[Tennis/NSTT] Grass Court season 6 [RP/Results]

[West Phoenicia]

Act III:

The One Where Staci Harris Slams The Tennis Federation

Staci Harris remains the lone West Phoenician in the Salvador Hills Open after Kamal Dallas cut down during round 2 against Lucien Le Floch of Reçueçn, in a 6-1, 7-6, a narrow defeat that came down to the wire in the second set which could have dragged the game into three sets.

Staci Harris defeated Leone Na of Britonisea in a 3-6, 6-3,6-4. An incredibly victorious defeat against a higher seeded player, that left Staci waving her Fluro pink headband in the air to the sound of cheering spectators.

Staci will next take on Sami Dominikanov of Mattijana, where West Phoenician sports gamblers are betting against her winning the match. Staci currently sits at 20 to 1 to win against the competition in the next round.
Other gamblers are more optimistic, seizing the advantage of the high odds, speculating a win by Staci will see them rolling in Ba'als; the national currency of West Phoenicia.

Post-match, Staci and her coach whisked away to the interview area. Cameras flashing as reporters fired questions at the player.

Seen as a less controversial player on the West Phoenician Tennis circuit.
After a few initial questions of conveying how pleased she was to be at the Salvador Hills Open and the NS tennis tour, Staci apologised in advance for the criticism she was going to announce.

"I have been on the West Phoenician Tennis circuit for a number of years now. I have competed in a slew of international tournaments that has seen me rise in the seeding. I cannot express how frustrated I am that the West Phoenician Tennis Federation has sabotaged their players by pulling all international tournaments over the last 24 months, aside from the Summer Olympic Games that do not really count, as the Olympics does not help a player rise in the ranks.
The foolish decision by the Federation has created a mess where seasoned West Phoenicians have been reduced to the lower rung of the tennis ladders, which will take numerous tournaments and possible years to recover. In the twilight of my tennis career, I should be gracing higher seeds, not hovering at the bottom. Tiffany Love and Kamal Dallas, two other awesome and fabulous professionals should not be fighting for crumbs.
The West Phoenician Tennis Federation needs to learn from this error and do more to protect and promote the players they represent. They have let my generation down. Fix it before the next generation suffers also."

Staci then announced the interview over, as she strutted off stage.

[Aqual]

Cervantes Bows Out of Salvador Hills As Others Advance
SALVADOR, Grearish Union—In an unexpected turn today, it was the fast pace, big serving, hard hitting Daniel Cervantes that exited the first grass tournament of the NSTT Season 6 and not the more likely candidates of Rafael Bautista or Matéu Virxiliu, who both won their matches today, along with Carla Tormo. Full details of each match below.

Alex Rivera (NWK)               4   6   4
Rafael Bautista (AQL)           6   4   6

Rafael Bautista's qualifying match did indeed seem to bolster his chances today against Alex Rivera, seeded just one place above him. It was a tight match from start to finish, largely dependent on each of the players' service games. Bautista, as in his prior match, showed a startling prowess on first serves which he clearly must have worked diligently on over the long break between the clay and grass swings, never facing a break point in the first set, which he won after consolidating his earlier break of serve at 4-all due to a dip in the Northwest Kalactin player's first serves in percentage. Despite carrying the first set, Bautista couldn't build up any momentum in the second as Rivera served first and, with the set ultimately remaining on serve for quite some time, held the lead throughout, finally breaking in the final game (wherein Bautista committed a rare double fault and lost two other points on his second serve, as well as from a return winner from Rivera).

The third and final set was easily the most grueling, as Bautista clinched the early lead by breaking in the first game. He then managed to hold off only the second break point he had faced so far in the following game, before Rivera held swiftly to again put pressure on Bautista's serve. Although he didn't face a break point in the fourth game, it went to three deuces before an ace from the Aqualia put him up 3-1. The tide soon turned in his favor as he had two opportunities to earn a double break, but squandered them both with misses into the net, and Rivera soon held. A rocketing forehand winner from the thirty-second seed and two forced errors put Bautista in a very poor position and it appeared as though the set would soon be equalized. However, the Aqualian national number one pulled some incredible serves out of thin air to work his way out of trouble, and a pair of winners later ensured the set stayed under a Bautista lead of four games to two. The rest of the service games were more or less routine holds, with Bautista serving out the match at 5-4 without any more late scares.

Rafael Bautista will face number one seed and highest-ranked Abelie Fontana of Reçueçn in the next round tomorrow.

Daniel Cervantes (AQL)          6   5   2
Harold Crawley (TJU)            3   7   6

Despite being some Aqualian sports commentators' favorite pick for a deep run in this tournament on account of his fast game well-equipped for the grass courts, Daniel Cervantes was the first Aqualia to fall in Salvador Hills. Up against Harold Crawley of TJUN-ia, Cervantes sprinted out to an early lead, with the advantage of serving first and breaking in only the fourth game of the match, sealing the first set in just under half an hour. It looked to be a Cervantes runaway as the Aqualia broke serve to begin the second and quickly consolidated. With no other breaks of serve until the tenth game, many thought the match had a foregone conclusion when Crawley managed to stave off two match points and break serve for the first time as Cervantes failed to serve out the match up 5-4. With newfound momentum, the TJUN-ian quickly consolidated the break before dismantling a stunned Cervantes' serve to clinch the set 7-5.

In the decider, Crawley continued an incredible run of seven straight games with an early break in the second game and two 40-love holds. The Aqualia simply had no response, only managing to salvage two service games while giving virtually no opposition to Crawley's own serves. Cervantes would ultimately be broken for a fourth time in the last game of the match to hand the TJUN-ian the win by a 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 margin. Hopefully this experience will only strengthen Cervantes' game for the Tier I grass tournaments in the coming weeks.

Matéu Virxiliu (AQL)            6   6
Further Singo (JOV)             2   4

Matéu Virxiliu, who burst onto the tennis scene only a few short months ago during the clay swing, has proven that he has what it takes to win on grass as well, storming to a quick 6-2 first set victory over Further Singo in his first main round match today. His combination of speed on the court and a decently paced ballstrike allowed him to hold serve comfortably throughout the match, with only a single break point opportunity which came and went in the second set. Therein, the player from the Jovannic truly played much better, but it was the old adage of "too little, too late" which sends Virxiliu into the Round of 32 with a straight sets 6-2, 6-4 victory. He will face Arthur Leloup from Reçueçn there. (You may remember that Virxiliu won his first main draw match in the NSTT against Leloup back in the Istrian Open in three sets. It will certainly be an interesting match-up for their first encounter on grass.)

Carla Tormo (AQL)               7   2   6
Maria Crown (SPM)               6   6   4

In Carla Tormo's singles debut this year, she encountered a tough opponent in Maria Crown. Tormo and the Springmont player maintained the first set entirely on serve for its duration, forcing the tiebreak, which in turn was also dominated by serve. However, a double fault from Crown and a handful of second serves giving Tormo the upper hand led to an 8-6 victory for the Aqualia in the tiebreak. Perhaps seeking a sort of vengeance for the close set, Crown was very in form for the second set, with 80% of first serves in and first serve points won, a well as nearly 40% of return points for a twenty-six minute 6-2 set in favor of the Springmont player. The final set echoed the first as neither player managed to break serve the first eight games until an unfortunate net cord point won by Tormo set up the break point, which she took advantage of with a return winner down the line. She then consolidate to fifteen with a service winner down the T to advance 7-6(6), 2-6, 6-4. She will go up against Neu Engollon's eleventh-seeded Dietrich Cassarro tomorrow in the Round of 32.

We hope you will again join us for updates on tomorrow's matches both online and in print here at the Toboso Chronicle.

