8/14 Results

8/14/16:         

"3 play at HP, 3 hit at AP, 2 play at RHP, 5 play at NTC!":                                          

GTA Sunday Tennis took place at four locations: a morning session at Holster Park in Clifton (hosted by "Hollywood" Frank Samara), an early afternoon session at Albion Park in Clifton (also hosted by Samara), a mid-afternoon session at Robin Hood Park in Clifton (hosted by "The S Bomber" Genalin Capan) and a late afternoon/early evening session at The Nutley Tennis Club (hosted by "The Riz" John Rizzo).

The usual evening session at The Cedar Grove Courts (hosted by "Papa K" Kris Srinivasan) was rained out as heavy rains rolled through the area at 7pm (this also cut the NTC session somewhat short). 

So we will first go to the recaps of how things unfolded at both HP and AP, then to the RHP rundown from Gen and the NTC scores from John.

Samara walked up the hill to the courts at Holster Park by 9:40am.  Upon his arrival, he saw "MC" Mike Carucci who had been waiting on the Entrance Court for about five minutes.  On Championship Court, there were four older guys playing Doubles (but they did not seem to be Zoltar and his crew).

We entered into a hitting session hoping to get a couple of more guys to play Doubles (as the temps were already quite hot and the humidity very high as the real feel would later be 100 degrees!).  But with no one else in sight, we decided to start a Singles One-Setter at 9:55.

Halfway through it at 10:05, "The Lumberjack" Ryan Pienciak made his way onto the bench alongside the court.  But soon he wisely decided to go hang out in the shady area under the trees next to the courts.

Samara-Carucci concluded at 10:20.  From there Frank and Mike hit with Ryan until Carucci had to leave at 10:30.

Now it was Frank and Ryan in a hitting session hoping for two more guys to arrive.  Samara even sent out a text message to his buddy, "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli, to let him know it was a situation of two players looking to get two more for a total of four.  There was no immediate reply.

So Samara soon entered into another Singles One-Setter (this time against Pienciak) at 10:40.  It ended at 11:10 and both competitors left soon after.

We will now go to those two scores before we detail how the rest of Samara's day of tennis went.

The Holster Park Results:

Frank Samara over Mike Carucci, 6-2!  No Aces.  It went like this: Mike held serve (un-returned serve for 15-Love, then 30-Love, 30-15 where Mike hit a winner to set up Double Game Point and then he got the hold), Frank held at Love as he hit a winner for 30-Love and then hit a passing shot winner to secure the hold, but Carucci was the first to be broken and it was at Love as Mike blew an overhead and then Frank made a great get/winner combo in the next point to make it Love-30 and then it was Triple Break Point and the break for 1-2.  But then Samara was also broken (Mike hit a winner for Love-15 and that was on the way to Triple Break Point where an un-returned serve made it Double Break Point, then came Break Point and the break) to level it at 2-2.  But from there, MC was broken at Love again (he hit a Double Fault to make it Love-30), Hollywood held (a net-cord loser…I call it that because it would have likely been a winner until the net-cord sent the shot out into the Doubles Alley for Love-15, it then shifted to 30-15 after an un-returned serve, then it was 30-All and another un-returned serve to set up Game Point where Mike blew an overhead to allow the hold), Mike was broken again (a winning drop shot return from Frank set up Triple Break Point, the break came on Double Break Point) and Frank held again (he hit a winner to set up Triple Game/Match Point, the hold came on Double Game/Match Point) to get the win.  We played this one on the Entrance Court from 9:55 to 10:20.

The Skinny: Carucci is starting to become a regular at the Sunday sessions at Holster Park.  The more he plays, the more he improves as he has a healthy dose of athleticism coupled with good speed.  Plus, he displays more patience than some others that are relatively new to tennis.  Once he becomes a little more consistent, he will be dangerous.  This was a fun One-Setter to play.  Samara likely should have been one and done, but…

Ryan Pienciak over Frank Samara, 6-4!  No Aces.  Here's how it went down: Frank was broken (Ryan hit a winner and then made a great get in the next point which led to Love-30, it then went to Triple Break Point, then Double Break Point where Ryan hit a scorching return winner for the break), Ryan was broken (Love-30, 15-30 where a winning drop shot return from Frank made it Double Break Point, then it was Double Break Point where another winning drop shot return earned the break), Samara was broken again and this time it was at Love as Ryan hit a winner and then two winning returns on the way to Triple Break Point and then Pienciak was also broken again (Love-15 where Ryan hit a drop shot winner for 15-All, but then it was straight to Double Break Point as Frank hit another winning drop shot return along the way) to level it again at 2-2.  It was around this time that both competitors agreed that this was a battle where it was the returner's advantage (as opposed to the usual server's advantage) as neither could generate enough energy to get any true pace on their serves.  Still proving that to be true, The Wood was broken yet again and it was at Love again as Ryan had two more winning returns on the way to Triple Break Point!  But then The Lumberjack broke the trend as he finally held serve and this was another Love game as an excellent rally ended with a winner from Ryan and then he made another winner followed by a pair of great get/winner combos to close out the game and take a 4-2 lead!  Frank finally was able to do the same and hold serve (an un-returned serve made it 30-Love, but that went right to Break Point as Ryan hit two winners along the way, but then Frank hit a winner of his own to make it Deuce, then came Game Point and the hold) to pull to 3-4.  Ryan was broken (15-Love, 15-All and then a Double Fault for 15-30 where Ryan hit a winner for 30-All where another extended rally led to Break Point and then came the break) to knot the score once more at 4-4!  But Samara was then broken again (a winning return from Ryan for Love-30, then it was 15-30 where he hit another winning return to set up Double Break Point and then came the break) only to have Pienciak manage to hold serve a second time (30-Love, 30-15 where Ryan hit a winner to set up Double Game/Match Point where he hit yet another winner to end it) to earn an impressive victory in the increasing temps (it was also quite windy) at 11:10 (we had begun this one on the Entrance Court at 10:40)!

