8/16 Results.

8/16/17:

"Toker-Pyatski in B.F., 5 at NTC, 4 at PAC, Mole-Kaz, MXD2 Semi + at C.G. as Kris hosts!":

There were four sessions of GTA Wednesday Night Tennis and they all got started around the same time: "The Argentine Machine" Fernanda Toker and "LP" Lena Pyatski got together at courts in Ridgefield Park to play their GAH7 Quarterfinal Match against one another (as reported by Fernanda); "The Riz" John Rizzo hosted a session at The Nutley Tennis Club that ended up having a surprise co-host, "Hollywood" Frank Samara…who then went on to host an impromptu session at The Park Ave. Courts in Nutley where he did not play, but noted the action of the four guys there led by "Richie" Rich Liu; and the usual evening one at The Cedar Grove Courts hosted by "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan and the Double Main Event was the Grove Cup XX Round of 16 Match between "Magic" Mike Mole and "Big Kaz" Mike Kazlauskas (Mole also sent in this score along with some commentary) and then the MXD2 Semifinal Match featuring GTA Women's Champion: Laura "The Aura" Gawley and "Rowdy" Rob Gawley going up against "The Smackdown" Sally Pillay and "Super Mario" Marijus Kuzavas (Marijus also sent in this score along with additional details and commentary and then Laura provided some commentary as well).

So we will first go to Ridgefield Park for the result from Fernanda, then Samara's dual report about NTC and PAC in Nutley and then we will turn this report over to Kris with the contributions from Mole and Kuzavas along the way.

The Ridgefield Park Result:

GAH7 Quarterfinal Match:

Fernanda Toker over Lena Pyatski, 6-0, 6-0, to successfully defend her # 4 Rank in the Women's Division while also advancing to the Semifinals of the 7th Annual Gail-ann Hamilton Memorial Tournament!  No Aces.

Toker's Take: We played from 6:50 to 8:05.  There were some long rallies that I had to end with a drop shot most of the time because she is a very consistent player and she hardly makes any mistakes.

Samara's Notes: Fernanda now advances to the Semis where she will face Sally Pillay.  The other Semi will feature Janice Wang versus Anna Mazur.

The NTC Results:

Don Moya/Janice Wang over John Rizzo/Tom La, 6-3!  John: 1 Ace on Janice!  John and Tom won the first nine points to jump out to a 2-0 lead, but then errors crept into their game…particularly Tom who had a service game with 3 Double Faults in it.  Needless to say, Mr. Rizzo was not too pleased by that!  LOL!  This was played on Court Three from 7pm to 7:30.

Frank Samara/Tom La over Don Moya/Janice Wang, 6-4!  No Aces.  We decided to forego the changeovers as we got started at 7:35 (again, on Court Three) as we were concerned about the rapidly fading daylight.  So I memorized the flow of the games and wrote them down as soon as we finished, which was precisely at 8:04.  It went like this: Janice held serve (Love-15 shifted to 30-15, 30-All, Game Point and the hold), Tom held (Triple Game Point, Double Game Point and the hold), but Don was the first to be broken (30-Love shifted straight to Break Point and the break) for 1-2.  Frank was also broken (Love-15, 15-All then straight to Double Break Point and the break) for 2-2, but then Wang was broken (15-Love, Double Fault for 15-All, 15-30, 30-All, Break Point and the break) for 2-3.  La was also broken (Love-15, 15-All then straight to Double Break Point and the break) to even things again at 3-3, but then Moya was broken again (started with a near ace on Frank as it kicked off the service line and just nicked the frame of Frank's racquet and then he went up 30-Love once again only to then go to 30-15, hit a Double Fault for 30-All, then it went to Break Point, Deuce, Break Point, 2^nd Deuce, Break Point and finally the break) and then Samara held (started with a Double Fault and then had a near ace on Don as he had a revenge service line jammer to make it 15-All and it was off and running to Game Point and the hold) to take a 5-3 lead!  J-Wow held (Love-15 then point for point until 30-All, mini-shift to Game Point and then the hold) to pull to 4-5, but then The Hit Man held in a battle (15-Love, Double Fault for 15-All and then point for point to Game/Match Point where Janice hit a short shot to Frank at the net which should have been an easy put-away volley for Samara, but in his quest to hit it so short and precise so that nobody could even attempt a get on it…he completely whiffed on it instead and that made it Deuce!  It then went to Break Point, 2^nd Deuce and then they finally sealed the deal on the 2^nd Game/Match Point) to earn a hard-fought victory!  John wondered why Tom could not have played as well in the first One-Setter, but obviously the less pressure situation of teaming with Frank worked wonders for his game…LOL!

After leaving NTC around 8:15 or so, I had to go to Shop Rite for a few items.  Leaving there around 8:40, I did not want to go home yet (plus nothing was perishable).

In that moment, it occurred to me that we have heard nothing from "The Nutley Crew" in quite some time.  So I decided to take a drive over to the Park Ave. Courts.

I arrived at 8:45.  Sure enough, there was four of the guys out on Court Two.  On one side of the net it was "Richie" Rich Liu and Edgar "Valentino" Valencia (who I had never met before, but have seen his pictures on Facebook).  On the other side of the net it was "Fantastic" Fausto Murg with a gentleman I had not seen before.

The mystery man turned out to be Arunraj Nair who his already on our ranks.  Once I got to see him play, I gave him the moniker of "The Net Minder" as he is a hawk at the net with his volleys and overheads.  But that led to the guys also calling him "The Net Master" and "The Net Monster."

When I arrived, Liu/Valencia were already up a set (which they won 7-5) and then had a 2-0 lead in the 2nd Set.  I won't say anything more about the score until we get to the result in just a bit.

But on a changeover, I asked Rich why we haven't heard from him in so long.  I wondered if something had happened (or if someone had said something) to offend him or one of the others.

Rich insisted that was not the case.  They just started playing in Nutley again and he wasn't aware of the fact that I would also want the results when they were solely within "The Nutley Crew."

I told him that I now consider them to be as much a part of the league as anyone else.  What I did not say, but it is in the same vein is that once we bring you into the GTA...it is like tag and you're "it!"  And you can be "it" as long as you like.  And then you can tag others as well.  And if you do not want to be "it" anymore, well that's fine, too.

Anyway, Rich was happy to hear that I consider them to be as essential as anyone else and he said they will start reporting their results more frequently going forward.

I then stuck around for the balance of the match...and I certainly was glad I did!

The PAC Result:

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:

Fausto Murg/Arunraj Nair over Rich Liu/Edgar Valencia, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4, to become the New # 41 Ranked Team in the Doubles Division!  Edgar: 4 Aces on Fausto in the 1^st Set!  Arunraj: 1 Ace on Edgar in the 2^nd Set; and Fausto: 1 Ace on Edgar in the 3^rd Set.

Upon Samara's arrival at 8:45, Liu/Valencia already had the 1^st Set in the bag and had a lead of 2-0 in the 2^nd Set.  If you take "the cup is half full" approach to life, Frank was a good luck charm for Murg/Nair.  If you believe that "the cup is half empty", then Samara must have been the equivalent of a black cat stalking the sideline as far as Rich and Edgar was concerned as Fausto and Arunraj then took six straight games to win the 2^nd Set and level the match and then won a seventh for a 1-0 lead in the 3^rd Set!

That set went to 1-1 and 2-2 before Murg/Nair jumped out to a somewhat commanding 5-2 lead.  Arunraj was now on serve and quickly put his team up at Triple Game/Match Point only to see it get saved for Double Game/Match Point and then that was saved for Game/Match Point.  Well, make that three saved M.P.'s in a row as it then went to Deuce, Break Point and the break to have his team's lead cut to 5-3!  Edgar then held on Double Game Point to pull to 4-5.  And then Fausto was on serve in an absolutely incredible game as he jumped out to a Double Game/Match Point lead only to have it saved for Game/Match Point and then that was saved for Deuce.  The rest of the game went like this: the 6^th Game/Match Point, 2^nd Deuce, Break Point, 3^rd Deuce, the 7^th Game/Match Point, 4^th Deuce, the 8^th Game/Match Point, 5^th Deuce, an Ace on Edgar to set up the 9^th Game/Match Point, 6^th Deuce, Break Point, 7^th Deuce, the 10^th Game/Match Point, 8^th Deuce, Break Point, 9^th Deuce, the 11^th Game/Match Point and finally the hold!  This set began at 9:05 and ended at 9:50 on Court Two.

