5/3/17:
GTA Wednesday Night Tennis took place at The Cedar Grove Courts as "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan acted as the host (with an assist from "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes).
We now turn this report over to Kris.
It was a relatively low turnout on Wednesday night, unlike the previous night where Spin made a beautiful analogy of the players as they were filling in steadily like locusts in a corn field. Well, this time around, some of the locusts didn't show up.
First off, there was Doubles action featuring the teams of Nate and Kathy Sheldon and Moka Pathan and Jose Gonzales while on Court 4 we had Jordan Bachvaroff and Jay Phoenix doing battle on Court 2. This was all going on when I hit the court a few minutes prior to 8pm. From then on, we had players trickling in to make the most of the courts available until the regular closing time.
The Cedar Grove Results:
Moka Pathan/Jose Gonzales over Nathan Fernandes/Kathy Sheldon, 6-1! No Aces.
Moka Pathan/Kathy Sheldon over Nathan Fernandes/Jose Gonzales, 6-3! No Aces.
Samara's Notes: Nate sent his scores to Kris who then sent them to me after filing his initial report…which we get back to now.
Jordan Bachvaroff over Jay Phoenix, 6-2! No Aces.
Jordan Bachvaroff over Jay Phoenix, 6-3! No Aces.
Both players like Singles and they made plenty of noise to keep the arena lively and entertaining.
Samara's Notes: I know it was their intent to play this as a full 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match, but since Phoenix is still active in the draw of the ongoing GTA Intermediate Invitational Tournament…he is prohibited from engaging in outside Challenge Matches until his commitment to the tourney is finished.
Again, we go back to Kris.
Syed Rashid was hitting with Mike Mole on Court 1 while Phoenix-Bachvaroff was happening on the adjacent court. I joined them and almost immediately thereafter we were also joined by Lou La Forgia. The four of us were about to get a Doubles One-Setter started, but then Moka had just finished his match on the other side and wanted to play with us. So Syed shifted to the other side where he got to play with Raj Boddu against Tito Castolo and Dennis Cabanatan.
Lou La Forgia/Kris Srinivasan over Moka Pathan/Mike Mole, 6-3! No Aces.
Lou was beside himself seething from an improbable loss the previous night when sitting on 3 Match Points to close the match at 6-1 where he went on to lose in the TB! So, he did the next best thing: show up today and let his racquet do the talking. It was all him, what with his incredible serves and winning ground-strokes! But we were given a good match by Mike and Moka. Mike was especially amazing with ripping shots on either side of our court. He has taken his game up a notch to a totally dynamic level backed up by consistency that we do not associate with him hitherto. It's a pleasure to watch his superior play and I strongly feel that he could take on the top players in the Advanced Division. Coming after an impressive One-Setter victory over Nate the night before, Mike is playing with greater assurance.
Having blown away my first five points, I regrouped to play a decent game for the rest of the night. It was good to see Dan Martinelli (aka Spin) who took the time to bring Dino Celis and watch our match. Good for Dino to forget his pain and get started in his rehab process from the knee surgery. Watching Lou dominating on pretty much all the points, Spin did wonder what I was doing on the court...:-).
Moka had to leave after our first One-Setter, but an eager Raj Tailor filled in for him. Jordan was willing to play if he was needed.
Lou La Forgia/Kris Srinivasan over Raj Tailor/Mike Mole, 6-4! Raj: 1 Ace on Lou!
Raj was serving great and playing attacking shots, but couldn't match Lou in the long rallies. Mike was a little less threatening in this set and as the balls were getting older, it seemed to suit my game...:-). It was still a close match and Lou would not have any other result as it was his focus to close out the match!
Dennis Cabanatan/Tito Castolo over Raj Boddu/Syed Rashid, 6-2! No Aces.
Raj Boddu/Syed Rashid over Dennis Cabanatan/Tito Castolo, 6-3! No Aces.
It looked like two well-fought sets with long rallies mixed up with some quick points. All went home happy having a win under their belts.
Kris Srinivasan/Raj Tailor over Lou La Forgia/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-3! Raj: 1 Ace on Doinks!
It was a close match for the first half. Lou and Doinks were leading 3-2, but we leveled it at 3-All. What looked like an easy hold on Doinks serve changed course with multiple points that went on ultimately and things changed from thereon. Raj finished the match with the Ace on Doinks to close out the set just before the lights went out.
Overall, it was a decent night of intense action that I hope appeased Lou to some extent…:-). Cheers!
Samara's Notes: Thanks to Kris for so often being "the host with the most" up at Cedar Grove...though he surely appreciates whenever "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli is able to swoop in and manage the scene.
Sincerely,
Frank Samara
862-596-3354
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