"No Mas, Amigos"

TT enjoyed another afternoon of very competitive tennis at YTC today with 'EBL' Tully, 'Mr. Spin' Marzullo and the redoubtable, 'Tutor' Tuchman. Again TT had the good fortune to be paired with EBL against the more senior duo. One wonders if a revision of teams may be in order at this foursome's next meeting given today's results. EBL/TT swept both sets that were played to completion (6-2, 6-0), and were ahead 3-0 when 'tt' (lower case letters for 'Tutor Tuchman') did his best Roberto Duran, "no mas, amigos." Indeed, TT was well aware that after splitting the first four games of set 1, EBL/TT 'had run the table' and had won 13 straight games, albeit many multi-deuce games comprising both sets. EBL is a craftman with his net game and superior court coverage, but TT must acknowledge the indefatigible efforts of Mr. Spin from the back court and his ability to hang in the point with effective lobs. TT remains far more susceptible to those lobs and the twists of Mr. Spin's returns than EBL, but Roy Marzullo concedes nothing in his rallies and loves to go cross court with EBL, whatever the consequences. TT continued his recent effective serving, coming up with a few aces, but more importantly, seizing the offense on his service games. This is the weakness of both 'Tutor' and 'Mr. Spin's' games. Limited shoulder mobility effectively limits them to just 'starting the point' with their serve, making service placement paramount. TT was overheard to ask 'Tutor' leaving the court, "Max, do you like bagels in the afternoon?" to which Max quickly retorted, "If you're buying the lox, TT."