Samara's Notes: I was very happy I decided to swing by the Park Ave. Courts as this would have been a result that would have likely fallen through the cracks into "unofficial oblivion."  I would also like to think that my presence stirred both of the teams to compete at a higher level as there was a lot of hard hitting and great get making involved in this encounter.  I have seen the big forehand of Rich before.  I've noted the heavy topspin shots of Fausto in the past.  But this was my first time seeing Edgar with his big serve and equally solid forehands.  And Arunraj is a veritable force at the net.  He loves being there and is quite comfortable snapping off volleys and overheads at the ready.  I do believe this will likely be a Nominee for Doubles Match of The Year at season's end.

During the above match, I received a text message from "Magic" Mike Mole which featured the result of his Grove Cup XX Round of 16 Match against "Big Kaz" Mike Kazlauskas.

The Cedar Grove Results:

Grove Cup XX Round of 16 Match:

Mike Kazlauskas over Mike Mole, 4-6, 6-1, 6-1, to become the New # 9 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division and to successfully defend his # 11 Rank in the Intermediate Division while also advancing to the Quarterfinals of the 20th Annual Grove Cup Tournament!  Kaz: 5 Aces!

The Mole Memo: We played from 6:30 to 8:15.  Mike's serves were on fire!  He was getting all of his first serves in and hitting very consistent shots.  And then in the 2nd and 3rd Sets, I was making way too may errors.  Overall, it was a great match!

Samara's Notes: I thank Mr. Mole for his very prompt reporting.  I also congratulate Big Kaz on his very impressive victory.  He is now just the second player to advance to the Quarters of the Cup.  We now go to Kris for his opinion on the match and then the MXD2 Semi will follow with the breakdown from Marijus and the additional commentary from Kris once again (as well as Laura's).

And then Kris will provide the rest of this report's content.

The K has his say: It was a match that started off on a good note, but then fell apart as it progressed.  Mole has been outstanding and punishing these days and it showed clearly in the 1st Set.  As luck would have it, Mole broke his racquet strings and the substitute racquet didn't seem to have the same "magic." He started hitting long and the deep topspin shots were missing the mark time and time again.  Kaz, on the other hand, got into a good rhythm as his booming serves gave him the momentum.  He kept his cool to plug off the points on a regular basis to seal the match.

It was another beauty of a night for tennis, notwithstanding the humidity and our players took full advantage of it. There were matches of consequential significance and other fun matches that lit up the night with non stop action.

MXD2 Semifinal Match:

Marijus Kuzavas/Sally Pillay over Rob Gawley/Laura Gawley, 6-4, 6-4, to become the New # 4 Ranked Team in the Mixed Doubles Division!  Marijus: 6 Aces (1 Ace on Rob in the 1^st Set and 5 Aces on Laura, 2 in the 1^st Set and 3 in the 2^nd Set)! 

The Super Mario Memo: The 1st Set went 1-0, 3-1, 4-3 and 6-4 in our favor.  It was a bit of an up and down set.  We kept going up in score, but they kept getting back until finally we managed to close it up.  The 2^nd Set went 3-0, 5-2 and 6-4 in our favor.  This time we went up big a couple of times in the set, but again the Gawleys kept fighting back…until again we managed to close it down.  They are a very tough, very strategic team that gives us a lot of trouble every time we play them.  So we are happy things went our way this time.

The Aura's Oration: They were very tough on this night.  Sally was very steady and Marijus was relentless with his hard serving and forehand ground-strokes.  They were solid at key moments which gave them the advantage.  They are always fun to play!  Best of luck to them in the Finals!

Samara's Notes: They now await the winner of Nathan Fernandes/Natalia Sout versus Don Moya/Janice Wang.  And now Kris adds his two cents on this one…and then follows up with the balance of the session.

The K has his say: The Mixed Doubles Semifinals lived up to its reputation by producing a well-contested and hard-fought match.  Marijus was especially brutal with his serves, and together with Sally, they had notched up their level of play big time this year.  The result was the reversal of last year's win by Rob and Laura over them.  Rob and Laura played gamely despite the undercurrent feeling of getting a pounding from the big man.

It was another beauty of a night for GTA Tennis, notwithstanding the humidity, and our players took full advantage of it.  There were matches of consequential significance and other fun matches that lit up the night with non-stop action.

Kris Srinivasan/Dan Martinelli over Sairaj Srinivasan/Ray Spadaro, 6-3!  No Aces.

Spin started off the proceedings on a solid note and we lost our winning momentum only on our serve. Sairaj had a mixed game.  Ray was doing his best to hold down the fort, but was unfortunate to miss out on some points that should have been winners.

2 out of 3 Sets:

Mike Sindler/Arthur Fontanilla over Jordan Bachvaroff/Dawn Peterson, 6-1, 6-4!  No Aces.

They played for a while and the 2nd Set was a close affair.

Dave Zhu/Ray Spadaro over Senthil Kumar/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-3!  No Aces.

Kris Srinivasan/Dan Martinelli over Mike Kazlauskas/Mike Mole, 7-5!  Kaz: 1 Ace on Spin!

This started off on a note that Kaz would get to regret later...:-).  At the start to decide the teams, Kaz said that he should team up with Spin and remarked his reasoning to do so was to ensure Mole would at least get a win for the night (he had just beaten Mole in the Grove Cup Singles Match).  Incidentally, when Kaz called us out to play Doubles after his match, I sensed he had won...:-).

Kaz started off well, totally relaxed and that was reflected in his booming serves.  It looked like we were in for a good pounding.  But Spin had other ideas!  He went crazy with his own serves…and compete, he did!  He held his service games comfortably.  I was the first to be broken, but Spin continued to hold his services to keep us in the match.  The brute force of his shot whizzing past Big Mike Kaz at the net to hold his serve was a thing of beauty (and joy for us)!  After being in the match at a balance of sorts, we soon found ourselves down 3-5.  It was then we got the reprieve we needed most.  The return of a big serve from Big Mike by Spin hit the net-cord and it tipped over just inside the corner of the other side.  Luckily, it didn't go out.  This made the score Deuce and I had some nice backhand returns to Big Mike's serve that were like drop shots to mess up the big man.  Inch by inch, we closed in on the score to tie the game first, take the lead next and then seal the set and match much to the delight of Spin!  It turned out to be a great match and an exciting one at that!

"Battle of the Sexes" One-Setter:

Laura Gawley/Sally Pillay over Marijus Kuzavas/Rob Gawley, 7-6 (8-6)!  Marijus: 1 Ace on Sally!

This was another close match that went the distance.  The women had three Match Points in the Tiebreak only to lose them all and make it 6-6 at the second changeover!  The TB ultimately ended with a Double Fault on the 4th Match Point!  Doinks and I can be blamed to some extent as we crossed over at this crucial juncture…:-).  Still, we can't take away the credit from the ladies as their exceptional play carried them through…and I thought the men were magnanimous, too...:-).

Samara's Notes: This sounds like a possible Nominee for One-Set Specialty Doubles Match of The Year at the end of the season.  And now we go back to Kris for his final word.

It was another great night of GTA Tennis, followed by the usual tennis talk…but also more about flying, cruises and high anxiety!  Cheers!

Samara's Notes: It sounds like it was a conversation focused on the many neuroses of a man called Spin…LMAO! 

I could not fit it in the subject line, but there were seventeen official competitors over the course of the session.  I thank Kris for hosting up at Cedar Grove and always submitting these results in such a timely manner.  Thanks to Mike, Marijus and Laura for submitting their results and/or commentary directly as well. 