[The Grearish Union]

Round of 32 Cutoff for the Salvador Hills Open!
Updated brackets: Singles | Doubles

Singles Ro32

Abelie Fontana (RCN)           4   6   6
Rafael Bautista (AQL)          6   3   3

Sophie Bellavie (NEG)          2   6   6
Martha McNeil (GRU)            6   2   8

Pelissa Giannapolous (ETM)     6   6
Austin McDanielson (TJU)       1   1

Jeff Rogers (GRU)              6   6
Jack Ho (ETM)                  2   2

Ajla Vesnic (MTJ)              6   6
Harold Crawley (TJU)           2   4

Derek Dubrovnik (BRI)          4   6   5
Elizabeth Quehall (BRI)        6   1   7

Juan Subdula (NWK)             6   6
Emilie Elroy (CYT)             4   4

Ralph Newkärn (BRI)            4   3
Lucien Le Floch (RCN)          6   6

Doug Grisham (NWD)             4   0
Dewa Ayu Cintya Dewi (PCU)     6   6

Matéu Virxiliu (AQL)           6   7
Arthur Leloup (RCN)            1   6

Rodrick Uppatin (KHD)          6   6
Chad Cilsertin (KHD)           0   4

Sami Dominikanov (MTJ)         6   3   6
Staci Harris (KWP)             2   6   4

Marcos Neadre (CMT)            3   6   2
Lucy Muneer (SHT)              6   3   6

Carlos Thirdspade (SPM)        6   7
Felipe de la Rosa (TJU)        4   5

Ayu Ratih Kemalasari (PCU)     6   6
Philippe Baloui (TJU)          3   4

Dietrich Cassarro (NEG)        5   1
Carla Tormo (AQL)              7   6

Doubles Ro32

Jo Royalwood/Bob Lightford (SPM)              6   6
Rowena Yae/Mare Punst (CMT)                   1   4

Kurt Dragic/Jurgen DiPasso (NEG)              2   6
Riley Dovatin/Anna Humpford (KHD)             6   7

Juan Subdula/Alex Rivera (NWK)                6   4   5
Dementiu Goblinescu/Kirumi Octavian (SRM)     4   6   7

Eka Putrawan/Dwi Ratmadi (PCU)                1   6   7
Doug Chrisham/Lori Phelps (NWD)               6   3   5

Martha McNeil/Jeff Rogers (GRU)               7   6
Ana Radkkar/Eva Radkkar (ACS)                 5   2

Vera Di Santos/Fi Richardson (KWP)            6   6   6
Carrol Water/Cherrie Kane (SHT)               7   4   1

Lance Mance/Ricardo Toli (BRI)                6   6
Brandon Moore/Daniel Brown (SOD)              2   1

Felice Mareaux/Fayna Topalo (NEG)             6   6
Margie Brown/Teegan Sosa (GRU)                4   2

Lara Basic/Julian Slazic (MTJ)                6   6
Alif Khadarim/Irina Elinova (NAZ)             2   1

Melissa Turnface/Erin Maldry (KHD)            6   6
Jasmina Soflik/Sofia Loranovic (MTJ)          4   2

Diana Jansen/Justin White (SHT/NWK)           7   6
Jewel Abe/Dan Cowden (SQR)                    5   1

Ilham Nugraha/Jayadi Ahmad (PCU)              6   6
Jing-Pae Lee/Myung-Tak Park (CMT)             2   2

Jaguar Zenteanite/Zeke Newham (BRI)           4   6   6
Alan Crown/Boskur Najeeb (SPM)                6   2   2

Dariq Ishaqtar/Nur Irin-Amirana (NAZ)         6   7
Esterina Picarelli/Tristan Delisle (RCN)      4   6

Adelinde Günther/Lucas Magnier (RCN)          4   6   6
Joseph Lisande/Wucki Miskyuli (JOV)           6   2   3

Vuyani Rabada/Kaui Kamakawiwoʻole (TJU)       6   6
Miguel Taberon/Pedro Arrachar (ACS)           2   1

[Kohnhead]

Uppatin defeats Cilsertin in an all Kohnhead match

Rodrick Uppatin (KHD)          6   6
Chad Cilsertin (KHD)           0   4

Uppatin and Cilsertin, mentor and apprentice had a very emotional pre game interaction and hug and while Uppatin dominated as expected the only had positive words for each other. In the first set, Uppatin looked hot winning it 6-0 and while the second was closer by a wide margin, Uppatin was still in control the entire time. Uppatin will play Sami Dominikanov in the round of 16 as he looks to make it to the quarterfinals for just the second time in an NSTT tournament.

Kurt Dragic/Jurgen DiPasso (NEG)              2   6
Riley Dovatin/Anna Humpford (KHD)             6   7

Riley Dovatin and Anna Humpford played their first match as a pair defeating the heavy underdogs, Kurt Dragic and Jurgen DiPasso from Neu Engollon. Salvador Hills has given the KTF (Kohnhead Tennis Federation) a chance to experiment with some new doubles combinations and Dovatin and Humpford are the result of this. Next up they take on Jo Royalwood and Bob Lightford from Springmont who are the favorites to win the tournament.

Melissa Turnface/Erin Maldry (KHD)            6   6
Jasmina Soflik/Sofia Loranovic (MTJ)          4   2

Turnface and Maldry dispatched of Jasmina Soflik, and Sofia Loranovic from Mattijana with relative ease in a two set affair. Turnface and Maldry are also new partners for this tournament and sit as the 15th seeded pair in the tournament set to take on seed number 2 in Lara Basic and Julian Slazic who are also from Mattijana. Kohnhead players are seeing a lot of Mattijana players at this tournament. If you remember correctly Mattijana were the gracious hosts of the Mattijana Open where Mindy Waterford made it all the way to the semis at the clay court tier 1.

[West Phoenicia]

Act IV

The One Where Doubles Suddenly Becomes Popular

Shame, Shame for Staci Harris,
Came to the Open to be the fairest,
Challenged a Sami with a really long name,
Lost two sets and took a walk of shame…

- A poster by the name of Andy Harris on Staci Harris Vibr Fan Page.



It's all over for Staci Harris at the Salvador Hills Open. The round of 32 has claimed a bevy of victims. For West Phoenicia that means Staci Harris is out, after losing in the best of three sets to Sami Dominikanov of Mattijana.
Staci exited the court, much like she exited the post-match interview, style, grace and a hint of attitude, refusing to shed tears until she reached the safety of the locker room, away from the prying eyes of the media and her devoted fans.

Disheartened West Phoenicia tennis fans were left to huddle together and dream of what if.
However, tears were quickly wiped away with the good news that spread through the tennis faithful that Vera Di Santos and Fi Richardson in the doubles were still alive and kicking.
When it comes to tennis in West Phoenicia, singles are always seen as the more popular form of the sport to watch. Tennis single stars often get thrust into the spotlight more than their doubles counterparts. Most players dream of singles stardom, not wanting to share the limelight with a partner.
10 to 20 years ago West Phoenicia on doubles consisted of those single players who were sinking in the rankings and were on the verge of retiring to the pastures. However, doubles are making a remarkable comeback with West Phoenicia pulling in a number of medals at the Olympics for tennis doubles. It has allowed doubles to shine in its own light and go head to head with singles, instead of being a sloppy second.

Nowadays tennis doubles are seen as a category that any tennis player can participate in and it doesn't have to hide in the shadows like a dirty little secret.
Stars can be made from doubles, just as much as singles.
Because of this new line of thinking, doubles has a mix of single stars and those who feel more confident playing with a partner.

Wissam Dallas and Helios Norwood were a pair of West Phoenician doubles who sadly were dispatched in the Doubles Qualifying round. Many were dismayed that doubles were over so quickly, until the realisation that two teams had been entered for the Salvador Hills Open.
T.V watchers who were going to switch off after the Harris loss, stayed viewing to watch Vera Di Santos and Fi Richardson take on Carrol Water and Cherrie Kane from Sharktail.

Both Di Santos and Richardson are talented single players, each winning a slew of titles and multiple international appearances. While Fi Richardson did stress when she was paired with her sister, the new matchup will be driven by professionalism, as opposed to the ego she previously dealt with teamed with her sister.

Could the duo be a force to reckoned with during this tournament?

The pair received applause from the fans in the arena as they dispatched the pair from Sharktail 6-7, 6-4, 6-1.

T.V fans celebrated the win in style, cheering as if suddenly doubles was a discipline they always supported and not an afterthought once the singles players were all down and out. The hypocrisy that was shared among many fans in a host of sports.

The duo will next take on Martha McNeil on Jeff Rogers on The Grearish Union.

[Springmont]

The young tennis players are already in a new cycle of preparation which will culminate in September with the Ottowelsh Inns Tennis Open which will be held from September 26 in Ottowelsh Inns Sports Club in Stuart Sound. The training sessions started last Monday under the supervision of the National Technical Director for Youth (NTDFY), Sam Faberland, and the U14 coach, Arthur Castalena.

NTDFY Team will be represented in both categories for both boys and girls. Sebastian Coe, Anne Falcondale, our spearheads in U 16, but also Lee Felix, Sam Royaltriad, Aaron Spoonracks, Anna von Kornbridge, and Linda Falcondale in U 14.