The Skinny: Toward the end of the contest, Ryan kindly said to Frank that Samara would have likely been winning this one 6-0 had he not played Carucci first.  Truthfully, that would not have been the case.  At best, it may have been the same 6-4 score but perhaps in Frank's favor had he had more energy.  But Pienciak often hits shots that a fresh Samara or just about any other competitor are not going to be able to get to in order to make the get (get it? LOL!).  The Lumberjack slices off some two-handed winners up at the net which are a hybrid between a proper Overhead Smash and a volley, but he can also make that shot from other spots on the court as well. 

It was a nice way to end the day at HP as both players left the park by 11:15.

Five minutes later, Samara did a drive-by at RHP and all three courts were vacant (though there was volleyball in the park).

A couple of minutes after that as Frank was heading down Van Houten Ave. (planning to go home early), he received a text message from "Coach" Dino Celis (who had just arrived at Holster Park) asking: "No tennis?"

Before Frank could even reply as to what had happened at HP, a triangular series of text messages occurred where Dino, Spin and then Frank agreed to meet at Albion Park (also in Clifton) at noon to see if the situation was cooler there.

Samara was the first to arrive at Albion at 11:45.  All three courts (the newest of all in Clifton to have been recently redone) were vacant with nearly half of them still in the shade.

The one downside of Albion is that the courts are set up in the same improper manner as they are at Robin Hood Park, east to west rather than north to south.

But the benefits of Albion are as follows: the trees in the park (and close to the courts) are taller than they are at RHP (so there is more shade there); unless it is Clifton Little League Baseball season (which I would guess to be in the spring months), nobody seems to be paying attention to and/or using this park…which would make it very easy for us to take it over (even more so than Holster where we seem to only get two out of the three courts on average); and the parking situation is much better as there is plenty of it (again, baseball season may change that) and it is just a short walk downhill rather than a long walk uphill as it is at HP.

Celis arrived at 11:50 and Martinelli arrived at 11:55.  We had a hitting session where it was Frank and Spin hitting against Dino until Celis suggested playing Canadian Doubles.  We probably got it underway a little after 12noon.

It ended at 12:35 with Samara winning 6 games, Celis winning 5 and Martinelli winning 1.  The main difference between Frank and Dino was that Celis served first and was broken.  From there, both competitors always held serve and Samara was able to get to 6 games won first.

We then B.S.'ed until 12:55 where we basically decided to start going to Albion from now on (weekdays prior to C.G. and then the Sunday morning sessions) rather than Holster.

All around, it is just a better location (other than the court set-up, but it doesn't seem to be as problematic as it is at RHP…perhaps there is a slight north to south tilt there…there is also a slight downward slant from west to east for draining purposes, but it is nothing like the hill at Ravine!) that is more user-friendly.

Also, for parents like me who occasionally bring their kids to the park while playing tennis, the playground set-up is under the shade of the trees and in plain sight of the courts.  At Holster, the kids basically "bake" under the sun while on the playground apparatus and you have to make a concerted effort to go to the entrance gate of the courts to see what they are doing.

If anyone wants to continue playing at Holster, that is fine.  Please send in your scores from there as most do while I am not there anyway.  But whenever I'm hosting weeknight or Sunday tennis, I will be going to Albion rather than Holster from here forward.

To find Albion Park, just enter 237 Maplewood Ave., Clifton, NJ 07013 into your GPS.

Going back to how Sunday unfolded, I felt fine walking off the court and hanging out with Spin and Dino for a while afterward.  But soon after I returned home around 2:30, I begin to feel the effects of heat stroke (even though I did stay hydrated throughout the day).  I won't begin to describe the symptoms (those who have had it already likely know what I went through for the balance of the day and night).  It seems I just overdid it a bit during such hot and humid conditions.

As it turns out, there was eventually some GTA action at RHP.  We now go to Gen for her recap.

It was sunny, hot and humid and not much shade at the RHP courts.  We had the occasional clouds that momentarily blocked the sun as well as some intermittent breeze.  Mike Mole and I got together mid-afternoon and hit for 15-20 minutes prior to our One-Setter.

The RHP Result:

Mike Mole over Genalin Capan, 7-5!  Mike: 1 Ace.  Mike closed out the set on the 3rd MP!

Samara's Notes: I thank Gen for sending in that result.  And now we head to Nutley for the NTC scores from The Riz.

The NTC Results:

Senthil Kumar/Joe Rodrigues over John Rizzo/Alfred Chen, 7-5!  No Aces (apparently).

Senthil Kumar/Dan Hwang over John Rizzo/Alfred Chen, 6-2!  No Aces (apparently).

Senthil Kumar/Dan Hwang tied with Joe Rodrigues/Alfred Chen, 3-3 (Incomplete when a thunderstorm hit)!

We got rained out at 7pm.

Samara's Notes: I thank John for sending in those scores.  7pm…yes, I noticed the same in Passaic around that time and sent a text message to Spin as I knew he had been planning on attending the usual session up at Cedar Grove along with Dino.

Kris later let me know that the 7pm rains struck there as well…washing out any chances of a session there.  So, we can't say all's well that ends well.  But we can say that despite severe heat wave conditions, we did manage to get in a decent amount of GTA Tennis.  And I lived to tell about it.  So maybe it is all's well that ends well…LOL!

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

 

 

 

 

8/13 Results

8/13/16:         

"Anish-Rob TBC at HP, Kris hosts 9 at C.G.!":                                          

GTA Saturday Tennis took place at two locations: a morning session at Holster Park in Clifton (featuring the beginning of the Grove Cup Quarterfinal Match between "Steppin' to the AM" Anish Mehta and "Double R" Rob Ryan, as reported by "The Riz" John Rizzo via Anish) and an evening session at The Cedar Grove Courts (hosted by "Papa K" Kris Srinivasan). 

So we will first go to the score from John (via Anish) and then go up to C.G. for the word from Kris.

The Holster Park Result:

Grove Cup Quarterfinal Match:

Anish Mehta leading Rob Ryan, 6-3!  At that time, due to heat exhaustion, Rob asked to play the balance of the match sometime next week. 

Samara's Notes: I thank John for keeping me informed.  We now head up to Cedar Grove to let Papa K take it away!

On a sizzling hot, humid and somewhat suffocating Saturday night, we still got some GTA players in action.  It wasn't exactly a night to go for some valiant shots that otherwise we may try...:-).  Still, the enthusiastic ones went for it.

