5/16/17:
"Fernandes-Mole at AP, Kris/Spin host 20 at C.G.!":
There were two sessions of GTA Tuesday Night Tennis: a session of just two (a full 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match featuring "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes vs. "Mr. Science" Mike Mole, with Mike reporting) at Albion Park in Clifton and then one in the evening at The Cedar Grove Courts with "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan reporting the majority of scores for the session with "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli reporting his results which came in the latter stages of the session.
So we will first go to the lone result from Albion Park, then to the combined report from Kris and Spin.
The Albion Park Result:
2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:
Nathan Fernandes over Mike Mole, 6-2, 6-3, to successfully defend his # 3 Rank in the Advanced Division! No Aces.
The Mole Memo: They played from 6:10 to 7:30.
Samara's Notes: I thank Mike for his very timely reporting of the result (via text within the same hour…and he did the same the day before and I neglected to thank him for that one as well).
We now turn this report over to Kris.
It was indeed an irresistible day for GTA Tennis and the only thing that stopped an early start was, yes, the "clickity clack, clickity clack"...hahaha! Oh yes, the Pickle Ballers were in action and I can't help thinking about one of the finest reports from Spin on his thoughts about Pickle Ball. We all can relate to that, but I was also happy for the Picklers when I saw how excited they were at the conclusion of their session.
Samara's Notes: The only Pickler I would be happy to see at Cedar Grove is Kellie Pickler! We now go back to Kris.
It was good to see some GTA players waiting to grab the tennis courts at 7:30pm pronto. Notable amongst the attendees were Marijus Kuzavas/Sally Pillay along with Rob and Laura Gawley (who have been somewhat missing in action here for a while).
We had our regulars (who always make it exciting) as well as the players who have just started coming recently. The presence of GTA players was resounding and from 7:30pm forward it was "game on" until the lights shut down the action as all the courts were littered with GTA bugs...:-). I couldn't help mentioning the bugs as the warm temps got to see some of the real bugs and Joe Rodrigues even swallowed a few of them the previous day for some extra protein that boosted his game.
The Cedar Grove Results:
Jordan Bachvaroff/Syed Rashid over Kris Srinivasan/Andrew Kroessler, 6-4! No Aces.
It was a close match that we lost on a few casual shots, but full credit to Syed for consistent and well-placed shots. Jordan did well on both serves and ground-strokes…especially his gets to a few of our shots that looked like they would be winners.
Marijus Kuzavas/Sally Pillay over Senthil Kumar/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-1! No Aces.
It was a contrasting match with Marijus and Sally playing crisp shots whilst Senthil and Doinks had yet to find their rhythm.
Chris Chiaro/Laura Gawley over Lou La Forgia/Rob Gawley, 6-1! No Aces.
I was surprised at the score as Lou was playing attacking shots, but they were all resoundingly countered by Laura. It was clearly Laura's night and, with Chris playing an almost error free game, they would rule Court One the entire night. Rob was clearly rusty as his signature slices and drop shots were falling short. With just a couple more days into tennis, Rob will be back to his wily self.
2 out of 3 Sets:
Don Moya/Janice Wang over Rajan Shah/T.J. Shah, 6-3, 6-3! No Aces.
It certainly looked like a solid match in which Janice and Don prevailed with consistent play. Both T.J. and Rajan, "The Inseparables", played attractive shots but the net game made a big difference. Janice was sublime in her shots and Don, with his free flowing ground-strokes and serves, put constant pressure on their opponents.
Jordan Bachvaroff/Syed Rashid over Rafaelo Kazakov/Andrew Kroessler, 6-3! No Aces.
This set was played for quite sometime and I suspect that they had long rallies and prolonged games.
Nathan Fernandes/Marijus Kuzavas over Senthil Kumar/Tito Castolo, 6-4! No Aces.
It was Nate's day. He was a satisfied man after having taken out Mike Mole, 6-2, 6-3, earlier at Albion Park. Nate was playing his usual best and was supported well by Marijus. Yes, Nate had vanquished the haunting "Mole Ghost" and we will be seeing the effect of it for days to come. Senthil was playing as a mere shadow of his usual self and that was no "frightening ghost" for a laughing Nate. Tito was not as sharp as usual. Still, Senthil and Tito gave a good fight.