The team will be accompanied by the NTDFY as well as Arthur Castalena. The latter went on December 18 with two young people to Kingfarms, Woolchurch to play the Woolchurch - Stendford Bank Open. The tournament kicked off on December 20.

With regard to Sam Faberland, the rumors which had been circulating for some time of the non-renewal of his contract ultimately came true. This suggests that he will be on his last mission in September with the junior national team. He had been hired on the basis of a project he was to carry out in three years to develop a Montian youth tennis player.

[Aqual]

Impressive Round of 32 for Aqual in Salvador Hills
SALVADOR, Grearish Union—With two straights-sets victories and one bittersweet three sets loss to the highest seed in the tournament, Aqualias certainly enjoyed a great deal of success today in the Salvador Hills Open's Round of 32. Results from each of the three singles matches below.

Amelie Fontana (RCN)           4   6   6
Rafael Bautista (AQL)          6   3   3

There was a question on whether or not Rafael Bautista would even play in this tournament a few weeks ago due to his sinking reputation on the international tour, at least in the eyes of the Aqualian national tennis federation (Bautista was in fact removed from Aqual's list in one grass tournament). However, he has showed what he is truly capable of in this tournament on his weakest surface, winning two matches before managing to claim the first set over the highest seed here in Salvador. His service game looked especially strong early, and he broke Amelie Fontana's serve in only the third game of the match. He appeared a bit more shaky later in the set, dropping serve on advantage to level the set, four games apiece. Bautista is renowned within Aqual's borders for his fight and opposition to ever giving up on a point, however, and he broke back immediately and consolidated by serving out the set 6-4, sealing it with an ace.

His Reçueçn opponent opened the second set quickly, clinching the first service game by a 40-0 margin in what would be telling of the set to come. Although Bautista managed to hold serve three times, a fatal break in the early-to-mid part of the set let Fontana run away with it in just twenty-eight minutes. Although the third set went by an identical scoreline, the mood and timetable drew stark contrasts to its predecessor (with just the first four games taking almost as long as the entire second set). Bautista had the early momentum from serving and holding first in the set, transferring pressure onto Fontana's serve, and successfully so, breaking after a third deuce. However, the player from Reçueçn understood how vital it was not to fall behind, managing to wear down Bautista's serve in an epic twelve-minute game spanning seven deuces. With Fontana then able to fend off a lone break point to equalize at 2-all, the pressure shifted to the Aqualia, who fought through another tough service game to maintain a 3-2 lead. Fontana received much less opposition in the next service game, and used this as leverage to break Bautista for a second time for a 4-3 lead, the number one seed's first of the set. With this momentum, Fontana would ultimately never relinquish the lead, breaking for a third time to advance 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.

Although Bautista couldn't get the win in this match, it was nevertheless an impressive performance against the top seed on a surface not expected to work well for his game. It certainly removes any former doubts about his ability to compete at the top level internationally, a trend we hope continues later in this grass swing and beyond.

Matéu Virxiliu (AQL)           6   7
Arthur Leloup (RCN)            1   6

As in Matéu Virxiliu's last match, he began strongly, dominating the first set, never facing a break point or even so much as a deuce point on his serve and breaking twice to start the second set with a 6-1 victory in the first. In the second set, his opponent from Reçueçn started to perform on their respective service games to truly compete against Virxiliu, and Leloup even managed to break the Aqualia's serve late in the set (albeit after Virxiliu had broken first three games earlier). Aside from those two breaks, however, the set remained on serve for ten games, forcing the tiebreaker at 6-all, wherein Virxiliu outdid himself on both serve and return, easily clinching the tiebreak 7-2 and the match 6-1, 7-6(2). The young Aqualia will face Dewa Ayu Cintya Dewi from Pemecutan tomorrow in the Round of 16.

Dietrich Cassarro (NEG)        5   1
Carla Tormo (AQL)              7   6

Carla Tormo and Dietrich Cassarro were in a stalemate throughout the first set, with neither flinching on serve until finally Tormo broke through against the Neu Engollon player in the twelfth game at 30-40. The Aqualia was buoyed by claiming the first set 7-5 and stormed to a commanding lead in the second set, pulling out impressive first serves and dominating return points at the net. She dropped only one game in that set to Cassarro's serve as she advances 7-5, 6-1 to the Round of 16, where she will compete against Pemecutan's Ayu Ratih Kemalasari, who has lost only ten games in back-to-back convincing straights sets victories, for a spot in the quarterfinals.

We will have live updates and full results on both Matéu Virxiliu' and Carla Tormo's singles matches to come tomorrow on the Toboso Chronicle, and we invite you to join us for yet another exciting day of tennis.

[The Grearish Union]

Round of 16 Cutoff for the Salvador Hills Open!
Updated brackets: Singles | Doubles

Singles Ro16

Abelie Fontana (RCN)           6   6
Martha McNeil (GRU)            4   4

Pelissa Giannapolous (ETM)     7   6
Jeff Rogers (GRU)              5   3

Ajla Vesnic (MTJ)              7   2   1
Elizabeth Quehall (BRI)        6   6   6

Juan Subdula (NWK)             4   6   6
Lucien Le Floch (RCN)          6   4   3

Dewa Ayu Cintya Dewi (PCU)     3   2
Matéu Virxiliu (AQL)           6   6

Rodrick Uppatin (KHD)          1   6   6
Sami Dominikanov (MTJ)         6   3   1

Lucy Muneer (SHT)              6   6
Carlos Thirdspade (SPM)        1   2

Ayu Ratih Kemalasari (PCU)     4   2
Carla Tormo (AQL)              6   6

Doubles Ro16

Jo Royalwood/Bob Lightford (SPM)              3   3
Riley Dovatin/Anna Humpford (KHD)             6   6

Dementiu Goblinescu/Kirumi Octavian (SRM)     3   1
Eka Putrawan/Dwi Ratmadi (PCU)                6   6

Martha McNeil/Jeff Rogers (GRU)               7   3   6
Vera Di Santos/Fi Richardson (KWP)            6   6   4

Lance Mance/Ricardo Toli (BRI)                7   6
Felice Mareaux/Fayna Topalo (NEG)             5   3

Lara Basic/Julian Slazic (MTJ)                3   6   4
Melissa Turnface/Erin Maldry (KHD)            6   1   6

Diana Jansen/Justin White (SHT/NWK)           6   7
Ilham Nugraha/Jayadi Ahmad (PCU)              2   5

Jaguar Zenteanite/Zeke Newham (BRI)           6   7
Dariq Ishaqtar/Nur Irin-Amirana (NAZ)         1   5

Adelinde Günther/Lucas Magnier (RCN)          6   4   6
Vuyani Rabada/Kaui Kamakawiwoʻole (TJU)       3   6   2

[Aqual]

Two Aqualian Quarterfinalists in Salvador Hills
SALVADOR, Grearish Union—Both of the Aqualian singles players playing today in the Round of 16 in the Salvador Hills won good straight-sets victories to advance to the quarterfinals (Aqual now being the only nation represented more than once in the active singles draw). Results from both matches below.

Dewa Ayu Cintya Dewi (PCU)     3   2
Matéu Virxiliu (AQL)           6   6

This match started as a rather even contest between Virxiliu and Dewa Ayu Cintya Dewi, with both players holding comfortably to begin with. As the set wore on, however, Virxiliu's speed on court proved to be too much for the Pemecutan player to simply serve out, and he broke in the eighth game to go up 5-3, and he consolidated the break to fifteen to carry the set 6-3. A break in the first game of the second set all but sealed the match's fate, with the Aqualia managing to break once more in the seventh game before serving out the match in an almost dismissive 6-3, 6-2 victory. He will face a strong challenge tomorrow in seventh seed Rodrick Uppatin of Kohnhead.

Ayu Ratih Kemalasari (PCU)     4   2
Carla Tormo (AQL)              6   6

Like Virxiliu's match, Tormo's match-up with Ayu Ratih Kemalasari (also an opponent from Pemecutan) began slowly, with not much ground being made on either player's service games by the returner until pressure built up on Ratih Kemalasari while trying to serve to stay in the set down 4-5. As in her last match, she carried her first set victory's momentum to cruise to an easy 6-2 set after securing an early break and a double break late in the set. She will face Sharktail's Lucy Muneer for a spot in the semifinals.

