4/6/18:
"23 players (3 New) compete at The Bubble!":
There was another extended session of GTA Friday Night Tennis at The Wayne Bubble. We say "extended" because we once again had the four-plus hour format we had implemented three weeks prior for that week's "Levypalooza" event. When we reduced the time back to two hours the week after that, half a dozen players had to be turned away as a result.
That led to us coming back to the larger, more open format two weeks ago. The turnout trending toward this Friday was weaker than it had been for all prior "4+" sessions. It was starting to get to the point where we thought we may have to either return to the two-hour/non-stop play format or cut back on having all four courts for all four hours. Thankfully, the usual late surge in registrations prevented that from being necessary. Still, it was the lowest turnout yet for one of these larger sessions...just 23 competitors and that includes "Master MC" Mark Cipollini who is there to run The Bubble. It also includes the following two individuals mentioned in the next paragraph...LOL!
Per the usual, "Hollywood" Frank Samara promoted the event while "The Riz" John Rizzo went into his usual organizer mode (for these Bubble events) as he began collecting registrations and making plans for snacks, beverages, etc.
Rizzo's usual focus was primarily the registrations and then the above accommodations and then together with Samara he also made sure that all those that attended had their fair share of court time at The Bubble.
Cipollini was kind (and generous) enough to "BYOB - Bring Your Own Beer" for the group along with a nice box of chocolates (no, Forrest Gump was not in attendance).
The reduced amount of players actually made for a better session for the players on hand as they got to log more court time with less overall attendees competing for the right to compete (intentional redundancy there). And part of the success of this session was bringing three new players into the league...and two of them were five of the last-minute registrations that we picked up for the upcoming GTA Intermediate Invitational Tournament (giving us an unprecedented amount of 34 competitors for that tourney!).
Before I go further with the details of how this session unfolded, I just want to once again thank The Riz for offering up his time, services and funds to host this event for the benefit of the GTA. And I acted as the host of the session in the traditional sense of how we use the term "hosting", i.e. I collected the scores of all the action along the way.
Usually in my results write-ups, I detail the order of entry and/or appearance as the session progresses...but not this time around! There were just too many people to note...and they came in waves! All I will say is was yet another epic session that we plan to continue in a similar fashion (i.e. four hours plus) for the next two weeks until it is time to say "sayonara" to The Wayne Bubble for this season (until next fall).
We also once again thank Cipollini for both his generosity and flexibility (coming in to play when needed and then going back to running The Bubble and cleaning up after our group once we leave). The good news for him was that we did not need him to "work overtime" as we did not run a little long this time around as the last of the official action ended exactly at 12:15 (we began the session at 8:15).
Let's get to the action!
The Wayne Bubble Results:
Kevin Doyle/Robin Wilson over Thiyagesh Rei/Kathryn Rei, 6-2! Thiyagesh: 1 Ace on Kevin on his very first serve of the evening! It was the official GTA Debut of both Thiyagesh Rei and Kathryn Rei. This Mixed Doubles action got the overall session underway at exactly 8:15 on Court Four and it finished precisely at 8:38. It was well-balanced competition that would have likely taken longer to finish, but they decided to forego the changeovers.
The Skinny: Thiyagesh said it was OK if everyone simply called him "T" as many of us were initially having some trouble with his name. Later in the evening, I gave him the nickname "T-Pain" as his well-timed and wisely placed overheads and volleys were often causing his opponents some pain. His wife, Kathryn, is very new to tennis...but she soon showed she will be a fast learner. She has a background playing volleyball and that has led to her being fearless at the net. She, too, was finishing points at the net with some quick-reflex volleys. They are a very nice couple and we are happy to now have them in the league. Like many of our new entrants this season, they found us via a post on Nextdoor.com.
Rich Liu/Jeremy Gottlieb over Fausto Murg/Tim Nguyen, 6-2! No Aces. It was the official GTA Debut of Jeremy Gottlieb. This action took place on Court Three (aka The Show Court) from 8:21 to 8:39 (just 18 minutes long, so the pace was fast).