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

862-596-3354

8/15 Results.

8/15/17:

"Chris-Lou part of 12 at C.G. as Kris hosts!":

There was one session of GTA Tuesday Night Tennis: the usual evening one at The Cedar Grove Courts hosted by "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan and the Main Event was the Grove Cup XX Round of 16 Match between "King Crush" Chris Chiaro and "The Lethal Lefty" Lou La Forgia (Chris also sent in his own scores).

We now turn this report over to Kris.

After a rainy and cloudy day, the evening turned to be great for GTA Tennis even though the humidity was on the high side.  There was plenty of hitting sessions.  Initially, it was Fadia Nicolas, Syed Rashid and I.  Then Jorge Solano got involved in hitting a bit and at the end of the night, there was a lengthy hitting session involving my wife Doinks, Dino Celis, Guy Dupoux and Senthil Kumar.

The highlight of the night was the Grove Cup match between Chiaro and La Forgia.  There were a few other Singles One-Setters.  It was the first time for Fadia playing GTA tennis here even though she has played here before as part of the Bergen Tennis league.  She was pretty consistent and did very well, teaming up with Syed.

The Cedar Grove Results:

Grove Cup XX Round of 16 Match:

Chris Chiaro over Lou La Forgia, 6-1, 6-0, to successfully defend his # 2 Rank in the Advanced Division while also advancing to the Quarterfinals of the 20^th Annual Grove Cup Tournament!  No Aces.

Chris played an attacking and aggressive game and his crisp shots found the court consistently.  It was clearly a tough transition from Doubles to Singles for Lou as quite a few of his shots landed in the Doubles Alley.  He was also unfortunately unable to break Chris when Chiaro was serving down 15-40!  Chris was in a good rhythm to ride the sets comfortably.

Samara's Notes: I expected a much closer contest as Lou is usually a tough customer.  But now the most recent Former GTA Champ becomes the first player to enter the Quarters of the Grove Cup.  So I must congratulate him on a very impressive victory!  We now go back to Kris.

Nathan Fernandes over Mike Mole, 6-3!  No Aces.

It was competitive halfway through before Nate extended his lead to seal the set.

2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:

Chris Chiaro/Lou La Forgia over Nathan Fernandes/Kris Srinivasan, 7-5, 7-5, to successfully defend their #6 Rank in the Doubles Division!  Lou: 1 Ace on Nate in the 1^st Set.

Despite Nate's brilliance to counter two solid players, he had to deal with my inconsistent play.  We were down 3-5 in the 1st Set, but then Nate worked real hard to get us to 5-All.  In the 2nd Set, we were leading 5-3 to lose it from there on.  Lou had some smoking overheads and a brilliant cross-court shot to Nate's drop shot that was incredible.  Chris had some attacking shots that gave very little time for us to react to and, overall, did well despite a few overcooked shots and/or dumps into the net.  With some more support from me, Nate could have played a lot more freely but he did very well for us to keep the match close.

2 out of 3 Sets:

Syed Rashid/Fadia Nicolas over Levy Lorenzo/Chris Barbieri, 6-3, 6-3!  No Aces.

Fadia's consistency paid off handsomely as her team went on to win both the sets.  Syed is also consistent and every now and then he comes up with his whipping shots.

Senthil Kumar/Chris Barbieri over Syed Rashid/Fadia Nicolas, 7-5!  No Aces.

Mike Mole over Jay Phoenix, 6-4!  No Aces.

T.J. Shah over Mike Mole, 6-2!  No Aces.

We ended up having a full session of GTA Tennis, followed up with the usual tennis chat session.  Cheers!

Samara's Notes: I thank Kris for hosting up at Cedar Grove and always submitting these results in such a timely manner.  Thanks to Chris for submitting his results directly as well. 

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

862-596-3354

8/14 Results.

8/14/17:

"Kris/Spin host 13 at C.G.!":

There was one session of GTA Monday Night Tennis: the usual evening one at The Cedar Grove Courts co-hosted by "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan and "Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli.

So first we will go to Kris and then to Spin.

It was a beautiful evening for GTA Tennis with just a bit of humidity, but still very pleasant for playing. We were deprived of two of the courts for most of the evening until almost 8:45pm.  When I reached the tennis courts, it was about 7:15 pm.  There was GTA action underway on Courts 2 and 4.  

Spin was hitting with Natalia on Court 2 while on Court 4, it was Nathan Fernandes, Chris Chiaro, Mike Mole and Dino Celis.  Herb Reiner was done hitting with Mirav Glavic on Court 1.  Just as I was going to take that court, I saw Herb lugging his hopper and pounced to help carry the hopper to his car.  In those two minutes, I lost that court just like that to the non-GTA folks!

The Cedar Grove Results:

Nathan Fernandes/Kris Srinivasan over Chris Chiaro/Mike Mole, 6-4!  Mike: 1 Ace on Nate!

It looked like Chris was back to his attacking mode which showed up especially in his return of serves and ground-strokes.  But Nate was too good to counter them as well as Mike's lovely shots which were quite effective.  Nate's gets to some of the shots were out of this world and made up more for my initial errors.  Mike had a superb Ace on Nate, but overall Nate "aced" his opponents.

Levy Lorenzo/Peter Corso over Jose Gonzales/Natalia Sout, 6-1!  No Aces. 

Peter played splendidly at the net as well as his ground-strokes which were free-flowing.  Levy was his usual self, getting to almost all the shots thrown at him.  Natalia played like she always does, with fully swung shots that were solid most times and missing the court at other times.  Jose's game was a mixed bag, but he held his service games both times, I believe.

Tom La/Doinks Srinivasan over Rob Gawley/Laura Gawley, 6-3!   No Aces.

It was a very good match per Doinks.  Tom was brilliant, attacking at the net and made a great impact on the outcome of the match. 

Nathan Fernandes/Natalia Sout over Rob Gawley/Laura Gawley, 7-5!  No Aces.

Nate was thrilled that it turned to be a great match with sweet moments for both sides, with great shots and rallies.

Samara's Notes: This could be a possible preview of the MXD2 Mixed Doubles Final.  We now go back to Kris briefly before going to Spin.

There were other matches that were played, but I am not aware of the participants or scores.  Doinks and Laurie Boughton played a couple of new guys (they took Court 2 and I've seen them before usually playing in the early evening) beating them 6-0!

Samara's Notes: It is a shame nobody got their names as this could have been included as an official result.  Oh well!  We now go back to The K again.

Peter played at least two more matches, if not three. Spin was involved in one of them.

Samara's Notes: That is our cue to turn this report over to Spin.  We will then let Kris have the last word.

Yours truly was an early arrival at Cedar Grove…even earlier than the apple-toting Kris.  Upon my arrival, Court 2 was infiltrated by interlopers who would keep said court right up to around 9pm.  On Court 1 was the usual tandem of Herb and Mirav practicing their hitting (as usual).  When they finished, we were not quick enough to conquer that court and it fell into interloper hands.  They also stayed well into the session.

Nate was on the bench waiting and we tried to decide to hit or talk "Game of Thrones".  The next to arrive was Chris Chiaro so we decided to go out and hit.  That did not last long as Natalia Sout and Mike Mole pulled up and Kris arrived with apple in hand so Mike, Nate and Chris hit while I asked Natalia if she wanted to hit on Court 2 and she agreed.  Kris hit with us also.  

Dino arrived with medicine ball in hand and went over to Chris, Peter and Nate and hit on that court.   Brenda Jordan arrived on her bicycle, but was not looking to play.  Upon the arrival of Doinks, I gave up my spot to Brenda so they could play and have a proper Mixed Doubles One-Setter.   It was a gorgeous day for tennis… absolutely no wind and nice cool temps!  Other arrivals were Peter Corso, Jose Gonzales, Laurie Boughton and Levy Lorenzo.

Chris Chiaro/Dan Martinelli over Levy Lorenzo/Peter Corso, 7-5!  Peter: 1 Ace on Spin on the very first point of the match!