We hope you will join us again tomorrow to see how our two remaining Aqualias fare in the last eight here at the Toboso Chronicle.

[The Grearish Union]

Quarterfinal Cutoff for the Salvador Hills Open!
Updated brackets: Singles | Doubles

Singles Quarterfinals

Abelie Fontana (RCN)           6   3   4
Pelissa Giannapolous (ETM)     2   6   6

Elizabeth Quehall (BRI)        7   2   7
Juan Subdula (NWK)             6   6   5

Matéu Virxiliu (AQL)           6   7
Rodrick Uppatin (KHD)          4   5

Lucy Muneer (SHT)              5   7   7
Carla Tormo (AQL)              7   6   9

Doubles Quarterfinals

Riley Dovatin/Anna Humpford (KHD)        2   6   8
Eka Putrawan/Dwi Ratmadi (PCU)           6   2  10

Martha McNeil/Jeff Rogers (GRU)          6   2   6
Lance Mance/Ricardo Toli (BRI)           3   6   2

Melissa Turnface/Erin Maldry (KHD)       2   6   3
Diana Jansen/Justin White (SHT/NWK)      6   4   6

Jaguar Zenteanite/Zeke Newham (BRI)      4   5
Adelinde Günther/Lucas Magnier (RCN)     6   7

[Electrum]

Centralis Herald - Sports Section - Luke Zhang

Giannapolous impresses with a semifinal run to the Salvador Hills Open

To the surprise of many pundits, Giannapolous has made it to the semifinals of the Salvador Hills Open. To seasoned watchers of Electrumite tennis, this was perhaps not really a surprise. She's playing on her favourite surface for the first time in two years, and she has well and truly thrived on the surface. Because of her excellent performance, and her projected jump in the rankings from 54th to 30th, she has been awarded spots in the next two Tier 1 grass tournaments, in place of Carmichael Brown and Livinia Moore respectively.

To get to the semifinals, she had to defeat Recuecn's Abelie Fontana. Fontana is nominally a clay court specialist, much like Recuecn's other players, which meant that the match was tilted in Giannapolous' favour. But the first set didn't pan out the way that the Electrumite wanted it to pan out. She was feeling pretty tight in some of the important shots, and was very tentative throughout that first set. Perhaps it was nerves from her first quarterfinal appearance at a tournament, or the fact that she was playing a higher ranked tournament. There were several unforced errors at important points throughout the first set with Giannapolous trying to go for that little bit more when she didn't really need to - it wasn't like Fontana was playing on another level. Indeed, Fontana could sense Giannapolous' nerves - all she needed was to keep the ball in play and wait for the error to come. Giannapolous would lose the first set 6-2.

For the second and third sets, Giannapolous really went up several gears. She was starting to move the ball around a lot more comfortably, and started hitting winners, especially taking Fontana by surprise with some of her serve-and-volleys. She was also hitting more freely and started hitting her shots with more power and aggression. She had that especially potent combination of moving forward after a big forehand to basically shut down whatever ball Fontana would return back. Now it was the turn of Fontana to make unforced errors -- she tried to go for lobs and volleys in order to catch Giannapolous wrong-footed, but in general, Fontana just could not make it work. Giannapolous comfortably won the next two sets 6-3 and 6-4 to book a spot in the semifinals.

Up next is Britonisea's Elizabeth Quehall who had a very close three sets victory against Northwest Kalactin's Juan Subdula. Quehall, like Giannapolous, is also a journeywoman. This means that both players will be doing all they can to make the most of this opportunity afforded to them in this Tier 2 tournament. After all, only the very best players make it to the finals stages of a Grand Slam or a Tier 1 tournament, and with a potential 500 points up on offer, this tournament will make either Quehall's or Giannapolous' dream of a break-out run a reality.

[Aqual]

Virxiliu, Tormo set up All-Aqualian Semifinal Showdown in Salvador
SALVADOR, Grearish Union—Excitement back home in Aqual is running high amongst tennis fans as Matéu Virxiliu and Carla Tormo both dispatched their opponents in the quarterfinals today to set up their first meeting in the semifinals of the Salvador Hills Open. Detailed results from both matches and what to look out for in their match to determine who will move on to compete for the title below.

Matéu Virxiliu (AQL)           6   7
Rodrick Uppatin (KHD)          4   5

Matéu Virxiliu again played decently against a great opponent today, taking Rodrick Uppatin out in two sets, albeit via a much closer margin than some of his other matches. His serve, however, continues to be in great form, and he suffered no breaks over the course of his hour-and-a-half long match. Uppatin faced some strong challenges on serve early in the first set, but managed to prevail until dropping the final game of the set at 15-40. The second set was a near carbon copy of the first, although the momentum was always on the side of Virxiliu, who served first and therefore held the lead from start to finish, despite not actually winning the break until again the final game of the set for a 6-4, 7-5 victory. He will now attempt to go 2-0 against compatriots in international competition (after defeating Rafael Bautista back in the early rounds of Reçueçn).

Lucy Muneer (SHT)              5   7   7
Carla Tormo (AQL)              7   6   9

In earlier rounds, Carla Tormo had gained nearly insurmountable momentum from clinching the first set here in Salvador. Not so today in the quarterfinals against Lucy Muneer, who instead made a formidable rally after dropping the first set 7-5, to come back and win the second set in a tight tiebreaker before ultimately succumbing to Tormo in an extended third set.

The first set of this match, like both sets of Virxiliu's match, remained completely on serve until the tenth game of the set, with neither player ever even able to muster up a break point. Tormo finally broke this streak to gain the 6-5 advantage and quickly served out the set after the change of ends to love. However, this by no means discouraged her Sharktail opponent, who remained strong on serve and began to question Tormo's serve, although never breaking it in the second set (or the rest of the match, for that matter, which will bode well for her if she continues this trend against Virxiliu in the semis). After twelve straight holds in the set, a tiebreaker was needed to determine its victor. Again the serve was the dominant force, with only three minibreaks—the ultimate one against Tormo at 11-12 to send it to a decider.

Although grass is known to be privy to service holds, this match truly pushed it to the extreme, and this set in particular, with neither player dropping serve or truly even facing a strong chance of it happening until fatigue set in for Muneer finally serving down 7-8. A double fault precipitated two more lost points on second serves and a volley winner from Tormo in a quick four-shot point. That slight dip was enough to mark the difference between sweet victory and bitter defeat, and it will be Tormo joining Virxiliu in the bottom half of the two semifinals.

The first meeting of two Aqualias in the NSTT in the grass season (and the first meeting since Bartolo Sabanero defeated Daniel Cervantes in the first round of the Mattijana Open), it is sure to be one to watch. Although Virxiliu should have the upper hand, having played a much quicker match today and not having dropped a single set in this tournament, Carla Tormo has time after time shown her ability to stay strong with her serve-and-volley game that is simply the stuff of dreams on grass, and she will certainly not go down without a fight. With Aqual guaranteed to have at least a finalist here in Salvador, millions of Aqualias will tune in to our live stream on our website and our story to be printed tomorrow with the name of the Aqualia who will compete for the championship: either Matéu Virxiliu or Carla Tormo. Make sure to check back here at the Toboso Chronicle to find out!

[The Grearish Union]

Semifinal Cutoff for the Salvador Hills Open!
Updated brackets: Singles | Doubles

Singles Semifinals

Pelissa Giannapolous (ETM)     6   6
Elizabeth Quehall (BRI)        2   2

Matéu Virxiliu (AQL)           6   6
Carla Tormo (AQL)              3   4

Doubles Semifinals

Eka Putrawan/Dwi Ratmadi (PCU)           2   3
Martha McNeil/Jeff Rogers (GRU)          6   6

Diana Jansen/Justin White (SHT/NWK)      6   3   6
Adelinde Günther/Lucas Magnier (RCN)     4   6   4

[Electrum]

Centralis Herald - Sports Section - Luke Zhang

Giannapolous steps forward and attempts to make history

It's been the voodoo that has haunted Electrum ever since the early days of the former Association of Tennis Professionals. The country has never won a singles competition -- many doubles titles, yes, but never in the singles. Could Giannapolous be the first to break the duck? Given her recent form on her favourite surface, more and more Electrumites believe that she will be the one that will break that voodoo. Of course, many Electrumites will remember that Andrew Simmons had that very same opportunity before he lost that match against Neu Engollon's Thierry Garzala in the final.

