9/17/17:
"Samara hosts 17 at AP, Rich-Keith at PAC, Spin hosts at C.G.!:"
There were three sessions of GTA Sunday Tennis: the usual morning session at Albion Park in Clifton with "Hollywood" Frank Samara hosting; an early evening session at The Park Ave. Courts in Nutley featuring a full 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match between buddies "Richie" Rich Liu and "Kaptain" Keith Lewkowitz (as reported by Rich); and a late evening session at The Cedar Grove Courts where "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli was the impromptu host that featured five players, but no official action.
The humid conditions which began midway through the past week continued right into this Sunday and once they were coupled with the sun, it was no mercy, baby! It felt more like mid-July or mid-August rather than mid-September. Still, that did not seem to dampen the spirits of the competitors of this fine league as we ended up with an impressive total of 17 competitors at the Albion session.
When Samara pulled up to the courts a little early at 10:50, he found that two of those competitors were already competing as it was "The Headhunter" Ralph Bernard and "Magic" Mike Mole (who earned yet another new moniker during the session...more on that later) facing off on the North Court in Singles action. The night before (Saturday) in Cedar Grove, Bernard beat Mole in straight sets to take his rank. This time around, the two agreed to meet early for what turned out to be a couple of One-Setters where they decided to forego the changeovers (likely to save energy rather than save time...also, the sun had yet to come out early in the session, so the sun was not yet a factor).
Center Court (whose net has now sunk far too low at this point...likely at the hands of some punk kids!) was vacant, but on the South Court there was a young mom with her very young son (four or five years old, perhaps). When she soon saw that we had four more competitors heading down the hill to the courts, she was nice enough to pack up her stuff, pick up her kid and head to the park. It is rare to find people this considerate nowadays and I thanked her for her thoughtfulness.
The foursome making their way to the courts was William "Bombs Away" Bobila (who overcame some health issues as of late), Sachiko "Sachi" Tokuda, "Fabulous" Fadia Nicolas (who likes her new moniker, but also feels unworthy of it) and "The Queen of Controversy" Louise Bysiek (who continues to maintain a peaceful presence at our courts, but I have been hearing many voices of concern since it was first announced that she is back on the scene).
At 11am, hot on their heels were "Vintage" Vinnie De Benedetto, "Sue B. Newbie" Suzanne Bujara and "The Webmaster" Senthil Kumar all also heading onto the courts. With Bernard and Mole already into the second of their back-to-back One-Setters, the situation was quite ideal, actually.
We had four ladies in attendance (often a rarity and especially at a Sunday session) for some Women's Doubles action on the South Court while the four guys could play Men's Doubles on Center Court. Samara offered up the possibility of a full 2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match to the opposition (Kumar/Bobila), but only if others did not show up along the way. If later competitors would have to wait long, that idea would be scrapped in favor of just a One-Setter (or perhaps two depending upon the timing of the other arrivals). All were on board with this idea.
At 11:20, "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli made his way down the hill toward the park and was soon joined by GTA Champion: "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes who had walked across the other side of the park to get to the courts. They sat together by the fence to watch the action while they waited their turn to get involved in some of it.
After Ralph and Mike took a bit of a breather after the conclusion of their second One-Setter, they called out the invite to Nate and Spin to head over to the North Court for some Doubles. This made it seem like a full match may have a chance at fruition on Center Court. Yet, that lengthy 1st Set was still raging on at the time.
When "Super Mario" Marijus Kuzavas and "The Smackdown" Sally Pillay arrived together at 11:55, said plans for a full match on Center Court were scrapped. As it turned out to be an epic One-Setter, the four competitors were happy to have it be just that when it ended exactly at 11:58. As the losers who should have been winners (three blown Match Points!), Frank and Vin stepped off like Costanza getting that dismissive directive from hunky "Tonay!"
The winners, Senthil and William, held court to face the New GTA Mixed Doubles Champions: Kuzavas/Pillay! And the scenario was also ideal for the other four ladies to make it a full match on the South Court.
