Sunday, March 15, 2015
Seles vs Sabatini BNP Paribas Showdown 2015 Full Match Replay
Gabriela Sabatini, still shows glamour on and off court
Avantage Québec... Avantage O'Connell
Thomas O'Connell did it again in Quebec. Last year he was the conqueror in +35, and this year he dominated the +40 field.
He dismissed Jeff Salhany in the finals 6-3, 6-2 which was, coincidentally, his toughest match in the draw.
With this result Jeff rises and consolidates his 3rd position in the standings, and showing that he can also play on hard courts, he may add his name as a potential contender for the top spot.
Pierre-Alain Dubois was also part of the gang from Montreal that went up North, but lost in two tight sets against the local Raphaël Drouin, redeeming himself with a victory on his consolation match.
The steady Marc Boivin scored another semifinal beating Otman M'Rabety in 3 sets on Saturday morning. The match made him paid the price as later in the afternoon was completely erased by O'Connell. Still not a bad result for Marc.
 |
| Nicolas Roy & Marcel Tremblay |
Nicolas Roy had a battle of the oldies when he faced Martin Lemay in the first round and scored a surprised win 4 and 4. Lost to Simon in straight sets in the following round.
Ari Brojde run past Jean-Sébastian Binette without dropping a game and put Marcel Tremblay against the ropes during the first 2 sets of their match. Marcel imposed his frenetic rhythm to score a final 6-0 in the last set.
Sacha Gosset had another nice run, this time to the semis, scored a perfect 6-0, 6-0 against Oussama Azizi, and later on dispatched die-hard Partric Sachetelli in straight sets as well. Sacha's dream run ended up against the wall... Marcel Tremblay
The best was the final match with Simon against Marcel... Youth vs Experience. And was Marcel's experience that got the best of the confrontation when he broke Simon in the third set to a 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 victory.
That's all for now.
See you in the hunt.
Yours,
IRON GAUCHO
Core of the Lion - Digital
Don't miss the extract of this interview.
To see the video click here
See you in the hunt.
Yours,
IRON GAUCHO
Friday, March 6, 2015
Core
of the Lion
Interview by VERONICA
VIAZZI (veroviazzi@gmail.com)
Edition by IRON GAUCHO
His
personal story may be worth of a PBS special, as Lloyd Mangahas fought for
years with failing kidneys that put his own life not only in serious danger,
but also profoundly molded him since. “What does not kill you makes you
stronger” they say. And from a desperate situation a stronger and more
determined-than-ever man, finally emerged.
This metamorphosis did not just come with his last transplant, but within the healing process that started since he was diagnosed by the doctors. For most mortals, the obstacles that he faced all those years may be perceived as insurmountable, but his inner force would just not allow him to quit. Plain and simple…Pure Lion-heart essence.
For
the very first time, Lloyd allows us to penetrate his core and find out more
about this tireless gladiator.
Lloyd, when did you start
playing tennis?
I
started playing tennis…well because of my dad, he was member of this club and
then as a small kid I used to follow him. I mean, wasn't necessarily playing at
first, just watched him play and gradually I started picking one of his
racquets, I remember it was really heavy, with a big handle and a very small
frame. Then I started playing with my dad, playing against the wall, at one
point my whole family; including my parents, my brother, and my sister were all
playing tennis at some point and it is where it really started.
Where all this took place?
Well
you see that’s funny… It was at Côte-de-Liesse Tennis Club (CDL), my dad was
member of this club but also part of this gang of people… all
Filipino-Canadians living in Montreal. It was really a tight community, because
my dad was playing these dads from other families, we used to get Christmas
parties where we used to attend and parents would play games with the kids. It
was big fun back in the day.
Was it by chance or is
tennis big inside the Filipino community?
For
my dad it was important because at the same times he was trying to raise his
kids, you know… raising his young family; he was working a lot, and it was his
way of remaining active. So in that sense was important because it was people
getting together, there were parties, there were lots of tournaments playing
against other clubs and so forth, going to restaurants afterwards for dinner so
it was a big deal back when I was younger.