But this time, it just feels different. Giannapolous isn't playing for the Electrumite record, she is playing for herself. Being in a Tier 2 tournament means that she doesn't have to worry about the pressures of being the underdog -- she just has to worry about getting as many points as possible for the win. She's already been successful in that regard, with her performance in this tournament convincing the Electrum Lawn Tennis Association to deprive both Carmichael Hunt and Livinia Moore of one spot out of the two they were given in the Tier 1 tournaments. Giannapolous met those expectations again today with an easy straight sets win over Britonisea's Elizabeth Quehall.

Well. It seemed easy. But the first set started in a rather unorthodox manner with five consecutive breaks of serve between Quehall and Giannapolous. It was unorthodox in the sense that grass is usually the easiest surface to hold serve in. The grass makes it easier for those balls to kick up and become far too fast to being playable by the time it reaches the opposing player. It just seemed like neither lady could win their own game. Both players had trouble with their ball toss, and Giannapolous was visibly frustrated and was muttering to herself when she received a time violation.

But, during Giannapolous' third service game, she managed to hold on from being love-forty down, and it was that coming back from such a losing position that allowed her to regain the confidence she needed to take charge in the first set. She started hitting through Quehall's returns, and upped that first serve percentage to around the 60%-65% mark. With more of her first serves in play, Giannapolous just had a better chance of holding serve, and subsequently, she had quick service games which put the pressure straight back to Quehall. In the end, Giannapolous would take the first set 6-2.

From then on, Giannapolous took control of the match by winning the second set 6-2. Giannapolous became more quick in her movements, which led Quehall trying to go for more on her shots. Of course, this meant that whenever Quehall spotted Giannapolous moving up using her peripheral vision, it would usually draw out an error from Quehall more often than not.

It was interesting to hear Giannapolous talk about her thought process in the press conference. She spoke with a self-assuredness that could only come from a seasoned pro, despite the fact that Giannapolous has never made it this far in her years on tour. In particular, she talked about identifying how Quehall had a problem with her backhand -- a flaw that Giannapolous ruthlessly targeted in the second set. It was this on court problem solving, and the fact that she didn't even look at her coach once for guidance just goes to show how mature Electrum's oldest player really is.

She will need to call on her experience of her many years on the tour in the final match against Aqual's Virxiliu, who similarly enjoyed a straight sets victory over compatriot Carla Tormo today. Virxiliu is in the best form of his life -- he's never won more than four consecutive matches and now here he is in the final of the Salvador Hills Open. He is also an excellent server, which means that Giannapolous will need to ensure that she take advantage of every single break chance she can get, while remaining strong on her own serves. If she can get through her service games quickly, especially with her serve-and-volleys, she can pile on the pressure and hopefully draw out some errors from Virxiliu. That will be her path to victory.

[Socialist People Republic of Romania]

An article from the Ceausescu Sport, 17.9.1970

SOCIALIST ROMANIAN HIGHLIGHTS FOR SALVADOR HILLS OPEN

Today is the final day of Salvador Hills Open, and final matches of the tournament will be played on evening. But unfortunately, for our athletes this tournament have ended beforehand as our last two participants played were eliminated on Monday, 14 September in pair Round of 16.
Let's remember how our tennis players performed in their first tournament.

Dementiu Goblinescu\Kirumi Octavian: Round of 16, pairs
Dementiu Goblinescu: 2 Round, singles
Shuichi Alba: 2 round, singles
Elena Ceausescu: 2 round, singles
Kirumi Octavian: Qualification, singles
Vlad Popa\Valerian Codreanu: Qualification, pairs

Definitely not the best performance from our players. But this tournament was their first major sport event, so we are definitely waiting better results in a future, when our athletes will gain a lot of tennis experience.
We can congratulate Dementiu Goblinescu and Kirumi Octavian, cause they lasted longer then all our players, especially Dementiu (cause Kirumi failed to qualify into main singles tournament).
And of course we are upset by the terrible performance of our another pair, Vlad Popa\Valerian Codreanu, as they also failed to qualify into the main tournament.

Nevertheless, we look into the future with some optimism. On Sunday, 20 September, our players will begin their path in their second tournament, Mercedinian Open. 5 players would take part in it and try to achieve successful results.

Singles:
1. Emil Biba
2. Shuichi Alba
3. Vlad Popa
4. Elena Ceausescu
Pairs:
1. Shuichi Alba\Emil Biba
2. Elena Ceausescu\Dementiu Goblinescu

They will fight until the last moment and will prove that they are proud citizens of Socialist Romania which love their Glorious Leader, Nicolae Ceausescu. We wish them new victories and a lot of good luck, which they definitely need. Glory to Ceausescu and see you later!

[Aqual]

Virxiliu Rolls Past Tormo to Reach First Final
SALVADOR, Grearish Union—Matéu Virxiliu today bested Carla Tormo in both of these players' first semifinal appearances. Virxiliu managed to overcome Tormo's serve-and-volley game (which was admittedly a bit less strong today than usual, perhaps due to nerves) whilst also keeping his own serve on the hot streak he has enjoyed so far this tournament. He now seeks to join Bartolo Sabanero in becoming Aqual's second singles title holder.

Matéu Virxiliu (AQL)           6   6
Carla Tormo (AQL)              3   4

In a similar fashion to both of these players' last matches, the first set began with successive holds, no surprise on the grass courts, especially noting their strong service games. Ultimately, the nail in the coffin for Tormo came in the penultimate game, where her forehand misfired not once, not twice, but three times, likely trying to make up for her weaker second serve. After breaking for a 5-3 lead, Virxiliu went on to hold easily for the set, looking much more calm and collected while in control than ever before in the clay swing.

Tormo, however, would not crumble into defeat so easily, making adjustments to her game by putting some topspin on her kick second serve to fend off stronger returns from Virxiliu, allowing her to maintain her second set lead on serve. However, all of her service games tended to be more competitive than her younger opponent, who systematically dominated on serve, holding to love and to fifteen the majority of the time. It would end up being the sixth game of the set which determined the winner, with Virxiliu managing to hit a backhand return winner cross-court before two successive looping forehand passing shots which thwarted Tormo's serve-and-volley tactic to go up four games to two. Although Carla fought back, getting to a break point opportunity in the immediate next service game of Virxiliu, she couldn't convert as Virxiliu pulled out an ace out wide to her backhand at 30-40 before a pair of service winners kept the end of the set to conventional holds. Virxiliu advances to his first final, 6-3, 6-4. However, this is not the last of Carla Tormo, who will be competing in each of the next grass tournaments in singles and in doubles alongside Lara Navarro.

The younger Aqualia in Virxiliu will face off against a very in-form Pelissa Giannapolous—on her favorite surface, who also comes looking to become Electrum's first singles champion in that nation's long and storied tennis history. Virxiliu will need to maintain his strong serve throughout the match whilst looking to find a way to break the serve of the Electrumite; his victory over the similar serve-and-volley of Tormo today should give him an insight in how to do so, and his straight-sets victory in every match of the tournament so far points to how far Virxiliu has come in match and point management since his debut back in the Istrian Open.

Keep up with the title match live here on our website and expect a full recap tomorrow in the print edition of the Toboso Chronicle.

[The Grearish Union]

As the sun rises just beyond the Antane range, the first glimmer of sunshine lights up the snow-clad peaks in a reddish amber. The smell of the fresh dew on the grass and the sheer feeling of occasion has gripped Salvador in what would be one of the biggest sporting days ever witnessed in the hills. Two pairs and two individuals are on the brink of this history that is embedded in beauty.

Today, we shall see heroes!

---

Final Cutoff for the Salvador Hills Open!
Updated brackets: Singles | Doubles

Singles Final

Pelissa Giannapolous (ETM)     2   6   8
Matéu Virxiliu (AQL)           6   1   6

Doubles Final

Martha McNeil/Jeff Rogers (GRU)         6   6
Diana Jansen/Justin White (SHT/NWK)     3   4

---

Congratulations to Pelissa Giannapolous of Electrum and the pair of Martha McNeil and Jeff Rogers of The Grearish Union on winning the singles and doubles titles respectively, at the Salvador Hills Open, Season 6!

[Mercedini]

The Mercedinian Tennis Association presents...

Mercedinian Open IV
The Cortex Centre - Zoloroni Sports City, Mercedini

Ladies and Gentlemen, the draw for the Mercedinian Open has been made, covering Qualification, the First Round and the Second Round. Please see below for the draw for the qualifying round, where the matches will be played tomorrow with the tournament starting in earnest on Monday with the first round proper.