The Spin from Spin: The young fellow named Peter Corso, who I once told him and his mom I was kind of a big deal in my day, decided to Ace me on the very first serve!  His message was clear: he's the bigger deal now.  With Peter playing excellent tennis and Levy scorching us at the net, Chris and I found ourselves down 4-1 in no time at all.  I played quite poorly during this 5 game stretch and with that pressure I think Chris was pushing to end points early.  Several of his shots, though hard they may be, either sailed long or found the net.  The combination of Peter and Levy relaxing a bit coupled with my improving ever so slightly led to Chris starting to find his shots and we were able to knot the set at 5-5.  We eventually took the next two games for the 7-5 victory.  It was a grand set indeed.

Afterwards Doinks, Natalia, Nate, Dino, Kris and I had a chat session that lasted all the way to 11:19!  Everyone was engaged in fun conversation and there was lots of laughter.  It topped off a very great night of friends and tennis.

dmartinell@aol.com

The K has the final say: We did have all the courts at the end of the day.  I got to work a bit on my serves under the tutelage of Dino.  After the lights went out, it was a lengthy tennis talk with Spin in charge with a great assist from Nate and Dino.  Natalia and Doinks were equally engrossed until Natalia asked discreetly what the time was, to effectively dismantle the crowd…:-).  Cheers!

Samara's Notes: I thank Kris and Spin for hosting up at Cedar Grove and always submitting these results in such a timely manner. 

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

862-596-3354

8/13 Results.

8/13/17:

"Pathan-Tailor at HP, M2 Semi, Kumar-Samara + at AP, 6 at NTC, 5 at C.G.!:

There were four sessions of GTA Sunday Tennis: an early morning one at Holster Park in Clifton featuring the Grove Cup XX Round of 32 Match between "Instant" Moka Pathan and "Tailor Made" Raj Tailor (with Moka reporting); the usual early morning into early afternoon one at Albion Park in Clifton as "Hollywood" Frank Samara hosting and also facing "The Webmaster" Senthil Kumar in their Grove Cup XX Round of 32 Match while the other half of the Double Main Event was the M2 Semifinal Match featuring "The Lumberjack" Ryan Pienciak and "Chito" Nick Inciong taking on "The Speed Demon" Dan Praport and "The Lion Tamer" Andrew Ramer; an early evening one at Nutley Tennis Club with "The Riz" John Rizzo acting as host; and then the usual evening one up at The Cedar Grove Courts with "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan and "The Marathon Woman" Doinks Srinivasan acting as co-hosts.

So first we will get the result from Moka, recap the comings and goings at Albion and get the scores from John before turning this report over to Kris and Doinks.

The Holster Park Result:

Grove Cup XX Round of 32 Match:
Moka Pathan over Raj Tailor, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, to successfully defend his # 13 Rank in the Advanced Division while also advancing to the Round of 16 in the 20th Annual Grove Cup Tournament!  Raj: 10 Aces!  Moka: 2 Aces.

The Moka Memo: We met at Holster Park at 10:15 and the match started roughly at 10:30am and ended roughly at 12:45pm.  Raj was serving really well, especially in the 1st and 2nd sets.  In the 1st Set, he jumped out to a 4-0 lead before I made a mini-comeback to get it to 4-3, then we exchanged service holds and he took the set at 6-4.  In the 2nd Set, he broke me to start and went up 2-0 before I held to make it 2-1, then we exchanged holds until I broke him to make it 3-3, and held to go up 4-3.  Then we exchanged service holds until 6-5 where I broke him to win the set at 7-5.  In the 3rd Set, I broke him and ended up going up 3-0 before he held to make it 3-1.  Then we exchanged service holds the rest of the set until I won at 6-3.  He saved two Match Points while I was up 5-2, and then the last game was a 13 Deuce game on my serve where he fought off another 9 Match Points!  It was a really close match and I feel fortunate to come out with the win as it could've gone either way.

Samara's Notes: I thank Moka for reporting that result in a timely fashion and also congratulate him on the very impressive victory as well.  This looks like it could be a definite Nominee for Singles Match of The Year at season's end.  Next up for Moka in the Round of 16 will be "Latino Heat" Jose Gonales.

And now we stay in Clifton, but shift over to Albion Park.

Senthil sent Frank a text message a few minutes after 9am stating he was heading to Albion and should be there on time (the agreed upon starting time for the match was 9:30).  Samara's reply was that he was running late and may be closer to 9:45.  Kumar was OK with that.

When Frank pulled up to the courts at 9:40, he saw Senthil already there...waiting out on the South Court.  Center Court was vacant.

On the North Court, the two teams due to battle in the M2 Semi were already hitting against one another.  Soon, Kumar and Samara started doing the same thing on their court.  The M2 Semi started precisely at 9:49 and the Grove Cup match began just one minute later.

The weather was beautiful as it was sunny and heading to the mid 80 degree range, but it was also a bit windier than expected (more breezy than truly windy). 

For a while, these were the only two matches going as nobody else had arrived yet.  That all changed when "Vintage" Vinnie De Benedetto walked down the hill at 10:35...mere minutes before the 1st Set of Kumar-Samara ended at 10:39.  Vin took a seat on the bench along side that South Court to watch the match.

At 10:55, both the GTA Champion: "Nate the Great" Nathan Fernandes and "Sue B. Newbie" Suzanne Bujara made their way across the park and to the courts.  Soon the two of them and Vin got out onto Center Court for a hitting session.

"Coach" Dino Celis arrived ten minutes later and joined them in that hitting session (taking Nate's side as he had been solo against Vin and Suzanne).  When "Latino Heat" Jose Gonzales and "Big George" Jorge Solano made their way down to the courts just another five minutes later, they would have to wait along the fence behind Center Court for just a short while.

Their timing was quite good, actually, as the M2 Semi finished four minutes later.  The two of them (Gonzales/Solano) were then able to challenge the now M2 Finalists (Pienciak/Inciong) to a Doubles One-Setter.

Just as that got underway, "Lean Daddy" Dean Delgado was the next to arrive at 11:35.  His timing was also excellent as Dino decided to step off Center Court and allow Delgado to go in and play some Doubles.  Vin chose the teams and he must be the type of guy who likes a good uphill climb as he said he would team with Suzanne to take on Nate and Dean.

"Spin Doctor" Dan Martinelli took a stiff walk down to the courts as he had played his usual Sunday football game earlier than usual on this particular occasion.  Initially, we thought he was only going to make an extended cameo appearance (especially given the fact that he was still wearing his spikes and did not come to the courts with racquet in hand).  But eventually the temptation was too much and he went back to his car to grab said racquet.

We thought he was the final and twelfth competitor of the day when he entered into a Doubles One-Setter a couple minutes after 1pm.  But after all the other action had just finished, we saw two guys walking down the hill together and then heading out onto the North Court.

At first, Frank told Spin that he thought they were interlopers.  But the Doc felt that one of the guys looked familiar.  When Samara took a closer look, it turned out to be "Bee Gee" Brad Gero.  Brad then waved.  It turns out he was playing against his son.

When they finished that set, they were greeted by the welcoming committee of Frank, Spin, Dino and Nate.  The son's name is Alex and that One-Setter would end up becoming his official GTA Debut.  And this gave us a total of fourteen official competitors for the day.

Now let's get to the scores!

The Albion Park Results:

M2 Semifinal Match:
Ryan Pienciak/Nick Inciong over Dan Praport/Andrew Ramer, 7-5, 6-4, to successfully defend their # 2 Rank in the Doubles Division while also advancing to the Finals of the M2 Men's Doubles Tournament!  No Aces.  This was played on the North Court from 9:49 to 11:14.

Samara's Notes: Next up for the still-reigning Top Contenders is the formidable tandem of "Super Mario" Marijus Kuzavas and "Big Kaz" Mike Kazlauskas.

Grove Cup XX Round of 32 Match:
Senthil Kumar over Frank Samara, 4-6, 6-1, 6-3, to successfully defend his # 18 Rank in the Advanced Division while also advancing to the Round of 16 of the 20th Annual Grove Cup Tournament!  No Aces.

