TennisTitan paired with Roy 'Mr. Spin' Marzullo in a well played match against 'EBL' Tully and 'Big Al' Diodati. Only one set was played to completion due to the extended time many games took because of the long rallies within most points. Indeed, "Deuces were wild" today! 'EBL'/'Big Al"' prevailed in that one hour set, 6-3. Set two ended at 3 games apiece and was again maked by continued fine play among the entire foursome. Titan noted that 'EBL,' feeling the effects of a recent illness, did not play his usually aggressive net game, instead holding fort at the baseline and engaging in groundstroke and lobbing forays with his opponents. 'Big Al' held his own at the net during the contest and was often the deciding factor as TT & Mr. Spin played back throughout the match. 'EBL' showed himself to be an admirer of Boris Becker's diving for balls in the final game of the match. The Energizer Bunny managed to get his legs tangled lunging for a ball to his backhand taking him off the court and onto his backside; the result, a scraped shin and and twisted wrist. At least that pain took his mind off his ague.
TT and the boys welcomed back the 'Prez' from his 2 week jaunt to the Carribean at the YTC this date. 'Big Al' DioDati paired with 'Prez' against the the Titan and 'Irish' (sans red socks) Gallagher in a two setter. As expected this contest was much closer than last Tuesday's pairing with each duo coming away with a set. TT/'Irish' prevailed in the opener (6-4) but dropped the second contest (5-7). Kudos to 'Irish' who performed admirably today after last week's poor showing. 'Irish' was effective both with his serve and his unorthodox back hand return against 'Prez' whose game suffered from his absence from the courts in St. Maarten. Indeed, 'Prez' claim that "I couldn't find the range" was belied by his loss of a step on the court today. Titan is certain that 'Prez' surely "found the refrigerator, if the not the range" on his vacation as evidenced by the 5 extra pounds he carried around the court. It appeared that Titan and 'Big Al', both scheduled to play on Thursday in a more demanding game, were holding back their arsenal. We shall soon see. 'Prez' needs some Kinsley time to regain 'his form.'
TennisTitan and George "Chemist" Hauss did battle in singles this winter morning at Kinsley. They owed it to each other having attempted to clear the court from snow last Saturday. Titan did not put up much of a fight, however, as he was badly outplayed in this 3 set match (1-6, 3-6, 3-6). Indeed, Chemist dominated from his first toss in game 1 as he rifled the first of six aces past the bewildered Titan. After TT countered to square the set at one apiece Chemist proceeded to reel off 9 straight games and coast to victory to both sets 1 and 2. TT had 'no answers' today; George quieted the bloviator with crisp backhands down the line and with cross court shots that had TT meekly clap his left hand into his racquet as he walked to the back fence to retrieve another winner. TT's comment of "nolo contendere" quelled the crowd of three dog-walkers who had observed parts of this "massacre at Morsemere Av." but it was wasted on those without judicial degrees. For his part, Chemist was overheard to comment to the Titan as they left the court, "Perhaps, Titan, you needed another cup of coffee?" ... "I needed a partner today, George, and his name ain't Starbucks!"
TennisTitan joined the outdoor wars at Kinsley less than 24 hours after yesterday's matches at the YTC... with predictable results. Titan was ineffective in his play with partner John "The Neck" Manzi (celebrating his 50th birthday) against Poppi (The Conquistador from Quito, Ecuador) and Gil "Manila Mauler" Bugayong. TT/"Neck" were overmatched in fire power and finesse by the consistent play of the tandem of the Conquistador and Mauler. 'MM' demonstrated ample agility at net and sufficient top spin on both his first and second serves to easily take the first two sets at 3 and 2. Indeed, the only lead TT enjoyed on this gray, mild, winter day was at 3-2 in the third set. Although the lead was short lived, TT/'Neck' managed to draw even at 5-5 before the "Neck" was broken in the 11th game and Poppi served it out (6-3, 6-2, 7-5). TT takes some solace in the 5/7 service holds he had today. A tip of the hat is due the 70 year old "Conquistador" who is not short on hustle or ability, and "Manila Mauler" who's 'heavy ball' was all the more potent in today's wet-grounds playing conditions. Titan looks forward to future matches with this dynamic duo.
TennisTitan paired with 'Big Al' DioDati against 'Red Socks' Gallagher and 'G-Man' Gentile this date at the YTC. TT did not think that this pairing would be the most competitive among the four players and the results seemed to bare that out. 'Big Al'/TT cruised to a three set sweep in relatively comfortable fashion (6-1, 6-4, 6-1). TT's most serious error of the day was his forgetting to delete pictures from the compact flash in his digital camera resulting in an absence of uploads to the website accompanying this narrative. Titan looks forward to partnering with 'Red Socks' in the coming weeks so as to test his ability against the likes of 'G-Man,' 'Big Al,' and/or 'Prez.' Court coverage will be an issue, but will TT's shot making and fire power be enough to overcome that limitation? Check it out next Tuesday.
Those of you who monitor TT's blog now know 3 things about the Titan (and the Chemist)...scroll down for the unassailable evidence.
1. They LOVE tennis.
2. Hate to pay to play indoors.
3. Have way too much time on their hands.
"I'm Back," so stated this Sultan of Swat as he re-entered the YTC after a 5 week absence. TT arranged his travel plans back to NY from FL on 2/2 just to participate in this highly anticipated foursome with 'EBL' Tully, 'Mr. Spin' Marzullo, and 'Gray Beard' Campo. Ah, and it was worth it! The tandem of 'Mr Spin' and 'Gray Beard' prevailed in set 1 as they outdistanced EBL/TT (6-2) with superlative play from the baseline. Neither EBL nor Gray Beard had played in over a month and both performers were less than stellar in their games as the rust wore off in the first 30 minutes of play. EBL's forte of speed and court coverage were not enough to overcome TT's erratic play at net in the first set. In set 2 the Energizer Bunny still had his Legs going at full tilt, and TT began to find the baseline with his returns with increasing regularity, enabling EBL to get to net and close points efficiently. The result a (6-3) victory for EBL/TT. But the most entertaining points of the match as on 11/11/04 were the several 20 plus-shot, cross court rallies between Gray Beard and EBL that highlighted both mens' transition games. Both excel on defense and are opportunistic in going for the winner unexpectedly. 'Mr. Spin's' game dropped a bit in the second set as too many errant forehands went into the net and he was unable to employ his lob effectively. TT loves this foursome knowing that they raise the Titan's game.
