7/16/17:
"Daddio-Hyman at BP, Samara hosts 18 at AP, 5 play at NTC, 10 play at C.G.!:"
There were four sessions of GTA Sunday Tennis: an early morning one at Brookdale Park in Bloomfield as "Daddy O" Paul Daddio and "The Mel Man" Melvin Hyman got together to play their Grove Cup XX Round of 41 Match (result reported by Paul); the usual late morning/early afternoon one at the Albion Park Courts in Clifton (hosted by "Hollywood" Frank Samara), a late afternoon into the evening one at Nutley Tennis Club hosted by "The Riz" John Rizzo and then the usual evening session at The Cedar Grove Courts hosted by "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan.
Before we get to the comings and goings at Albion, let's first grab that result from Paul.
The Brookdale Park Result:
Grove Cup XX Round of 41 Match:
Paul Daddio over Melvin Hyman, 6-1, 6-0, to advance to the Round of 32 of the Grove Cup XX Tournament! Since Daddio is solely in the Advanced Division while Hyman is solely in the Intermediate Division, this match does not count as a rank defense for Daddio.
The Dilly-O from Daddy-O: Daddio-Hyman commenced at 7:30am. Mel caused me some problems with a vicious slice attack shot, but thankfully I was able to overcome it.
Samara's Notes: I thank Paul for reporting that result in such a timely manner. I also congratulate him on a very impressive victory. Mr. Daddio now advances to the Round of 32 where he will face "The Annihilator" Nihar Panda. And Panda still has to play his GTA Intermediate Invitational Final against William "Bombs Away" Bobila. Depending how these two matches go, there could be great impact on the Advanced Division's Top 10 in the very near future.
On a lighter note, the more I type "Grove Cup XX"...the more I think this tournament should have been sponsored by Dos Equis beer (aka cerveza). And that company has not been the same since they gave "The Most Interesting Man in The World" his walking papers.
Now we head up to Clifton to see how that session unfolded.
Samara pulled up to the courts at 10:50. As soon as he parked his car and looked to his right, he realized that his head has been in the clouds even deeper than he suspected as of late as he saw he had left his tennis bag at home (even though he had just stopped there earlier to change his sneakers and pick up said bag)! No tennis racquets! No pen and pad to record the results! What to do?!?!
Before he went into full panic mode, he remembered that his son Dante is usually in "travelling artist" mode when he is in the car. So, thankfully, there was at least a pen and some blank pieces of paper in a bag that Dumb Daddy Frank could use.
As Samara walked down the hill toward the courts, he saw that "Chito" Nick Inciong was sitting on his own chair alongside the fence around the North Court. Given the beautiful weather (sunny, dry and on the way to 85 degrees or so), the fact that it was just Nick so far was somewhat alarming.
Nick was nice enough to lend Frank a spare racquet and they started hitting on the North Court. And Mr. Inciong had a very sound theory for the (thus far) shockingly low turnout - many must have still been home watching "The Greatest of All-Time" Roger Federer on his way toward winning his eighth Wimbledon and amazing 19th Grand Slam overall.
And soon enough, the flood gates opened! At 10:55, both "Latino Heat" Jose Gonzales and "Sue B. Newbie" Suzanne Bujara arrived separately.
Five minutes later (at 11am), it was "Vintage" Vinnie De Benedetto being followed downhill by brothers "The Lumberjack" Ryan Pienciak and "The Woodsman" Adam Pienciak. I was going to give Adam the moniker of "The Tennessean" (as that is where he currently resides, he was up visiting), but he said "please don't." Plus, he may be moving back to New Jersey in the near future. So I will go with "The Woodsman" to play off of his elder brother's nickname. Plus Adam has a much fuller beard than Ryan has (Ryan may even be clean-shaven...I can picture him either way right now...maybe he goes both ways...get your minds out of the gutter...and...not that there's anything wrong with that...LOL!).
Samara decided to direct traffic as he knew Ryan and Nick would want to team together some more as they strive to be ready for action in the ongoing M2 Men's Doubles Tournament. So he had them take over the North Court along with Jose and Adam (their soon-to-be opponents) while Vin, Frank and Suzanne shifted over to Center Court with the latter two hitting against the former.
At 11:20, GTA Champion: "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes soon came to that threesome's rescue and Frank thought it best to pair him with Bujara against the experienced tandem, Samara/De Benedetto.
