Final (6/3/16)
Senthil Kumar vs Tony Shiao (scheduling in progress)
Tony Shiao over Praful Nair, 6-4, 6-4, to successfully defend his # 19 Rank in the Advanced Division while simultaneously becoming the New # 3 Ranked Player in the Intermediate Division and also advancing to the Finals of the GTA Intermediate Invitational Tournament! Tony: 1 Ace in the 1st Set.
The Sure Shot from Shiao: He arrived at the courts at 6pm. Praful came soon after. After a hitting session, they estimated that they began the match on Court Three around 6:30 and it did not end until 8:20! This was a true marathon of a match for a straight-setter. There were many 30-plus stroke rallies. Tony jumped out to 3-0 leads in both sets only to have Praful battle back.
The Consequences: Shiao will now face “The Webmaster” Senthil Kumar in the Finals!
Samara’s Notes: Shiao was up 4-3 in the 2nd Set when I arrived at 8pm. It soon went to 4-4. Yes, indeed, there were many lengthy rallies and great gets on both sides of the net. Nair, in particular, had a couple of gets that grabbed the attention of those in attendance. But he did himself in with some ill-timed Unforced Errors.
The Nellis Drive Result:
GTA Intermediate Invitational Semifinal Match:
Senthil Kumar over Anish Mehta, 6-3, 6-2, to successfully defend his # 11 Rank in the Advanced Division and his # 2 Rank in the Intermediate Division while also advancing to the Finals of the GTA Intermediate Invitational Tournament! Senthil: 1 Ace in the 1st Set; and Anish: 2 Aces in the 2nd Set!
The Woven Web: Anish and I agreed to play in Wayne around 7:30pm, but since I reached the courts early from work, we settled for 7pm as the start time. It was 86 degrees when we started the warm-up on Court 8. After a 10 minute warm-up, Senthil won the toss and started the match play around 7:10pm.
Senthil and Anish were able to hold the serve until 3-3. There were a couple of Deuce games. Senthil served for 4-3 and fought hard to hold the serve. The first service break helped Senthil to take the lead in the set 5-3 and Senthil served out the next game for 6-3.
In the first three games, Senthil was making lot of unforced errors and was struggling to handle Anish's topspin shots/fast serves. In those first three games, Anish won each of his service games (losing just a few points) as Senthil was struggling to hold his own service games. Luckily, the 8th game break helped Senthil to get the 1st Set.
The daylight may have played a role in Senthil's favor. We tried to turn on the lights, but they didn't work, so we had to move to the other side and take Court 2.
In the first three games, Senthil was making lot of unforced errors and was struggling to handle Anish's topspin shots/fast serves. In those first three games, Anish won each of his service games (losing just a few points) as Senthil was struggling to hold his own service games. Luckily, the 8th game break helped Senthil to get the 1st Set.
The daylight may have played a role in Senthil's favor. We tried to turn on the lights, but they didn't work, so we had to move to the other side and take Court 2.
After a few shots warm-up, we started the 2nd Set. Senthil broke Anish in the 1st game and held his serve for 2-0. Anish realized his shots were not getting the work done and started a more defensive game plan. There were a lot of 5 to 10 shot long rallies with heavy slices and baseline game from both players. But in a couple of instances, Senthil was lucky and got the score to a 5-1 lead. Anish was down 0-30 and started serving really strong and won the game to stay in the set. He served his two Aces in that game. Now the score was 5-2 where Senthil served for the match, 0-15, 15-15, 30-15, 40-15, and two big overhead shots by Senthil, but Anish's defense was admirable. And it was the 3rd put away shot that won the match for Senthil.
Samara’s Notes: Congratulations to Senthil on such a hard-fought victory and also some major kudos to Anish who had a nice run through his very first tourney here in the GTA! I also want to thank The Webmaster for a very comprehensive write-up (as well as all he does for our website). He is now the first one into the Finals where he awaits the winner of the other Semi – Tony Shiao vs. Praful Nair!
