RJ Tennis Community
Spring 2001

Year 2001 looks to be a strong year for the RJ Tennis team. Here are some of the inter-squad matches results.

MATCH RECAPS

By Rex Wade - AN INSPIRATIONAL TENNIS TALE

 Things were looking bleak for the RJ team of Fraser and Wade.  Facing a tough pair of opponents, they had battled to a first set tiebreaker, only to suffer an untypical lapse and drop the first five points of a seven-point tiebreaker.  Despite a belated rally, they couldn’t overcome the deficit and lost the set.

During the changeover, they reminded each other of all they had learned at the RJ Tennis clinics. Inspired, and with proper racquet grip, follow-through, and “getting down,” they stormed back, breaking their opponents’ first service game, hanging tough on their own serves and fending off several break-points, and fighting on to a hard-won 6-3 victory.

Faced now with a 10-point set tiebreaker after two intense, draining, tight sets, they sucked it up and prepared.  Alas, they must have sucked it up too hard, for they immediately (shades of the first set!) dropped the first four points.  They rallied, but with time running out they trailed a seemingly insurmountable 4-9.   One lost point meant defeat.

Then, however, they recalled the inspirational resurrection from the dead of their mentor, Rob Carvajal, in a now-famous five-setter of recent memory.  With any miscue meaning defeat, they played flawless tennis to fight back to a 9-9 tie!  Their shell-shocked opponents finally, but too late for victory, got a point, to regain the lead at 10-9.  Facing another do or die situation, Rex “No-Aces” Wade stepped up to the service line and, in a replay of what had happened at least thirty times already, placed his patented “no-fault” serve into his opponent, who popped it up again so that Ron “Tree-Top” Fraser could again reach up and smash it.  10-10 and more than merely still  alive!  On the next serve, Fraser and Wade played brilliantly and surged into the lead for the first time, 11-10.

Everyone was watching the clock as service changed hands.  Our opponents, now fearing to lose to the clock, quickly got the serve away.  Fraser returned brilliantly, both teams rushed to the net, desperate for the point.  The ball flew back and forth, players moving with renewed vigor and agility, holding nothing back, getting seeming winners back into play.  Finally, Fraser neatly handled a hard hit ball at the net, volleying back a likely winner.  Our opponent desperately swiped at it, a miss hit cripple floated up and away, maybe an accidentally successful lob winner, but Wade leapt high and to his right and unleashed a vicious cross-court smash for a clean winner!               RJ Tennis prevailed!!  The heavens rang with joyous sounds! Birds sang gaily!  The sun shone brightly (even though it was 9:30 p.m.)!

Truly inspirational!

April 14 - Lucas vs. Carvajal  (Easter Showdown)

(Kenny's Perspective)

Saturday the 14th was a beautiful day for tennis. Clear skies, 70 degree temperatures, and a light wind from the NNW. A perfect setting to an epic battle on the tennis courts.

Lucas fixed a scrambled egg and toast breakfast for himself and Michelle that Saturday. This was no ordinary breakfast, this was a planning breakfast ... "how to squash Carvajal." This thought had hung close to Lucas all week. Strategy, know your opponent, a battle is won before it is fought.

Lucas rides his bike to court, with two fans in tow, Kara and Kate. Later events show Kara was cheering for Carvajal ... traitor (she's my next door neighbor).

Several fans show up for the beginning of the match including Michelle, Kara, Kate, Rob's parents and Ferris. During the match, other fans dropped in and out including Tony Jurewicz, John King and Rex Wade.

The match began quickly for Lucas. All was clicking, all was rolling. Lucas moved and passed the puppet Carvajal side to side and the first two sets were over in no time ... 6-2, 6-3 for Lucas. Lucas quotes, "I really came out on fire. I felt I could do no wrong. Everything was working for me." Carvajal quotes, "I started to get embarrassed out there. I didn't know what to do. I made up my mind to just keep trying."