Five minutes later (just as the One-Setter above was beginning), "Big Kaz" Mike Kazlauskas and "Richie" Rich Liu arrived separately and Samara directed them to take South Court and soon they were hitting against one another.
At 11:30, Sachiko "Sachi" Tokuda and "Big George" Jorge Solano arrived separately. Frank suggested that they join the hitting session on the South Court.
Five minutes later, "The Headhunter" Ralph Bernard arrived. He had to wait a short while, but would get involved in the second Doubles One-Setter on the North Court as he took the place of Jose in teaming with Adam to face Ryan and Nick.
At 11:45, "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli made his way down the hill to the courts. Five minutes later, "Super Mario" Marijus Kuzavas did the same.
We went an entire hour before the next two arrivals made their way down the hill...and they arrived together. It was "The Inseparable Cousins" - "Ragin" Rajan Shah and "Teej" T.J. Shah.
The final and eighteenth official arrival of the day was made by "Magic" Mike Mole at 1:30. And at 1:45, "Coach" Dino Celis arrived to make an extended cameo appearance.
Now let's get to the scores!
The Albion Park Results:
Ryan Pienciak/Nick Inciong over Jose Gonzales/Adam Pienciak, 6-2! It was the official GTA Return of Adam Pienciak. No Aces. They played this one on the North Court from 11:10 to 11:35.
Frank Samara/Vinnie De Benedetto over Nathan Fernandes/Suzanne Bujara, 6-0! Suzanne: 1 Ace on Vin; and Frank: 1 Ace on Suzanne! It went like this: Nathan was broken (Frank hit a winner for Love-15, Nate hit a drop shot winner for 15-All, then Frank hit a high overhead of a Backhand Volley for 15-30 and then Vin hit a winning volley to set up Double Break Point and then came the break), Frank held at Love as back-to-back winning volleys by Vin started the game and then an un-returned serve set up Triple Game Point, Suzanne was broken (Double Fault for Love-30, then a slow and short Ace on Vin set up 15-30, Double Break Point where Frank blew a drop shot attempt to make it Break Point, but then another Double Fault caused the break) and Vinnie held (Frank hit a winner and then Nate blew a volley in the next point for 30-Love, 30-15, Double Game Point where Nate made an excellent get/drop shot winner combo to cut the lead to Game Point, it then went to Deuce, Game Point again and then the hold) for a 4-0 lead. Fernandes was broken again (15-Love then point for point to Game Point, Deuce and then it was all Game Points until 3rd Deuce, Break Point, 4th Deuce, Break Point again and then the break...and I could not remember who hit what winners when and where in that game) and then Samara held again (started with a well-placed sideline Ace on Suzanne, then it went to 15-All where Frank hit a winner for 30-15 and then Vin hit a winning volley for Double Game/Match Point which was where Suzanne hit an impressive winner to cut it to Game/Match point, then it was Deuce where Frank hit another winner to now set up the 3rd Game/Match Point only to have Nate hit a winning lob return just over Vin's outstretched racquet to bring it back around to 2nd Deuce, but then Frank hit another winner to set up the 4th Game/Match Point and then Frank hit yet another winner to secure his own hold) to serve up a late-morning bagel to the opposition. We played this on Center Court from 11:25 to 11:50.
The Skinny: It actually felt closer than the shutout set it ended up being as Suzanne continues to improve and play more aggressive shots just about every chance she gets. The Ace she had on Vin was a funny one as he had initially turned to look over to the South Court to say hello to Jorge. But he did turn around in time (and still had enough time) to approach the serve that she had made. It seemed that a little bit of "Statue Boy" creeped back into his game as there was a later shot in the set (a winner by Nate) where De Benedetto just took a casual stroll in its direction as he watched it sail by...LOL! Frank joked that his Ace on Suzanne was revenge for his partner, but it was actually unintended. It just made a beeline for the sideline and that was that!
Jose Gonzales/Jorge Solano over Mike Kazlauskas/Rich Liu, 6-1! Jorge: 1 Ace on Rich. South Court hosted this one from 11:40 to 12:05.
Ryan Pienciak/Nick Inciong over Ralph Bernard/Adam Pienciak, 6-1! Adam: 1 Ace on Ryan! They played this one on the North Court from 11:45 to exactly 12:08. From there, Ralph and Nick had a brief hitting session. When Jose got involved in it, Inciong decided it was time to leave as he packed up and headed off around 12:20.