1st Set: Frank was broken (an un-returned serve for 30-Love only to then go straight to Break Point as Senthil hit a Backhand Volley winner along the way, but then another un-returned serve made it Deuce only to make way for another Break Point where Senthil hit a highly impressive winner for the break), Senthil was broken (15-Love shifted to 15-30 as Frank first hit a sharp-angled return winner followed by his patented Windmill Overhead Smash in the next point, but then it shifted to Game Point as Senthil hit a winning volley along the way, but then Frank hit a winner to make it Deuce, it went to Game Point again where Frank hit another winner to bring it to 2nd Deuce where he hit yet another winner to set up Break Point which Frank then ended with a winning drop shot for the break), but then Samara was the first to hold serve (Love-15 shifted to Double Game Point as Frank hit a winner and then an un-returned serve along the way and then he secured his hold with another winning drop shot) to go up 2-1.  Kumar was broken again (Love-30 shifted to 30-All, but then it went to Break Point where Frank hit a winner for the break) while Hollywood held again (Senthil blew a volley for 15-Love and then it went point for point until 30-All with Frank hitting an amazing passing shot winner along the way, but then it went to Break Point where Frank scored with a very well-executed drop shot winner to make it Deuce and then it was all Game Points to 3rd Deuce and Frank hit a winning lob along the way...likely to be at 2nd Deuce to prevent himself from falling to Break Point and then it went to yet another Game Point where Frank hit an un-returned serve for the hold) to go up 4-1.  The Webmaster finally held (15-Love shifted to 15-30 as Frank hit yet another drop shot winner, but then it shifted to Game Point where Senthil hit a winning volley to lock down his own hold) and pull to 2-4 only to have Frank hold yet again (Senthil made a truly great get/winner combo for Love-30, but then it went straight to Game Point as Frank hit a winner and then made a get/winner combo of his own and then hit an un-returned serve and next came the hold) to take a fairly commanding lead at 5-2.  Senthil held again and this time it was at Love as he started the game off with a winning lob and then Samara soon found himself down Love-30 on his service as Kumar won six straight points!  Frank hit another awesome passing shot winner to make it 15-30, but then it went to Double Break Point.  Frank another super-short drop shot winner to bring it to Break Point, but then he was broken as his lead was now cut to 5-4!  But Kumar was also broken (Frank scored with a highly improbable drop shot return winner for Love-15 only to have things shift to 30-15 as Senthil hit an un-returned serve followed by a winning volley, but then Frank reversed the momentum with a winner of his own and then next it was Break/Set Point where Frank hit what may have been his most emphatic passing shot winner yet to earn the break and the set) to drop this set at exactly 10:39 (we had begun the match on the South Court at 9:50).  The next set got underway three minutes later.

2nd Set: Frank was broken (Senthil hit a winning volley for Love-30, it was then 15-30 and Double Break Point where Frank whipped out another Windmill Overhead Smash winner to make it Break Point, but then came the break), Senthil had another love hold as three consecutive un-returned serves (all really horribly executed returns by Frank) set up Triple Break Point and then came the hold, Samara was broken again (an un-returned serve for 15-Love only to straight thru Double Break Point to the break) and Kumar held again (Senthil hit a winning lob for 30-Love where Frank then hit a winning volley for 30-15 which was where what was likely to be the best rally of the match set up Double Game Point where Frank hit another winning volley to cut it to Game Point, but then came the hold) to take a fairly fast 4-0 lead!  The Wood held to finally get on the scoreboard in this set (an un-returned serve followed by a winner made it 30-Love which was where Senthil hit an excellent Backhand Volley winner for 30-15, it then went to Double Game Point, Game Point and the hold), but then The Webmaster held yet again (15-Love where Frank hit a winning lob to reverse the momentum and soon it was 15-30, but then it shifted again to Game Point and the hold) and then Frank was broken once more (Frank hit a winning lob for 15-Love only to have it then go straight to Double Break/Set Point with a winner from Senthil along the way and then came the break) to lose the set and level the match at 11:03.  The next set got going four minutes later.

3rd Set: Senthil had his third Love hold of the match as he had a winning volley and an awesome Overhead Smash on the way to Triple Game Point where he earned the hold with a vicious volley winner and then Frank was broken (Senthil blew a volley for 15-Love, but then he scored with a Backhand Volley winner and that reversed the momentum all the way thru Double Break Point and onto the break) to be down 0-2.  Kumar held again (started with a Double Fault and then it went to Love-30, but then he hit a winning volley and soon hit an un-returned serve to set up Game Point and then he got the hold) to jump out to a 3-0 lead.  Samara finally held (two un-returned serves led to 30-Love, 30-15, Double Game Point where another un-returned serve earned the hold) and then The Webmaster was broken (Frank hit a winning drop shot return for Love-15, it then went to 15-All, 15-30, Double Fault for Double Break Point, Break Point and then the break) to have his lead cut to 3-2.  The pivotal game came next with The Wood on service as Senthil blew a volley to make it 15-Love, then it went to 15-All where Senthil hit a Backhand Volley winner followed by another winning volley to make it Double Break Point, but then that was reduced to Deuce only to have another Break Point come and then the break to fall to 2-4.  Senthil held (Senthil hit a winning volley for 15-Love and then it went point for point until 30-All as Frank hit a winning return to set up 30-All and then hit yet another winning return to make it Break Point, but then it went to Deuce, Game Point and the hold) for a fairly commanding lead of 5-2.  Frank held in a struggle of a game (Love-15 and then point for point until 30-All as each player hit a winner each time and then Frank hit a winning lob to make it Game Point, then it was Deuce and Break/Match Point, 2nd Deuce, 2nd Break/Match Point where Frank hit his riskiest winning lob yet as it just caught the back of the baseline to make it 3rd Deuce and then came Game Point and the hold) to pull to 3-5.  But then Kumar held (Triple Game/Match Point where Frank hit another impressive passing shot winner to make it Double Game/Match Point and then came the hold on the 4th M.P. overall) for a hard-fought victory as this match ended at 11:45!

Samara's Notes: Coming into this match, many asked me what I felt my chances were.  I said that under normal circumstances, I felt it was a 50/50 toss-up as Senthil has improved greatly over the past couple of seasons while my game has regressed somewhat mainly due to lack of playing time (especially in Singles).  And then in light of recent developments in my personal life, I really was not sure what I would bring to the table on this day.  What I thought may be a close match could have ended up becoming a blowout (in his favor) if I did not have my head on right.

I usually play better angry and I was able to channel that into a focused attack in the 1st Set.  I think my level of aggression caught him off-guard as I am usually known for more defensive tennis and playing out the points until my opponent either hits a winner or makes an error.  Instead, I was going for winners whenever I could set them up properly.  I jumped out to what felt like a comfortable lead only to almost lose it due to getting somewhat tight in trying to close it out.

As the 2nd Set got underway, the crowd started entering the courts and I lost that aggressive focus just as Senthil decided to shift gears and play a much more aggressive serve-and-volley style of play (even making an effort to come into net whenever possible as the returner as well).  I recognized the strategic shift immediately, but often had a hard time countering it as would-be passing shots or lobs would either sail long or wide.  He swept through that set rather quickly (in just 21 minutes) and suddenly the much longer 1st Set (49 minutes) was somewhat negated as now we were on an even playing field heading into the deciding 3rd Set.

In that set, he again quickly jumped out to a lead (3-0 rather than 4-0 like he had in the previous set) and it felt like the entire match was slipping away from me.  The one thing I felt good about was that it was never about fitness or stamina.  In fact, even at the higher weight (as compared to most of the recent seasons), I was often making gets that took Senthil by surprise.  Instead, I was losing the mental game.  It was only halfway through this last set where I finally started to launch a proper defensive counterattack.  The problem was that I had already dug too deep a hole to get out of and my usual late-match tenacity (which was there once again) was just not enough as there are only so many Match Points one can save before the odds work against you.

