Cedar Bubble T-Day Tennis & the Basin Boys!

The annual Cedardale open house was held Thursday with food and activities for all ages. The boys from Winnekenni Basin made their tenth year appearance and brought a little street tennis to the refined atmosphere of the Dale.

Zeke & Mighty Joe vs. Master Loi & Viagra Vic (6-3, 2-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2)
The holiday spirit could be felt in the rarefied air of one of New England's top tennis clubs in the region. The sides were set. The first set started very slow for Zeke and Mighty Joe who fell to an early 4-0 deficit. They slowly fought their way back to an almost respectable 6-3 loss. However the momentum shifted 360 in the second and third sets with Mighty Joe and Zeke dominating play with solid serves, ground stokes and blistering volleys. But in the end Master Loi's consistency and great defense enabled Viagra Vic and Loi to go on and win the last two sets in comfort and style. A great time had by all, and once again the Toadman was in parts unknown.

The Iceman Cometh

Zeke & Viagra Vic vs. Mighty Joe & Journeyman Jeff (6-2, 2-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3).

Only the hardiest of new England souls would be playing tennis outside with the temperature hovering around 40 degrees with a good wind blowing to boot. I believe they said with the wind chill it equaled 30 degrees. this was a classic five set battle with Viagra Vic & Zeke coming out on top in the end. It was all about the serve and who wanted it more. Joe had Jeff as an anchor and any time we were down we could count on hitting to Jeff for the point, His unorthodox doubles movement also messed Joe game up a bit causing miss hits. Any time Mighty Joe is swearing and making like he is going to smash or throw his racket you know you are doing well.

Classic Warsaw Pact vs. Team Asia match!

Mighty Joe & Zeke vs. Master Loi & Hot Dog Harry (8-6)
The only match I played on Sunday but it was well worth running my ass off! Loi and Harry jumped out to a early lead, I believe it was either 4-1 or 4-2. But somehow the Warsaw Pact brought up old ingrained memories of Stalin's purges and fought for their lives, they tied it at five all. Team Asia came back strong making it 6-5. I held serve, making 6 all. Hotdog Harry decided to play it out with a tie breaker rather than win by games. We took the first point from Harry's serve and then Mighty Joe took the next two point on his serve. Team Asia came back very strong. I finally served it out for the win at 7-6. Great match with a lot of great points.
There were other well played matches, I tried calling Mighty Joe for scoring results but could not get him to record and report the matches.

Better Late Then Never

Zen Ken & Zeke vs. Master Loi & Viagra Vic (6-2)
I have to admit I was a bit fresher after arriving around one o' clock Saturday. I had to go to work to catch up on a few things. Ken is probably the best partner to have along with Todd, Arnie, Chad or Andre Agassi. We easily rumble our way to the winners circle after tried and spent Loi and Vic already had several matches under there belts.
Zen Ken & Zeke vs. Mighty Joe & Walt (6-4)
This match was very hard fought with there being only one brake of serve. Walt with his playing hand problem ("The Claw") and back-court doubles technique did very well despite the infirmities and the match could have went either way.
On a lighter note, Courtney 5.0+ Cedardale Pro & his friend Mike from Lexington were down and played a set of singles, man do the hit the ball with tremendous spin & accuracy!

"The wild night is calling"

Vamos Vagas & Zeke vs. Viagra Vic & Mighty Joe (6-4)
Friday evening was very windy & ominous of rain & low laying clouds. Well, maybe it had to do with with my two day respite from work or perhaps it was he way it always was. But Christan Vargas and myself took out Victor G. (70+) & counting along with Mighty Joe, who hates losing more then work! It was a long hard fought on serve battle right to the end. Mighty Joe had some really long service games but held until his last. Zeke served it out after the break at 5-4. for the 6-4 win. Great close match.
Vamos Vargas & Zeke vs. Master Loi & Mighty Joe (6-3, 2-4)
In the Winnikenni tradition of winners playing next team up, Christan & Zeke rolled on Loi & Joe in the first set (6-3) Then as the fading fall light slipped away, Loi & Joe had a clear 4-2 advantage. But the ball could not be seen until it was two feet in front of you. Not pleasant at all for the net men. Play was called om the account of darkness. both sets were marked by some unusual inconsistencies. We only had five players. Which is less than half of what we usually have turn out.

Haverhill Open Mens Doubles City Champions *****2009*****

Ray Reed & Randall Seabrook vs.
Todd Prioa & Dave Meany *(6-4,6-1)*

Well the long awaited Men's finals were played out today. They had been put off for three months since mid June. The very strong & experienced team of Ray and Randall cruised to a straight set victory after being down 4-2 in the first set. From there the Toadman & Dave just imploded or Ray & Randall just buckled down and played some focused and serious doubles. I was not at the match and showed up after the fact. I know Toad has an injured foot and his shoulder has also not been the best Congratulations to Ray & Randall on their Tenth City title?
Other play from Friday on was interfered by the inclement and uncooperative weather.

Mighty Joe & Lady Luck is a Bitch!.