Dan Martinelli/Sachiko Tokuda over Nathan Fernandes/Suzanne Bujara, 6-3! Sachiko: 2 Aces on Suzanne; and Spin: 1 Ace on Suzanne! Spin and Sachi were up 2-0, 2-1 then to 4-1, then cut down to 4-3 before taking the last two games. When down 3-5, Suzanne was on service and it was Double Break/Match Point where she hit a Double Fault to break herself! Center Court hosted this one from 11:58 to 12:30.
Marijus Kuzavas/Jorge Solano over Mike Kazlauskas/Rich Liu, 6-0! Marijus: 2 Aces (one on each)! They played this on the South Court from 12:15 to exactly 12:34. It was the second bagel set of the day, but it would not be the last!
Ryan Pienciak/Adam Pienciak over Ralph Bernard/Jose Gonzales, 7-5! Jose: 2 Aces (one on each); and Ryan: 1 Ace on Ralph on Match Point! This one took place on the North Court and lasted from 12:15 to 12:52 to be exact. The Brothers United were quite an impressive force.
Vinnie De Benedetto/Sachiko Tokuda over Nathan Fernandes/Suzanne Bujara, 6-3! No Aces. Center Court hosted this one from 12:38 to 1:05.
Mike Kazlauskas/Rich Liu over Marijus Kuzavas/Jorge Solano, 7-5! No Aces. This revenge One-Setter took place on the South Court and lasted from 12:39 to 1:29. The best way to bounce back from being fed a bagel is with a victory...even if it is a hard-fought one. Rich was happy to leave the session as a winner. It is always best to follow the lead of George Constanza...go out on a high note!
Frank Samara/Ralph Bernard over Rajan Shah/T.J. Shah, 6-4! T.J.: 1 Ace on Frank! Here's how it went down: Ralph held (a winning return from Rajan, a near-winner of a return from T.J. and then an even more impressive winning return from Rajan quickly made it Triple Break Point, but then back-to-back un-returned serves followed by a winning Overhead Smash from Frank brought the game to Deuce, then it was on Game Point where Ralph hit a winning roller over the net to secure his own hold), T.J. was broken (an un-returned serve for 15-Love, it shifted to 15-30 as Frank hit a winning Overhead Smash along the way, then it went to 30-All, Break Point and the break), Frank held (an un-returned serve for 15-Love, then 15-All before heading straight to Double Game Point as Ralph absolutely crushed a winner along the way and then the hold was secured with another un-returned serve) and Rajan was broken (an un-returned serve for 15-Love, a Double Fault for 15-All, 30-15, 30-All, Double Fault for Break Point and then Ralph made a great get that led to winning the point and earning the break) as his team got off to an 0-4 start! Bernard held again (15-Love where Rajan hit his most impressive winning return of the day to reverse the momentum as it soon shifted to 15-30, but then back-to-back un-returned serves set up Game Point and then came the hold) for an even more commanding lead of 5-0! But then Teej held in a struggle (Love-15 and then back-to-back un-returned serves made it 30-15, but then Frank made a really nice/get winner combo where he sliced a backhand down the Doubles Alley and then he followed that with an equally impressive Backhand Volley winner to set up Break/Match Point, it then went to Deuce, Game Point where T.J. blew an overhead to bring it back to 2nd Deuce, Game Point, 3rd Deuce, Game Point again and finally the hold) to get his team onto the scoreboard and Samara was then broken (T.J. hit a winning volley for Love-15, it was 15-All before going straight to Double Break Point and the break) to have his team's lead cut to 5-2. Ragin' Rajan held (Double Fault for Love-30, it shifted to 30-All with an un-returned serve along the way, it was then Break/Match Point again where a truly un-returnable serve...a near Ace against Frank...brought it to Deuce and then it went to Game Point and the hold) and then The Headhunter was finally broken (started with a Double Fault, Love-30 soon shifted to 30-All, but then it went to Break Point, Deuce, Break Point again and then the break) as his team's lead was now reduced to 5-4 and "panic mode" soon set in on the team that had once seemed poised to serve the third bagel of the day! But then Maxx Hooker (T.J.'s other alias) was broken (15-Love shifted to 15-30, it was 30-All, Break/Match Point, a big Ace up the T against Frank for Deuce...which was where Frank scored with a drop shot volley winner to set up the 2nd Break/Match Point of the game...which was the 4th M.P. overall...and that was where Ralph hit a winner to end it) as the opposition finally got the hell out of Dodge! We waged this war from 1pm to 1:48 on the North Court.