The Cedar Grove Results:

Chris Chiaro/Sairaj Srinivasan over Kris Srinivasan/Senthil Kumar, 7-5!  Sairaj: 1 Ace on Senthil!

We were leading comfortably at 5-2, but a little casual play combined with aggressive plays from both Chris and Sairaj saw a great comeback for a commendable win.  Sairaj's Ace was a classic one near the T where Senthil's feet simply refused to move.  It was a good match in the end.

Senthil Kumar/Levy Lorenzo over Chris Chiaro/Sairaj Srinivasan, 6-3!  No Aces (apparently).

It was so muggy that Chris was ready to go home as his sinuses were affecting him.  I probably shouldn't have pushed him to play one more set before he called it a day.  Levy was more diligent than me and that helped Senthil get the better of the opposition.

It was nice to see Spin (aka Dan Martinelli) as he always livens up the proceedings.  To spice it up, Genalin Capan came as well…but not to play.  She brought more home-grown vegetables for Doinks and got to chill out with us in the hot weather…:-).

Rob Gawley/Laura Gawley over Kris Srinivasan/Dan Martinelli, 6-2!  Rob: 1 Ace on Kris!

Spin was all over the court despite the conditions, and with some help from me, could have made it closer.  Rob had a super Ace on me, a fast-paced one down the T after mixing it up with a bunch of drop spin serves.  Laura was solid as usual.

Kris Srinivasan/Laura Gawley leading Rob Gawley/Doinks Srinivasan, 4-3 (Incomplete when drizzle made everyone decide to stop)!  No Aces.

A steady drizzle stopped our match which was fairly close and tight.  It looked ominous or so we thought.  But once we called it a night, the drizzle had stopped completely.  Well, we had decided to close up shop...:-).  We did have some hitting sessions between our matches.  So, we had somewhat of an active session with a skeleton crew, you might say...:-).  Cheers!

Samara's Notes: As always, thanks to Kris for all he does for the GTA up at Cedar Grove.

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

 

 

 

 

8/10 Results

8/10/16:         

"Kris hosts 12 at C.G.!":               

GTA Wednesday Night Tennis only took place at The Cedar Grove Courts (hosted by "Papa K" Kris Srinivasan along with "The S Bomber" Genalin Capan sending in her own result directly). 

So we will now go to Kris with a little assistance from Gen along the way.

It was a night of invasion by non-GTA players occupying three of the courts, but then we didn't have enough players in the lone court that we occupied. 

First off, it was my son Sairaj hitting the ball with Scott Bergenfeld and I joined them shortly thereafter. When Nathan Fernandes hit the courts, we could have a Doubles match.

The Cedar Grove Results:

Scott Bergenfeld/Kris Srinivasan over Nathan Fernandes/Sairaj Srinivasan, 7-5!  Scott: 1 Ace on Nate!

It was a humid evening and both Nate and Sairaj started off well.  It didn't help that we made quite a few unforced errors so that we were down 1-5 in no time.  We should have been taken out in the next game, but we started digging in and combined with a steady flow of errors from Sairaj, we were able to win the next 6 games and the set.  

2 out of 3 Set Doubles Match:

Nathan Fernandes/Scott Bergenfeld over Lou La Forgia/Kris Srinivasan, 6-1, 6-2, to become the New #37 Ranked Team in the Doubles Division!  No Aces.

It was a forgettable night for me and Lou as we were prone to making errors consistently.  A disgusted Lou stepped off, feeling that it was not his day.  I felt similarly, but was needed for one last stint...:-).

Samara's Notes: This was a very impressive win for The Great Ones.  Nate has truly been on a roll as of late.  I believe he said the other night that he had went on a 56-0 run in sets just in Singles alone.  If so, I would think that to be unprecedented in the entire history of the GTA.  We now go back to Kris.

Ryan Pienciak/Doinks Srinivasan over Rick Pienciak/Genalin Capan, 6-4!  No Aces.

Gen's Notes: We played this from 8:25 to 8:55.

Dino Celis/Ryan Pienciak over Rob Gawley/Laura Gawley, 6-4!  No Aces (apparently).

Nathan Fernandes/Kris Srinivasan over Scott Bergenfeld/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-1!  No Aces.

The last game took forever and it looked like one of those nights when you see someone can never lose. It was a winning night for Scott until that streak would at 9:59 and 55 seconds as the lights went out just after we got the winning point to secure the match!

Rob Gawley/Laura Gawley leading Ryan Pienciak/Rick Pienciak, 4-2 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!

Overall, Nate was the steady hand throughout the night while it was a mixed bag for the others.  Doinks did well playing deep shots, but some of Nate's drop shots tested both Scott and Doinks.

We had relatively fewer players, but still it turned out to be busy as the night progressed.  Cheers!

Samara's Notes: As always, I thank Kris for all he does on behalf of the GTA up at Cedar Grove.

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

 

 

 

 

8/9 Results

8/9/16:         

"Anna-Natalie in W.R., Samara hosts 7 at HP, Dino-Lou part of 15 at C.G.!":               

GTA Tuesday Night Tennis took place in three locations: The Wood-Ridge Courts (featuring the GAH6 Quarterfinal Match between "Automatic" Anna Mazur and "The Natural" Natalie Guzman, with the result sent in by Anna), Holster Park in Clifton (hosted by "Hollywood" Frank Samara) and at The Cedar Grove Courts (also hosted by Samara, but with assistance from usual host "Papa K" Kris Srinivasan and featuring a 2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match between "Coach" Dino Celis and "The Lethal Lefty" Lou La Forgia). 

So we will first go to the result from Wood-Ridge as reported by Anna, then the recap of how things developed at HP and then the same for Cedar Grove.

The Wood-Ridge Result:

GAH6 Quarterfinal:

Anna Mazur over Natalie Guzman, 6-0, 6-3, to successfully defend her # 5 Rank in the Women's Division while advancing to the Semifinals of the 6^th Annual Gail-ann Hamilton Memorial Women's Singles Tournament!  No Aces (apparently).

The Automatic Update: We played from 6:55 to 8:10.  We had a great match.  Natalie has improved a lot since the last time I played her earlier this season.  We had a great time and long-lasting rallies.