And trying Carvajal did. In a complete turn of events, Carvajal broke Lucas in the 1st game of the 3rd set and quickly ran the set out with a 6-1 victory. Lucas looked fatigued, distracted and shocked at the recent turn of events. Carvajal's mood had changed, his confidence heightened, his strut swaggered.

The 4th set was a tight one. Carvajal's boosted confidence, along with Lucas' continued slide and unforced error count enabled Carvajal to fight, claw and struggle to a 6-4 set victory. The match was all even. Both competitors lost 5 games in the 2 games that each lost.

The fifth set. The set that separates the men from the boys. 

Lucas felt stronger in the 5th than in both the 3rd and 4th set. Carvajal was beaming with confidence that he could win an unprecedented 3rd consecutive set. Carvajal was thinking to himself, "I'm so tired. Lucas has to be as tired as I am." Lucas was thinking, "I'm feeling much better now. Those last 2 sets were awful. I think I can play tough this set."

The score evened up at 3-3. Carvajal holds serve to go up 4-3. The unthinkable happens. Lucas gets his serve broken and Carvajal is serving for the game-set-match at 5-3. Somehow, Lucas breaks back and then holds serve to even the match at 5 apiece. Carvajal sees no match points in the two games.

Carvajal then holds serve for 6-5, Lucas holds for 6-6. It's the 5th set tie-breaker. Mount Everest, the Nile River, Atlas never shrugs, Where no man has gone before. The match has carried on for 3.5 hours, to be decided by the first person to 7, win by 2.

Carvajal jumps to a 3-0 lead. Lucas battles back to take a 4-3 lead. Carvajal's determined, he jumps to 6-4. Match Point. Carvajal wastes no time, looks for no second chance, seizes the opportunity and wins the point.

Carvajal thus topples the standings and overtakes the #1 position on the ladder with a 2-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-6 (7-4) victory.

Lucas quotes, "This match really shows Carvajal's level of persistence and dedication. He never quit, he always believed. I applaud his effort. Too bad we weren't playing 2 out of 3 sets."

Carvajal quotes, "I'm exhausted, I'm elated, I'm shocked. Where's the couch? This match is a great precursor to the rest of the outdoor season. It's never easy playing Lucas. I'm going to cherish this victory. I'm really happy with my effort."

(Rob's Perspective)

Carvajal comes back from the dead to defeat Lucas in a thrilling 5th set tie breaker. Carvajal beat Lucas 2-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, 7-6(7-4 in the tie breaker). The match before Easter Sunday got off to a late start at
10:30. People were rolling in to fill the stands. Notable guests were Michelle Lucas (Kenny's wife), Rob Sr. and Mrs. Carvajal (my mom and dad), Ferris Kaplin, Tony Jurewicz, John King, Rex Wade, Bob Grenwis, Larry Davey, Kara Halpin and her friend. Much appreciation was expressed by Ken and Rob for their presence.

The match promoted that there would be excitement, but the first two sets was a brilliant display of flawless tennis by Lucas. "Where is all of the excitement that was promised?" Tony Jurewicz said aloud to a laughing audience. He was right. Lucas could do no wrong. He was passing Carvajal on the right and on the left. He was lobbing and dropping as well. From a spectator's point a view Carvajal looked phlegmatic. "It wasn't that I wasn't trying. I was. It's just that when Kenny get's in the zone like that, it is difficult to beat him," Rob stated. "I came with a game plan. I have been preparing myself all week for this game. There was no way I was going to lose this match," Ken stated.

Lucas was displaying all of his fine talents upon the court that it looked as though it were going to be a route in the third set as well. Just a formality. Some of the spectators left as they had other things to do and didn't want to see Rob humiliated like that. "Yes, I was embarrassed out there. But I thought if I could hang in there long enough until Lucas cooled down a bit, then I could still possibly win the match," Rob commented. Rob was right. The beginning of the third set started off with a hold of serve and then a break by Carvajal. New life was becoming apparent. Lucas was still playing aggressive tennis but Carvajal got to a few balls and was a bit more aggressive than earlier. That made Kenny go for a little bit more for the put away shot, thus, Rob was able to draw a few unforced errors from Lucas. "Yes, that was critical for me," Rob said, "Kenny wasn't making any unforced errors in the first two sets. I had to draw some from him so
that he would become a little more tentative."