The Skinny: This ended up being quite a One-Setter as The Shahs of Sunset have absolutely no quit in them! Meanwhile, Ralph admitted that his shots were getting tighter and tighter the closer it got. Ralph was kind enough to lend his partner Frank a racquet (earlier, Samara had played with Nick's spare racquet) as Samara was mostly on the money all day long despite playing with unfamiliar racquets (Hollywood likes it that way...LOL!). If this one had gone into 7-5 or Tiebreak territory, it may have had a chance at being a Nominee for One-Set Doubles Match of The Year at season's end...but a 6-4 score will likely fall short in that regard.
On the heels of this one, Ralph had a hitting session first against T.J. and then against Rajan as Mr. Bernard said he really wanted to improve upon his shot-making and get his feel back. Then, after The Headhunter left, the Shahs faced off against each other in a hitting session until they would have the chance to play Doubles once again later in the session.
On the South Court, there was a hitting session between buddies Marijus and Big Mike Kaz until Mr. Kazlauskas was replaced by another Mike at 1:30 - Mr. Mole!
Ryan Pienciak/Adam Pienciak over Nathan Fernandes/Dan Martinelli, 6-0! Ryan: 1 Ace on Spin; and Spin: 1 Ace on Ryan! Center Court hosted this third bagel of the day and it lasted from 1:10 to 1:30.
Nathan Fernandes/Dan Martinelli over Marijus Kuzavas/Mike Mole, 7-5! Marijus: 1 Ace on Spin. They played this one on South Court from 1:45 to 2:21 to be exact. Spin was happy to leave a winner...but also was feeling dehydrated as he forgot his water at home (or perhaps in his car). He said he needed to head home right away to go take a cold shower (yuck!).
Rajan Shah/T.J. Shah over Nathan Fernandes/Mike Mole, 6-1! No Aces. This one got underway on the North Court at exactly 2:23. Not sure when it ended as all the rest of us had left before it finished (Spin headed off around 2:30 and Frank and Dino's bull session carried on till near 2:45). Nate was nice enough to send the score via text later in the day.
Now we go to NTC to grab the scores from The Riz.
The NTC Results:
Don Moya/Janice Wang over Paul Daddio/John Rizzo, 6-4! No Aces.
Paul Daddio/Alfred Chen over Don Moya/Janice Wang, 6-2! No Aces.
Don Moya/Janice Wang over Paul Daddio/John Rizzo, 6-3! No Aces.
John Rizzo tied with Janice Wang, 5-5 (Incomplete, cut short due to darkness)! No Aces.
The Riz Report: I led 4-1 and 5-3, but Janice fights for every point and she eventually tied it up. At that point, it was after 8:30 and getting too dark to continue.
Samara's Notes: I thank John for submitting those scores in a very timely manner and the "Battle of The Sexes" One-Setter at the end was particularly interesting. It is too bad there was not enough time (or should I say, daylight) to have it play out to its proper conclusion.
We now head up to Cedar Grove to get the scores from The K Man!
The Cedar Grove Results:
Raj Shah/Syed Rashid over Greg Swierczek/Doinks Srinivasan, 7-6 (8-6)! No Aces.
Samara's Notes: It is good to see that Greg is back in action after recent back surgery. We hope that The Pilot will be able to keep flying "the friendly skies" of the GTA. Also, this one sounds like it could be a possible Nominee for One-Set Specialty Doubles Match of The Year at season's end (though it is short on details). We now go back to Kris.
Raj Shah/Greg Swierczek over Kris Srinivasan/Jose Gonzales, 7-5! No Aces.
Rob Gawley/Laura Gawley over Mike Mole/Natalia Sout, 6-4! No Aces.
Rob Gawley/Laura Gawley over Mike Mole/Natalia Sout, 6-1! No Aces.
Samara's Notes: Thanks to Kris for all he does for the GTA up at Cedar Grove.
Sincerely,
Frank Samara
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