Who were your tennis
idols back then?
It’s
a funny story. One time, my dad when he was still member at CDL, he told me and
my sister: “All right guys we have to
leave right now we need to go to the club!” Why? I asked “Well because there
are professional players practicing there for tennis exhibition, so bring a
piece of paper, bring a book, bring your racquets, everything you need so we
don’t have to decide afterwards!!” That was my first time to be with a
professional up close in person so that day the four players that were there to
play exhibition matches were Michael Chang, Pete Sampras, Vitas Gerulaitis, and
Illie Nastase. I had a piece of paper signed by them but since I lost it but my
dad still has his tennis case signed by all four of those players. I wouldn't say they were my idols in the beginning but they were my first face to face
encounter with Tennis… you know, professionals and then gradually I learned
more about the players, Andre Agassi and other players from the early ‘90s,
mid-80s like Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl… My dad used to play with Ivan Lendl’s
racquet so it was really a treat to meet all those players as a kid because I didn't know at the time but eventually did affect me in terms of how to play
tennis and be better later on.
And today, is there any
player that stands out in your preferences?
Obviously,
you know, everyone looks after Roger Federer because his technique is so fluid;
he makes it look so effortless so obviously when I try to play I try to model
something like a relaxed feel in the strokes. When you see pictures of him, you
don’t see any expression in his face like he has no tense muscles in his body.
Obviously he is probably someone to look up to, but in terms of my game style I
hit with a two-handed backhand so Novak Djokovic… wouldn't say is my idol but
is someone that I would try to learn from and Kei Nishikori, Japan’s number one
player, now is getting a lot of attention for his recent results he is also, I
think, a similar kind of game style that I try to model myself afterwards.
Those are the players that probably influence me most in my tennis learning
nowadays.
What does Tennis mean to
you?
It’s
a bit a metaphor for Life, because in singles you are out there on your own,
you need to figure things out; no one is going to help you, which is so great
about Tennis, it’s unique. You don’t have your coach talking in your ear like
in other sports. It’s a battle, again not just against your opponent but also
against yourself, the conditions, on how you feel… But I think is also about
problem solving; learning how to figure it out your way to get out of
situations and learn how to find corrections on your own and not necessarily
someone telling you, but sometimes the best learning on the tennis court or in
Life in general is to learn your own things. It is remarkable when you learn
something on your own, you’ll remember it for a while as nobody told you but
you learn it on your own. That’s of special importance to me, what I can get
out from Tennis; it’s what keeps me going.
What did Tennis teach
you the most?
The
obvious answer is taught me to fight, to never give up. I try to keep learning.
Learn a lesson: You can control only one side of the court but not what’s going
to happen during the match. Tennis teaches you how to get out of situations
where you are not as comfortable, and self-control. It’s a one-on-one battle,
against your opponent as well as against yourself, you learn to have that inner
game within in order to be victorious and improve as a player and as a person.
Which moments have been
the most important in your tennis life so far?
[After
meditating a couple of seconds] I can only think back recently when I joined
forces with Lucas Agnelli to play doubles as team mates. First, we’d never
played much doubles before, in fact I played against Lucas in doubles maybe
about 7 years ago when we were opponents playing for different clubs[1]. Lucas’ been a good
hitting partner and obviously we’ve been good friends off the court; but
doubles we never really got together before that, and we were not winning many
matches at the beginning. Sometimes we were discouraged but we developed a
plan, we went slowly but surely and we won the tournament, we won the league.
And Lucas, he gave me a medal for that which is really nice. And then the
following year, I think the spring that followed we won again and I remember
that because at the time I was having health issues and to be able to
accomplish that definitely is something is going to stick with me for a long
time, I think.
How do you place Tennis
in your future life?
[After
another meditating interval] It will always be part of my life. It’s what
connects me with Life. When I step onto the court, I don’t have to think about
my other worries, it’s like I don’t have to look into my watch, time flies and
I enjoy because I’m engrossed in a task that is hitting the tennis ball but
that being said, I see tennis as a career opportunity, in the past I worked for
a tennis academy, I went to Florida and worked at Nick Bolleteri’s Academy I
chose it as a career so I’m thinking hopefully that somehow I can professionally
advance in that field as well as a trainer or as some sort of coach or support
presence for younger players who seek for additional advice on how to improve
as a tennis player, so it’s hopefully in the plans.