I offer Senthil my most hearty congratulations.  While we have faced off before in Doubles situations, this was our first Singles match against one another.  He was a perfect sportsman on line calls as there were some shots I made that he could have called out and I would not have questioned them as it was often hard to see with the bright sun and many shadows on the east side of the court.  I wish him well in his next match and possibly beyond in the tourney.

Senthil says: Frank has a style of play with nice placements, lobs and a side-to-side push.  The score is deceiving as it was a close match with many good rallies.

The Consequences: Kumar now advances to face Pienciak in the Round of 16.

Ryan Pienciak/Nick Inciong over Jose Gonzales/Jorge Solano, 6-3!  No Aces.  This was played on the North Court from 11:20 to 11:58.

Nathan Fernandes/Dean Delgado over Vinnie De Benedetto/Suzanne Bujara, 6-1!  No Aces.  You would have thought that Vin and Suzanne had won the match when they made it 1-1 as De Benedetto strutted like a proud rooster (much like the one crowing in the distance) just for having taken a game!  But it was all downhill from there...LOL!  Center Court hosted this one from 11:40 to 12:02.

Nathan Fernandes/Dean Delgado over Jose Gonzales/Jorge Solano, 6-3!  Jorge: 1 Ace on Dean on the very first point of the match; and Dean: 1 Ace on Jorge for revenge!  Again, Center Court was "the place to be" as this one lasted from 12:09 to 12:44.

Senthil Kumar/Vinnie De Benedetto over Frank Samara/Suzanne Bujara, 6-4!  Suzanne: 1 Ace on Vinnie; and Senthil: 1 Ace on Suzanne!  It went like this: Senthil held at Love as he had two un-returned serves on the way to Triple Game Point which was where he hit a winner for the hold, Frank held (Love-30 shifted to Game Point as Frank hit back-to-back winners followed by an un-returned serve, but then it went to Deuce, Game Point again and then the hold), Vinnie held (Triple Game Point, Double Game Point and an un-returned serve for the hold) and Suzanne held as well (started with a Double Fault and then hit a slow and short Ace against a statuesque Vinnie for 15-All and then it went point for until 30-All, then Game Point where Frank hit a winner to secure his partner's hold) as we were all on serve at 2-2.  Kumar held again (Senthil hit a winning volley for 15-Love, Frank hit a winner for 15-All, Double Fault for 15-30, 30-All and then a soft and slow Ace on Suzanne to set up Game Point and then came the hold), Samara held again (Senthil hit a winner for Love-15 and then it was point for point until 30-All where Frank hit a winner to make it Game Point and then came the hold), De Benedetto held again (an un-returned serve for 15-Love and then it was point for point to Game Point as Frank hit a winning Windmill Overhead Smash along the way and there was also another un-returned serve in there as well, but then came the hold) and Bujara also held again (Love-30 shifted straight to Game Point as Frank hit a winner right before the Game Point and then another one right after for the hold) as we were still all on serve at 4-4!  The Webmaster held a third straight time (15-Love, a winning lob from Frank for 15-All, but then straight to Double Game Point and the hold), but then The Wood was finally broken (Vin hit a quick-reflex stab volley that Spin called "the shot of the day" and that set up Triple Break/Match Point which was where Suzanne made an awesome passing shot winner that Spin felt was the runner-up for "shot of the day" to cut it down to Double Break/Match Point and then it went to Break/Match Point where the longest and best rally of the match was played until it ultimately led to the lone break of the set) to take another tough loss!  We played this one on the South Court from 12:22 to 12:59.

Nathan Fernandes over Dean Delgado, 6-0!  No Aces.  Center Court hosted this one from 12:46 to 1:06.

Frank Samara/Dan Martinelli over Jose Gonzales/Suzanne Bujara, 6-2!  No Aces.  Here's how it went down: Suzanne held (Jose hit a winner for 15-Love, but then blew a volley for 15-All only to follow that with a winner and then an un-returned serve set up Double Game Point where Frank hit an Overhead Smash winner for Game Point, but then came the hold), Frank held (Frank hit a winner for 15-Love, Double Fault for 15-All and then Jose hit a winner for 15-30 only to have the game shift to Game Point where Frank hit a winner for the hold), but Jose was the first to be broken (Jose hit a winner for 15-Love, but then it shifted straight to Double Break Point as Jose blew a volley along the way, but then it shifted back to Deuce as he hit an un-returned serve along the way, but then came another Break Point and the break) to fall to 1-2.  Spin held (Frank hit a winner for 15-Love, Jose hit a winning volley for 15-All but then it went right to Double Game Point where Frank hit another winner to secure his partner's hold), Bujara was broken (two consecutive un-returned serves made it 30-Love, then a Double Fault for 30-15, 30-All, Game Point, Deuce, Break Point and the break) and Samara held again (Frank hit a winner and an un-returned serve on the way to Triple Game Point, it then went to Double Game Point where he hit another winner to earn the hold) to take a commanding 5-1 lead.  Gonzales held (15-Love where Frank hit a winner for 15-All only to have Jose make an awesome get/winner combo to shift the momentum and then take it to Double Game Point where Jose then hit a wicked winner to lock down the hold) to pull to 2-5, but then Martinelli held again (Love-15 went straight to Double Game/Match Point as Frank hit a winning Windmill Overhead Smash along the way and there was also a truly un-returnable serve as well and then Jose blew a volley to end it) to get the win!  We played this one on the South Court from 1:02 to 1:32.

Nathan Fernandes over Dean Delgado, 6-0!  No Aces.  Again, Center Court was the place...but the set was five minutes shorter than the previous one (1:10 to 1:25).

Alex Gero over Brad Gero, 6-2!  No Aces.  It was the official GTA Debut of Alex Gero.  It was played on the North Court from 1:50 to 2:15 (after a ten minute hitting session).  Call it a case of patricide as Alex had no mercy on his old man.  But Brad the Dad did brag that he got a win over the older son, Steve (well, they split those sets). 

From there, it was two separate bull sessions (Frank and Nate...with a late cameo by Spin) and Dino and Spin all the way to 2:30.  As we all were talking, it seemed that the Geros entered into another One-Setter…and indeed they did!

Alex Gero leading Brad Gero, 4-2 (Incomplete when both decided to call it a day due to the heat)!  No Aces.   

It ended up being a very smooth playing session as the attendance level was just right...nobody ever had to wait more than five minutes (except for Vinnie early on) to get into the action.  We had a total of 14 different competitors with one of them being new and making their debut.  

We now go to NTC for The Riz Report.

The NTC Results:

Dan Hwang/Alfred Chen over Joe Rodrigues/John Rizzo, 7-5!  No Aces.

Joe Rodrigues/Alfred Chen over Dan Hwang/Ray Spadaro, 6-4!  No Aces.

Dan Hwang/Alfred Chen over Tom La/Ray Spadaro, 6-4!  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: I thank John for reporting those results in a very timely manner.  We now head up to Cedar Grove for the dual report from Kris and Doinks.

The Cedar Grove Results:

T.J. Shah/Doinks Srinivasan over Mike Mole/Levy Lorenzo, 6-4!  No Aces.

Kris Srinivasan/Levy Lorenzo over T.J. Shah/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-4!  Kris: 1 Ace on Doinks; T.J.: 2 Aces (one on each)!

We had other players who only got to hit fir a long while, notable amongst them, were Guy, Mike Sindler and Syed. Guy's net play was terrific!

Samara's Notes: I thank Kris and Doinks for hosting up at Cedar Grove and always submitting these results in such a timely manner. 

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

862-596-3354

8/12 Results.

8/12/17:

"Gero-Gero 1-Setters at AP, Kris/Doinks host 9 at C.G.!":

There were two sessions of GTA Saturday Tennis: first there was one in Albion Park in Clifton as "Bee Gee" Brad Gero and his son, Steve, played a couple of One-Setters against each other (as reported by Brad); and then it was the usual evening one at The Cedar Grove Courts co-hosted by "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan and "The Marathon Woman" Doinks Srinivasan.