"Latino Heat" Jose Gonzales (maybe he will soon want to be called "Hurricane Jose"...hmm) arrived at 12:05. He waited on the bench alongside the North Court with Frank and Vin while waiting to get involved in the action. That opportunity arose when he had the chance to replace Spin in the next Doubles One-Setter on that very court.
The Doc was more than happy to sit alongside Hollywood and Vintage Vin and reform the squadron known as The Hecklers. It soon became a scene of many one-liners and astute (or is that asinine? LOL!) observations.
At 12:45, "Dynamo" Dino Celis came down with a bucket of balls to the one entrance to the courts while The Inseparable Cousins ("Teej" T.J. Shah and "Ragin" Rajan Shah) made their way to the other entrance.
Very quickly, things shook out again so that nobody was left waiting all that long as Ralph and Jose soon headed home. That left the North Court for a hitting session between Nate and Dino while Mike and William willingly watched as both felt exhausted at that time (Bobila would soon head home as well).
On Center Court, Marijus and Sally were now facing Senthil and Suzanne. The four ladies had long left the South Court by this time. That left The Shahs of Sunset to do battle with Spin and Vin...and later The Foundation (Samara/Martinelli).
The last official action of the day ended at exactly 2:12. There was then a bull session featuring Frank, Spin, Dino, Nate and Mike that lasted until 2:35 until all decided to head home due to the high humidity.
Overall, the session truly could not have flowed and functioned any better considering we had 17 competitors over the course of it. Nobody had to wait long and when they did, they were more than happy to do so. It was also quite nice to have access to the nearby bathroom as organized Little League (perhaps Farm League) Baseball caused the door to be unlocked and wide open. All in all, it was good times had by all!
The Albion Park Results:
Mike Mole over Ralph Bernard, 6-2! Mike: 1 Ace. Not sure when they had begun this one on Court One, but it ended exactly at 10:52. Three minutes later, they decided to run it back.
Mike Mole over Ralph Bernard, 7-6 (7-5)! No Aces. This one finished at 11:40. Some in attendance questioned why this was not a full match, but I understand the difference if that was not agreed upon at the outset. They decided to forego changeovers in both sets, though they did switch court sides leading into the second one. If you do not come into it with a full match mentality, it is then somewhat unfair to insist it was a full match just because one guy took it in what would be straight sets. Hopefully, the two of them will play a full and proper rematch in the near future.
Senthil Kumar/William Bobila over Frank Samara/Vinnie De Benedetto, 7-5! William: 1 Ace on Vinnie (on the very first point of the match)! It went like this: William held serve (started off with a big Ace up the T on his very first serve in what was a "First In" situation and it caught Vin off-guard, but it was fair and it was followed by an un-returned serve for 30-Love, 30-15, Double Game Point where Vin hit a winning drop shot volley for Game Point, but then another un-returned serve secured the hold), Frank held (Vin hit a vicious volley winner for 30-Love, it was Triple Game Point where William hit a wicked Backhand Volley winner for Double Game Point, but then an un-returned serve secured the hold), Senthil held (a truly un-returnable serve for 15-Love, a Double Fault for 15-All which was where William hit a winning volley for 30-15, Double Game Point, Game Point and the hold), but Vinnie was the first to be broken (Love-30, an un-returned serve for 15-30, Double Break Point and the break) for 1-3. Bobila was broken (30-Love where William blew an overhead attempt for 30-15, Double Game Point, Double Fault for Game Point, Deuce where Senthil blew a volley to make it Break Point which Frank then ended with a drop shot winner for the break) and then Samara held again (an un-returned serve followed by a victorious volley from Vin made it 30-Love, but that was where Senthil hit an awesome Backhand Volley winner for 30-15, then it went to Double Game Point where William had a winning volley of his own for Game Point, but then came the hold) to level things at 3-3. Kumar was broken (15-Love, Double Fault for 15-All where Vin hit a winning