Chris Chiaro/Laura Gawley over Kris Srinivasan/Sally Pillay, 6-1! No Aces.
Laura was simply superb and played an aggressive game, approaching the net at the right time and hitting consistently. Chris played a clean game. Sally played hard, but both of us couldn't close some crucial points and our errors proved costly. It's fair to say we were outgunned by our opponents.
Nathan Fernandes/Janice Wang over Marijus Kuzavas/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-4! No Aces.
Janice was on a roll and so was Nate. Apparently, Doinks and Marijus still gave a good fight.
Lou La Forgia/Rob Gawley over Dan Martinelli/Tito Castolo, 6-2! Rob: 1 Ace on Spin.
The Spin from Spin: Tito and Spin were never in this one at all. Lou and Rob dominated us from the start. Crafty Rob was dropping shots all over the place. Lou's serves and angle drop shots equaled and surpassed even Tito's. Lou wanted to team with Rob because they lost earlier in the evening. Tito and Spin were the poor slobs paying for their previous loss. At one point I looked at Lou and Rob from across the net and pleasantly shouted, "you guys suck!"
The K has his say: It was a frustrated Lou (after losing to Laura and Chris) who took the fight to Tito and Spin on Court Three. Earlier, Lou was gracious enough to let me play against Laura and Chris. His attacking shots were instrumental for putting pressure and Rob then got some of his "mojo." You never discount Spin as he gives it all for every point he plays. Tito missed on some of his signature drop shots and placements. Otherwise, it could have been a closer match.
Chris Chiaro/Laura Gawley over Senthil Kumar/Kris Srinivasan, 6-2! No Aces.
Chris and Laura were having a rollicking night and we were left to lick our wounds. We just couldn't penetrate them in our rallies. On the contrary, they just bamboozled us on some of the points. It was one of those nights where it was not enough for us serving to be up 40-Love and then be able to hold. It is safe to say that we got a good shellacking.
Lou La Forgia/Rob Gawley tied with Dan Martinelli/Tito Castolo, Incomplete at 1-1 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)! No Aces.
The Spin from Spin: It would seem Rob and Lou still weren't done doling out more pain. It was 9:35 (I got to Cedar Grove late around 8:40) and after the first One-Setter, it was quite conceivable that they could get this one done in the 20 minute or so timeframe. Rob and Lou went up 1-0 and then it was my turn to serve. That service game went to 19 Deuces and lasted about 20 minutes long! At one point, Rob said Spin was tired. Spin does not like when someone accuses him of being tired. The game ended in dramatic fashion as, at Ad-In, I hit a great serve just as the lights were going out. Tito thought the serve was un-returnable because of the outage. However, Lou saw the ball and returned it sharply. Spin saw the returning spheroid and returned it down the line past Rob who at this point thought the contest was over. It was grand stuff! We were all in agreement that we need to meet up again to play another set.
The K has his say: This last incomplete One-Setter ended on a fitting note reflecting the charged atmosphere. It was just two games, but it took an eternity as Spin was serving seemingly for forever and would see multiple Deuces (did he say 19?!?! Then it's a sure nominee for a one game analysis). He managed to hold his serve (in the dark, I should say), but the highlight was the fighting spirit on display.
Samara's Notes: 19 Deuces may in fact be a record (hard to say when sometimes peeps say that they must have went 20 or so Deuces…and we do not nominate singular games, unfortunately). And I think these two teams should try to make it a full 2 out of 3 Sets Match if they ever get the chance and have the time to do so.
We now go back to Kris for his final thoughts.
It turned to be a great night of "Krispy Kreme" action. Tonight (Wednesday night) is expected to be quite warm, but we should see plenty of action as it will be summer-like. So stock up on lots of fluids and have a good one! Cheers!
Samara's Notes: As always, thanks to both Kris and Spin as both of them light up the scene at Cedar Grove and fortify it as the home base for GTA Weeknight Tennis.
All the best,
Frank Samara
862-596-3354
No comments:
Post a Comment