7/26/17:
"Dan-Omar, Jose-Randy, Joe-Lou, Nihar-William, Spin-Tommy, MXD2 Semi…!":
There were multiple sessions of GTA Wednesday Tennis with report contributions made by nine different "hosts" (I put that in quotes this time around as most were just reporting their own match, but still it is much appreciated)! The usual host at Cedar Grove, "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan, did not host as he had to tend to family matters (though he did stop by to watch some of the action), but that did not prevent the day from being one of great progress as the GTA Intermediate Invitational Tournament finally came to its conclusion while four of the Grove Cup XX Tournament matches were played as well.
So we're going to try to tackle all of this in chronological order…at least somewhat. First, it was "The Speed Demon" Dan Praport and "Stealth" Omar Santos getting together at The Cedar Grove Courts in the afternoon for their Grove Cup XX Round of 32 Match with one another.
In the evening hours, "Latino Heat" Jose Gonzales and "Ravishing" Randy Doran faced off against one another in their Grove Cup XX Round of 41 Match at The Park Ave. Courts in Nutley.
Around the same time, "The Riz" John Rizzo hosted "The AM Rush" Anish Mehta as they squared off against each other in three separate Singles One-Setters.
And then it was back up to Cedar Grove in those later hours as "J-Rod" Joe Rodrigues and "The Lethal Lefty" Lou La Forgia faced off against one another in their Grove Cup XX Round of 32 Match.
Then, "The Annihilator" Nihar Panda and William "Bombs Away" Bobila played their long-awaited GTA Intermediate Invitational Final with each other while "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli went up against "Tireless" Tommy Reszkowski (new moniker comes courtesy of Spin) in their Grove Cup XX Round of 41 Match. Both of these matches failed to go the distance as there were injury and/or ailment-related retirements in each one.
Plus, GTA Champion: "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes sent in additional results from that Cedar Grove session.
THIS JUST IN – It also turns out that the GTA MXD2 Mixed Doubles Semifinal Match was also played as it was Reszkowski doing double-duty as he teamed with "The Argentine Machine" Fernanda Toker to challenge "The Adonis" Don Moya and "J-Wow" Janice Wang. Once Janice saw that this match went unreported, she immediately submitted the result.
So, first we go to The Praport Report of the first match of the day played in Cedar Grove.
The Cedar Grove Result:
Grove Cup XX Round of 32 Match:
Dan Praport over Omar Santos, 6-2, 6-2, to successfully defend his # 14 Rank in the Advanced Division while advancing to the Round of 16 of the 20th Annual Grove Cup Tournament! No Aces.
The Praport Report: We met up at 2pm in Cedar Grove for our Grove Cup match. The match took one hour and twenty minutes to complete. Omar was saying after the match that he made too many unforced errors while I was very consistent. It was fun playing with him again.
Samara's Notes: I thank Dan for submitting that result in a very timely manner (just shortly after the match ended). Praport now has to wait for the winner of the Round of 32 Match between Panda and "Daddy O" Paul Daddio.
And now we head to Park Ave. in Nutley for the result from Jose.
The Park Ave. Courts Result:
Grove Cup XX Round of 41 Match:
Jose Gonzales over Randy Doran, 6-2, 6-3, to advance to the Round of 32 of the 20th Annual Grove Cup Tournament! This is not a rank defense for Gonzales as he is solely in the Advanced Division while Doran is solely in the Intermediate Division. Jose: 4 Aces (two in each set)!
Jose has his say: Randy is a tough player. He returns every ball and keeps the ball really low. There were a lot of close games, but luckily I prevailed.
Samara's Notes: I thank Jose for submitting that result in a very timely manner (like Dan, just shortly after the match ended). Gonzales will now face "The Legendary" Chazz Weldon in the Round of 32.
We stay in Nutley, but now head over to The Nutley Tennis Club to get The Riz Report.
The NTC Results:
John Rizzo over Anish Mehta, 6-4! No Aces.
John Rizzo over Anish Mehta, 6-4! No Aces.
John Rizzo over Anish Mehta, 7-5! No Aces.
Samara's Notes: I thank John for reporting those results in a very timely manner. We now head up to Cedar Grove for the balance of the results.
The Cedar Grove Results:
Grove Cup XX Round of 32 Match:
Lou La Forgia over Joe Rodrigues, 5-7, 6-2, 6-0, to become the New # 18 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division while advancing to the Round of 16 of the 20th Annual Grove Cup Tournament! No Aces.
The Info from Joe: We started at 6pm and finished around 7:30. Lou found his groove in the 2nd Set and didn't look back. Best of luck to him in the tournament!
Samara's Notes: I thank Joe for submitting that result in a timely manner. Now Lou will be waiting a while in the Round of 16 as two matches must first take place before an opponent reaches him. In the Round of 41, it'll be Dennis "The Menace" Cabanatan taking on "Big George" Jorge Solano. Then, the winner of that match faces Former GTA Champ: "King Crush" Chris Chiaro in the Round of 32. And then that victor advances to meet La Forgia in the Round of 16.
Now we get the result submitted by William.
GTA Intermediate Invitational Final:
Nihar Panda over William Bobila, 6-1, 6-1 (William retired at 3-1), to win the 2017 GTA Intermediate Invitational Tournament and successfully defend his # 6 Rank in the Advanced Division while also becoming the New # 2 Ranked Player in the Intermediate Division (and New Top Contender)! Nihar: 1 Ace.
The Word from William: We played from 6:15 to 7:30pm. Nihar played a solid and consistent game from start to finish. Well done, no excuses and I congratulate him. It's unfortunate not to be able to complete the Intermediate Final Match and I felt sorry to end this match in retirement.