volley for 15-30, then it was 30-All where Frank whipped out a big-time Windmill Overhead Smash winner to set up Break Point, it then went to Deuce, Break Point, 2nd Deuce, Break Point and the break) and then De Benedetto held (15-Love then point for point until 30-All, Break Point, Deuce and then all Game Points through to 3rd Deuce, another Game Point and the hold...and I could no longer remember who hit what winners where and when in this lengthy game!) to take a 5-3 lead for his team! Bombs Away Bobila then held at Love as Senthil hit a winning volley, there was an un-returned serve, another winning volley from Senthil and then Senthil hit an impressive passing shot winner to secure his partner's hold as they pulled to 4-5! Next came the most pivotal game as Hollywood hit an un-returned serve, followed by an impressive "revenge" passing shot winner against Senthil (who scored the previous game-closer against him) and then another un-returned serve to set up Triple Game/Match Point. Frank then called out that score to the opposition, but said as Triple Game/Set Point as the idea of a full match was possibly still in play. When he asked them if it should be Match Point, they said they planned on taking the game to Deuce! Sure enough, Senthil hit a winning volley to then make it Double Game/Match Point. He then hit another winning volley to cut it down Game/Match Point. Frank then blew a quasi-overhead attempt to have his service reduced to Deuce. It then went to Break Point and the break for 5-5! The Webmaster then had a Love hold that got started off with a winning Overhead Smash from William as their team had just taken nine straight points off the opposition for a 6-5 lead! Vintage Vinnie was now on serve and announced he would soon end that streak. And it did end as Senthil blew a volley attempt by dumping it into the net to offer up a 15-Love lead for the opposition. But that would be about it as a Double Fault made it 15-All, it then went to 15-30 where another Double Fault set up Double Break/Match Point which would be ended by a winner from William for a highly impressive comeback...taking 13 of the last 14 points for the win! We played this on Center Court from 11:11 to 11:58.
The Skinny: In a season of so many Tiebreak One-Setters, I doubt this will be a Nominee for One-Set Doubles Match of The Year at season's end...but it definitely deserves an Honorable Mention! The funny thing is that when I told Senthil and William to team together against Vin and me, they thought they had the unfair advantage and that they should be split up instead. That was all it took to rile Vin up (in a good way, of course) and it set the tone for a very competitive yet fun One-Setter.
2 out of 3 Sets Women's Doubles Match:
Fadia Nicolas/Louise Bysiek over Sachiko Tokuda/Suzanne Bujara, 6-3, 6-1, as both teams entered the Women's Doubles Division as the New # 9 and # 10 Ranked Teams respectively! No Aces. This match was played on the South Court. After a ten minute hitting session, the 1st Set officially got underway at 11:15 and ended at 11:55. There was a brief hitting session between Fadia and Suzanne while both Louise and Sachiko took a breather in the high heat and humidity. The 2nd Set then lasted from 12:05 to 12:43.
Ralph Bernard/Mike Mole over Nathan Fernandes/Dan Martinelli, 6-4! No Aces. This was played on the North Court from 11:48 to 12:19. I started paying particular attention to it (from the bench alongside the court) when Fernandes/Martinelli were up 4-3 and Spin was about to serve. He ended up being broken for 4-4, Mike held serve and then Nate was broken on Break/Match Point to end it.
Senthil Kumar/William Bobila over Marijus Kuzavas/Sally Pillay, 6-4! No Aces. Center Court hosted this one from 12:07 to 12:50. Senthil and William jumped out to a 4-0 lead before Marijus and Sally bounced back to level it at 4-4. Just as the opposition were finding their footing, Kumar and Bobila righted their ship to take the last two games and go out as a team as two-time winners on the day!
Nathan Fernandes/Jose Gonzales over Ralph Bernard/Mike Mole, 6-0! No Aces. They played this on North Court from 12:23 to 12:48. I think, by this time, Ralph and Mike were both quite exhausted. You then bring in a fresh Jose (who was very much on the money in this one) and team him with The Champ...and it was a recipe for disaster!