The Nellis Drive, Wayne Results: April 30th
Senthil Kumar over Mike Kazlauskas, 6-0, 6-4, to become both the New # 13 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division and the New # 2 Ranked Player in the Intermediate Division plus advance to the Semifinals of the GTA Intermediate Invitational Tournament! Mike: 1 Ace in the 2nd Set.
The Woven Web: We played in Nellis Drive Court in Wayne. We both reached there around 9:45am to start the match at 10am. After warm-up, Mike won the toss and elected to serve.
Mike is not used to my game hence the 1st Set went quickly at 6-0. There were a few games that went to Deuce before the wrap. NOTE: Mike was also playing with his shoulder injury.
In the 2nd Set, Mike seemed more settled and pushed himself and started serving in his full potential and quickly took a lead at 2-1, and Senthil was down 0-30 and came back to level it at Deuce and won the game to level the set at 2-2. Senthil broke Mike twice to get a 5-2 lead. In the 5th game, Senthil made two sideline shots as Mike approached the net. Mike complimented Senthil for a good game. Mike fought back and broke Senthil's serve for the first time to get the score 5-3. Then he won on his serve for a 5-4 score. Senthil then went 0-15, 15-15, 15-30, 30-30, 40-40, Ad-In and won the match.
Senthil surprised Mike with a few lobs as he approached the net. Senthil was surprised by all the lobs that stayed in the court knowing Mike's height.
Quarter Final#2
The Mountainside Park Result:
GTA Intermediate Invitational Quarterfinal Match:
Tony Shiao over Mike Mole, 6-2, 6-1, to successfully defend both his # 20 Rank in the Advanced Division and # 8 Rank in the Intermediate Division while also advancing to the Semifinals of the GTA Intermediate Invitational Tournament! Tony and Mike: 1 Ace each in the 2nd Set.
The Sure Shot from Shiao: After the rain stopped in the morning, Mike and I decided to meet up at Mountainside Park for our Invitational Match at 1:30pm. Mike walked up barebones with just a racket and a can of tennis balls in hand. No cover or large racket bag or even a water bottle! It was hardcore and a true intimidation factor for me because the last time I played with someone who showed up with just a racket, it was Ruddy Pena and he beat me easily as if he was on a Sunday stroll.
I've never really had the chance to play against Mike in the past, but I've seen his powerful serves and crazy topspin forehands at The Bubble, so I knew I'd have to adjust my game to suit. Although the final score does not indicate it, we had many Deuce games and they could have swung in either one's favor. His serves were powerful and fast and, when he gets them in, they are often nonreturnable. His topspin forehands allowed Mike to hit some wicked sick angles forcing me into the alleys. We both had Unforced Errors, but I believe the timing of when they occurred was the deciding factor to my advantage.
I enjoyed playing with Mike and we had many hard hitting rallies and I can honestly say we both did not do any pushing and went all out. I am looking forward to playing against Mike again in the near future.
Samara's Notes: I thank Tony for providing us with all those details. I also congratulate him on an impressive victory. He now advances to face "Net Profit" Praful Nair in the Semis. I also thank Mike for sending me a text of the score in a very timely fashion.
Quarter Final#3
Praful Nair over Jay Phoenix, 7-5, 6-0, to successfully defend his # 23 Rank in the Advanced Division while simultaneously becoming the New # 6 Ranked Player in the Intermediate Division and also advancing to the Semifinals of the GTA Intermediate Invitational Tournament! No Aces.
Round of 16 Match
May-10: Tony Shiao over Ryan Pienciak, 7-5, 7-6 (7-5), to successfully defend his # 8 Rank in the Intermediate Division while also advancing to the Quarterfinals of the GTA Intermediate Invitational Tournament! No Aces.