In the beginning of the match, the score was 1-1 after Nihar held serve in a very long service game where I felt something like a shortness of breath. I tried to slow down and hang on as normally I would recover (but not this time). I really wanted to finish the match, but my concern was my history of health issues.
In this regard, I'm also forfeiting my Grove Cup Round of 32 Match versus Dean Delgado in the ongoing tournament. I will just continue and finish my commitment to the M2 Men's Doubles Tournament with my partner, Fred Suba.
Samara's Notes: First off, I thank William for submitting this result in such a timely manner. Second, I'm sorry to see that it had to end this way. Third, I congratulate Nihar on a very impressive run thru the entire tourney.
Now, we have a lot of consequences as a result of this result (the redundancy is fully intentional). In addition to his Grove Cup Round of 32 Match against Paul Daddio, Nihar now is entitled to the next GTA Intermediate Title Match with the reigning Champ: "The Webmaster" Senthil Kumar. That match can be played while the Grove Cup progresses and it should be played as soon as possible (i.e. as soon as it is mutually convenient for both participants). Not only will Senthil's Title be on the line, but so will Nihar's rank in the Advanced Division. That means each one is in somewhat of a challenger position in this next match.
Meanwhile, Delgado has just been given a bye into the Round of 16. Even though William said he is "forfeiting the match" to Dean, the way we always handle such situations is that this is a withdrawal from the tournament as the match was never started. So the rank of Bobila is not lost (i.e. up for grabs) in this situation.
That is the bad news for Delgado, but the good news is he advances further and now awaits the winner of the Round of 32 Match between "The Sultan of Swing" Raj Shah and "Teej" T.J. Shah.
And in the M2 Semi, the team of Bobila/Suba now faces the formidable tandem of "Super Mario" Marijus Kuzavas and "Big Kaz" Mike Kazlauskas.
We now go to the mutual reporting of Spin and Tommy on the match they had with one another.
Grove Cup XX Round of 41 Match:
Tommy Reszkowski over Dan Martinelli, 7-6 (7-5), 6-0 (Spin retired after the 1st Set), to become the New # 40 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division while also advancing to the Round of 32 of the 20th Annual Grove Cup Tournament! Spin: 1 Ace.
The Spin from Spin: I met up with Tommy at 5:30 at Cedar Grove. He was the first to arrive. He was sprinting around the court while waiting for me. In jest, I asked him if he was trying to intimate me as I approached the tennis courts. We laughed a bit and then started our warm-up. Kris came by to watch a bit of the action. Joe Rodrigues and Lou La Forgia were also there getting ready for their match.
With my serves working and Tommy's serve not finding the mark I was able to storm out to a commanding 4-1 lead. However, in Game 6 things started to change. Tommy cleaned up his serves and his entire game and started to run Spin around like a lunatic. And run I did! Soon it was 4-2, then 4-3. On the changeover, I was sucking down air like a gazelle that had been chased by three lions! Tommy, on the other hand, was as fresh as a daisy. He was barely sweating and looked like he just got back from a stroll on the beach sipping a Pina Colada. His moniker should be "Tireless" Tommy. Somewhere in Game 8, I pulled my right hamstring. It was not good, but it wasn't that bad either so we played on further. Tommy made it 5-4 in his favor and then I made it 6-5 in my favor. The set was knotted at 6-6 and it went to a Tiebreak. It could have been a grand match indeed. I decided to sit a little bit after that one hour set. The "hammie" tightened up and I decided to retire. Tommy was very good about all this. He surely wanted to finish the match, but he was cool with any decision I would make. In the end, I decided against being the "noble idiot" of the past and reluctantly packed it in for the night. As I type this on Thursday morning, my decision was the correct one as I cannot fully extend my right leg. It's good to see "Tireless" Tommy now in the Advanced Division.
Tommy's take: It was a tight match where it had actually been Spin having a four game to one lead over me. Spin tweaked his hamstring late in the set and then after resting once the set was complete, he decided it was best that he not continue and retired giving me the match.
Samara's Notes: I thank both for their timely contributions to this report. And while it is sad to see that Spin had to go out like that, I also recognize the fine effort from Tommy and congratulate him on his victory! He is now one of those "bridge players" who finds himself in both divisions (Advanced and Intermediate) at the same time. He now advances to the Round of 32 where he will find another friendly face (though in this case, it may be an imposing one): Marijus!
And now we let the reigning GTA Champ: Nate close out this report with the rest of the results.
Mike Mole/Guy Dupoux over Nathan Fernandes/Ray Spadaro, 6-4! No Aces.
Mike Mole/Tito Castolo over Nathan Fernandes/Guy Dupoux, 7-6 (7-3)! No Aces.
Nathan Fernandes/Jose Gonzales over Tito Castolo/Guy Dupoux, 7-5! No Aces.
Samara's Notes: I thank Nate for sending in the rest of those results in a very timely manner. And now we go to that late submission from Janice.
MXD2 Semifinal:
Don Moya/Janice Wang over Tommy Reszkowski/Fernanda Toker, 6-2, 6-3, to successfully defend their #6 Rank in the Mixed Doubles Division while also advancing to the Finals of the MXD2 Mixed Doubles Tournament! No Aces (apparently).
Samara's Notes: I thank Janice for submitting that very important result. She had assumed someone else would send it in…but history proves that it is usually up to the winners to report the scores (though there were a couple of sportsmanlike exceptions to that rule in this report). Again, better late than never!
This closes out an epic session (featuring 14 competitors) that rounded out an even more epic day…one of the most consequential days in the history of the GTA! I once again thank all those that were a part of it and made sure everything was duly noted as appropriate.
Sincerely,
Frank Samara
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