The Skinny: Gottlieb found the league via accessing our page on Facebook. He plays for a college team (cannot remember which one as I write this), but his skill level is appropriate for the league. His youth gives him great speed and he couples that with nice shots. Very early on in the session, his father Steven arrived to watch him play and he stuck around until Jeremy was done for the night. The "junior" Gottlieb is also a very nice guy and another welcome addition to the league. An appropriate moniker for him is Jeremy "Got Game" Gottlieb.
Elias Eid/Fadia Nicolas over Nick Inciong/Kathy Sheldon, 6-3! Nick: 1 Ace on Elias! This Mixed Doubles action took place on Court Two and lasted from 8:24 to 8:54 (exactly half an hour...and it would have been even lengthier, but they decided to forego the changeovers).
John Rizzo/Suzanne Bujara over Matt Fortunato/Laurie Boughton, 6-1! John: 2 Aces on Matt; and Matt: 1 Ace on Suzanne! This Mixed Doubles action took place on Court One from 8:26 to 8:54.
Rich Liu/Jeremy Gottlieb over Fausto Murg/Tim Nguyen, 6-3! Fausto: 1 Ace on Rich! We let them remain on Court Three as their first One-Setter finished so fast (plus, there was not yet a crowd in the "lounge" area waiting to play). So they had this rematch which lasted from 8:40 to 9:07. Pretty sure (though not entirely positive) that they decided to forego the changeovers in this one while they did not choose to do that in their earlier One-Setter.
Ryan Pienciak/Nick Caputo over Ralph Bernard/Tito Castolo, 6-2! Ralph: 2 Aces on Ryan! These four faced off on Court Four from 8:50 to 9:14.
Kevin Doyle/Robin Wilson over Thiyagesh Rei/Kathryn Rei, 6-3! No Aces. This rematch One-Setter ended up being shifted to Court Two (they had played their first one on Court Four) and it lasted from 8:59 to 9:36. Again, they decided to forego the changeovers.
Frank Samara/Suzanne Bujara over Matt Fortunato/Laurie Boughton, 6-2! No Aces. It went like this: Laurie was broken (15-Love went straight to Double Break Point, then it went to Break Point and the break) and Frank held at Love for 2-0. Matt held his serve (15-Love shifted to 15-30 shifted again to Game Point and then came the hold) to get his team on the scoreboard, but Suzanne also held (15-Love, 15-All then right to Double Game Point which was then reduced to Deuce, another Game Point and then the hold) to put her team up 3-1. Boughton was broken again (Love-30, 15-30, Double Break Point and the break) while Samara held again (Love-15 then point for point until 30-All, a mini-shift to Game Point and the hold) to extend his team's lead to 5-1. Fortunato held again as well (Love-30 went straight to Game Point, then came Deuce, another Game Point and the hold) to pull to 2-5, but so did Bujara and it was at Love as this one ended on Triple Game/Match Point! We played this one on Court One from 9pm to 9:29.
The Skinny: This was closer than it seems (score-wise) as the main difference was that everyone held serve except for Laurie who was broken twice. Matt is still somewhat new to tennis, but he shows great potential as he has great range (he is on the somewhat tall and lanky side) coupled with a genuine interest to play more and get more involved with the league. Suzanne continues to display her rapid improvement. Laurie was a force to be reckoned with whenever she could get close to the net (but she was often kept back by many of the deep shots sent her way). As for myself, I did little wrong in this one as I came out blazing with no warm-up whatsoever. I ended up hitting one of my trademark Windmill Overhead Smashes that must have been quite pretty as Laurie said, "we need to get you hitting one of those on video!" Little did I know that I had an even more impressive one in store later in the evening (though that would be the only thing about my game that got greater later...LOL!).