Samara's Notes: I thank Anna for sending in that result and congratulate her on her victory.  We now take this report to Clifton.

When Samara pulled into the parking lot at Holster Park at 6:05, he saw the cars of "The Vin Man" Vinnie De Benedetto and "J-Rod" Joe Rodrigues already there.  Vin was out on the Entrance Court waiting alone while Joe was still doing his Clark Kent to Superman routine inside of his car…LOL!

Frank and Vin shifted over to Championship Court to start hitting with one another.  At 6:15, Rodrigues stepped onto the court along with Jay "The Rising" Phoenix.  It became a four-way hitting session.

Just when it looked like it was going to be Samara/De Benedetto versus Phoenix/Rodrigues, "Magic" Matt Meillon arrived at 6:20.  Frank stepped off the court to allow Matt to take his place.

At 6:25, a Doubles One-Setter began between Phoenix/De Benedetto and Rodrigues/Meillon.  Samara shifted over to Center Court just as "Nik@Nite" Nik Agharkar made his way onto the court.  After a five minute hitting session, they got a Singles One-Setter underway.

At 6:50, we had the surprise arrival of "Sadistic" Syed Rashid.  He practiced his serve on the Entrance Court while waiting for the other action to finish.

When Samara-Agharkar concluded at 7pm, Frank called Syed over to take his place just as a family was set to take over the Entrance Court.  This led to another Singles One-Setter between Rashid and Agharkar.

The first Doubles One-Setter finished a little before 7:15 and then Jay left.  So Frank took his place in teaming with Vin against Joe and Matt in another Doubles One-Setter.  That one ended a minute after 7:45 and then Vin and Matt both left.

But at 7:50, we had the surprise cameo appearance of "Lucky" Leo Victor who had been away in India for a couple of months (to get married, among other things).  It was good to see Leo who always greets everyone with a smile.

Rashid-Agharkar ended at 7:55 and then Nik left.  A bull session between Frank, Leo, Joe and Syed lasted until 8:10.  At that time, all went their separate ways…but Samara headed up to Cedar Grove.

We will get to all that a little later, but first…

The HP Results:

Jay Phoenix/Vinnie De Benedetto over Joe Rodrigues/Matt Meillon, 7-6 (7-5)!  Joe: 1 Ace on Jay.  This took place on Championship Court from 6:25 to 7:12.

Frank Samara over Nik Agharkar, 6-2!  Nik: 1 Ace.  It went like this: Nik was broken (a Double Fault set up Triple Break Point, but then a truly un-returnable serve made it Double Break Point only to have another Double Fault cause the break), Frank held serve (un-returned serve for 15-Love, then 30-Love where Nik made several great gets on the way to 30-15 and then Nik hit a winner in the next point for 30-All, but then it went to Game Point where Nik blew a volley to allow the hold), Agharkar was broken again (another truly un-returnable serve for 15-Love and then an un-returned serve for 30-Love followed by a Double Fault for 30-15 where Frank hit a winning Overhead Smash for 30-All, then Game Point, Deuce, an impressive corner Ace for Game Point, Deuce where Nik blew a volley for Break Point and then a Double Fault to break himself) and Samara held again (started with a Double Fault, but then hit a near ace that Nik chipped with the frame of his racquet and it was soon onto 30-15, then 30-All, Game Point and the hold) to take a fairly commanding 4-0 lead.  Nik@Nite finally held (un-returned serve to go up 15-Love, but then a Double Fault for 15-All where Nik hit a winner for 30-15, then Double Game Point and an un-returned serve for the hold) and then Hollywood was broken (back-to-back un-returned serves made it 30-Love, then 30-15 where Nik made several great gets on the way to 30-All where Nik hit a winner to set up Break Point and then he hit another winner to get the break) to have his lead cut to 4-2.  Nik was broken (an un-returnable serve for 15-Love, Double Fault for 15-All, but then straight to Double Game Point with another un-returned serve along the way, but then a Double Fault made it Game Point and that was where Frank hit a winning lob for Deuce and then on Break Point it was Nik who blew an overhead to break himself) and then Frank held (15-Love, 15-All and then an un-returned serve would lead to Double Game/Match Point where Nik blew a volley to end it) to end the momentum of Nik and finish the One-Setter!  We played this one on Center Court from 6:30 to 7pm.

The Skinny: One can see from his form and his fast-paced shots that Agharkar is a highly-skilled player.  But he still has some rust to shake off as he is ever so close to hitting the shots he needs to make (top of the tape several times…just inches past service lines and baselines).  Once he does that, he will be a tough player to face.  It seemed he was about to reverse all the momentum here as he had Double Game Point to pull to 3-4, but then Unforced Errors reared their ugly heads once again and did him in.

Syed Rashid over Nik Agharkar, 6-4!  Nik: 1 Ace.  This one also took place on Center Court and lasted from 7:10 to 7:55.  It was an impressive win for Syed who was hitting his usual heavy topspin shots.

Frank Samara/Vinnie De Benedetto over Joe Rodrigues/Matt Meillon, 6-2!  No Aces.  Here's how it went down: Frank held serve (a Vin volley for 15-Love, 15-All and then onto Double Game Point as Vin hit a winning Backhand Volley as well, then Joe hit a winning return to cut it to Game Point, but then an un-returned serve secured the hold), Matt was broken (Frank made a great get to set up Love-30, it then shifted to 30-All with an un-returned serve and a passing shot winner by Joe, but then it went to Break Point, Deuce, Break Point again where Matt hit a passing shot winner of his own for 2^nd Deuce, but then Joe blew a volley to set up Break Point once more and then came the break) and Vin held (Joe hit another passing shot winner for Love-15, but then it went right to Double Game Pint as Vin hit a winning Overhead Smash and Joe blew another volley, it was then Game Point where Vin hit a winning volley to secure his own hold) to take a 3-0 lead.  Joe held to get his team on the scoreboard (Love-15 went straight to Double Game Point as it was The Joe Show when he first hit an un-returned serve, then he hit a winner, then another un-returned serve and then he made a great get on DGP to secure his own hold), but Samara held again (Frank hit a winner for 30-Love, it shifted to 30-All as Joe hit a blistering passing shot winner and Matt hit a winner as well, but then it went to Game Point where Matt made an amazing get/winner combo for Deuce, but Game Point came again and then so did the hold) for a 4-1 lead.  Meillon held (Love-15 went to 30-15 right after Joe hit a monster Overhead Smash and then it went to 30-All and Game Point where Frank blew an overhead in ugly fashion to allow the hold) to pull to 2-4.  But from there, De Benedetto held again (Joe made a great get/winner combo for Love-15, it then shifted to Double Game Point after an un-returned serve, but then Matt hit a winner to cut it down to Game Point which was where Vin hit a winning Overhead Smash to cement his own hold) and then Rodrigues was broken (Love-30 where Matt hit a scorching winner for 15-30, but then came Double Break/Match Point and the break to end the match) to take the loss!  We played this on Championship Court from 7:17 to 7:46.

