Milos Vasovic, director of tennis, can be proud of his facility, the Eau Gallie Yacht
Club in Indian Harbour Beach, Florida, and of his members.
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| Eau Gallie's members enjoy the tennis
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Eau Gallie is the
current stop on the USPTA Florida Fast Dry & 10S Supply Grand Prix Circuit,
and a very pleasant stop it has been thus far.
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| Eau Gallie landscape
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Conflicting events in Orlando resulted in small draws, the
winds were whipping, and the sky was angry, but Day 1 of the event went
swimmingly. Swimmingly? Yeah, gimme a break- we’re at a yacht club…
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Rachel Oley, Rich Oswald,
Stan Oley, & John Morales
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Anyway, as I
was saying, it was a good day of tennis and camaraderie at Eau Gallie.
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| Arup Dutta entertains Milos and members
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Matches were played without anyone walking off the court in
anger or disgust. I didn’t hear any yelling about line calls, and the members
were welcoming and interactive…especially the ones Arup entertained. Yes, it
was a good day at the courts, and we are looking forward to another tomorrow.
As far as the matches went, Milos was not a very good host
(frown). In the two matches he played, he lost two games, one per match. Is
that any way to treat one’s guests?
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| Mike Baldwin
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As Chris Carter might say, “C’Mon Man!”
Despite Milos’ ill-treatment, Mike Baldwin alleged that he still had fun, and
you know what? I believe him.
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| Greg Neuhart
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In the Men’s 50 Singles, the less-than-100% Greg Neuhart was
back in action, and he took down Arup Dutta 6-2, 6-2 in a match that seemed
tougher than that. Somehow the big guy just seems to win the big points.
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| John Hudson
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I
faced off against John Hudson, who had beaten Rich Oswald 4 and 3 in his first
match. As John acknowledged, he left most of his legs in that match, and I won
6-1, 6-1. Greg’s elbow is feeling a little better, so I have my work cut out
for me tomorrow in the Final.
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| Gewan Maharaj |
The Men’s 60 Singles saw at two of the usual cast of
characters play leading roles. Gewan Maharaj and Steve Shortridge, perennial finalists
and/or semifinalists won semifinal matches and will face each other tomorrow…for
perhaps the bazillionth time?
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| Steve Shortridge |
Gewan overcame a stiff challenge from Michael Dickens,
dropping the first set 2-6, before coming back to win 7-5, 6-1. Steve had a
marathon first set with Bill Davidson, which was 6-4 but went well over an
hour.
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| Bill Davidson
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I had finished my first set and Steve and Bill were in the third game!
The second was 6-0 and, uh, not quite as long.
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Sabita Maharaj,
Women's 45 Singles Champion
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Perhaps the Maharajs haven’t been getting enough tennis and
wanted to make the most of this occasion, because while Gewan was doing his
three-setter, his sister Sabita was playing the longest and most competitive match
of the day.
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Carolyn Franca,
Women's 45 Singles Finalist
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She faced Carolyn Franca in the Women’s 45 Singles Final, won the
first set 7-6, lost the second 4-6, and took the super-tiebreak 10-6. AND, she
still had energy to enjoy the players’ party!
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| The Maharaj table at players' party
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Speaking of the players’ party, the setting was special, the food was excellent, and once again, Eau Gallie’s members and staff did as much to make us feel welcome as has been done at any such event I’ve attended.
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Greg Neuhart, Mike Baldwin, & Arup Dutta
at players' party
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Perhaps in the 105 years the Club has been around, they’ve learned to be extra hospitable. It was certainly appreciated.
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| John Morales & Mike Baldwin
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Oh, but I digress…there was one more division that saw
action today, the Men’s 40 Doubles. Richard Boysen and Paul Davis proved to be
the class of the Division, taking out the other two contenders. Boysen and
Davis took down Stan Oley and Rich Oswald 6-1, 6-1, then dispatched Mike
Baldwin and John Morales 6-0, 6-4.
Let’s hope the rain holds off and we can get some more good
tennis in tomorrow. Until then, game, set, match…T. A.
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