Nick Inciong/Kathy Sheldon over Elias Eid/Fadia Nicolas, 8-6! Nick: 1 Ace on Elias! This rematch from earlier ended up on Court Three this time around. It was quite lengthy...9:10 to 10:04 (just six minutes shy of an hour long)! This foursome ended up on the receiving end of a tongue-lashing from both Rizzo and Samara as they should have went to the nowadays conventional Tiebreak rather than play the games out as there were now others in the "lounge" area (just outside the net separating that area from Court Three) waiting to play. With Nick and Kathy up 7-6, John said the next game is the last one...which meant it could have ended up being an incomplete 7-7 tie. Thankfully, for all involved (well, I'm sure Elias and Fadia would feel differently about it), it ended up being successfully completed. It should also be noted that the Eid/Nicolas tandem (aka The Lebanese Connection) were up 5-4 when Elias was broken on serve to then extend the match. Another thing to mention is it would have been even lengthier, but at least they had foregone the changeovers.
Tim Nguyen/Jeremy Gottlieb over Fausto Murg/Dino Celis, 6-4! No Aces. This foursome was featured on Court Four from 9:20 to 9:53.
Ralph Bernard/Kevin Doyle over Rich Liu/Thiyagesh Rei, 7-6 (7-5)! Ralph: 1 Ace on Rich! Court Two hosted this very tight battle from 9:39 to 10:28.
Ryan Pienciak/Nick Caputo over Tito Castolo/Mark Cipollini, 6-3! No Aces. First, they had a fairly lengthy hitting session (mainly to get Mark ready) on Court One before officially starting this one at 9:48. It ended at 10:20.
Laurie Boughton/Suzanne Bujara over Robin Wilson/Kathryn Rei, 6-1! No Aces. Finally, we were able to get four of the ladies together for some Women's Doubles action on Court Four. It lasted from 9:58 to 10:22.
Fausto Murg/Fadia Nicolas over Matt Fortunato/Kathy Sheldon, 6-1! Fausto: 1 Ace on Matt! This Mixed Doubles action took place on Court Three from 10:08 to 10:30. They decided to forego the changeovers in this one.
John Rizzo/Elias Eid over Nick Inciong/Dino Celis, 7-6 (8-6)! John: 1 Ace on Nick. This fell just three minutes shy of an hour on Court One as it lasted from 10:23 to 11:20! John and Elias had been down 0-4 before mounting a successful comeback. Not sure of any other details or drama, but perhaps it is an early contender to be a possible Nominee for One-Set Doubles Match of The Year at season's end (it will likely be eclipsed by One-Setters with more dramatic Tiebreak scores and/or significant details later in the year).
Suzanne Bujara/Robin Wilson over Laurie Boughton/Kathryn Rei, 7-5! No Aces. The four ladies were allowed to remain out on Court Four as some players had already started leaving early. They decided to switch up the teams for this next One-Setter which lasted from 10:24 to 11:04.
Ryan Pienciak/Nick Caputo over Tito Castolo/Mark Cipollini, 6-4! Mark: 1 Ace on Nick! This rematch One-Setter ended up taking place one court over from their previous set (this time around on Court Two). It lasted from 10:33 to 11:05.
The Skinny: I should have mentioned this earlier, but it just occurred to me now...how Nick was a somewhat comical sight on this particular night. Heading out to the courts at the outset of the evening, he realized he forgot to bring his eyeglasses. He ended up finding a prescription-grade set of shades and had to play wearing those instead! It led me to calling him "Corey Hart" and singing, "I wear my sunglasses at night!" If he pulled this maneuver in a nightclub, it would have been considered to be a "d-bag move." But playing tennis indoors, it was simply a struggle to survive. Kudos to Caputo for playing as well as he did.
Ralph Bernard/Fadia Nicolas over Rich Liu/Thiyagesh Rei, 6-4! Fadia: 1 Ace on Rich! Court Three hosted this one from 10:34 to 11:03 and it was an impressive win for the Mixed Doubles tandem over the Men's Doubles Team.
Ralph Bernard/Thiyagesh Rei over Fausto Murg/Fadia Nicolas, 6-1! No Aces. This time around, the Mixed Doubles tandem did not fare so well. This one was also played on Court Three and it lasted from 11:07 to 11:30. Afterward, Fausto and Fadia had a lengthy hitting session with one another.