Samara arrived at Cedar Grove at 8:20.  At that time, Celis-La Forgia was already in progress on Court One.  On Court Two, Guy Dupoux and Cliff Pierre-Louis were having a hitting session with one another that eventually led to a One-Setter.

On Court Three, it was GTA Champion: "King Crush" Chris Chiaro teaming with his usual partner, "The Sultan of Swing" Raj Shah versus "Instant" Moka Pathan and "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes in a pair of One-Setters as both teams strive to stay tournament ready while waiting for their opponents.

And on Court Four, it was "The Secret Weapon" Sairaj Srinivasan teaming with Dennis "The Menace" Cabanatan to take on Papa Kris and "The Argentine Machine" Fernanda Toker.

Riding the bench outside Court Four were "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli, "The S Bomber" Genalin Capan, "The Webmaster" Senthil Kumar and "Mr. 500" Levy Lorenzo.  Samara soon sat beside them.  Spin and Gen were only there to make extended cameo appearances while Senthil and Levy were waiting to play.

Kris would soon inform Frank of a result that took place prior to his arrival.  We ended up with a total of 15 official competitors.

The Cedar Grove Results:

Moka Pathan/Raj Shah over Chris Chiaro/Michel Encarnacion, 6-2!  No Aces.  This one took place on Court Three prior to Samara's arrival.

2 out of 3 Sets Challenge Match:

Lou La Forgia over Dino Celis, 6-4, 6-4, to become the New # 6 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division!  Lou: 1 Ace in the 2^nd Set.  This one got underway on Court One around 8pm and ended exactly at 9:11.

The Skinny: When Celis saw the e-mail earlier in the day about players hopefully stepping up to give La Forgia a shot to move up the ranks, he decided to answer the call and he reached out to Lou.  It was a tough match with a lot of hard-hitting from both sides.  This is an impressive victory for La Forgia.  Many of those in attendance were happy for him as they felt this type of jump was long overdue and that the Grove Cup withdrawal situation was most unfortunate.  He now finds himself one rank away from becoming overqualified for competition in the Intermediate Division.  Also, besides the GTA Champion: Chris Chiaro, he is now the highest ranked player not currently in the Grove Cup.  Congratulations to Lou!  And kudos go out to Dino for answering the call.

Samara's Notes: The only downside for me is that I now fall to an unprecedented low of being the # 17 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division (I believe my previous low was # 16).  After putting my rank on the line later this month, I do plan on attempting to make a move back up the ranks as I'd like to be back in The Top 10 by season's end…or at least The Top 15! 

Kris Srinivasan/Fernanda Toker over Sairaj Srinivasan/Dennis Cabanatan, 6-3!  No Aces.  This one got finished on Court Four at exactly 8:33.

Chris Chiaro/Raj Shah over Moka Pathan/Nathan Fernandes, 6-4!  No Aces.  This one took place on Court Three.  Not sure when it began or ended as it went right into another one…which we will get to shortly.

Guy Dupoux over Cliff Pierre-Louis, 6-2!  No Aces.  They battled on Court Two.  Hard to tell when it began or ended as it followed a lengthy hitting session.

Senthil Kumar/Levy Lorenzo over Dennis Cabanatan/Fernanda Toker, 6-3!  They played this on Court Four from 8:40 to 9:10.  No Aces.

Chris Chiaro/Raj Shah over Moka Pathan/Nathan Fernandes, 6-4!  Raj: 1 Ace on Nate.  This one ended on Court Three at exactly 9:22.

Moka Pathan/Nathan Fernandes over Chris Chiaro/Lou La Forgia, 6-2!  No Aces.  This one also took place on Court Three as it lasted from 9:30 to 9:53.

Kris Srinivasan/Fernanda Toker leading Senthil Kumar/Levy Lorenzo, 6-6 (3-1)…Incomplete, when the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces.  At 9:51, they were tied at 5-5.  Then at 9:54, Senthil and Levy went up 6-5.  The Tiebreak started at 9:58.  Fernanda held her lone serve after Kris hit a winning volley.  Senthil was broken on the first of his two serve after he blew an overhead, but then he held his second serve after Kris blew an overhead.  Kris held the first of his two serves after a lengthy and exciting rally and then it went dark!

It was a fun way to wrap up a meaningful session of GTA Tennis up at Cedar Grove.

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

 

 

 

 

8/8 Results

8/8/16:         

"M2 Semi and an epic 1-Setter are part of 21 at C.G.!":               

GTA Monday Tennis only took place at The Cedar Grove Courts (hosted by "Papa K" Kris Srinivasan, but with results also being sent in by GTA Champion: "King Crush" Chris Chiaro and "Super Mario" Marijus Kuzavas.  Kuzavas was part of the M2 Semifinal Match as he teamed with his buddy, "Big Kaz" Mike Kazlauskas, against "The Lethal Lefty" Lou La Forgia and "Big George" Jorge Solano). 

So we will first go to the details of that Main Event from Marijus and then turn this report over to Kris with scores from Chris inserted along the way.  It should also be noted that Dennis "The Menace" Cabanatan also sent in his result, but Kris already had the details included in his report.

The Cedar Grove Results:

M2 Semifinal:

Marijus Kuzavas/Mike Kazlauskas over Lou La Forgia/Jorge Solano, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, to successfully defend their # 5 Rank in the Doubles Division while advancing to The Finals of The M2 Men's Doubles Tournament!  Mike: 4 Aces on Jorge!  Marijus: 2 Aces on Jorge!