How do you see Tennis in
Canada?
What can tennis give to
today’s children?
It
can give them the chance, like I said to explore their abilities that they
might have, because you never know when the next champion is going to come
along. You can’t necessarily create a Roger Federer, or a Milos Raonic, or a
Eugenie Bouchard, it’s a lot to do with luck, but beyond the performance asked
of it, it can give kids the chance of enjoy a sport for life, to play as a
pastime, as a hobby, as leisure. It doesn't necessarily have to be all serious about.
Tennis it is fun for a lot of people, I like that. I work in a tennis store
right now and I like when I meet people who have recently started playing
tennis and they are getting into it and enjoy the exercise, the entire benefit
it gives them in terms of their health and well-being and that they got to
socialize with other people. We are in Canada, and Canada is mostly known as a
winter type of sport country; dominated by hockey and other couple of sports;
but Tennis, it gives them another opportunity for other sport to try out and if
they like it, is so much better.
What would you suggest
to parents in terms of their children’s physical education? Why Tennis?
Because it could help them develop a lot of
different physical skills such as hand-eye coordination, footwork, moving, but
in fact I would not limit parents just on tennis. As a young child, kids love
games and interact, they love to play different type of situations and Tennis
is one way to get them started in terms of physical activity but there are also
many other by-motor skills that kids can learn from other sports or games. I
would not necessarily specialize a kid and put a tennis racquet in the hands of
a 3 or 4 years old and allow him just to play that sport for the rest of his
life. What happens is when we specialize a child or any person in just one
activity, they miss out on a lot of different aspects that can be developed by
playing other sports and having a more well-rounded development as it comes up.
If I have my own child I would like him or her to play tennis and I would let
them try but also would allow them to explore, try different sports, try different
activities, and later on it’s better for them to play a sport they chose to
play and not one that is imposed. I think it is very important to develop the
passion. It has to come from within, absolutely. Tennis is definitely a great
sport to start up at any age.
You are currently part
of an initiative to introduce very young children in sports. Could you tell us
a bit of that?
Yes.
I work for a non-profit organization called ACCSports
and this organization’s mission is to provide sports and physical activities
for people of communities or populations that do not necessarily have the means
for access sports. So this organization runs a program called “Champions for Life”[2] which is a physical
literacy class that goes into different elementary schools in the Montreal
region and what it does, it raises physical literacy skills. Physical literacy
if you think about it is just like reading and writing skills, there are basic
fundamentals every person must go through, but at the same time all those same fundamentals
for movement that also applies. So teaching the ABC of movement is really the
foundation for having kids or individuals develop life-long movement skills
which entice them for the rest of their lives as will allow them to play
different sports, different activities, which involves running, jumping,
hopping, skipping, galloping, skills that will allow them to participate in any
game so they won’t be hinder because what happens is that if we miss out that
third grade age group early on their lives and we cash on this window of
opportunity where we allow these kids to try and to experiment, and become
proficient at it, then there is no way to tell, good or wrong, if they are
going to be able to be as efficient in terms of
how they move, how they stretch, how they jump, and how they throw. So
the program’s mission is to expose them to these fundamentals movement skills
in order to better equip them for later on life and hopefully help them
maintain certain healthy balance on life style. Statistics are showing us that being
physically active allows for kids not only to enjoy better grades in school but
also increases their social well-being and helps them also have an overall
balanced life. It’s a fun program; it’s not necessarily an easy program to
start off as it’s still new for kids and there is a lot for them to absorb as
at the same time we give them a good head start in terms of their physical
maturation.
You are an individual
with many skills, not only in sports, but also you have an artistic side; you've done some improvisation. Any connection between Tennis and improv?
