6/17/18:
"Samara hosts 9 at BP, Marijus-Dino in VP, Riz hosts 4 at NTC, then 4 at C.G.!":
There were four official sessions of GTA Sunday Tennis: finally, the usual late morning one at the Brookdale Park Courts in Bloomfield hosted by "Hollywood" Frank Samara (the last one was the last Sunday in April!); a late afternoon/early evening one in Verona Park featuring a Challenge Match between "Super Mario" Marijus Kuzavas and "The Scorpion Dragon" Dino Celis (reported by Marijus); an early evening one at Nutley Tennis Club hosted by "The Riz" John Rizzo and featuring an excellent Doubles Match; and then the usual evening one at the Cedar Grove Courts as Dino informed John via text that they needed a fourth player, so Rizzo went up there and hosted that session as well. "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli made a cameo appearance there (he had hit at the Brookdale session…which we will now detail first).
Samara arrived at the park at 10:50 with his daughter Angie and son Dante. As they approached the courts, they saw "J-Rod" Joe Rodrigues already waiting there. Four of five of the courts on the far end were occupied, but Joe said he did not recognize anyone down there as being our players (Frank took a peek from afar and that seemed to be the case).
Frank and Joe took Court One while Angie and Dante took Court Three to hit. Rodrigues said he would have to go in an hour or so.
Around 10:55, "The Shade Shark" Suzanne Bujara arrived and she stepped onto Court One to hit against both of the kids (which was very nice of her to do).
Dino arrived around 11am and took Joe's side of the court in hitting against Frank. Around 11:15, both "The Legendary" Chazz Weldon and "Diver Down" Muhammad Haque arrived. Samara stepped off Court One to allow the other four gents to play some Doubles.
As he was about to shift over to Court One to hit with Suzanne and his kids, The Tokudas (Tony and Sachiko) arrived at 11:25 and went to Court Two. So, instead the plan was changed to have some Mixed Doubles on Court Two with Samara and Bujara versus The Tokudas. At this time, the Samara kids decided to sit in the shade as Dante drew while Angie played games on her phone.
The Men's Doubles One-Setter had started exactly at 11:27 and the Mixed Doubles one got underway at 11:35. Thus, when "The Webmaster" Senthil Kumar arrived at 11:40, he became "the ninth wheel" for a while. He took the time to jog around and stretch a bit before watching the on-court action and waiting patiently. Turns out he already knows Tony as Mr. Tokuda is a tennis coach for children up in Wayne.
Spin arrived at 12:10 and soon after that got involved in a hitting session on Court One where he paired with Angie in hitting against Frank and Dante. We used the lower pressure (I think) balls that bounce slower which helped extend the rallies. Angie is rapidly improving and is also implementing some fast-paced shots while Dante is getting better at a slightly slower rate (but still improving, nonetheless).
We ended up with just nine official competitors on this Father's Day session of GTA Sunday Tennis and most of us left by 1:30…leaving behind Chazz and Muhammad who had started a Singles One-Setter just before that, but ultimately did not finish it (we will find out why a little later).
The Brookdale Park Results:
Dino Celis/Joe Rodrigues over Chazz Weldon/Muhammad Haque, 7-6 (8-6)! No Aces. This one got underway on Court One at 11:27 and did not finish until 12:35!
Tony Tokuda/Sachiko Tokuda over Frank Samara/Suzanne Bujara, 6-3! No Aces. It went like this: Tony held serve (Triple Game Point cut to Game Point, but then the hold) and Suzanne was broken (Love-15, 15-All then onto Double Break Point and the break) for 0-2. Sachiko was broken (Love-30, 15-30, Double Break Point, Break Point and the break) and Frank held (30-Love shifted to 30-All, but then came Game Point and the hold) to level the set at 2-2. Mr. Tokuda held again (Love-15 shifted to 30-15 shifted again to Break Point, Deuce, Game Point and the hold) and Bujara was broken again (Love-15 then point for point to Break Point, Deuce, Break Point again and then the break) for 2-4. Mrs. Tokuda held this time around (Love-15 went straight to Double Game Point and the hold) to increase her team's lead to 5-2 and then Samara held again, but it was a struggle as it went from Love-15 to 30-15, 30-All, Game Point, Deuce and then all Game Points until 4th Deuce, Break/Match Point, 5th Deuce, a 2nd Break/Match Point, 6th Deuce, Game Point and the hold to pull to 3-5. But T-Squared held again (a 30-Love lead then collapsed to Break Point, but then it went to Deuce and Game/Match Point where the hold came on the 3rd M.P. overall) to get the win! We played this on Court Two from 11:35 to 12:12.
The Skinny: The more I see of Tony on the court, the more impressed I am with his game as he is a very steady and knowledgeable Doubles player. I was not at my best on this occasion though I had some impressive moments. Suzanne, despite some errors, continues to improve by leaps and bounds. She had a couple of great winners that wowed the crowd.
Senthil Kumar/Tony Tokuda over Chazz Weldon/Muhammad Haque, 6-3! No Aces. Court One hosted this one from 12:40 to 1:15.
Chazz Weldon leading Muhammad Haque, 4-3 (Incomplete when both decided to call it a day as Chazz was dealing with stomach cramping issues and Muhammad was feeling fatigued from the heat)! No Aces. They got this one underway on Court One at 1:29…not sure when they called it quits.
Let's go to Verona Park for that lone result there now!
The Verona Park Result:
2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:
Marijus Kuzavas over Dino Celis, 6-2, 6-1, to successfully defend his # 4 Rank in the Advanced Division! Marijus: 2 Aces!
The Scoop from Super Mario: It was a good match in the scorching heat! Lots of solid points! Dino was fighting well. He's almost back to his pre-injury form. He just needs to tune a couple small things and he'll be kicking our butts again!
Samara's Notes: I thank Marijus for his very timely reporting and also congratulate him on an impressive victory. We now head to Nutley for The Riz Report from NTC.
The NTC Result:
2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:
John Rizzo/Alfred Chen over Dan Hwang/Kyle Eng, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, to successfully defend their #68 Rank in the Doubles Division! In the process, Hwang/Eng entered the division as the New #81 Ranked Team. No Aces.
The Riz Report: We were down 4-5, 15-40 (Double Match Point) in the 2nd Set before coming back!
Samara's Notes: That sounds like a possible Nominee for Doubles Match of The Year at season's end. And, finally, let's go to Cedar Grove for the lone official result reported from there (there was a three-way hitting session afterward).
The Cedar Grove Result:
Dino Celis/Arlene Hyde over Kris Srinivasan/John Rizzo, 7-5! No Aces.
Samara's Notes: I thank John for his very timely reporting. It is truly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Frank Samara
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