Rich Liu/Tito Castolo over Frank Samara/Dino Celis, 7-6 (8-6)! No Aces. Here's how it went down: Rich held at Love, Dino held (30-Love, 30-15, Double Game Point, Game Point and then the hold), but Tito was the first to be broken (15-Love then point for point until 30-All, a mini-shift to Break Point, Deuce, Break Point again and then the break) for 1-2. Frank was also broken (15-Love shifted to 15-30, then 30-All, Break Point and the break) and then Liu held again (Love--15 then point for point until 30-All, a mini-shift to Game Point, Deuce, Game Point again and then the hold) to go up 3-2. Celis also held again (Love-15 went straight to Double Game Point and the hold) to level things at 3-3 and then Castolo was broken again (Love-30, 15-30, Double Break Point and then a bounce to Deuce, Game Point, 2nd Deuce, Break Point, 3rd Deuce, Break Point and finally the break) for 3-4. Samara was broken again and this time it was at Love to knot the score once more, this time at 4-4! SWAT then held a third straight time (Love-15 then point for point until 30-All, a mini-shift to Game Point and the hold) for 5-4, but The Scorpion Dragon also had a third straight hold (started off with what appeared to be an Ace on Rich, but Rich said his racquet just nicked it, then came 30-Love, 30-15, Double Game Point and the hold) to keep things alive at 5-5! Then, The Titan was broken a third straight time (15-Love shifted to 15-30, then 30-All, Break Point and the break), but so was Hollywood (Triple Break Point soon bounded to Deuce, Break Point where Frank hit one of his greatest Windmill Overhead Smashes of all-time to get to 2nd Deuce, then came Game/Match Point, 3rd Deuce, a 2nd Game/Match Point, 4th Deuce, Break Point and the break) to force the Tiebreak! In the Breaker: Rich held his lone serve while Dino then held both of his for 2-1. Tito was broken on both of his serves to put his team down 1-4, but then Frank was broken on the first of his two serves for 4-2 at the changeover. He was then broken on his second one as well to have his team's lead cut to 4-3. Liu was broken on the first of his two serves for 3-5, but then held his second to pull to 4-5. Celis was broken on the first of his two serves to level the TB at 5-5, but then he held his second to go up 6-5 and set up the third Match Point for his team. Castolo picked a good time to finally hold serves as he held his first one for 6-6 at the second changeover and then he held his second as well to put his team up 7-6 and give his team their first Match Point opportunity (which was the 4th M.P. overall)! Samara was then broken yet again to hand over an 8-6 Tiebreak win to the opposition! We played this one on Court One from 11:25 to 12:15.
The Skinny: Rich and Dino were both dominant servers in this one while Tito and Frank never got all that much going in that regard. Instead, their contributions to the contest were their usual sneaky slice-laden drop shots (though Castolo likely had more than Samara) as The Titan was the master of precision, as usual. Samara's greatest moment was the aforementioned Windmill Overhead Smash as it served to kill a lob that had seemed like it should have sailed over his head only to have The Wood leap up high and go into his trademark way-back wind-up as he let out a Tarzan-like yell to power the effort and then send the shot into the far corner of the court where neither opponent had a chance at it. Rich said it was, "the highlight of the night!" Frank could feel good about finally finding his overhead game again after a lengthy absence, but then later he would have to suffer the pain of seeing his opponents save three Match Points to come back and then take the whole shooting match on their very first opportunity! Kudos to their resiliency and fine effort. This is another one that may be an early contender for possible Nomination as another One-Set Doubles Match of The Year at the end of the season...only to be eclipsed later in the year as we will likely reach higher TB counts as the year grows older.
Ryan Pienciak/Nick Caputo over John Rizzo/Mark Cipollini, 7-5! No Aces. Court Two hosted this one from 11:28 to 12:08.
Ralph Bernard/Laurie Boughton over Thiyagesh Rei/Kathryn Rei, 6-1! No Aces. This Mixed Doubles action took place on Court Four from 11:33 to 11:53. Afterward, Ralph and Thiyagesh had a hitting session with one another.
It ended up being quite the enjoyable and productive session...which is why we hope to continue this format for one or two more weeks (depending upon demand and the soon-to-be improving weather) as well. We thank all those who were a part of it.