[Laughs]
In Tennis or in any other sports you are going to have situations which you really
can’t predict, and automatically you are going to react. You can also argue
that Life is a little bit of improv because you get thrown into a lot of
different situations and you are called to react. Improv does not train you to deal
better with those types of situations but there are a few rules that you can
kind of adjust. What improv makes you is to think on your feet and also helps
to eliminate the inhibitions that you may have on your mind. Oftentimes we are
awkward about something and the tendency is if we are not sure or if we don’t
know it well, we’ll refuse it, we’ll say no. But improv it is an environment
that allows you to say yes to anything, to say yes to any offer and by accepting
the offer that is given to you, you can play it within your mind and then you
can formulate a response that becomes totally natural, totally unhindered,
totally dis-inhibited, and becomes a more organic response on how you react. Now whether it can be translated to Tennis or not… It might train your mind in
order to act a bit calmer, more natural when comes to stressful situations,
situations where you feel you have a lot of pressure. Accepting what comes your
way by enjoying it and by reacting in a natural as most organic as possible.
Do you want to tell us a
bit about the tournament you are planning to play in Argentina later this year?
Yes.
The World Transplant Games is a celebration really. It’s an Olympic style event
which reunites all healthy transplant recipients from around the world. The
objective of these Transplant Games are to celebrate Life after a transplant as
people often think that after you receive a transplant you have to pull back yourself,
be careful for several things, which is true but at the same time it is really
a second chance for you to continue with Life to the fullest as much as
possible. So it’s about having a great time but it is also about a time to raise
organ donation awareness because those who have been fortunate enough to
receive an organ transplant couldn't have received it without someone else
donating, whether is a living donor or a deceased donor. It’s mostly to raise
awareness that organ donation does enhance the quality life in people and truly
gives people a second wind, a second chance in Life.
So
these games are a bit of an Olympic format with different sports: Tennis,
Swimming, Running, and Athletics that reunites people from around the world.
What is great about it is that you meet people from different parts of the
world who have a similar experience like you, it’s really a sharing bond that
you have; an inexplicable bond that really you share and you can’t help but
being inspired because I can inspire people but there are people that have had
it worse than I did and came back from it and you can see where they are. We
cannot forget about the families, my own family and the ones of my other fellow
transplant recipients, because when someone gets sick in a family it really
affects the whole unit. You can’t deny how one event can bring people a lot
closer in that sense.
Hopefully,
I’m going to try to qualify for tennis. Should not be a problem but it’s going
to be my first real test on how well I can do in these games and hopefully I
can come out with a good result.
And we wish you the
best, Lloyd.
Now your three hints in
Tennis or in Life that you want to share:
1. I’ll start with a quote: “You miss
100% of the shots you don’t take” That’s been taken from Wayne Gretzky[3] meaning sometimes when you
are unsure on taken on a project or a kind of assessment or risk that you never
attempt, you will never know what happens. When I have to come to tough
decisions, it’s a quote really relevant for me because a lot of times I didn't take the chance.
2. Another one is: “You haven’t really
taught until your student has learned” In that sense I think we are all
learners inside if we allow ourselves to learn. In order for us to absorb
something, I think in self-discoveries that each and every one of us has to
make. Sometimes a teacher can be not so good and that could have been a painful
experience but also something positive might have come out as well.
3. Glass half empty, glass half full.
Depending how you see things whether you see an event as a loss or you see an
event as a learning experience. Myself, I try to see events as learning
experiences as much as possible, because I think Life is about learning, it’s
about growing.
Q&A Ping-Pong
A stroke
|
Federer’s
serve and forehand
|
A player
|
Michael
Chang
|
A partner
|
Lucas
Agnelli
|
A tournament
|
2015
Transplant Games to be held in Mar del Plata, Argentina.
|
An opponent
|
Martine
Leblanc
|
V.V.
[1]
Match was held as part of the inter-park league in the summer of 2005 in
Montreal. Lloyd Mangahas played for Somerled’s team and Lucas Agnelli played
for Jeanne-Mance’s combination. Lloyd and his partner won in straight sets in a
match temporarily delayed by rain.