The third set went to Carvajal's column and the fourth set soon ensued. Lucas just let the third set roll off his back and came out firing on all cylinders. "Yeah, I am not quite certain as to what happened in that third set so I let it go. Besides, I had two sets under my belt and Rob is almost 40 years old!" Lucas stated. Lucas had been playing the big points brilliantly. But now both were playing fine tennis. Kenny inexorably kept the pressure on. Both were on serve and pushing the limits of their personal fitness by running down balls from all over the court. "Yes, I was certainly feeling it out there. My left knee started giving me some problems, but I had worked too hard to get to this point. I had to get through it," said Carvajal. Both remained on serve until it was 5-4 and Lucas was serving. Although both had had many break opportunities during that set, it was Carvajal who broke Lucas to pull the match even to 2 sets each.

It was clear that Rob was tired. The momentum had been swinging like a pendulum all morning long. The time was now 12:45. Both Rob and Ken were giving it all they had. "Are you guys playing for money?" Regine Daly was overheard asking. "This match was way bigger than money," said Lucas. Carvajal agreed. Both remained on serve until 4-3 when Carvajal broke Lucas to go up 5-4. "I was thrilled. I was already thinking about the write up I was going to do. It was 30/30 and Lucas blew that momentary dream I had right out of the water," Rob commented. The match was now 5-5 and the guys were once again on serve. "I was dead tired out there. Lucas had hit an amazing drop shot when I was still back on the base line. I ran that ball down and got to it but hit it wide. I feigned I was upset as I turned around and walked back to the base line. As I was walking at the back of the fence to catch my breath, I told Rex, 'I am dead tired and that hurt like anything to run that ball down, but I had to let Kenny know I was still willing and able to run anything down.'" Rob was successful in holding serve to go up 6-5. Now the pressure was on Kenny to hold serve. Rob kept swinging at everything that game, but to no avail. It was now 6-6 and the beginning of the 5th set tie-breaker.

Rob jumped out to a 3-0 lead. "I couldn't believe it," Carvajal stated, "those first few points were critical for me. I had to let Ken know that this was not going to be a walk over for him." Then Lucas and Carvajal exchanged a beautiful rally with Carvajal drawing a short ball just over the net from Lucas. Carvajal ran to the ball to hit an angled shot to his left and saw Lucas in his peripheral vision anticipating the shot. Rob missed the ball completely. The spectators gasped in disbelief. Lucas moved up to 4-3 quite quickly. 

The time now was 1:25 and closing in on three hours of tennis. Carvajal was tentative in the middle of the tie-breaker. "Yeah, I remember that. I was scared. Nervous was more like it. I didn't want to lose. My mind was saying, 'SWING! HIT THE BALL!' and my body was saying, 'NO! I AM TOO NERVOUS TO DO SO.'" However Rob was able to draw the error from Kenny and move up to 5-4. The 5-4 point was big. Both sides throwing everything they had remaining. It was a long rally with the outcome dubious. Both sides were drawn into the net with an exchange back and forth. Carvajal won the point to move up 6-4. "Even though I had had a
couple of match points on my racquet, I was still not certain if I was going to win the match. Ken is a great player. You just never know until it is completely over," Rob said. At 6-4 Ken and Rob exchanged a baseline rally with Kenny going for the winner but hitting long. Rob threw his hands up into the air and ran to the net to shake hands. Nice
match," both Ken and Rob said to one another. 

"I learned a lot about life in that match," Rob said afterwards, "you just have to keep doing the right things. Keep doing what you know to be right and give it all you've got." He continued, "We'll talk about
this match for another day or two, but then we'll look forward to our next encounter with even more fervor. And oh, Kenny is still #1. He has dominated this rivalry for the last 18 months. It was fortuitous of me to come out on top this time."