Sincerely,
Frank Samara
gtasamara5@gmail.com
"23 players (3 New) compete at The Bubble!":
There was another extended session of GTA Friday Night Tennis at The Wayne Bubble. We say "extended" because we once again had the four-plus hour format we had implemented three weeks prior for that week's "Levypalooza" event. When we reduced the time back to two hours the week after that, half a dozen players had to be turned away as a result.
That led to us coming back to the larger, more open format two weeks ago. The turnout trending toward this Friday was weaker than it had been for all prior "4+" sessions. It was starting to get to the point where we thought we may have to either return to the two-hour/non-stop play format or cut back on having all four courts for all four hours. Thankfully, the usual late surge in registrations prevented that from being necessary. Still, it was the lowest turnout yet for one of these larger sessions...just 23 competitors and that includes "Master MC" Mark Cipollini who is there to run The Bubble. It also includes the following two individuals mentioned in the next paragraph...LOL!
Per the usual, "Hollywood" Frank Samara promoted the event while "The Riz" John Rizzo went into his usual organizer mode (for these Bubble events) as he began collecting registrations and making plans for snacks, beverages, etc.
Rizzo's usual focus was primarily the registrations and then the above accommodations and then together with Samara he also made sure that all those that attended had their fair share of court time at The Bubble.
Cipollini was kind (and generous) enough to "BYOB - Bring Your Own Beer" for the group along with a nice box of chocolates (no, Forrest Gump was not in attendance).
The reduced amount of players actually made for a better session for the players on hand as they got to log more court time with less overall attendees competing for the right to compete (intentional redundancy there). And part of the success of this session was bringing three new players into the league...and two of them were five of the last-minute registrations that we picked up for the upcoming GTA Intermediate Invitational Tournament (giving us an unprecedented amount of 34 competitors for that tourney!).
Before I go further with the details of how this session unfolded, I just want to once again thank The Riz for offering up his time, services and funds to host this event for the benefit of the GTA. And I acted as the host of the session in the traditional sense of how we use the term "hosting", i.e. I collected the scores of all the action along the way.
Usually in my results write-ups, I detail the order of entry and/or appearance as the session progresses...but not this time around! There were just too many people to note...and they came in waves! All I will say is was yet another epic session that we plan to continue in a similar fashion (i.e. four hours plus) for the next two weeks until it is time to say "sayonara" to The Wayne Bubble for this season (until next fall).
We also once again thank Cipollini for both his generosity and flexibility (coming in to play when needed and then going back to running The Bubble and cleaning up after our group once we leave). The good news for him was that we did not need him to "work overtime" as we did not run a little long this time around as the last of the official action ended exactly at 12:15 (we began the session at 8:15).
Let's get to the action!
The Wayne Bubble Results:
Kevin Doyle/Robin Wilson over Thiyagesh Rei/Kathryn Rei, 6-2! Thiyagesh: 1 Ace on Kevin on his very first serve of the evening! It was the official GTA Debut of both Thiyagesh Rei and Kathryn Rei. This Mixed Doubles action got the overall session underway at exactly 8:15 on Court Four and it finished precisely at 8:38. It was well-balanced competition that would have likely taken longer to finish, but they decided to forego the changeovers.
The Skinny: Thiyagesh said it was OK if everyone simply called him "T" as many of us were initially having some trouble with his name. Later in the evening, I gave him the nickname "T-Pain" as his well-timed and wisely placed overheads and volleys were often causing his opponents some pain. His wife, Kathryn, is very new to tennis...but she soon showed she will be a fast learner. She has a background playing volleyball and that has led to her being fearless at the net. She, too, was finishing points at the net with some quick-reflex volleys. They are a very nice couple and we are happy to now have them in the league. Like many of our new entrants this season, they found us via a post on Nextdoor.com.
Rich Liu/Jeremy Gottlieb over Fausto Murg/Tim Nguyen, 6-2! No Aces. It was the official GTA Debut of Jeremy Gottlieb. This action took place on Court Three (aka The Show Court) from 8:21 to 8:39 (just 18 minutes long, so the pace was fast).