[2]
For more information on this or other programs contact ACCSports at Westwood
Sports Center. 514-694-5934 or email: info@accsports.ca
[3]
Wayne Douglas Gretzky, born January 26, 1961, is a Canadian former
professional ice hockey player and former head coach.
He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four
teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "The Great One", he has been
called "the greatest hockey player ever"[1] by
many sportswriters, players, and the NHL itself.
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Work
in Progress – The buildup of a new tennis player
It
sounds like a company project or the idea of a doctor turned into a madman. But
in fact is my idea of becoming a more solid player with more options to display
on court at a less price in term of injuries…
All
these months away from active competition or any sort of match play (there is
always a competitive component in a friendly match that may not be good in my
current development phase) Frank Hornig and I kept working on correcting the
main flaws in my game.
 |
| Club Hipico y Golf City Bell |
Groundstrokes
started to show some good form as well as volleys. Serve and overhead (so much
related) are to follow. So far I’m happy with what I’ve seen. Not only I’ve
been able to play through tennis elbow injury but pain has subdued and for the
first time in a long time I have nothing to complain on that front. I have stop
using the patella strips protection for the first time in 7 years. All praise
to Frank and his teachings.
I
recently lost 10 pounds which helps me moving around the court better. Another
improvement, little things that add up for a better overall outcome, won’t you
say?
Switching
hitting sessions with Oussama Azizi, Maher Diab, Francis Demers, and specially Carlos
Montoto helps me discover little details that is dully captured and transmitted
to Frank for further analysis/discussion. It’s a long process and of course I miss
competition and the adrenaline rush of a break point, but it’ll come, sooner or
later; in the meantime, I enjoy and embrace the process.
Not
long ago I spent a few days in Argentina. With temperatures over 40C and humidity
factor over 75% I just found hard to breath in such soaking atmosphere. By 5AM temperature was close to 30C and raising,
little to no wind, a true inferno.
 |
| Club Hipico y Golf City Bell |
Still
I managed to have a few hitting sessions at the nice Hipico y Golf Club in City
Bell where my Family resides. I was helped by Walter the main pro there that accommodated
the sessions for me with the cooperation of several of his students. Each
session was 60 minutes long only as opposed to my 90 minutes here but
considering the temperature it felt like 4 hours. I loved the feeling of
hitting on red clay (my least favorite surface) as it was kind of a blast from
the past.
 |
| Vilas and Wilander 2015 |
In my last night in Argentina, had the chance to visit Guillermo Vilas again and
spent some time talking with him about what I was working on and we got into
very technical discussions over dinner. It was great, enjoyed it enormously and
hopefully he did as well. I’m deeply grateful that such Champion sets time to
talk to someone that shares the same passion.
These
days Mats Wilander is in Argentina, invited by the organization of the ATP 250
held in Buenos Aires. I know Mats and Guillermo sat for a talk. Their
friendship goes way back to 1982 when Wilander defeated Vilas in the finals at
Roland Garros. Both love tennis very much and I’m sure they also enjoyed each
other company.
Can
anyone stop Montoto?
A
new year started and the 2015 season kicked off once more with the Sani Sport
Indoor in Boucherville.
The
35+ group showed new faces and were in fact those new faces that dominated the
draw. The win belonged to Simon Tremblay-Larouche on an easy win against Tommy
Curkovic. I’m sure we’ll hear more about these players along the season.
On
this draw the expectation on my end was set on my friend Oussama Azizi that was
back on competition with a brand new system of play (the Great Base Initiative).
Regrettably Oussama was not in a good day and a rock solid Jacques Préfontaine
made his life hard. Talking to Azizi a few days later, he reported still leaving
with good sensations as many games were close and he just failed close to the
line. He had a better partial result on the tricky carpet when he lost 4 and 4
his consolation match. May not be the best of the starts but I’m confident once
the new refurbished strokes settle he will enjoy deeper runs in the
tournaments. Just wait for the summer.