So first we will go to Brad and then we will turn this report over to Kris and Doinks.

The Albion Park Result:

Steve Gero over Brad Gero, 7-6 (7-5)!  No Aces.  It was the official GTA Debut of Steve Gero.

Brad Gero over Steve Gero, 6-2!  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: I thank Brad for reporting those results and welcome his son to the league.  We now head up to Cedar Grove for the dual report from Kris and Doinks.

The Cedar Grove Results:

Raj Boddu/Doinks Srinivasan over Mike Kazlauskas/Kris Srinivasan, 6-4!  Mike: 2 Aces (one on each)!

Laura Gawley/Doinks Srinivasan over Rob Gawley/Laurie Boughton, 6-1!  No Aces.

Mike Kazlauskas/Kris Srinivasan over Jose Gonzales/Raj Boddu, 6-4!  Jose: 1 Ace on Mike!

Jose Gonzales/Doinks Srinivasan over Rob Gawley/Laura Gawley, 6-2!  No Aces.

Mike Kazlauskas/Jose Gonzales over Kris Srinivasan/Raj Boddu, 6-2!  No Aces.

Samara's Notes: I thank Kris and Doinks for hosting up at Cedar Grove and always submitting these results in such a timely manner. 

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

862-596-3354

8/11 Results.

8/11/17:

"Shiao-Mole in Montclair, Cup WD, Panda-Daddio TBC at C.G. as Kris hosts!":

There were two sessions of GTA Friday Tennis: first there was one in Mountainside Park in Montclair as Tony "Sure Shot" Shiao and "Magic" Mike Mole got together for their Grove Cup XX Round of 32 Match (as reported by both of them); and then it was the usual evening one at The Cedar Grove Courts hosted by "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan.  The Main Event was the Grove Cup XX Round of 32 Match featuring "The Annihilator" Nihar Panda going up against "Daddy O" Paul Daddio.

But Mother Nature had other plans as that match and the night in general was cut short by rain. 

So first we will go to Tony and Mike, then to "King Crush" Chris Chiaro about a development in his Grove Cup XX Round of 32 Match with "Big George" Jorge Solano and then we will turn this report over to Kris.

The Mountainside Park Result:

Grove Cup XX Round of 32 Match:

Mike Mole over Tony Shiao, 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7-4), to become the New # 9 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division while advancing to the Round of 16 of the 20th Annual Grove Cup Tournament!  No Aces.

The Mole Memo: We started this match on Tuesday and split the first two sets within the time period of 4pm to 6:15.  We decided to play the 3rd Set on Friday as we both had to go.  We played the 3rd Set from 2pm to 3:15.  It was a roller-coaster match with so many breaks of serve!  The 3rd Set was awesome!  Tony saved 5 Match Points to take it to the Tiebreak!  I managed to finally win it there.

Tony's Take: We initially met up on Tuesday at 4pm and ended up splitting sets and then we played the final set Friday at 2pm.  On Tuesday, I took the 1st Set 6-3 and felt that Mike was still dialing in his shots and adjusting his game to suit mine.  The 2nd Set he was very consistent and moved me around the court.  His heavy topspin forehand kept me back and I couldn't hit deep enough to control the rallies.  Any ball that landed mid-court he would just kill with a winner…cross-court, inside out, body shots, between the legs....that dude had a bag of tricks and it was working!!  I tried to attack his backhand, but that young buck kept on running around them to hit a forehand and I was not successful in converting.   Mike took the 2nd Set easily at 6-1.   We started to play the 3rd Set at about 5:30 knowing that I would have to have a hard stop at 6:15.  I was on serve at 3-4 when I had to hang up my tennis shoes for the day to tend to my kids.  On Friday, I gave Mike the decision to start where we left off or to start a new set.  He opted to start a new set and it was one close match.  I took an early break on Mike's serve, but he just broke back.  We traded games and had many Deuces.  At one point I was up 4-3 and on serve, but Mike broke back at such a critical point.  After about an hour of play we ended up at 6-6...all tied up...do or die!

The Tiebreak was uneventful as Mike was always up a few points and not before long he won it at 7-4.  Believe it or not, we had no aces in the match.  Mike's serve was on point and it had a crazy kick which forced me to hit above my shoulders.  His heavy topspin forehand is probably one of the best in the GTA and he drastically improved on his consistency over the last year.  Fo Shizzle…one thing that Mike hasn't changed is his mentality to try to hit winners on every shot and to treat every freaking second serve as if it was the first.  I'm rooting for Mike in this tournament and he definitely earned the win.

Samara's Notes: I thank Mike for sending in this result in a very timely manner...mere minutes after it finished.  I congratulate him on a hard-fought victory and I also offer kudos to Tony for a spirited effort and thank him for his commentary as well.  This is a breakthrough win for Mike and it likely puts him back in the lead for Most Improved Player of the Year in 2017 (on the Men's side).  This match is also a likely contender for Singles Match of the Year as well. 

The Consequences: Next up for Mole is another Mike…"Big Kaz" Mike Kazlauskas!  And Mole's opponent in the Round of 41 was "MC Quick" Mike Carucci.  We should have called that section of the draw "The Mike Quarter!"

As we talk about the Grove Cup, Chris Chiaro sent the following announcement on this Friday: My match with Jorge was set for Saturday, but he said his knee is still bad and he did not want to risk it.  So he decided to withdraw instead.

The Consequences: Chiaro advances via a bye to the Round of 16 where he will face Lou La Forgia.

And now we head up to Cedar Grove and let Kris take it away!

There was the Grove Cup match between Panda and Daddio scheduled for the evening.  Nihar, who had come earlier, got to hit a bit and played an incomplete Doubles, teaming with Doinks.

The Cedar Grove Results:

Grove Cup XX Round of 32 Match:

Nihar Panda leading Paul Daddio, 5-4 (Incomplete when the rain came)!

It looked like a close match with each player running the other side to side.  Paul was leading 4-1 before Nihar bounced back to get the next four games.  Serving at 5-4, Nihar lost the first point after a 15-plus shot rally.  The rains descended at this time to curtail further tennis for the night.

Kevin Doyle/Brenda Jordan over Kris Srinivasan/Dawn Peterson, 6-1!  No Aces.

I take full credit for our performance...:-).

Natalia Sout teamed up with Dawn in my place for the next match.  Spin (aka Dan Martinelli) came in his usual dashing and dazzling green T-shirt…:-).  He got into action with Dennis Cabanatan and Ryan Pienciak, I think?  Then the rain had its say!  Cheers!

Samara's Notes: I received no other results from that night, so I have to assume everything else ended up as incomplete.  I thank Kris for hosting up at Cedar Grove and always submitting these results in such a timely manner. 

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

862-596-3354

8/10 Results.

8/10/17:

"Marijus-Tommy at R.P., 2 play at NTC, Jordan-Ryan part of 25 at C.G. as Kris hosts!":

There were three sessions of GTA Thursday Night Tennis: first there was one in Fellowship Park in Ridgefield Park as "Super Mario" Marijus Kuzavas and "Tireless" Tommy Reszkowski got together for their Grove Cup XX Round of 32 Match (as reported by Marijus); then an evening one at Nutley Tennis Club as "The Riz" John Rizzo and "The AM Rush" Anish Mehta got together to play four One-Setters (as reported by John); and then it was the usual evening one at The Cedar Grove Courts hosted by "The K Man" Kris Srinivasan (with reports also coming in from "The Lumberjack" Ryan Pienciak and "The S Bomber" Genalin Capan).  The Main Event was the Grove Cup XX Round of 32 Match featuring Pienciak going up against "The Bulgarian Bull" Jordan Bachvaroff.

So first we will go to Marijus, then to John and then turn this report over to Kris with additional commentary from Ryan and Gen along the way.