The Super Scoop from Super Mario: We played our match Cedar Grove and started around 7:40 and finished around 9:30.

The 1st Set went 0-1, 1-1, 1-2, 2-2, 2-4, 4-4, 4-6.  Mike was broken twice and Jorge once.  We had trouble returning the serves (especially Lou's) and made many unforced errors trying to attack Jorge's lobs.

The 2nd Set went 1-0, 1-1, 3-1, 3-4, 6-4.  This time I was broken twice, but we were able to break Jorge once and Lou twice.  This set was riddled with too many double faults both from me and Lou, which led to many breaks.

The 3^rd Set went 0-1, 3-1, 3-2, 4-2, 4-3, 6-3.  We were able to hold our serves, but broke both Jorge and Lou once each.  

This was a hard-fought battle.  It wasn't pretty.  We did not have too many nice rallies.  It was more of a tactical battle trying to take the opponents out of their comfort zone.  In the end, I think we adjusted to their game better and were able to pull it out.

The Say from Papa K: It was a very good match that saw M&M come back as they came out swinging after the loss of the 1st Set.  The momentum shifted when Lou and Solano were serving and up 40-15 at 4-4 in the 2nd Set, but couldn't hold the serve.

Samara's Notes: I thank Marijus for all those details and congratulate him (along with Mike) on an impressive victory.  I also offer kudos to Lou and Jorge for a spirited effort.  We now turn to Chris and Kris for their contributions to this report.

Chris Chiaro/Nathan Fernandes over Raj Shah/Jose Gonzales, 6-0!  No Aces.

Chris Chiaro/Nathan Fernandes over Raj Shah/Jose Gonzales, 6-1!  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: Those were two results reported by Chris that Kris did not have included in his report.  We now let Papa K take it away!

Monday night was buzzing with GTA action on all the courts…so much so that two girls waiting to play didn't get a chance.  It also featured the M2 Men's Doubles Semifinal Match featuring Marijus and Mike against Lou and Jorge.  We also got to see our women players in full swing as at least six of them showed up to play.

Raj Shah/Jose Gonzales over Kris Srinivasan/Sairaj Srinivasan, 6-3!  No Aces.

Ralph Bernard/Sairaj Srinivasan over Kris Srinivasan/Dan Martinelli, 6-3!  Spin: 1 Ace on Sairaj!  This Ace was a superb serve on the sideline as the trajectory was going straight to the middle of the adjacent court.  I doubt anyone could have taken that serve with the pace ball was traveling.  Ralph and Sairaj played well and it was an off-day for me indeed.

Doinks Srinivasan/Brenda Jordan over Kathy Sheldon/Dawn Peterson, 6-3!  No Aces (apparently).

Doinks Srinivasan/Brenda Jordan over Kathy Sheldon/Dawn Peterson, 7-5!  No Aces (apparently).

Samara's Notes: Kris reported the two above One-Setters as if they were played as a full 2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match.  But since both teams are still in the active draw of the ongoing W2 Women's Doubles Tournament, we had to break them down into separate One-Setters.  We now go back to Kris.

Rob Gawley/Laura Gawley over Kris Srinivasan/Sally Pillay, 7-5!  No Aces.

It was a solid match where we were leading 5-3, but a great comeback put Rob and Laura up 6-5 and the next game was a marathon.  We were serving up 40-Love (Triple Game Point) and then lost our footing ending up in a Deuce.  This started an avalanche of Deuces (perhaps 12 in all) where we had multiple opportunities that we blew, but also great gets by Rob and smart play by Laura, ended in a dramatic win by The Dream Team.

Ralph Bernard/Sairaj Srinivasan over Dennis Cabanatan/Ted Cedroski, 7-6 (7-4)!  No Aces (apparently).  It was the official GTA Return of Ted Cedroski.

It was a great match.  Sairaj felt that they should have put it away at 6-2, but a nice comeback from Dennis and Ted took it to the TB.

Rob Gawley/Laura Gawley leading Jose Gonzales/Doinks Srinivasan, 5-3 (Incomplete when the lights went out at 10pm)!  No Aces (apparently).

There were other matches played by women in the early part of the evening involving Kathy, Dawn, Brenda and Sally.

Samara's Notes: These matches were never reported.  Back to Kris we go. 

Chris Chiaro over Nathan Fernandes, 7-5!  No Aces.

We also saw the amazing One-Setter between Nate and Chris where Nate almost had it when he was leading 5-3 with a Match Point.  It was an incredible get by Chris at that juncture that allowed him to stay in the match.  It was a doggone hard road to earn this win, but Nate has proven to be the man to beat with his consistency, smart play, slices, drop shots and winning overheads, and more importantly his agility to get to the balls that looked like winners!

All in all, it was terrific GTA Tennis action on a beautiful Monday night.  Cheers!

Samara's Notes: I thank Kris for always being willing to host and provide us with such comprehensive and colorful reports.  I also thank Chris for the assist and congratulate him on a hard-fought One-Set win over Nate who definitely has been on fire as of late.  I would say that this is a likely Nominee for One-Set Singles Match of The Year at season's end.

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

 

 

 

 

8/7 Results

8/7/16:

"Z-Flax in F.L., Rob-Frank at RHP, Dino-Anish part of 9 at HP, 7 play at C.G.!:

"Hollywood" Frank Samara announced he would be hosting GTA Sunday Tennis at the old stomping grounds of Robin Hood Park in Clifton rather than Holster Park (also in Clifton) as he would be competing in a Grove Cup Round of 16 Match against "Double R" Rob Ryan.

There were two reasons for this: RHP is right across the street from Ryan's house and it was also known that "Coach" Dino Celis and "Steppin' to the AM" Anish Mehta would be playing their Grove Cup Round of 16 Match at HP, beginning at 9:30am at Holster Park.

Rather than have a logjam, Rob and Frank decided to just run it at the original home base of the GTA: RHP!

Samara pulled up to the curb at RHP at 9:25.  He saw that all three courts were vacant.  He was happy to then take Championship Court for his upcoming match. 