The Skinny: The Hecklers (in this case, Frank, Spin and Vin) had a lot of fun during this one. Mole, who recently returned from a visit to his native Argentina, was in rare form from a comedic standpoint. It has taken a few seasons for Mike to finally show us his lighter side. He has one of the deeper voices in the league (though not when Nate took a shot at him right at the net and he let out a squeal much like a teenage girl would when being advanced upon by a man like Spin…yeah, that's right! LOL!). He often sounds like Sylvester Stallone when he says "thanks, bro" and "sorry, bro." And all that has led to his latest moniker: "Del Brotro!" LMAO!
T.J. Shah/Rajan Shah over Dan Martinelli/Vinnie De Benedetto, 6-3! No Aces. South Court hosted this one from 12:51 to 1:23. Team 130 (aka Spin and Vin, so named for their combined age of 130 years old! Spin at 62 and Vin at 68!) jumped out to a 3-1 lead before The Shahs had the sun go down on their senior opponents by taking five straight games for an impressive comeback victory! Vin hobbled home after this one as Spin then enlisted his Foundation partner Frank to take his previous partner's place.
Marijus Kuzavas/Sally Pillay over Senthil Kumar/Suzanne Bujara, 6-1! No Aces. They played this one on Center Court from 12:53 to 1:16. After this one, Marijus shifted over to the North Court to go solo in hitting against both Nate and Mike while Sally was talking to Suzanne. Once Pillay joined Kuzavas for one more One-Setter over on the North Court, Dino offered up a training session to Suzanne on Center Court.
Marijus Kuzavas/Sally Pillay over Nathan Fernandes/Mike Mole, 6-3! No Aces. This one was played on the North Court from 1:25 to 1:55.
Frank Samara/Dan Martinelli over T.J. Shah/Rajan Shah, 6-4! No Aces. The dirty lowdown: T.J. was broken (Love-15, 15-All where Frank hit a winner for 15-30, Double Fault for Double Break Point, an un-returned serve for Break Point and then the break), Frank was broken at Love as the game was book-ended by a raging return winner from Rajan at the outset and then a drop shot winner by Rajan for the break and then Rajan was the first to hold serve and this was also at Love as he started off with a winner followed by an un-returned serve as The Shahs had just taken eight straight points from The Foundation! Spin was determined to end this and end it he did by starting off with an un-returned serve for 15-Love, it went to 30-Love which was where Rajan hit a winner for 30-15 and then came a Double Fault for 30-All where Rajan hit another winner to set up Break Point, but then another un-returned serve made it Deuce, it went to Game Point, 2nd Deuce, Break Point where Frank made a great get/winner combo to bring it to 3rd Deuce, then came Game Point and the hold to level things at 2-2! Teej was broken (an un-returned serve for 15-Love, then came the rally of the match up until that point for 15-All which was where Spin made an amazing get/winner combo for 15-30 and then it was Double Break Point where Frank hit a wicked winner of his own for the break) and then Samara held at Love as he started things off with an un-returned serve, hit a wild net-cord-aided winner which stunned T.J. and set up Triple Game Point which was then followed by another un-returned serve to secure the hold and put his team up 4-2! Ragin' Rajan was then broken (T.J. hit a very impressive volley winner and that was followed by back-to-back un-returned serves to set up Triple Game Point to only watch that lead wither in the humid conditions as it soon became Deuce before they knew what had hit them and then it went to Break Point, 2nd Deuce, Game Point, 3rd Deuce, Game Point, 4th Deuce, Break Point and the break...and I must admit to not remembering who hit what winners where and when once we went to Deuce) to fall to 2-5! Martinelli was then broken (Frank blew a volley and then T.J. scored with a scorching return winner to make it Love-30, but then Frank had an awesome get/winner combo of his own for 15-30, but then it went to Double Break Point where Rajan walloped a winner for the break) and T.J. held (Love-30 shifted straight to Game Point as there was an un-returned serve, a winner from T.J. and then a winner from Rajan along the way and then came the hold) to pull to 4-5 and put some pause and pensive pondering proclivities into the thoughts of the team otherwise known as Spin City! Then came the man known also known as The Wood to the rescue as Rajan blew a drop shot attempt for 15-Love, Spin made another outrageous get/winner combo for 30-Love, Rajan responded with another roaring return winner to make it 30-15 where Frank electrified the scene with a sizzling get/passing shot winner combo to set up Double Game/Match Point and then Rajan book-ended this game with another blown drop shot attempt to allot the hold and take a tough loss! We played this one on the South Court from 1:27 to 2:12.