The Skinny: Gottlieb found the league via accessing our page on Facebook. He plays for a college team (cannot remember which one as I write this), but his skill level is appropriate for the league. His youth gives him great speed and he couples that with nice shots. Very early on in the session, his father Steven arrived to watch him play and he stuck around until Jeremy was done for the night. The "junior" Gottlieb is also a very nice guy and another welcome addition to the league. An appropriate moniker for him is Jeremy "Got Game" Gottlieb.
Elias Eid/Fadia Nicolas over Nick Inciong/Kathy Sheldon, 6-3! Nick: 1 Ace on Elias! This Mixed Doubles action took place on Court Two and lasted from 8:24 to 8:54 (exactly half an hour...and it would have been even lengthier, but they decided to forego the changeovers).
John Rizzo/Suzanne Bujara over Matt Fortunato/Laurie Boughton, 6-1! John: 2 Aces on Matt; and Matt: 1 Ace on Suzanne! This Mixed Doubles action took place on Court One from 8:26 to 8:54.
Rich Liu/Jeremy Gottlieb over Fausto Murg/Tim Nguyen, 6-3! Fausto: 1 Ace on Rich! We let them remain on Court Three as their first One-Setter finished so fast (plus, there was not yet a crowd in the "lounge" area waiting to play). So they had this rematch which lasted from 8:40 to 9:07. Pretty sure (though not entirely positive) that they decided to forego the changeovers in this one while they did not choose to do that in their earlier One-Setter.
Ryan Pienciak/Nick Caputo over Ralph Bernard/Tito Castolo, 6-2! Ralph: 2 Aces on Ryan! These four faced off on Court Four from 8:50 to 9:14.
Kevin Doyle/Robin Wilson over Thiyagesh Rei/Kathryn Rei, 6-3! No Aces. This rematch One-Setter ended up being shifted to Court Two (they had played their first one on Court Four) and it lasted from 8:59 to 9:36. Again, they decided to forego the changeovers.
Frank Samara/Suzanne Bujara over Matt Fortunato/Laurie Boughton, 6-2! No Aces. It went like this: Laurie was broken (15-Love went straight to Double Break Point, then it went to Break Point and the break) and Frank held at Love for 2-0. Matt held his serve (15-Love shifted to 15-30 shifted again to Game Point and then came the hold) to get his team on the scoreboard, but Suzanne also held (15-Love, 15-All then right to Double Game Point which was then reduced to Deuce, another Game Point and then the hold) to put her team up 3-1. Boughton was broken again (Love-30, 15-30, Double Break Point and the break) while Samara held again (Love-15 then point for point until 30-All, a mini-shift to Game Point and the hold) to extend his team's lead to 5-1. Fortunato held again as well (Love-30 went straight to Game Point, then came Deuce, another Game Point and the hold) to pull to 2-5, but so did Bujara and it was at Love as this one ended on Triple Game/Match Point! We played this one on Court One from 9pm to 9:29.
The Skinny: This was closer than it seems (score-wise) as the main difference was that everyone held serve except for Laurie who was broken twice. Matt is still somewhat new to tennis, but he shows great potential as he has great range (he is on the somewhat tall and lanky side) coupled with a genuine interest to play more and get more involved with the league. Suzanne continues to display her rapid improvement. Laurie was a force to be reckoned with whenever she could get close to the net (but she was often kept back by many of the deep shots sent her way). As for myself, I did little wrong in this one as I came out blazing with no warm-up whatsoever. I ended up hitting one of my trademark Windmill Overhead Smashes that must have been quite pretty as Laurie said, "we need to get you hitting one of those on video!" Little did I know that I had an even more impressive one in store later in the evening (though that would be the only thing about my game that got greater later...LOL!).