The
40+ draw had a great number of players (14) but not many of the top guys, with
a few exceptions. Carlos, the King, was
there as Marc Boivin, second seeded, the new addition in +40, Yohan Botbol,
always dangerous on the hard and fast carpet at Sani Sport. Francis Demers
closed the list of seeded players. Francis showed up last year more regularly
to events and he got a few good deep runs that can make him a good challenger
in the not so far away future.
A
few new names as well this year. The main worth mention, Bruno Sakoto. This is
probably the nicest guy you can ever meet at a tennis court, but also one of
the finest old school serve and volley players out there. Bruno played many
years in France and we share fond memories of the Inter-Park League and a few
summer tournaments over the last decade. Bruno kicked off by beating the always
complicated Sébastien Larrivée who is a truly die-hard player. Maybe he’s not
so suited for fast and short exchanges, but yet a tough first rounder. Bruno took the first partial on the tie-break
to absolutely dominate in the second. Against Boivin, regrettably his body felt
the lack of competition and he was forced to withdraw, a match that in equal
physical condition, hands down, belongs to the Ivory Coast native. More to see
in the future events, I guarantee a top ten slot for Bruno.
Pierre-Alain
Dubois made a great run up to the semis where Boivin was the strongest man in
the third set.
The
surprise came by the name of Sébastien Harvey who crushed Francis Demers 6-0,
6-1. Did not see the match but I find hard to believe there were no external
reasons for such low performance from the Beaconsfield resident. Francis has a
game that clicks perfectly with the synthetic carpet and being dominated by
someone like that is utterly surprising. But he wasn’t the only seeded to say
goodbye in the first round, Yohan Botbol gave his hurrah in straight sets
against Pierre Pomès who eventually also made it to the semis.
King
Carlos had a déjà vu on his first match, scheduled very late on a weekday.
Christian Gagnon made him run quite a bit last year at the same venue, going
down with an elegant 6-4, 6-4. This year took more of a bite from the
Argentinian. It seemed like Gagnon had the venom to poison his opponent, he was
finding the range in his backhand and firing up his forehand all over the
court. Carlos got tangled 1-5 in the third when he orchestrated one of the most
thrilling comebacks on the senior tour. He ended up winning that last set 7-5.
With his confidence restored and on the rise he passed by Pomès in the semis with a
double 4 and crushed Boivin in the finals, allowing him only 2 games.
Carlos
improved his run from last year when he lost against Borlée in 3 sets… Until Oli
is back in competition, is there anyone that can actually beat him? So far the
matches he lost in 2014 were on a bad day or due to illness, with the exception
of the mentioned encounter with the Belgian champion. Still it is fair to say that
since last January and moreover, since last summer his confidence has increased
a lot and it seems that this will be another great season for Charly.
See
you in the hunt.
Yours,
IRON GAUCHO
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
We’ll
meet again… The South Shore Chapter
November
in Montreal is not great, the city runs out of colors, and the wind makes sure the
trees are naked and set for the upcoming winter. Usually rains a lot and
temperatures drop significantly. Still no snow (usually) so not much to do
outside.
But
November is also the month were the Veterans go back to the South Shore. We
open the season at Sani Sport in Boucherville, and we close it at Sani Sport in
Brossard, sort of a full circle, so to speak.
This
year the draw was much bigger than in 2013 and much stronger: King Montoto and
his chaser Richard Lacombe, Felipe Heck, Marc Boivin, and Francis Demers back
in action among others.
“Hard to judge from outside but tennis shows that it is not always the strongest player who wins, but the one that capitalizes the opportunities.”
Shariff
Cabarcas opened the action on November 1st with a laborious win over
Ron Sebag, just to hit the wall against Montoto, the top seeded. At the same
time, David Descôteaux earned the chance to avenge his loss in Piedmont facing
again his slayer Felipe Heck. To do so he had to battle past an annoying Sébastien
Larivée in the max of sets.