The Skinny: This one was a whole lot of fun as The Foundation finally rebounded from some pitiful performances as of late. The Shahs also made it a lot more interesting with their near comeback toward the end. I also must say that T.J. and Rajan are two really good guys with a great sense of humor as they never get offended by the often obnoxious antics of the always sophomoric (sometimes moronic) fiends known as The Foundation!
We now take this report to Nutley to get the result from Rich.
The Park Ave. Result:
2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:
Keith Lewkowitz over Rich Liu, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, to become the New # 34 Ranked Player in the Intermediate Division! Rich: 1 Ace in the 1st Set.
The Richie Rich Report: Kapt. Keith and I had a great match in Nutley. We met up around 5:15pm and decided to play on the far court where there was a little bit of shade. The weather was sunny and muggy. Muggy was right as both of our T-shirts were soaked by the end of the match! Keith caught the attention of the female tennis players next to us as he was changing his shirt afterwards…haha!
The sets were quite competitive as both Kaptain Keith and I were both serving well. Not sure if our serves have improved or perhaps our ability to return serves has declined. In the 1st Set, we basically each held our service games till the end when Keith elevated his game and won the set at 6-4. The 2nd Set was similar with many long rallies that totally wore me out, but still I took it at 6-4. By then, it was almost 7pm and we decided to play a 3rd Set to make it a full match. Keith then dominated that set to take it 6-3 and win the match. Then we went to get some food and cold drinks at the local Nutley Diner (which I highly recommend, by the way).
Samara's Notes: I definitely appreciate the timely reporting and the detailed commentary from Rich. I also congratulate Keith on a hard-fought victory (especially under those steamy conditions). Yes, I have witnessed firsthand how the ladies swoon over Kaptain Keith. Also, I agree with Rich on his assessment of the Nutley Diner (though I prefer the Tick Tock Diner in Clifton).
We now head up to Cedar Grove to get the last word from Spin (he always likes getting in the last word…LOL!).
A cool but humid night leads to The Furious Five taking over the courts at C.G.!!!
Upon my reluctant arrival to The Cedar Grove Courts (I was rather beat up from the Albion Park session earlier in the day), I saw a sprinkling of orange cones on Court 3. That meant only one thing…that former "Coach" Dino Celis and Natalia were engaged in a training session. Court 4 presented us with two interlopers who actually did not stay all that long.
Ryan Pienciak was "The Lonely Boy" practicing his serve on Court 1. Court 2 was devoid of action and would stay that way thoughout the evening. Ryan and I decided to have a rather engaging hitting session. Ryan had sent out an e-mail to the league earlier in the evening and it later (around 9:30) served to produce the arrival of his buddy, Tony Shiao.
No actual official action took place as we were content to just hold a massive practice session. Kudos to Natalia…because she was the only one who engaged in tennis action the entire time! Dino had her play a practice set (a scrimmage of sorts) first against Ryan and then myself. When Tony arrived, he and Ryan took to Court 4 to hit amongst themselves.
Shortly after the lights went out, Kris Srinivasan arrived to get the scoop on the evening's festivities. The post-tennis conversation lasted until around 10:30 when Natalia, Kris, Dino and I called it a night.
Samara's Notes: I appreciate the update from Spin as it painted the picture of just how things were up at Cedar Grove.
Sincerely,
Frank Samara
862-596-3354
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