THE TRIBE NEWSLETTER
YEAR I – NUMBER 3
By Iron Gaucho
THE TRIBE INVITATIONAL – MATCH RESULTS
The heat of competition keeps everyone on his toes at THE TRIBE INVITATIONAL. The last round-robin matches have been played and war is on!!!
FINAL ROUND ROBIN MATCHES
GROUP RAFAEL NADAL
JONATHAN SHEDLETZKY VS JIRI TUCKER: NO PLACE TO HIDE
Second match in a round robin stage is always the most difficult. Think about it. If you come to this match as a looser, you have the pressure to win to keep your hopes alive. If you come as a winner, there is also the pressure of securing your qualification to the following round. Thus, there is no place to hide; you will have to battle your way thru. And this is exactly what happened with two of the most solid players on the field. And they didn’t disappoint us; the match had everything. It was a clash of thrilling exchanges at a high pace. It also had some extra condiment with a last minute court change that put our gladiators in the same block as Darryl ‘’Ay Caramba’’ and the Russian Community…what a cocktail.
Jiri had the upper hand based on a solid baseline play with some amazing stunts and the strength of his serve, that once more delivered a lot of power. Jon did his best and his game was up to the challenge, but some pivotal points and a little of bad luck avoided a potential third set. Final result: 6-2, 6-4 for Jiri Tucker.
SIMON SCHLESINGER VS JONATHAN SHEDLETZKY: UNDER PRESSURE
With a victory and a defeat, Jonathan came to this match tied up with Don Bui, but Don had a better result in games won/lost that put him ahead. Facing Jon, Simon, who had no pressure at all as he had already lost two matches, but willing to prove he was up to the challenge and even capable of deliver some serious damage. The match, as expected, was played very conservative and tentative. At one point, Jon took a comfortable lead of 6-3 and 5-2, holding 4 match points. While everyone would think of a done deal at such situation; that is far from true if you face a contender like Simon. He battled back into the game and forced Jon into a tiebreak that ended on a high note for the winner. With that result Jon had to wait for the outcome of Don versus Jiri to know who would go to the semis. Final result: 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) for Jonathan Shedletzky.
JIRI TUCKER VS DON BUI: THE ROCK
The last match of Group Nadal was highly expected. On one hand, Jiri had demonstrated that he was the man-to-beat with solid presentations, while only a win would make Don play the semis. The first set was a demonstration of Don’s willingness to win; he had several opportunities as he kept putting Jiri under heavy fire. But Jiri’s serve spoke loud that night and as he put it: “…if not obnoxiously at times”. By the second set Don run out of gas, probably due to the fact that he just came back from an injury and these were his first few matches in a while. With fewer options to put his rival into a discomfort zone, Don could not do much and Jiri, once again closed the match in straight sets and secured the first place for him and the second place for Jonathan. Final result: 6-4, 6-3 for Jiri Tucker.
GROUP HANS GILDEMEISTER
OUSSAMA AZIZI VS LUCAS AGNELLI: BROTHERS IN ARMS
Oussama and Lucas have played tons of matches since they first met a few years ago. So, no surprises where expected in terms of strategy or new strokes to bring into the game. What it was certain is that the outcome would depend mostly on the level of focus that Oussama would be capable to achieve. With one painful defeat in 3 sets, the Moroccan marvel needed a victory to keep his hopes alive. The first set Lucas played at will, whatever he proposed it worked. Serve, ground strokes and volleys made the ball land, most of the time, away from Oussama. After such demonstration, Oussama’s pride showed up and started the second set breaking Lucas at zero. Regrettably that period of grace was short and he was unable to keep the level, the Argentine then got even. The players moved into an extra gear with stunning exchanges and keeping serves until the 10th game when Lucas was able to break Oussama and close the match to secure first place. Final result: 6-0, 6-4 for Lucas Agnelli.
MAURICIO CASTRO VS TEMO CHALASANI: I’LL BE BACK
This was the second match for Temo with the urge of a win to keep his hopes alive. In front, the hard hitter Mauricio Castro, willing to get his way thru the semis. I have to say that this was an outstanding result as if you remember, the prior week Temo was off with a sour shoulder. As Arnold Schwarzenegger in Terminator, Temo was back indeed!! A solid game, mixing angles and with tons of top spin on his backhand, Temo made Mauricio feel uneasy all the way without giving him the slightly chance to recover. Temo stayed ahead thru long rallies, changing the pace of the ball all the time, and using his amazing mobility. On the other hand, Mauricio felt tired and out of range in his game, facilitating Temo’s tactic. True is that to face such a difficult opponent as Temo is, you need to be at the top of your game, technically, physically and mentally, and that night Mauricio was far from ideal. Final score: 6-3, 6-2 for Temo Chalasani.
OUSSAMA AZIZI VS TEMO CHALASANI: LAST TRAIN TO… SEMIS
Temo’s result against Mauricio gave him the much-needed air to try the feat of qualifying; but at the very same time, gave Oussama the unexpected chance to do the same. Let me explain: After Temo’s triumph, he was 1-1 in matches; Mauricio was 1-2. Oussama was 0-2, but if he was able to win in straight sets, he would go 1-2, tying all three, with the upper hand in terms of sets. A narrow probability, yes, but still achievable.
With such scenario the pressure on both players was on the roof. Oussama had a clear strategy to put in play and so he did from the start. He put Temo on the run, mixing pace and angles and avoiding the strongest weapons of his opponent. Oussama and Temo got head-to-head until the 11th game where the Moroccan had a break point but he missed that chance. Temo would not miss his. Having secured the first set, gave Temo the peace of mind to finish off Oussama, by then too troubled with his backhand. What a remarkable comeback for Temo, injured, with one defeat on his count and yet able to get his place in the semifinals. Hats off to this brave warrior.
Final result: 7-5, 6-2 for Temo Chalasani.
FINAL STANDINGS AFTER 12 OUT OF 12 RR MATCHES
STANDINGS | MATCHES | MATCHES | SETS | GAMES |
PLAYED | WON/LOST | WON/LOST | WON/LOST | |
GROUP RAFAEL NADAL | ||||
JIRI TUCKER | 3 | 3-0 | 6-0 | 36-17 |
JONATHAN SHEDLETZKY | 3 | 2-1 | 4-2 | 31-29 |
DON BUI | 3 | 1-2 | 2-4 | 28-31 |
SIMON SCHLESINGER | 3 | 0-3 | 0-6 | 20-38 |
GROUP HANS GILDEMEISTER | ||||
LUCAS AGNELLI | 3 | 3-0 | 6-0 | 37-16 |
TEMO CHALASANI | 3 | 2-1 | 4-2 | 33-25 |
MAURICIO CASTRO | 3 | 1-2 | 2-5 | 25-37 |
OUSSAMA AZIZI | 3 | 0-3 | 1-6 | 24-41 |
All matches have been played at the round robin stage, so here it is the semifinal draw of the tournament, where only the first two players of each group qualified for.
Temo Chalasani in an amazing, brave, comeback and after 6 hours of forceful battles will face the solid and unbeaten Jiri Tucker, who has not drop a set yet.
Jonathan Shedletzky is taking Lucas Agnelli in what could be a very interesting match with an uncertain result. Jonathan has the speed and youth on his side, while the Argentine has the experience on his.
There is more to come on our next newsletter. Stay tuned.
IRON GAUCHO
