over Moka Pathan/Jordan Bachvaroff, 6-1! No Aces.
Nate and Joe played a superior game and their attacking shots and placements never let Moka and Jordan settle into a rhythm. Together, they played so well that it didn't look like Moka and Jordan had a shot for a comeback. And they didn't for they were up against two guys who were simply on a roll. Nate is well-known for his game, his gets, volleys and overhead "smackaroos," but Joe is probably the most underrated top player for when he has his serves going and his ground-strokes in attack mode, he can be deadly.
Jorge Solano/Fred Suba over Levy Lorenzo/William Bobila, 6-2! No Aces.
Jorge was happy to separate the Bobila/Suba combo and, with Fred, he played an ecstatic game that reflected well upon the result.
Moka Pathan/Kris Srinivasan over Nathan Fernandes/Joe Rodrigues, 6-4! No Aces.
Jordan stepped out to let me play against the winners of the earlier match. I did get to see their earlier match as they stamped their authority. So it was a good challenge for us and we started off well by winning the first game. It was close for sometime and all the players were dishing out good stuff. Moka was missing his shots in his previous match but, in our match, he was able to shake off his lethargy and (with some spine-chilling noise coming from his partner) he started firing on all cylinders. The angles of some of his shots were so acute, that it was insane! His backhand down-the-line shots started coming off proper as well. Nate was still punishing in his own ways and Joe continued to play an attacking game (his reflex to a few missiles thrown at him were incredible!). The pace of the game was so high that it drew errors on both sides. We took the first solid lead going up 4-2, but I was broken after multiple Game Points. It was even all the way through the entire match and the finish was wrought upon our opponents by Moka's handsome winners in the end game. It was a tough match, indeed. You don't get an easy win from Nate and Joe.
Moka Pathan/Kris Srinivasan over Levy Lorenzo/Jordan Bachvaroff, 6-0! No Aces.
The winners got to play Levy and Jordan. After an intense set that really kept us on our toes in every point, this was more relaxed and, with Moka finding his touch, he was ruthless to the hapless two chaps on the other side. Levy would get to eat another bagel, but that would not dampen his spirits.
Senthil Kumar/Ryan Pienciak over Lou La Forgia/Mike Mole, 6-3! No Aces.
It looked like a solid One-Setter with four good players.
Lou La Forgia/Senthil Kumar over Mike Mole/Ryan Pienciak, 6-3! Mike: 1 Ace on Lou!
This was indeed a very fine match in which all the players sparkled. Mike's serve was like a double-edged sword. His kick serves were coming off nicely and some of them were unplayable. But some Double Faults on his part and great returns from the other side turned the tables as he would lose twice on his serve after multiple Deuce games. The break of serve in those two games made the difference upon the ultimate result.
Ryan Pienciak/Tito Castolo over Senthil Kumar/Kris Srinivasan, 6-0! No Aces.
I was sitting for some 40 minutes and it was getting cold and chilly. I thought of calling it a night, but stayed around to see the results. We had 20 minutes left and I was still in a half-state of thaw. A quick defrost might have helped, but that would happen only later after a warm shower. It was a somewhat chaotic and rushed set that ended in less than 18 minutes…handing us a bagel and joining Levy's club for the night. I was serving up 40-Love in the penultimate game only to give it away.
Don Moya/Janice Wang over Levy Lorenzo/Edwin Ortega, 6-3! No Aces.
I asked Levy to team up with Don to play against Edwin and Janice to make it close, but he would join his Filipino compatriot instead to get another licking for the night. His reaction at the end of the match: "Let's play one more!" It was like he was playing in a casino...:-). The more you lose, the more you want to play to make up for the loss...:-). He would play one more and left for home with some "moolah" intact as his team was saved by the lights in the next match.
Don Moya/Janice Wang leading Levy Lorenzo/Edwin Ortega, 5-2 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)! No Aces.
I did see some of the match. Both Edwin and Levy played hard and their efforts were great, indeed. Don and Janice make a solid pair and not an easy one to beat. Levy rued on his winless night, but you've got to give it to the man's boundless spirit and enthusiasm. So, he does have his wins!
Rajan Shah/Doinks Srinivasan over T.J. Shah/Dinesh Viswanathan, 6-3! No Aces. It was the official GTA Return of Dinesh Viswanathan.
It was a good match that saw consistent play from T.J. and Rajan. So it was left to Doinks and Dinesh to have an effect on the ultimate result. Doinks fared pretty well most of the time. Dinesh had some good plays, but some of the errors were ill-timed and left his team holding the bag.
T.J. Shah/Dinesh Viswanathan over Rajan Shah/Doinks Srinivasan, 7-5! No Aces.
It was a good showing by T.J. and Dinesh in this set that had an effect on their opponents who made more errors. Nevertheless, it was a close and intense match with an exciting finish.
Joe Rodrigues/Tito Castolo over Nathan Fernandes/Laurie Boughton, 6-3! No Aces.
Nate was nice to sit out earlier in the evening to allow me to play. He was again the "go-to person" to play against tough opponents. He was gracious to team up with Laurie to play against Tito and Joe. Laurie goes great with long and deep rallies. Tito can be a tricky fellow with guided drop shots and sneak attacks. So it was also tough for an already tired Nate to be all over the court.
Laurie probably got a raw deal as she couldn't play another set with Nate and Joe departing. We were one short and had only 22 minutes left. She instead got to hit a bit with Doinks and Dinesh.
Rajan Shah/T.J. Shah leading Lou La Forgia/Mike Mole, 4-3 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)! No Aces.
This was one of the last matches that never got to finish with the lights going out at 10pm. It turned out to be a close match.
All in all, it was a very busy night of GTA Tennis that saw plenty of passionate play. We could have tweaked some of the combinations of players, but the desire for continuity of play ends up in a crap shoot at times. Cheers!
Samara's Notes: As always, thanks to Kris for all he does for the GTA up at Cedar Grove. Tennis is his passion and it shows! Kudos!
All the best,
Frank Samara
862-596-3354
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