Please see the beginning of this RP thread for the full draw, as every athlete has been included at some point throughout the three rounds. We will be running a 96-team first round due to the high sign-up rate that the Grass Circuit has received. The sixteen Singles' seeds and eight Doubles' seeds, along with the next highest sixteen singles' players and eight doubles' duos will all receive a bye to the second round.

Best of luck to you all, I hope it will be an enjoyable week of tennis for those in contention. Welcome to Mercedini!

Singles Qualifying

(Q) Bobno Davies (JOV) vs. (Q) Eko Ciprani (ETN)
(Q) Hana Kaori (NTN) vs. (Q) Vlad Popa (SRM)
(Q) Heather Severs (NWD) vs. (Q) James Daniels (ETN)
(Q) Jonas Sillian (CMT) vs. (Q) Alistair Dane (ETN)
(Q) Cole Hodges (CYT) vs. (Q) Adam Miller (SOD)
(Q) Frederick Matthews (SOD) vs. (Q) Caledon Holt (CYT)
(Q) May San (JOV) vs. (Q) Evan Hander (NWD)
(Q) Enrique Chambers (CYT) vs. (Q) Helios Norwood (KWP)
(Q) Poroca Hans (JOV) vs. (Q) Christine Nam (NWD)
(Q) Francine Devon (CMT) vs. (Q) Emil Biba (SRM)
(Q) Benji Garcia (SOD) vs. (Q) Jonah Bastion (CMT)

Doubles Qualifying

(Q) Joakim Estévez/Micha Randal (NWD) vs. (Q) Poroca Hans/Qerroc Sohn (JOV)
(Q) Jan Turovets/Vitaly Rakov (WSN) vs. (Q) Shuichi Alba/Emil Biba (SRM)
(Q) Christopher Sanders/Eleanor Leclair (CYT) vs. (Q) Adam Miller/Thomas Davis (SOD)

[Mattijana]

Tennis is Back! What to Expect in Mercedini

MFO SPORT

Jasmina Dulic, NSTT Correspondent


Marko Juvan in training for the Mercedinian Open

Mattijana's stars return to the NSTT this week, with some of Mattijana's top players in action for the first time since a successful Olympic Games.

Dominika Lisicki is back in the singles looking to continue a stunning season that has seen her win a maiden grand slam and rise to world number one. Her success was extended in Istria with a dominant women's doubles gold and despite switching back to her preferred format, she will be keen to build further on the grass.
Mattias Burges is also back following a much more subdued Olympics, whilst the top doubles team of Tamara Huscak and Dominik Lintner are back together, as well as rising stars and Olympic bronze medallists Rikard Kampl and Marko Juvan.

Of course there's a quirk, and a big one at that. All the recent matches, including the Olympic ones, have been on clay - a surface that is the polar opposite of the grass courts in Mercedini. Some of Mattijana's lower-ranked players will have had experience of the surface after the swing's first tournament in Salvador, but given that clay is the dominant surface back in Mattijana, it will be a steep learning curve for the team's youngsters. That tournament in the Grearish Union, whilst not a glowing success for the Mattijanan team, was a big one for the host nation and for the NSTT and the world's premier players may well be heading to the picturesque mountain venue next season.

Players like Burges will have to adjust their game to deal with the power players that typically do well on the surface, whilst Maria Julenic and Sami Dominikanov are in desperate need of form that has deserted them so far this year. For the Mattijanan form players though, Lisicki and NSTT rookie Ajla Vesnic, the grass offers some really good opportunities.

Whilst Lisicki is that little bit better at just about everything, the two are cut in a very similar mould, with powerful and clinical groundstrokes from the baseline capitalising on a serve that is both hit hard and difficult to read. The world number one also has the advantage of a plan-B in the form of a sharp volleying game. Grass isn't a traditionally fruitful surface for Mattijana, but there's no reason it couldn't be. The last time we played on surfaces this fast was in Electrum - and we know how that ended.

So it will be really interesting to see how players whose technique should suit the grass go in reality. Experience may go against them compared to other players, and regardless of theory, some players just don't feel comfortable. The grass can offer some unpredictable bounce and can get pretty greasy too, particularly late in the day. The selectors have given the top players a chance, with Lisicki, Burges and Vesnic scheduled to play both tier one events, the other being in Ethane following the conclusion of the Mercedinian Open.

The form of the top three has made fourth spot at the tier one events extremely hot property. Sami Dominikanov has been the best of the rest so far this season and takes the place in Mercedini, with Maria Julenic returning in Ethane. Alex Dimitrov's choice to stick with Julenic has raised eyebrows over the course of the season and more facial muscles are being activated with every failure the 22 year-old endures. The Petrovijanakan had a pretty miserable Olympics and struggled again in Salvador and should Dominikanov finally make a real statement this tournament, her position in Ethane could be under review.
The issue for Dimitrov, but the rare piece of good news for Julenic, is that no-one from the sprawling Mattijanan squad has stepped up as yet. Jana Aliki fared no better than Julenic in Salvador, Dan Puklavec has not yet stamped home his return to the tour, whilst you can only feel that Dominik Lintner is there to make up the numbers where the singles draw is concerned. If someone does make their mark at the AO Open, or produces a string of performances on the domestic circuit that simply can't be ignored, Julenic faces a real battle to stay around the setup, but that is yet to materialise. In the meantime, the discrepancy between Mattijana's top 4 and everyone else is concerning, albeit better than the abject lack of top players that the marmots suffered from as recently as last season. Still, as this year is concerned, there's a frustrating sense of deja vu around the fortunes of Mattijana's lower-ranked players.

That's on the singles side at least. Over in the doubles draw, Mattijana's pairs have found it surprisingly easy to make headway up the rankings.

Tamara Hucsak and Dominik Lintner are the 6th seeds in Mercedini in just their rookie season. The new partnership of Rikard Kampl and Marko Juvan are the 8th seeds despite only linking up for the clay court season. Sofia Loranovic and Jasmina Soflik have also produced some encouraging performances in just a handful of tournaments, including reaching the 4th round in Hamilton. The only disappointment has been Julian Slazic and Lara Basic, who have slipped to the fringes of the world's top 50 from a strong position at the start of the year. A round of 16 finish in Salvador is average by their standards, but Basic will have been buoyed by her Olympic gold alongside Lisicki and there are more optimistic times ahead perhaps.

Kampl and Juvan are probably the duo causing the most excitement ahead of the grass season. Confidence is a box well-ticked after securing Olympic bronze. Style is another one checked off thanks to Juvan's thunderbolt serve and Kampl's skill at the net, something that is pretty well-reciprocated when the roles are reversed. The duo will have to wait until the first round to find out their opponents, with Niken Subdula/ Juan Subdula from Northwest Kalactin and Jewel Abe/Dan Cowden from Squidroidia the two pairs in the running. Both should be reasonably easy pickings for the duo, although we were forced to eat our words about Dominika Lisicki's chances at the Olympics and complacency has caught out many a handy player at past events.

Regardless, Mattijana's newfound strength in depth and even more newfound grass-court talent means they could be in for a good swing. For a time of the year when Mattijanan fans have never been hugely enthusiastic and players have been aiming for damage limitation as far as ranking points are concerned, there is newfound optimism. There's a lot of tennis to be played, but this season could just be the most wonderful.

[Mercedini]

The Mercedinian Tennis Association presents...