The Sure Shot from Shiao: We planned to meet at Brookdale Park in Bloomfield at 7pm only to find out the courts were booked until 8pm by the local high school team. We decided to check out a relatively unknown set of courts in Bloomfield tucked away in a residential area with lights! There were three courts and looked well-maintained but looks were deceiving! The courts had a strange hollow-creaky sound when we walked on it. After a few rallies we decided to bail since the ball bounced funny and we just couldn't concentrate with the cheering fans from the adjacent baseball field and the strong scent of kids smoking the good stuff in the woods. We decided to take our chances at Cedar Grove despite the e-mail from earlier today.
Sure enough when we arrived there was a large crowd playing Pickle Ball on all four courts, but shortly thereafter it wrapped up at 7:45ish and we were able to get a court. We started our match at approximately 8pm. The 1st Set was extremely competitive and Ryan was on point with his heavy topspin forehands and first serves. I felt good and loose and we had many hard hitting rallies. We were all on serve until I was able to break Ryan at some point later in the set and took it 7-5. I got to thank Kathy Sheldon and Omar Santos for giving me a morale boost from the bench while Ryan had to relieve himself midway in the set.
The 2nd Set was equally as challenging as I was able to take a good 3-1 lead, but Ryan battled back and was able to place many of my balls to take the lead at 4-3. From there we were both exhausted and lost some of the pace we had before. Again we traded games and forced a Tiebreak. During the Tiebreak we had many rallies that went 20+ strokes. Dino Celis and Natalia Sout were on the sidelines watching and counted 26 exchanges when we were tied at 3-3 in the Tiebreak! Luckily there weren't any minors nearby because there surely were many F-bombs coming out of our mouths. In the end, I was able to sneak by and take a 7-6 (7-5) win for the set and the match.
Going into this match, I knew I would have my work cut out for me and it would be very competitive. Ryan's a true fighter and has an arsenal of powerful shots. Today I got lucky and I'm looking forward to playing a rank defense match with him after the tournament is over. I'm sore as heck and sure good use some of that good stuff the kids had out in the woods!
Ryan's Chopping Block: Tony had some great gets. I lost track of the number of points I thought I had won only to suddenly see the ball flying back my way. Tough match!
Apr-17: Senthil Kumar over Raj Boddu, 7-5, 6-4
The Nellis Drive Result: April 17th, 2016
We now go to the match recap as sent in by “The Sentry” Senthil Kumar as he played his GTA Intermediate Invitational Round of 16 Match against “Kaboom” Raj Boddu at The Nellis Drive Courts in Wayne (the ones next to The Wayne Bubble).
Senthil reached the courts around 4:55 and waited for Raj's arrival. Raj won the toss and around 5:15 the match started.
Senthil become the New # 30 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division while simultaneously defending his # 11 Rank in the Intermediate Division plus advancing to the Quarterfinals of The GTA Intermediate Invitational Tournament! Raj: 3 Aces; and Senthil: 1 Ace!
It was a great battle and, in the 2nd Set, wind played a role. In both, Senthil was down and came from behind to take the set.
1st Set: Raj had an excellent start with 2-0 lead. Senthil leveled the score at 2-2. Raj again broke the serve and took 4-2 lead. Again Senthil leveled at 4-4. Raj took the next game to 5-4, then Senthil took the next three games to win the set.
2nd Set: The wind picked up a bit and we both struggled to adjust our game. As many of you may not know, Raj was recovering from back pain and he was getting tired. But still he had an excellent start in leading 4-1 in this set. Senthil played some good defense to level it at 4-4. Then Raj and Senthil battled for the win which had some good shot selection, lobs and numerous Deuces! Eventually Raj hit it out and Senthil took the game. Senthil, while serving for the match, quickly was down 0-30 then leveled it 30-30, went up 40-30 and the game, set and match! The match wrapped up around 6:45. It was a solid hour and a half of good tennis. I can only thank Raj for showing up even with the injury and for giving such a good fight. Wish him to be at his best soon.