At 9:55, Barbara "Bobbie" Grass arrived at 9:55.  Luckily, she brought a friend with her as Frank soon explained that he would be busy in his match with Ryan.  The two of them took the Entrance Court and hit there from 9:55 to 10:20.

"Nik@Nite" Nik Agharkar arrived at 10:15 only to leave fifteen minutes later to go to HP as it was quickly becoming clear there would be no other players coming to RHP.

Except that was not entirely true as "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli hit the courts at 10:40 to make a short cameo before heading back home and then to HP after that.

At 10:45, "Holy Moly" Mike Mole arrived at the exact same time that "Z-Man" Dave Zapusek did as well.  First, the two of them spoke with Spin.  Then, Mole decided to finally head up to RHP at 11:05. 

Meanwhile, Zapusek reported the score of a full match he played against his buddy, "The Flax Machine" Mike Flax at TJ Field in Fair Lawn.  That result will be reported before all the others.

Backtracking a bit, Ryan came over to the courts at 10am and immediately stated hitting with Samara.  By 10:08, the match was underway.

The TJ Field Result:

3 out of 5 Set Challenge Match:
Dave Zapusek over Mike Flax, 6-2, 6-4, 8-6, to successfully defend his # 29 Rank in the Intermediate Division!  No Aces.  The 3rd Set was done old school style - play out the games with no Tiebreak.

The HP Result:

Grove Cup Round of 16 Match:
Rob Ryan over Frank Samara, 6-1, 6-4, to successfully defend his # 6 Rank in the Advanced Division while advancing to the Quarterfinals of The Grove Cup Tournament!  No Aces.

1st Set: Frank was broken (a lengthy rally ended with a drop shot winner from Rob for Love-15 and then Rob hit another winner for Love-30, it then went to Triple Break Point and the break came on Double Break Point) and Rob held serve (it was a winning drop shot return from Frank for Love-15, but then it went right to Double Game Point with an un-returned serve on the way, but then Frank hit a winner to cut that lead to Game Point, yet then came the hold) for a 2-0 lead.  Samara held (un-returned serve for 15-Love, 15-All and then it went straight to Double Game Point with another un-returned serve and a big winner from Frank but then another extended rally brought it Game Point where Frank secured his own hold with a winning Overhead Smash, but Ryan held again (two un-returned serves led to 30-Love, it was then 30-15, Double Game Point where a winner earned the hold) for 3-1.  Hollywood was broken at Love as Rob started things off with a winning Overhead Smash and finished them with a winning return and Double R held again (it went 15-Love then point for point to Game Point, but along the way Frank hit a winner and made a great get that forced an error and then on that Game Point it was Frank hitting another winner to make it Deuce, but then came Game Point again and an un-returned serve secured the hold) to take a commanding 5-1 lead!  Frank was then broken once more (un-returned serve for 15-Love and then point for point until 30-All as Frank had hit a winner along the way, but Rob hit a drop shot winner to set up Break/Set Point which is where this set ended) to drop the set.  This one got started on Championship Court at 10:08 and the set was over by 10:35.  After a three minute break, the next set got underway.

2nd Set: Rob held (un-returned serve for 15-Love, Frank hit a winner for 15-All, but then it was straight to Double Game Point with another un-returned serve along the way, but then Frank hit a winner to cut that lead to Game Point which was where Rob made an incredible great/get winner combo up near the net to secure the hold), Frank was broken (Love-15 where Frank hit an amazing winner for 15-All, but then it went right to Double Break Point and the break) and Ryan held again (15-Love where Frank hit another scorching winner for 15-All, but then it went straight to Double Game Point and the hold) to jump out to a 3-0 lead!  Samara held in a struggle (a nice return winner from Rob for Love-15, then an un-returned serve for 15-All, but then Rob hit a winning Overhead Smash for 15-30, then Double Break Point got cut down to Deuce, Break Point where Frank hit a winner for 2nd Deuce where Rob hit a blistering winner for Break Point, but then Rob blew an overhead to make it 3rd Deuce, then came Game Point, 4th Deuce and then the Game Point and the hold) and Double R was broken (Triple Break Point cut down to Break Point where a winner from Frank got the break) to have his lead cut to 3-2.  The Wood held again (a drop shot winner from Frank for 15-Love, then it was 15-All where Frank hit another winner for 30-15, then it was 30-All where a winner by Rob made it Break Point, but then Frank hit another winner to make it Deuce, Break Point where Frank hit another winner to bring it to 2nd Deuce and then it was Game Point where Rob made another absolutely amazing get/winner combo to bring it back to 3rd Deuce, it was Game Point again where Rob hit another winner for 4th Deuce, but then came Game Point again and finally the hold) to level the set at 3-3!  Rob held (Rob hit a winning Overhead Smash for 30-Love, but that shifted to 30-All where Rob hit a winner for Game Point, but then Rob blew an overhead to make it Deuce and then it was all Game Points until 3rd Deuce...with Rob often hit winners when he was at the Deuce to go back up Game Point...and then he got back-to-back winners to seal the deal on this service) and Frank was broken (Love-15 where Frank hit a winner for 15-All, but then Rob hit back-to-back winners on the way to Double Break Point which was where Rob blew an overhead to make it Break Point, but then came the break) for 3-5.  Ryan was broken (15-Love,15-All and then right to Double Game/Match Point where Frank went for broke with a risky winner to get it to Game/Match Point and that was where Rob blew an overhead to make it Deuce, Break Point where Rob hit a winner for 2nd Deuce, Break Point again where Rob hit a winner for 3rd Deuce, Break Point again where Frank hit the winner for the break) to have his lead cut to 5-4,  but Samara was also broken (15-Love and then straight to Double Break/Match Point with a winner from Rob along the way and then Frank hit a winning volley to cut it to Break/Match Point but then that was where the break finally came!) to take a tough loss as this one ended exactly at 11:39.                                

The Skinny: Going into this match with just three and a half hours was not wise on Samara's part, yet it likely had little effect on the outcome of this match as Frank still managed to bring energy to this match.  Samara came into this battle with a different strategy - play aggressive rather than defensive.  The consistency in shot-making was not there in the 1st Set, but this tactic came close to working in the 2nd Set.  In the end, Ryan's game was just too clean....just too good.  He strikes the proper balance between aggressive offense and comprehensive defense.  I congratulate him on his win and wish him well in the rest of the tourney.  He is definitely a heavy favorite from here forward.

