Haverhill City Open Championships.

What can one say about city tournament? Todd and Ken destroyed each other in a close three rounder with 15-20 shot ground stroke rallies. Ken won in the end but paid a high price by popping a hamstring and having to default in the second game of the second set to Ray the next day. Little Joe played well against Chad who just had too much firepower and skill plus equaled his speed. The Palm Beach Florida pro who was teaching down the Cape turned out to be a joke! (Ray called it beforehand!) And I definitely can not hang with twenty one year old Bentley singles players, especially lefties.

Toad and Dave did make it to the doubles finals by taking out Peter Lynch and Steve Iola in a hard fought match. They then made a really good showing against Ray Reed & Randall Seabrook 6-3, 6-4 in a match I thought should have gone on to a third set. At least we all played both singles and doubles and supported the Haverhill Tournament. This by the way is helping to pay for the badly needed resurfacing of the courts in mid August.

Ray Reed both Haverhill Singles & Doubles Champion was too cool for school and true to his word! He played with us on Saturday for several hours (seven plus sets) sprang for a twelve pack which made a total of well over thirty plus beers counting Jose’s 211’s. The tennis had its moments but was more about that machismo inner city street ball mindset. Instead of hoops and b-balls it was racquet's and tennis balls. After 10 hours of tennis this boy was beat and doing the duffle bag drag!

Mad Dogs & Englishmen. Rafael Nadal Soveriegn of the French clay!

Rafa with the blood and fire of conquistadors of old demolished undoubtedly the very best hard and grass court player that ever lived, Roger Federer at the French Open 6-1, 6-3, 6-0. Vamos Rafa!

Caliente or hot, extremely hot down the Basin this weekend. It had to be over 100 degrees on the hard courts and good hydration was key well before play. Walter (70) and Loi (54) played a set of singles in between double matches. Saturday was the hottest of the two days but we had a good turn out in any case. Loi, Walter, Victor and Little Joe had play well under way by the time I arrived around 11 AM. I played a few matches which are currently a blur in my mind. All I remember is winning twice with Loi in some close matches and Little Joe was playing extremely well and could not hit a shot wrong. I believe Ken and I lost to Joe and Walt two sets.

Sunday was a bit more humid but also had a breeze off the lake which acted like a natural A/C. I had played at Cedardale and got in on the last three matches. Vic & Joe C. took on Little Joe and me for a first set 6-1 victory. However by the time the second set was done Z & and Joe pulled out a 6-4 win and Victor was too hot to play the third (rubber) set. Joe and Z. then proceeded to take on Master Loi and Joe C. and nearly blew a 5-1 lead before Z served it out for the 7-5 win. The City Open singles tournament begins this Saturday.

Apparently Marin did not like the movie Borat and did not find it humorous at all. At least Polack’s can take a good joke!

The Fall of the King of Kenzoa.

Ken & Joe vs. Todd & Victor 6-4, 6-0
The air was heavy with pre-match betting reminiscence of the Davydenko fiasco. All the odds and betting was heavily in favor of Ken & Joe who were 20 to 1 favorites by the time the premier match of the day started. The match was pretty much even halfway through the first set and I was one of the few that thought Todd & Vic would pull out the victory with their solid doubles techniques. Somehow things turned ugly very quickly and first set fell too fast for them to recover. Some say it was net play and volleys, some say that Joe had a horseshoe up his arse. The second set turned out to be a total let down for the King of Kenoza he seemed demoralized and turned back into a Toadman by the end. I say it was all the rotor tilling of the front lawn and yard work performed. He did bravely play on and defeated "The Flash" Little Joe in a grueling 6-6 (7-2) post singles match. The doubles match will be investigated by the Haverhill Parks Department for possible tampering.
Loi & Zeke vs. Walter & Marin 6-4
Walter and Marin (Borat) seemed like they would cruise to the winners circle in this one but somehow without a backhand Z with the help of Master Loi pulled out the win even with Marin hitting his opponents with several balls between points. He (Borat) said he was going to wrestle his bear naked afterwards. Walter played his solid game as usual but could not over come his partners crazy eastern European style of play. Walt is a seventy years old and kicks thirty and forty year old guys asses in both singles and doubles, amazing!
In earlier round play Peter Lynch brought his solid doubles skills back to the courts he was brought up on. And Ken & Victor shined in a 6-4, 6-0 trashing of Z & Joe.
In the last match of the day, post pizza & beer...Zeke & Loi (Yoda) defeated Kayak Kevin & Joe 6-4. Which was a tiring and hard fought battle in the sun. A good time had by all!