Mercedinian Open IV
Cutoff - Qualifying

Singles

---

(Q) Querroc Sohn (JOV)           5   4
(Q) Eko Ciprani (ETN)            7   6

(Q) Hana Kaori (NTN)             6   7   6
(Q) Vlad Popa (SRM)              7   5   3

(Q) Heather Severs (NWD)         2   6   6
(Q) James Daniels (ETN)          6   4   2

(Q) Jonas Sillian (CMT)          6   2   8
(Q) Alistair Dane (ETN)          4   6   6

(Q) Cole Hodges (CYT)            6   3   5
(Q) Adam Miller (SOD)            2   6   7

(Q) Frederick Matthews (SOD)     3   6
(Q) Caledon Holt (CYT)           6   7

(Q) May San (JOV)                6   6   6
(Q) Evan Hander (NWD)            3   7   2

(Q) Enrique Chambers (CYT)       7   6
(Q) Helios Norwood (KWP)         5   4

(Q) Poroca Hans (JOV)            0   3
(Q) Christine Nam (NWD)          6   6

(Q) Francine Devon (CMT)         7   3   4
(Q) Emil Biba (SRM)              5   6   6

(Q) Thomas Davis (SOD)           6   6
(Q) Yolena Mingleff (CMT)        3   3

Singles First Round Draw

Tiffany Love (KWP) vs. (Q) May San (JOV)
Toma Karga (SQR) vs. (Q) Eko Ciprani (ETN)
Daniel Cervantes (AQL) vs. Eva Sarvan (ACS)
Niken Subdula (NWK) vs. Hildebrant Weisgerber (RCN)
Vladimir Mikhailov (WSN) vs. Maria Crown (SPM)
Dorotea Granit (PUG) vs. (Q) Adam Miller (SOD)
Maximillian Pronichev (WSN) vs. Dariq Ishaqtar (NAZ)
Ken Watanabe-Royalwick (SPM) vs. Davi Malakkar (ACS)
Teegan Sosa (GRU) vs. Niels Alberink (SQR)
Tangeus Falk (PUG) vs. Shuichi Alba (SRM)
Margie Brown (GRU) vs. Harold Crawley (TJU)
Livinia Moore (ETM) vs. (Q) Heather Severs (NWD)
Philippe Baloui (TJU) vs. Ion Gheorghe Gheorghenescu (NTN)
Kamal Dallas (KWP) vs. (Q) Hana Kaori (NTN)
Emilie Elroy (CYT) vs. Fredrik Stagnelius (PUG)
Carlos Thirdspade (SPM) vs. Augusta Björnstjärna (PUG)
(Q) Christine Nam (NWD) vs. Alif Khadarim (NAZ)
Sarah Dinsdale (KRY) vs. Bobno Davies (JOV)
Oscar Holden (NWD) vs. Diệp Van der Hout (SQR)
(Q) Thomas Davis (SOD) vs. Luke Subdonez (NWK)
Elena Ceausescu (SRM) vs. Nur Irin-Amirana (NAZ)
(Q) Jonas Sillian (CMT) vs. (Q) Enrique Chambers (CYT)
James Daniels (ETN) vs. Lucas Parvash (ACS)
Alan Sanchez (NWK) vs. Valery Ushakov (WSN)
Ralph Newkärn (BRI) vs. Karina Gerard (NEG)
Benji Garcia (SOD) vs. Marco Vrient (NEG)
Rog Ion Tralito (NTN) vs. Staci Harris (KWP)
Lucien Le Floch (RCN) vs. Iris Bergadhga (ACS)
Jonah Bastion (CMT) vs. Houston Sawyer (SQR)
Jessica Moreaux (KRY) vs. (Q) Emil Biba (SRM)
Jeff Skorpinus (SPM) vs. Mihaela Ioana Prisco (NTN)
(Q) Caledon Holt (CYT) vs. Martha McNeil (GRU)

Doubles

---

(Q) Joakim Estévez/Micha Randal (NWD)             1   6   6
(Q) Poroca Hans/Qerroc Sohn (JOV)                 6   4   3

(Q) Jan Turovets/Vitaly Rakov (WSN)               6   6
(Q) Shuichi Alba/Emil Biba (SRM)                  4   3

(Q) Christopher Sanders/Eleanor Leclair (CYT)     6   4   6
(Q) Adam Miller/Thomas Davis (SOD)                2   6   4

Doubles First Round Draw

Dariq Ishaqtar/Nur Irin-Amirana (NAZ) vs. Danjiella Zovic/Thierry Garzala (NEG)
Jóna Cabrera/Veronika McPhee (SQR) vs. Leigh Patrick/Ula Strinka (ETN)
Luke Subdonez/Julia Devoningstan (NWK) vs. May San/Bobno Davies (JOV)
Alan Crown/Boskur Najeeb (SPM) vs. Elizabeth Quehall/Leo Garry (BRI)
Wissam Dallas/Helios Norwood (KWP) vs. Riley Dovatin/Melissa Turnface (KHD)
Jo Royalwood/Bob Lightford (SPM) vs. Ana Radkkar/Eva Radkkar (ACS)
(Q) Joakim Estévez/Micha Randal (NWD) vs. Mihai Caeso Mihailescu/Márcus Gabriel Alencastro (NTN)
(Q) Jan Turovets/Vitaly Rakov (WSN) vs. Sigrund Dolstottir/Usula Dolstottir (CMT)
Evgeny Kondratenko/Oleg Vlasov (WSN) vs. Oscar Holden/Christine Nam (NWD)
Niken Subdula/Juan Subdula (NWK) vs. Jewel Abe/Dan Cowden (SQR)
Miguel Taberon/Pedro Arrachar (ACS) vs. (Q) Christopher Sanders/Eleanor Leclair (CYT)
Alif Khadarim/Irina Elinova (NAZ) vs. Ma-Rae Kim/Ryu-Sik Jung (CMT)
Elena Ceausescu/Dementiu Goblinescu (SRM) vs. Everett Wong/Parker Krall (CYT)
Jeff Rogers/Leanne Stewart (GRU/ETM) vs. Carla Tormo/Lara Navarro (AQL)
Vera Di Santos/Fi Richardson (KWP) vs. Edward Hoope/Sarah Benkley (ETN)
Benji Gracia/Samuel Wilson (SOD) vs. Michael Legrand/Juan Ortiz (KRY)

[Squidroidia]

OOC
I ended up using the Dodgeball scorinator on Xoranate-CE for this RP.

The Star Sentinel
Polaris High School's Official Newspaper

SCHOOL ACTIVITIES
Annual dodgeball tournament turns heads, not because Polaris won
By Aristide Masterson

The 3rd annual Squidroidia High School Dodgeball Cup occurred throughout the week in Inkopolis, and the Polaris Stars, as per tradition, sent in a team of Inklings to compete for collegiate funding. Last year the 12 team competition saw the Stars bow out in the Quarterfinals despite winning all 3 of their games in the Casaran group stage, doing it against the Kuzuru Falcons. As the Southern Midnight Tempest plan to defend their crown, the 13 squid Polaris roster plans to avenge their losses.

MONDAY - CASARAN STAGE MATCHDAY 1

Tower District Dinos 9–1 Southern Midnight Tempest
Northern Midnight Dons 10–4 Highrise Point Knights
Jellie Junglers 15–13 Starlight Qasars
Kuzuru Falcons 3–6 Blackbelly Bears
Calamari County Cods 6–10 Polaris Stars
Souraoi Patriots 1–12 Lemontree Lightning

TUESDAY - CASARAN STAGE MATCHDAY 2

Southern Midnight Tempest 12–1 Lemontree Lightning
Polaris Stars 5–3 Souraoi Patriots
Blackbelly Bears 11–6 Calamari County Cods
Starlight Qasars 13–12 Kuzuru Falcons
Highrise Point Knights 13–11 Jellie Junglers
Tower District Dinos 6–0 Northern Midnight Dons

WEDNESDAY - CASARAN STAGE MATCHDAY 3

Northern Midnight Dons 10–12 Southern Midnight Tempest
Jellie Junglers 2–1 Tower District Dinos
Kuzuru Falcons 13–1 Highrise Point Knights
Calamari County Cods 8–13 Starlight Qasars
Souraoi Patriots 13–8 Blackbelly Bears
Lemontree Lightning 11–12 Polaris Stars

When the break on Thursday occurred, Polaris were once again top of the class in the Casaran stage, having won all 3 of their games for top seeding in the knockout stage, scoring 27 but conceding 20. The Dinos however got only 16 points in but only conceded 3 points.

CASARAN STAGE RESULTS

   Casaran Stage                 Pld    W   L    PF   PA     Avg 
 1 Polaris Stars                   3    3   0    27   20   1.350 - Advanced
 2 Starlight Qasars                3    2   1    39   35   1.114 - Advanced
 3 Jellie Junglers                 3    2   1    28   27   1.037 - Advanced
 4 Southern Midnight Tempest       3    2   1    25   20   1.250 - Advanced
 5 Blackbelly Bears                3    2   1    25   22   1.136 - Advanced
 6 Tower District Dinos            3    2   1    16    3   5.333 - Advanced
 7 Kuzuru Falcons                  3    1   2    28   20   1.400 - Advanced
 8 Lemontree Lightning             3    1   2    24   25   0.960 - Advanced
 9 Northern Midnight Dons          3    1   2    20   22   0.909
10 Highrise Point Knights          3    1   2    18   34   0.529
11 Souraoi Patriots                3    1   2    17   25   0.680
12 Calamari County Cods            3    0   3    20   34   0.588

FRIDAY - QUARTERFINALS

Polaris Stars 4–6 Lemontree Lightning
Southern Midnight Tempest 2–10 Blackbelly Bears
Starlight Qasars 0–3 Kuzuru Falcons
Jellie Junglers 3–11 Tower District Dinos

In the first round of the knockout stage held over Friday, all 4 lower seeds lost, including the Stars, 4-6 against the 8 seed Lemontree Lightning. The defending champions also were sent home early, losing to the Blackbelly Bears. It will be an all-Inkopolis semifinals as Kuzuru and Tower District will face off for a spot in the Final.