Lucas said while scratching his head, "Rob has come a long way. Although I still don't know how that match got away from me, I have to give it to Rob. He worked hard and was able to come up with the goods."

And so life continues on...

March 31 - Lucas vs Carvajal

Carvajal's tennis-light which has been dim against Lucas, received some recharged batteries today in a 6-3, 5-3 match against Lucas. The match ended early due to Carvajal needing pick up his car.

Carvajal certainly picked up his game today with solid serving, consistent ground strokes and good hustle.  Lucas served well, but Carvajal's consistently powerful ground strokes kept Lucas from getting into any rhythm.

This match is a nice reminder of the Carvajal "good old days" when he would clean up on Lucas. Lucas quotes, "I thought those times were gone." Carvajal quotes, "It a nice reminder that I still have game.  I'm looking to do the same thing to Lucas then next time I get him on the court."

March 20 - Lucas vs Garver

It was Greg Garvers turn at chopping down the Big K, and he brought a big buzzsaw. Lucas started serving the set and was immediately handed a service break. Lucas was stunned, was this really the Garver that he had played with previously?

Garver was passing left, volleying right, backhanding up the alley and serving out wide. Garver had it going on, and was rewarded with 2 service breaks to take a 3-1 advantage. Lucas had visions of Marat Safin ousting Sampras in the finals of the US Open last year.

However, this wasn't the US Open, this wasn't Marat Safin, and Lucas is no Pete Sampras. Lucas changed tactics, went to net, served better, and hoped Garver couldn't sustain his high level of play throughout the set. The turning point of the match was the Garver water break. He not only quenched his thirst for water, he quenched his thirst for the set.

Lucas took no water, and rebounded with some strong play to take the following 5 games and the set 6-3. Lucas quotes, "Man, I was getting man-handled out there. Greg was playing brilliantly for the first 4 games, but then lost a step. He mentioned he was getting tired. Fortunately for me, the tables turned in my favor." Garver quotes, "Yea, that water break was a mistake. I was playing great and hitting balls right through Swiss cheese Lucas. I just couldn't sustain that level. There will always be a next time."

Carvajal's Response

The spring 2000 season has left Carvajal with serious reservations about his future in the game. The first outing Lucas trounced Carvajal 6-3, 6-4. The second outing was 6-3, 6-1, 6-4. "It was clear I was wearing him out. If we could have gone on a couple of more sets, I might have had him," Carvajal stated jokingly. Asked what went well, Carvajal replied, "The only redeeming thing about my matches is that my backhand is getting better. I am feeling really good about it."

"That's it? That's the only thing you feel good about right now?," The reporter asked.

"Well, what are you going to do about this massacre?,"asked the reporter.

"Well, uhmmm....., Head Racquets has decided to sponsor me and I am using a new racquet. I know it is going to take awhile to get used to the new power that this racquet will bring. But the truth is that I am shying away from my game. I have got to pick up on my intensity and learn to hit the ball with some fervor. There is no reason for Lucas to be having his way with me with such ease," Carvajal stated. He continued, "I have beaten him before. I know I can beat him again. I have dominated him before. I can dominate him again and...." 

The reporter cut Carvajal off and said, "Thank you for your time. Now I will interview Lucas." "Lucas, great game. How is it that you have been able to take your game to such a high level?"

Lucas says, "I have been taking lessons from RJ Tennis. They may not be able to play too well, but they sure can teach! Seriously now, I just work hard. I know that I am capable of dominating everyone I play. When I train, I train with the intensity of striving to be the best player in the world. There is no reason for anything short of this."

True enough. Lucas has practiced quite hard and has picked up all aspects of his game. Until Carvajal is able to pick up his game he will not have the weapons to pierce the mighty fortress of Lucas.

March 17 - Lucas vs Carvajal (Chapter 329)

This was to Carvajal's new stomping grounds, his home court advantage, his arena. Lucas and Carvajal took to the new courts at Carvajal's new home for yet another match up of tennis skills, tennis attitude and tennis prowess.