Samara’s Notes: First, I thank Senthil for sending in such a very comprehensive report…very impressive! I also congratulate him on his hard-fought victory. He is now the second player to reach the Quarterfinals. I also send kudos to Raj who was a true competitor in playing this match in a timely manner. I was informed along the way of his back ailments. He gutted it out and displayed his warrior heart.
Mike Kazlauskas over Edwin Ortega, 6-1, 6-2, to successfully defend his # 2 Rank in the Intermediate Division while advancing to the Quarterfinals of the GTA Intermediate Invitational Tournament! No Aces.
The 1st Set started both of us holding serve for 1-1. Then I took the next five games as I broke Ed twice.
The 2nd Set was more competitive. I was leading 5-0 in the set and was serving for the match. That is when Ed broke my serve. One Double Fault of mine, two Unforced Errors and I could not catch up. And then in the next game, Ed held his serve. We had at least 5 Deuces in that game. However, Ed prevailed and made it 5-2 going back to my serve. Fortunately I was able to close out the match with my next service game. The match length was about one hour.
Samara’s Notes: I thank Mike for that very comprehensive report and congratulate him on his victory. He now advances to the Quarters where he will face Senthil Kumar.
Anish Mehta over Sukumar Mitra, 6-2, 6-0, to become both the New # 24 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division and the New # 7 Ranked Player in the Intermediate Division while also advancing to the Quarterfinals of the GTA Intermediate Invitational Tournament! Anish: 5 Aces (one second-serve Ace in the 1st Set and then four more in the 2nd Set)! This was played on Court One from 7:15 to 8:15.
The Skinny: This is a very impressive victory as most of us know that Chef Kumar is a solid player. Anish gave Sukumar credit for his slice game and it took him some time to adjust. The match was actually closer than the score indicates, but Mitra could not convert some opportunities. Kudos to Mehta as he is really starting to make an impact here in the GTA. Kumar actually wanted me to include his comments here.
The Chef’s Dish: Just wanted to thank and congratulate Anish for his great play in the match. I broke my string as I started practice (though it would have not made any difference in the outcome…LOL!) and it did not help matters. He was hitting all over the court. The score looks one-sided though it wasn't as much in reality. We had many multiple Deuce games and I just could not convert any of them. He is a great player and I wish him well in the tournament.
The Consequences: Mehta is now the third competitor, I believe, to advance to the Quarters. This tourney is moving along at a nice clip.
Praful Nair over Omar Santos, 6-4, 6-0, to become both the New # 27 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division and the New # 19 Ranked Player in the Intermediate Division while also advancing to the Quarterfinals of the GTA Intermediate Invitational Tournament! No Aces. They played this on Court Two from 7:45 to 8:45.
The Skinny: In the 1st Set serving down 3-4, Praful found himself in a Triple Break Point hole before digging himself out for the hold and all of the rest of the games in the match! Very impressive!
4-25: Jay Phoenix over Jorge Solano, 7-5, 7-6 (7-5), to successfully defend his # 9 Rank in the Intermediate Division plus advance to the Quarterfinals of The GTA Intermediate Invitational Tournament! No Aces.
The Say from Jorge: Tonight's match started at 6:15pm. In the 1st set, I had the advantage being up 5-1 and I couldn't finish it and bring it to a Match Point. Jay made an excellent comeback and took the set at 7-5. In the following set, Jay had a 4-3 advantage over me, but I came back to tie it 4-4. We ended then our 6-6 Tiebreak with Jay winning 7-5. The match ended at 8:15. Congratulations to Jay on a terrific and very competitive match. Tennis is a game of mistakes and I couldn't finish and take the chances I had when I was ahead.
Samara’s Notes: I thank both of them for their feedback. I congratulate Jay on his hard-fought victory, but also give major kudos to Jorge for his solid effort. I also give Big George an additional thank you for the thoughtful details that he provided us. And now we go to Kris with an assist from Dawn.
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