Mighty Joe & Steady Ed vs. Zeke & Hot dog Harry (6-3)
Well, Whoop Ass does not exactly capture what transpired in the cool early hours of this beautiful Labor Day morning. Victory seemed a sure bet for the two veteran doubles combination of Hot dog Harry & Zeke. But there are no sure things in this life, and where there is a will there is a way! Mighty Joe who was on a high from taking out Walt "The Mailman" in singles(6-1) on Sunday. It happened to be his first singles victory ever against Walter, after about 5 years of trying (Congrats on that). Joe & Steady Ed got off to an early 4-1 lead even though Ed rolled his ankle early on backing up from a Zeke penetrating ground stroke. He bravely play on. I held serve twice, to try & save some face, but there was no face left at the end.
Mighty Joe & Hobo Peter vs. Hot dog Harry & Zeke (6-2, 6-3)
I really do not even feel like writing about this one for there was far too much Ugly Tennis involved! But not to take anything away from the victors, they played their hearts out and Harry played like he was Vietnamese instead of Chinese in this match. During our BBQ afterward (Steak, marinated chicken, lo-mien, pizza, burgers & beverages) two dragon fly's landed on Joe's back and they were mating. Now one dragon flies alone is suppose to be good luck, but two making love....Come on now!

Rockin Friday & The Fuzz & Fun!

Well there we were four or five of us, well into our fifth six pack at some time past 9:30 PM. We were talking about every important thing under the sun. Women, beer, tennis & the US OPEN. The Mercedes Bose system was blasting Either "LET IT BE (Naked) or Nirvana "Come As You Are" John from Washington State had quite a bit of "Twisted Tea" before hand but had switched to Corona and was a bit wobbly!I had to go and pick up the sixth six pack after we ran out. Smitty, the Toad man and myself were not feeling any pain also, except from the dragon fly size mosquitoes which were feasting on our legs. A police cruiser pulled right up next to the Tennis Shack as a light rain was falling. He rolled down his passenger window (a young thirties officer) and said you boys alright? Well we were all holding our beverages in our hands in plain sight, I think a few of us even held them up, we all said, "Yeah, were great". He said "Alright guys be careful and have a good night". He then drove off into the rainy night.
As far as the tennis well That night was more about blowing off the work week steam socializing plus having a few laughs. We did have some great matches as Arnie and the Toad had brought their powerful serve & volley "A+" doubles games. Master Loi, Viagra Vic,and Hotdog Harry brought their baseline back court boggies. Great time had by all! For Face Book updates see: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/richard.zelinski?ref=profil

Friday Night Smack down!

Master Loi & Steady Ed vs. Viagra Vic & Little Joe (10-8)

In a surpising comeback after being down(4-2) Master Loi and Steady Ed cruised by Viagra Vic and Joe in a heartbreaker. Vic was looking pretty damn Dapper in his pressed shorts and Joe bore his usual determination to win but it was not to be! The battle lasted into the fading light and was in question right up until the end. Eddie’s loop topspin ground strokes and lobs brought tears to the eyes of his opponents. Extremley long rallys and service games were the highlite of this match.

In other action Zeke & Little Joe defeated Viagra Vic & Hot dog Harry (6-3) It was an absolutely beautiful evening..Perfect tennis weather!

The Return Of The King

The muse strikes once again... Some solid tennis weather on Sunday provided an excellent turnout at the Basin. Two courts of good doubles action from the early morning into late afternoon.
Arnie & Loi vs. Toad & Ken (6-0, 6-2)
The King of Kenzoa has fallen once again!
I will give the Toadman one thing here... He did get his grass cut before getting mowed down by by the booming ground strokes and rifling volleys of Arnie of Cedardale's A team. Master Loi's solid consistency was a definite plus and too much for Toad & Ken. Todd came in cold and left even colder... Hard to believe he made it to the Haverhill City Open Doubles Finals once again this year. Although they have not played or set a date to crown the 2009 city champs yet. Will it be Ray Reed & Randall Seabrook or Todd Proia & Dave M. ?
Arnie & Zeke vs. Loi & Christen (6-4,6-3)
Some hard ground strokes and long service games were the highlight of this match but in the end Arnie and Zeke prevailed. Chris was a bit off in his down the line passing shots and Arnie's quick handed volleys led the way to the winners circle.
In other action Walt "The Mailman" delivered some victories for his cause and Little Joe might have broke .500 today. Victor, Hotdog Harry, Marin and George were all in attendance.

Dog Day Afternoons

Last weekends turnout was fantastic, starting on Friday and continuing through out the weekend. The humidity was very oppressive and relentless however. Sunday saw the return of Ken who seems have recovered to from his hamstring injury quickly and played well. Todd, Walter, Loi, Victor, Kevin, Marin, Chad, Laura and Chris were in attendance at various points during the weekend along with both Joe's, even John Murphy and Jose both made showings. Great doubles action on two courts & sometimes three for most of the weekend. That is over fourteen teen people including myself and I might have left a few out. Good exercise and tennis & fun for all.
Tuesday Night Smack Down
Toad & Little Joe vs. Loi & Z (4-6, 6-0, 6-1, 6-3)
Talk about opening a can of whoop-ass… I am not sure that phrase captures what transpired in the last three sets! Toad spent most of the first set teaching Joe how to hit forehands and serves properly so it was too late for them to come back from the first set 3-0 deficit. Although they fought like hell and almost did.
In the first game of the second set Z sat a volley up near the net and the Toad man blew Zeke’s face off at the net with the return. This along with Todd’s great serving & incredible volleying, plus Joe ripping angled winners off good serves and making incredible gets and hitting aces set the tone for the next three sets. They were both on and all we could do was look on in wild wonder! Thank God for Coors light to ease the bruising.

How much beer is consumed during the average Winnekenni tennis season ?

Which would be more beer than at the Oktoberfest in Munich Germany ....Alex!

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!