Francis
Demers played an irregular match with ups and downs all the way. Had his
chances against Marc Boivin and his unorthodox backhand but blew them all to
lose 6-3, 5-7, 7-6. Hard to judge from outside but tennis shows that it is not always
the strongest player who wins, but the one that capitalizes the opportunities.
 |
| Carlos Montoto |
Felipe
rolled over David once more in successive events to place himself in the semis
against a not-so-solid Richard Lacombe. The second seeded had to come back from
a one set deficit to beat Raphael Drouin. It was easy at the end, but Richard
had to regain his legendary steadiness to win the 3 setter.
Interesting
enough, this wake-up call made him play like a Swiss machinery against Heck.
Hard to believe Felipe would go down in a set without making his mark. Richard
was in absolute control of the actions and blast away enough distance to
administer the effort of the second set. 6-0, 6-4 for Lacombe, who would face…
Yes,
yet again… Carlos Montoto.
The Argentinian got complicated in the first set
against Boivin, but once he corrected his aim and re-setup his central
computer, the tennis droid took over and erased Marc’s attempts at will. Final score: 7-6,
6-2 for Carlos.
“The final was mainly a solo concerto for Montoto”
Carlos was in such state of mind that
he literally could not miss a ball. He fired away 6-1, and stayed undisturbed until 5-2 when he decided to change tactics. Richard saw an opening and tried one
last effort to turn tables breaking Carlos’ serve and confirming with his own.
Alerted by the sudden change of events, King Carlos made the proper adjustments
and sailed to victory (his third of the season + 2 finals and 1 semifinal appearance).
Final score: Montoto wins 6-1, 6-4.
Congrats
to Carlos and Richard for a great season!
See
you in the hunt.
Yours,
IRON
GAUCHO.
Battle
of wills
Quebec’s
geography is gorgeous enough to seduce almost anybody. I’m not shy to admit that
the Laurentians region scenery is one at the top of my list of all-time favorites,
especially in the fall: The vast exuberance of the trees against the mountains
is superb. The palette of colors, from pale yellows to furious red that one can
enjoy is simply breathtaking. Add to this, pink dyed clouds at sunset and you would
have known the actual meaning of paradise on Earth.
But
the Laurentians not only have a fantastic emplacement, also has one of the
nicest tennis clubs in the “Belle Province”, Tennis Interclub in Piedmont, just
meters from St-Sauver. The club offers the players both indoor and outdoor
courts in order to enjoy tennis no matter the weather.
This
past September, Lucien Desmarais organized another round of the Quebec Tennis
Veterans tour at this location.
Among
the contenders in the 40+ category, we found the tough Brazilian Felipe Heck,
Jeff Salhany a former pro player, some of the local guys like Steve Baribeau,
the always present Marc Boivin, and others.
“They will chase every ball, they will grunt, spit, and charge back until you kill them… twice to earn the point.”
 |
| Jeff Salhany |
Felipe
started as usual showing determination and good tennis knocking down David Descôteaux
and later on Pierre-Alain Dubois, a massive guy that likes to strike the tennis
balls as if they were some kind of grenades, both in straight sets.
On
the bottom part of the draw Jeff took care of Martin Roberge in 2 sets and then
went on to stop a late charge from Marc Boivin, the second seeded by 6-1, 7-5.
Once
again Felipe would face Jeff. I believe it was in Valois 2013 that they played
for the first time with a tight victory for the Canadian. Both Salhany and Heck
are probably two of the most die-hard players you can find in our age category.
To beat any of them one has to commit to the end and beyond. They will chase
every ball, they will grunt, spit, and charge back until you kill them… twice
to earn the point.
Never played Jeff, but did hit a few times with Felipe and I
remember leaving the court pretty tired. Jeff has great technique as he’s also
part of the Great Base Initiative. Clean shots and ball acceleration are
his trademarks.
This
clash would again prove to be another classic with both contenders hitting and
creating diabolic angles to outlast the enemy. Felipe took the first set, and
by the same token Jeff tied in the second. The third set was truly a battle of wills;
they kept hitting the ball until one of them eventually run out of ammo. This
time Felipe was the one that had to surrender. Final score: 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 for Jeff
Salhany class 70, back to the winners circle.
Congrats
to Jeff. See you in the hunt.
Yours,
IRON
GAUCHO
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