The Fellowship Park Result:

Grove Cup XX Round of 32 Match:
Marijus Kuzavas over Tommy Reszkowski, 6-3, 6-1, to successfully defend his # 5 Rank in the Advanced Division while also advancing to the Round of 16 of the 20^th Annual Grove Cup Tournament!  Marijus and Tommy: 2 Aces each!

The Super Mario Memo: It was a good match.  Tommy put up a very good fight and made me sweat for every point.  Many games went the distance, some of them to multiple Deuces.  Tommy is very fast on the court and gets to pretty much every ball and one needs to hit several good shots just to win a point. He has improved tremendously.

Samara's Notes: I thank Marijus for submitting that result in a very timely manner and I also congratulate him on a very impressive victory.  We now head to Nutley for The Riz Report.

The NTC Results:

Anish Mehta over John Rizzo, 6-0!  No Aces.

Anish Mehta over John Rizzo, 6-0!  No Aces.

John Rizzo over Anish Mehta, 6-1!  No Aces.

Anish Mehta over John Rizzo, 6-1!  No Aces.

Samara' Notes: I thank John for submitting those scores in a very timely manner.  We now head up to Cedar Grove and let Kris take it away!

We were blessed with another lovely day that saw a bunch of GTA players in action here.  We got to see terrific matches that were riveting while some others were laidback.  It was hopefully inviting for Susan Bujara coming here for the first time and personally I was thrilled to see my son, Jay, back in action with his pal Peter Corso…their One-Setter against one another looked like a classic.

The Cedar Grove Results:

Omar Santos over Edwin Ortega, 7-6 (7-5)!  No Aces.

Edwin Ortega over Omar Santos, 7-5!  No Aces.

These two One-Setters were played prior to the regular evening session, but as one of them had to leave, they didn't get to play the deciding 3^rd Set to make it a full match.  Both sets were close and hard-fought.  Both players left happy.  Obviously Edwin wanted more as he would later revisit us again.

Grove Cup XX Round of 32 Match:

Ryan Pienciak over Jordan Bachvaroff, 6-4, 6-2, to become the New # 3 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division (and now permanently removed from the Intermediate Division for becoming overqualified for it) while also advancing to the Round of 16 of the 20^th Annual Grove Cup Tournament!  Jordan: 2 Aces in the 1^st Set!

The Ryan Report: It went from about 6:40 to 8:20.  The 1st Set was a weird one as I didn't hold my serve until the 8th game.  First I was down 2-4.  I then broke Jordan for 3-4 which was followed by my first hold to tie it up at 4-4.  I then won the next two games to take the set.

The 2^nd Set started with Jordan serving a game of at least ten Deuces!  It was a VERY long game and we were both pretty exhausted by the end of it.   

Jordan played well.  A lot of games went to Deuce and could have gone the other way.  I think, in the end, I was just able to be a bit more consistent during the rallies. 

The K has his say: It started off on a somewhat even keel, but Ryan took the lead and apparently kept his nose in front till the end.  He played purposefully, attacking Jordan on his backhand and thumping away on a weak return cross-court.  Jordan had been away on vacation and was visibly was not in tune with his usual game.  Without proper preparation, it was apparent that Jordan didn't fit with Ryan working him around.  To Ryan's credit, he was consistent and some of his shots were deep and well-placed.  It was an evening where all the stars were well-aligned for Ryan to execute his plans well.  The 2nd Set started off with the longest first game that must have seen at least 10 Deuces on Jordan's serve!  I'm not sure if he held his serve, but surely he was broken physically in that game.  It is a great win for Ryan and some of us (like me) will miss him in the Intermediate arena...hahaha!

Kris Srinivasan/Jay Phoenix over Mike Mole/Janice Wang, 6-3!  Kris: 1 Ace on Mike!

It was a good match where Jay played very well for us (especially his net play to Mole's attacking shots which was amazing).  Jay is working on his game as he now approaches the net to play volleys.  Good stuff!  Janice showed her class on backhand.  It is a pleasure to watch Mike serving with a good kick and ripping topspin shots.  He did gift us with some double faults and overcooked shots.

Peter Corso over Jay Srinivasan, 7-6 (7-5)!  No Aces.

It was good to see the young guns in action.  I, for one, was pleasantly surprised to see Jay on the tennis court and to give a closely contested match where he got to see a much improved Peter.  Good win for Peter…and the result reflected the improvement brought about by his ongoing drills and practice sessions during the summer break.

Kris Srinivasan/Genalin Capan over Janice Wang/Susan Bujara, 6-1!  Gen: 1 Ace on Susan!

Gen's Notes: Suzanne is a very nice lady.  She did well and is starting to make good contact with the ball.  She got into a couple of good rallies.

The K has his say: It was the first time for Susan here at Cedar Grove.  She is a steady and earnest player, able to put the ball away when coming to her flat.  The topspin shots threw her a bit off her game, but Janice was a great sport, first to team with her and to also give her nice tips.  Susan will get to see significant improvement by playing with different players in our league.  Gen was the steady one, as I had more casual errors.

Joe Rodrigues/Levy Lorenzo over Nathan Fernandes/Syed Rashid, 7-6 (12-10)!  No Aces.

This was probably the match of the night for a One-Setter that was played long with plenty of drama and hair-raising moments.  There was no dearth for tension and heart-stopping situations as the match went the distance.  The Tiebreak was like a rubber band stretched to the limit and turned into a see-saw battle with 8 Match Points saved between the two teams.  Despite the ultimate result, it was a win-win situation as it now stands out to be on the top of the "Nominee List" for a single setter for the pulsating moments it had.

Samara's Notes: Yes, just to clarify what Kris has said above…this is a highly likely top Nominee for One-Set Doubles Match of the Year at season's end.  We now go back to Kris.

Arthur Fontanilla/Guy Dupoux over Mike Sindler/Andrew Kroessler, 6-4!  Guy: 1 Ace on Mike; and Arthur: 4 Aces (two on each player)!

It was a well-contested match that was even until 4-All.  Drew and Mike had two Break Points they couldn't convert in the 9th game.  The telling effect was probably when they couldn't hold in the tenth game.  There was a barrage of Aces on display for sure!  As for Guy, he gets the recognition for his Ace...hahaha!  I got the third party verification...:-).  As for the other nights when Guy had Aces, we didn't know who got Aced.  Neither does Guy.

Jose Gonzales/Genalin Capan over Janice Wang/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-2!  No Aces.

Janice and Doinks managed to win two games after being down Love-4.

Rob Gawley/Laura Gawley over Jay Phoenix/Lou La Forgia, 9-7!  No Aces.

They played for a two-game difference rather than do the Tiebreak.  But it was another well-contested match, very close and well-paced.  Laura and Rob continue to be the formidable dream team.  It was a terrific win for them.  This was probably the second best match for the night.

Janice Wang/Doinks Srinivasan over Nathan Fernandes/Suzanne Bujara, 6-2!  No Aces.

Nathan Fernandes/Laura Gawley over Janice Wang/Doinks Srinivasan, 6-1!  No Aces.

Ryan Pienciak/Edwin Ortega over Jay Srinivasan/Peter Corso, 6-4!  No Aces.

The youngsters gave a good match.  There were great shots on display as well as sharp net play.  The more we see the "Juniors"…the more competitive they are going to be.

To sum it up, it turned out to be another night of intense GTA action on all four courts.

Dino Celis came late in the evening when all the courts were busy.  Wielding his Federer racquet, he was raring to hit as he had enhanced his racquets with weights on top as well as the grip.  It didn't look like he would get to hit, but luckily Court 2 opened up for a decent hitting session involving Dino, Lou, Rob and I.  Indeed, the balls were flying off Dino's racquet with very little effort.  Lou and Rob were consistent in their shots.  Also, my son Sairaj was involved in a hitting session with Mole for the first part of the evening, but he didn't get to play any matches.  Cheers!

Samara's Notes: I thank Kris for hosting up at Cedar Grove (and also thank Ryan and Gen for their contributions, too) and always submitting these results in such a timely manner.  

Sincerely,

Frank Samara

Gtasamara5@gmail.com

862-596-3354