It did not go according to Carvajal's script. Lucas and Carvajal traded service games for a 3-3 tie in the first set. Then Lucas took advantage with a flurry of forehands to grasp the set 6-3. The last game was played in rainfall, but the set had to be finished.

An hour rain delay allowed the two competitors to sit around, eat M&M's, munch on some barbecue potatoe chips and watch an old tennis match between Conchita Martinez and Monica Seles. Then it was back to "Carvajal's Stomping Grounds".

The next set was over in a flash with Lucas taking a 6-1 victory. Carvajal wasn't through. He wanted to play more. Too much time during the week feeding balls, not enough time hitting balls. The final set was closer with Carvajal serving well and play much better overall tennis. The set reached 4-4 with both gladiators gasping for each point. Lucas grabbed game 5 and then took game 6 for a 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 victory.

Carvajal quotes, "I was trying to find a grip which I could use on both sides. I need it to react to some of Lucas's hard shots. I just had too many unforced errors today. This is still my home court which I will defend in the future."

Lucas quotes, "Today I pretty much just wanted to put the ball in play. I tried to mimic Agassi's patience last night in the Indian Wells tournament ... not try to hit winners on every shot. It worked for me today. It's a long summer and I know Carvajal is hungry. There's a lot more tennis to be played."

March 13 - Lucas vs Scicchitano

It was David vs. Goliath, but let's cut to the chase .... David won.  Scicchitano yelled, screamed and fought his way to an "amazing" 6-2 victory.  The score was 2-2 with both competitors duking it out evenly.  Then the lopsidedness ensued.  It was Scicchitano with the forehand, Scicchitano with the backhand, Scicchitano with the passing shot, Scicchitano with a return winner ... it was all Scicchitano.

Lucas hopes Scicchitano enjoys and relishes his victory.  It will be his last against Lucas.  After the match, Scicchitano quotes, "I just told myself to never give up, never stop fighting.  I imagined I was Elliot Ness".  Lucas quotes, "eh, the forehand was either short or long.  Paul played really well.  It's good to see him so happy about his game (for now)."

March 3 - Lucas vs Carvajal

55 degrees and sunny weather greeted Carvajal and Lucas as they took to the Truro courts for the start of the 2001 season. 2001 promises to yield tough head-to-head match-ups as both the Carvajal and Lucas games continue to improve.

A short warm up session to re-acclimate ourselves with the courts, then the match began. As usual, Carvajal wins the racquet toss. The first set was competitive but Lucas was able to take advantage, wrestling a 6-2 victory from Carvajal.

The second set was more completive as they fought to 4-4. However, the decisive and all-important 9th game of any set went to Lucas, thus going up a break. A strong service game to follow closed the match out 6-2, 6-4.

A highly notable backhand rally was enjoyed by both athletes during the second set. The rally was a clear indication that both players backhands are improving. Carvajal quotes, "The Lucas serve was so penetrating today. There wasn't much I could do with it." Lucas quotes, "My serve clearly kept me in the match today. Also, the Carvajal serve was pretty good, but he double faulted in a few situations allowing me to capitalize."

Carvajal is more determined than ever to obliterate Lucas on the courts. Carvajal's training program is first class, as his physique displays. However, Lucas' training has begun for this calendar year, as well. 2001 promises more great head to head match-ups.

January 16 - Kenny vs Kirk

A calm, tranquil, 40 degree Tuesday morning with the birds singing, the furry rodent squirrels feeding and the world orbiting as it should. All was peaceful except for the callous thrashing Kirk Cooper received this morning on the tennis court. A man-handling occurred when Kenny jumped out with an early break 2-0. Kirk was then able to hold serve for 1-2, but faltered as the set quickly got away from him 1-5. Thank goodness time expired so the set score is not official.

To Kirk's credit, he's working on a new (and improved?) two-handed backhand. He is also making a comeback from a serious ACL tear. Kirk's usual soft balls are getting harder as his racquet speed increases. His volleys are still deadly and the serve still consistent. Look out for Kirk Cooper in the near future!

Respectfully submitted by Grand Marshall Kenny