Nick Inciong/Kathy Sheldon over Elias Eid/Fadia Nicolas, 8-6! Nick: 1 Ace on Elias! This rematch from earlier ended up on Court Three this time around. It was quite lengthy...9:10 to 10:04 (just six minutes shy of an hour long)! This foursome ended up on the receiving end of a tongue-lashing from both Rizzo and Samara as they should have went to the nowadays conventional Tiebreak rather than play the games out as there were now others in the "lounge" area (just outside the net separating that area from Court Three) waiting to play. With Nick and Kathy up 7-6, John said the next game is the last one...which meant it could have ended up being an incomplete 7-7 tie. Thankfully, for all involved (well, I'm sure Elias and Fadia would feel differently about it), it ended up being successfully completed. It should also be noted that the Eid/Nicolas tandem (aka The Lebanese Connection) were up 5-4 when Elias was broken on serve to then extend the match. Another thing to mention is it would have been even lengthier, but at least they had foregone the changeovers.
Tim Nguyen/Jeremy Gottlieb over Fausto Murg/Dino Celis, 6-4! No Aces. This foursome was featured on Court Four from 9:20 to 9:53.
Ralph Bernard/Kevin Doyle over Rich Liu/Thiyagesh Rei, 7-6 (7-5)! Ralph: 1 Ace on Rich! Court Two hosted this very tight battle from 9:39 to 10:28.
Ryan Pienciak/Nick Caputo over Tito Castolo/Mark Cipollini, 6-3! No Aces. First, they had a fairly lengthy hitting session (mainly to get Mark ready) on Court One before officially starting this one at 9:48. It ended at 10:20.
Laurie Boughton/Suzanne Bujara over Robin Wilson/Kathryn Rei, 6-1! No Aces. Finally, we were able to get four of the ladies together for some Women's Doubles action on Court Four. It lasted from 9:58 to 10:22.
Fausto Murg/Fadia Nicolas over Matt Fortunato/Kathy Sheldon, 6-1! Fausto: 1 Ace on Matt! This Mixed Doubles action took place on Court Three from 10:08 to 10:30. They decided to forego the changeovers in this one.
John Rizzo/Elias Eid over Nick Inciong/Dino Celis, 7-6 (8-6)! John: 1 Ace on Nick. This fell just three minutes shy of an hour on Court One as it lasted from 10:23 to 11:20! John and Elias had been down 0-4 before mounting a successful comeback. Not sure of any other details or drama, but perhaps it is an early contender to be a possible Nominee for One-Set Doubles Match of The Year at season's end (it will likely be eclipsed by One-Setters with more dramatic Tiebreak scores and/or significant details later in the year).
Suzanne Bujara/Robin Wilson over Laurie Boughton/Kathryn Rei, 7-5! No Aces. The four ladies were allowed to remain out on Court Four as some players had already started leaving early. They decided to switch up the teams for this next One-Setter which lasted from 10:24 to 11:04.
Ryan Pienciak/Nick Caputo over Tito Castolo/Mark Cipollini, 6-4! Mark: 1 Ace on Nick! This rematch One-Setter ended up taking place one court over from their previous set (this time around on Court Two). It lasted from 10:33 to 11:05.
The Skinny: I should have mentioned this earlier, but it just occurred to me now...how Nick was a somewhat comical sight on this particular night. Heading out to the courts at the outset of the evening, he realized he forgot to bring his eyeglasses. He ended up finding a prescription-grade set of shades and had to play wearing those instead! It led me to calling him "Corey Hart" and singing, "I wear my sunglasses at night!" If he pulled this maneuver in a nightclub, it would have been considered to be a "d-bag move." But playing tennis indoors, it was simply a struggle to survive. Kudos to Caputo for playing as well as he did.
Ralph Bernard/Fadia Nicolas over Rich Liu/Thiyagesh Rei, 6-4! Fadia: 1 Ace on Rich! Court Three hosted this one from 10:34 to 11:03 and it was an impressive win for the Mixed Doubles tandem over the Men's Doubles Team.
Ralph Bernard/Thiyagesh Rei over Fausto Murg/Fadia Nicolas, 6-1! No Aces. This time around, the Mixed Doubles tandem did not fare so well. This one was also played on Court Three and it lasted from 11:07 to 11:30. Afterward, Fausto and Fadia had a lengthy hitting session with one another.