After a bull session with Rob that ran until 12:10 (and saw "MC" Mike Carucci do a drive-by around 11:50 wondering where the action would be...Samara sent him over to Holster Park), Frank did the same as he drove over to HP and got there by 12:15.

Upon his arrival, he saw Dino and Spin together on the bench alongside the Entrance Court where Jay "The Rising" Phoenix and Mike Mole were doing battle with one another in a Singles One-Setter.

On Center Court, "The Legendary" Chazz Weldon was facing Mike Carucci in a similar One-Setter.

And on Championship Court, "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes was continuing his streak of dominance versus "Lean" Dean Delgado.

Dino Celis had already sent his result via text to Samara, but there was still much info to collect from HP.  Some earlier scores were given and we will go to those first.

In non-GTA action, "The Vin Man" Vinnie De Benedetto was going to leave at 9:30 once he realized Celis and Mehta would be in a full match.  But he was called over by three other guys (Zoltar and crew, perhaps?) to be their fourth.

The HP Results:

Grove Cup Round of 16 Match:
Anish Mehta over Dino Celis, 6-3, 7-5, to become the New # 5 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division while advancing to the Quarterfinals of The Grove Cup Tournament!  Anish: 1 Ace in the 1st Set.  Now that Mehta is in The Top 5 of The Advanced Division, he has become overqualified for competition in the Intermediate Division and will be removed from it. 

This one got started around 9:30 and ended by 11:55.

The AM Report: It was a tough match and Dino is a great player.  He has a big forehand, so I focused on placement rather than hitting hard and giving him ammunition.  I was able to break him early in the first game which was the main factor leading me to get the 1st Set.  I did the same in the 2nd Set and that helped me survive later in the set.  We got to 5-4, 40-15 (Double Game/Match Point) when I choked and hit two Double Faults in a row!  I was getting increasingly over-defensive and he made me pay for that and broke me to even it out.  I thought we were heading for a Tiebreak and possibly a 3rd Set, but I was able to snap out of it and I broke him back.  I then served it out at 6-5.

From The Coach's Clipboard: Great match and a good win, Anish! Good luck in the rest of the tournament.

Samara's Notes: It sounds like it was quite the straight-set battle.  And congratulations to Anish not only on the impressive victory, but also for making the jump out of the Intermediate Division.

Chazz Weldon/Mike Mole over Jay Phoenix/Nik Agharkar, 6-2!  No Aces.  This result had occurred earlier in the session.

Mike Mole over Jay Phoenix, 6-1!  Mike: 2 Aces.  Not sure when this one got started on the Entrance Court, but it ended at 12:20.

Chazz Weldon over Mike Carucci, 6-0!  Chazz: 1 Ace.  Not sure when this one began on Center Court, but it ended exactly at 12:39.

Nathan Fernandes over Dean Delgado, 6-0!  No Aces.  Not sure when they got this one underway on Championship Court or when it finished because they went right into this next one.

Nathan Fernandes over Dean Delgado, 6-0!  No Aces.  Down 0-5, Dean was on serve and had Game Point only to see it go to Deuce, Break/Match Point and the break!  This one got finished at 12:48.

Frank, Spin and Dino had been sitting on the sidelines for the above One-Setter.  Nate and Dean joined them afterward for a bull session that ran until around 1:10/1:15. 

Jay Phoenix over Mike Mole, 7-6 (7-4)!  Mike: 3 Aces!  This one was contested on the Entrance Court from 12:23 to 1:08.

After this one concluded, everyone left the courts except for Nate and Jay.  Nate sent the following via text.

Nathan Fernandes over Jay Phoenix, 6-0!  No Aces.  It took place on Championship Court.

We now head up to Cedar Grove to let Papa K take it away!

The Cedar Grove Results:

Kris Srinivasan/Senthil Kumar over Scott Bergenfeld/Dan Martinelli, 6-2!  No Aces.

Kris Srinivasan/Senthil Kumar over Scott Bergenfeld/Sairaj Srinivasan, 6-2!  Scott: 2 Aces (one on each)!

Senthil Kumar/Sairaj Srinivasan over Scott Bergenfeld/Kris Srinivasan, 6-2!  No Aces.

Dino Celis/Senthil Kumar over Kris Srinivasan/Dave Zhu, 6-1!  No Aces.

Kris Srinivasan/Dave Zhu over Dino Celis/Senthil Kumar, 6-1!  Dave: 2 Aces (one on each)!

The Say from Papa K: It was a quiet night that was sparked by the presence of Spin who had half a dozen winners both from the baseline and some aggressive approach shots.  Senthil played with the fewest errors and his net play was top notch.  After a disastrous start on serves, Dave got his groove back.  Dino was superb on both forehand and backhand shots and it was good to see him running to the net to keep up the pressure.  It was a mixed bag for Scott, but he sure had a good hitting session in the beginning.  Cheers!

Samara's Notes: Sounds like it was a nice session to close out another big weekend of GTA Tennis.  I thank Kris for always hosting and providing us with his reports.

All the best,
Frank Samara

8/6 Results

8/6/16:         

"Kris hosts 9 at C.G.!":               

GTA Saturday Tennis only took place at The Cedar Grove Courts (hosted by "Papa K" Kris Srinivasan). 

We now turn this report over to Kris.

The Cedar Grove Results:

Chris Chiaro/Sairaj Srinivasan over Greg Swierczek/Raj Boddu, 6-2!  Raj: 1 Ace on Sairaj!

Chris Chiaro/Kris Srinivasan over Greg Swierczek/Raj Boddu, 6-1!  No Aces.

Chris Chiaro/Mike Mole over Kris Srinivasan/Raj Boddu, 7-5!  No Aces.

Kris Srinivasan/Raj Boddu over Chris Chiaro/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-4!  No Aces.

Rob Gawley/Laura Gawley over Dave Zhu/Doinks Srinivasan, 7-6 (7-4)!  No Aces (apparently).

Samara's Notes: All hail Kris, the host with the most up at Cedar Grove.  Kudos!

Sincerely,

Frank Samara