Rich Liu/Tito Castolo over Frank Samara/Dino Celis, 7-6 (8-6)! No Aces. Here's how it went down: Rich held at Love, Dino held (30-Love, 30-15, Double Game Point, Game Point and then the hold), but Tito was the first to be broken (15-Love then point for point until 30-All, a mini-shift to Break Point, Deuce, Break Point again and then the break) for 1-2. Frank was also broken (15-Love shifted to 15-30, then 30-All, Break Point and the break) and then Liu held again (Love--15 then point for point until 30-All, a mini-shift to Game Point, Deuce, Game Point again and then the hold) to go up 3-2. Celis also held again (Love-15 went straight to Double Game Point and the hold) to level things at 3-3 and then Castolo was broken again (Love-30, 15-30, Double Break Point and then a bounce to Deuce, Game Point, 2nd Deuce, Break Point, 3rd Deuce, Break Point and finally the break) for 3-4. Samara was broken again and this time it was at Love to knot the score once more, this time at 4-4! SWAT then held a third straight time (Love-15 then point for point until 30-All, a mini-shift to Game Point and the hold) for 5-4, but The Scorpion Dragon also had a third straight hold (started off with what appeared to be an Ace on Rich, but Rich said his racquet just nicked it, then came 30-Love, 30-15, Double Game Point and the hold) to keep things alive at 5-5! Then, The Titan was broken a third straight time (15-Love shifted to 15-30, then 30-All, Break Point and the break), but so was Hollywood (Triple Break Point soon bounded to Deuce, Break Point where Frank hit one of his greatest Windmill Overhead Smashes of all-time to get to 2nd Deuce, then came Game/Match Point, 3rd Deuce, a 2nd Game/Match Point, 4th Deuce, Break Point and the break) to force the Tiebreak! In the Breaker: Rich held his lone serve while Dino then held both of his for 2-1. Tito was broken on both of his serves to put his team down 1-4, but then Frank was broken on the first of his two serves for 4-2 at the changeover. He was then broken on his second one as well to have his team's lead cut to 4-3. Liu was broken on the first of his two serves for 3-5, but then held his second to pull to 4-5. Celis was broken on the first of his two serves to level the TB at 5-5, but then he held his second to go up 6-5 and set up the third Match Point for his team. Castolo picked a good time to finally hold serves as he held his first one for 6-6 at the second changeover and then he held his second as well to put his team up 7-6 and give his team their first Match Point opportunity (which was the 4th M.P. overall)! Samara was then broken yet again to hand over an 8-6 Tiebreak win to the opposition! We played this one on Court One from 11:25 to 12:15.
The Skinny: Rich and Dino were both dominant servers in this one while Tito and Frank never got all that much going in that regard. Instead, their contributions to the contest were their usual sneaky slice-laden drop shots (though Castolo likely had more than Samara) as The Titan was the master of precision, as usual. Samara's greatest moment was the aforementioned Windmill Overhead Smash as it served to kill a lob that had seemed like it should have sailed over his head only to have The Wood leap up high and go into his trademark way-back wind-up as he let out a Tarzan-like yell to power the effort and then send the shot into the far corner of the court where neither opponent had a chance at it. Rich said it was, "the highlight of the night!" Frank could feel good about finally finding his overhead game again after a lengthy absence, but then later he would have to suffer the pain of seeing his opponents save three Match Points to come back and then take the whole shooting match on their very first opportunity! Kudos to their resiliency and fine effort. This is another one that may be an early contender for possible Nomination as another One-Set Doubles Match of The Year at the end of the season...only to be eclipsed later in the year as we will likely reach higher TB counts as the year grows older.
Ryan Pienciak/Nick Caputo over John Rizzo/Mark Cipollini, 7-5! No Aces. Court Two hosted this one from 11:28 to 12:08.
Ralph Bernard/Laurie Boughton over Thiyagesh Rei/Kathryn Rei, 6-1! No Aces. This Mixed Doubles action took place on Court Four from 11:33 to 11:53. Afterward, Ralph and Thiyagesh had a hitting session with one another.
It ended up being quite the enjoyable and productive session...which is why we hope to continue this format for one or two more weeks (depending upon demand and the soon-to-be improving weather) as well. We thank all those who were a part of it.
Sincerely,
Frank Samara
gtasamara5@gmail.com
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