SATURDAY AFTERNOON - SEMIFINALS

Lemontree Lightning 5–13 Blackbelly Bears
Kuzuru Falcons 8–0 Tower District Dinos

SATURDAY EVENING - 3RD PLACE MATCH AND FINAL

3rd Place Match
Lemontree Lightning 10–3 Tower District Dinos

Final
Blackbelly Bears 4–8 Kuzuru Falcons

The Kuzuru Falcons, who knocked out the Stars one year ago, overcame their semi-final elimination to win the championship and 20,000 Yen scholarships for their squad after a 4-8 final victory over the first time finalists, the Blackbelly Bears. Polaris are once again embarrassed by a loss in the Quarterfinals to an 8 seed, with the Lightning winning bronze over the Dinos.

[Waisnor]

First game and first victory

First players from Waisnor to step on grass court in this season was pair of Jan Turovets and Vitaly Rakov, and so far they're lucky on it.

(Q) Jan Turovets/Vitaly Rakov (WSN)               6   6
(Q) Shuichi Alba/Emil Biba (SRM)                  4   3

First rivals of Jan and Vitaly were Shuichi Alba and Emil Biba from Socialist People Republic of Romania. In the first game, Jan and Vitaly were able to outplay Shuichi and Emil and after that the rivals exchanged winnings in games. As a result, in the first set, Turovets and Rakov won with a score of 6-4. In the second set, the Waisnorians played a little more relaxed, but they managed to win the set and the match with a score of 6-3. Their new rivals are Sigrund and Usula Dolstottir from Chromatika.

[West Phoenicia]

Act V:

The one where Helios Norwood experiences Déjà vu

The West Phoenician Tennis delegation have now moved onto the Mercedinian Open IV, as part of the NSTT Grass Court Season.

The team are thrilled to be back on the circuit, with the West Phoenician Tennis Federation having high hopes that players will slowly start to rise in the ranks again, after their international absence.

The Mercedinian Open IV qualifying round once more had Helios Norwood as it's some player, doing his hardest to get a better do it in the do it. He would be performing on Court 2 and facing off against Enrique Chambers of Cythora, another nation which West Phoenicia has yet to come up against.

At the Salvador Hills Open he challenged Toma Karga of Squidroidia. As one of his first major international tournament, nerves could be added to the checklist of reasons as to why he lost. Overall he was outplayed losing 6-2, 6-4 to the better player of the day.

All over West Phoenicia social media site Vibr, fans rushed to leave messages of good luck and love to Helios, who continues to build up his fan base. With greater confidence as he walked onto the court. He waved to the small number of people wearing West Phoenician attire. Tennis was still A niche sport for many in West Phoenicia who choose rather to watch it on television in the comfort of their own homes, instead of making the trek to other countries to watch it.

Helios was praying for a win, his loss in the Salvador Hills Open was first game jitters, he had to start proving his worth now. He could not keep tanking, as it crossed his mind the West Phoenician Tennis Federation would be all to happy to replace him with another who got the job done.

The game was evenly matched. Both were strong players with some thing to prove. Helios relied on his strong serves and bandhand slashes to get the job done.
Enrique Chambers of Cythora was at the top of his game, his follies than hitting the ball to the outer part of the courts was not something that Helios wanted to be a position of. It exhausted him and caused him to cover more of the court than was needed. He had a sinking feeling al was not going thr nest for him. At five games each, his opponent smacking the ball at either end of the court, followed by delicate hits over the net, allowed him to gain the upperhand, pushing himself into a 6-5 lead.

Some badly timed serves on Helios turn, allowed his opponent to get an even better upper hand, nerves slowly got to him as his serves hit the net a few times. a few muttered curse words under his breath, this was not how he wanted to the qualify to play out. He didn't wish for his second international match to habe such devastating results.

He just hoped after a short break he could make a come back and clean up in the second set and take the match to three sets.

[Electrum]

Transcript - Salvador Hills Open - Pelissa Giannapolous' Speech

Announcer: Thank you Matéu for your speech, and we wish you the very best of luck for the rest of the grass season.

Crowd applauds Virxiliu for his runners-up speech

Announcer: Now, would you please welcome the inaugural singles champion of the Salvador Hills Open, and the first ever Electrumite singles champion, Pelissa Giannapolous!

Crowd applauds Giannapolous as she walks up to the trophy table and lifts her trophy aloft. She gives it a quick hug before setting it down on the table and saying a few words.

Giannapolous: This is so insane. At the start of this week, I didn't think I'd be here, but here I am giving the winners speech! Obviously I'd like to thank Virxiliu for such a great match, he's a really great grass court player and well. You can tell he gave it his all with that final set! I'd like to also thank the Electrum Lawn Tennis Association for giving me the ability to compete in Salvador, I'd like to thank my coach, Malcolm, and my manager, the physios, I could not be here without you. I want to also thank all the people that made this tournament possible -- the sponsors, the staff, the volunteers, the ballkids, thank you. And of course, the crowd! When we went to six games all, you were yelling out for more! I love this energy.

Announcer: What were you thinking at the end of the first set?

Giannapolous: Oh gosh. Yeah, I lost that one 6-2, didn't I? I was a bit frustrated with myself really, my first serves weren't coming in nearly as often as I liked, and he was really good in returning my second serves. Well, I knew that I just needed to stop hitting it to his backhand, my shot selection was all over the place. I just thought that I needed to regroup and that it was a best of three, so I could still turn things around. I mixed things up, tried to go for his forehand a lot more, shortened the points. All that I could.

Announcer: Talk us through your two missed championship points.

Giannapolous: Yeah, look, they were both on his serve so I knew he wouldn't cough them up as easily. Really, it's really hard breaking at the best of times, but breaking to win a championship is so hard. Your mind plays tricks on you. I was up 6-5 and had two chances, but it was really just nerves. I overcooked a forehand, of course, and the other point I just shanked it. Like I just shanked the ball. How is that even possible? I don't know.

Announcer: Last question, and we'll let you go. What does this victory mean to you?

Giannapolous: Well, it means the world to me. As a journeywoman, you constantly have to fight your way up the rankings, and to work my way up to the Tier 1 tournaments. Now, much like in the past, it was hard to get into those coveted four spots for the top tier tournaments to earn even more points. It's like a positive feedback loop, you need to have a lot of points to earn a lot of points. It's so hard to break the cycle, and I'm fortunate that the NSTT has made these tournaments so that players like me can have a shot at our dreams. When I see the success of Burges or Muliawan, I always felt that what's I wanted and deserved. I'm glad that finally, it's paid off all these years on my favourite surface too.

Announcer: Ladies and gentlemen, that was Pelissa Giannapolous!

[Gnejs]

In Memoriam pt. 1
It's not that Fredrik Stagnelius was boring per se, he just wasn’t very interesting. Over time he had come to accept his mother’s words – while blunt – to be a fairly accurate description of his person. Her death six months prior had been a blow for Fredrik. Not a devestating blow, but still with a fairly sizable impact. He had long contemplated a way of expressing his fondness for his mother and honouring her memory. Tennis being his way of life, he had considered dedicating one of his games to her memory. That felt like a suitable homage.
 
But there was the issue of what game to pick for that dedication. He wanted a game in memory of his mother to be a win; despite all he felt like she deserved that much. But tennis being a game of two opponents (Fredrik didn’t oppose playing doubles by principle, like some of his collegues, but he had just never found someone interested in teaming up with him), there was always the risk of losing. He objected to dedicating something to someone after the fact. That reeked of opportunism and fake affection. No, it would have to be done beforehand. He could pick one of his domestic games against someone ranked lower in the upper tier; he was almost certain to win that game. But then again, dedicating a lowly domestic game to his mother at the same time that he was finally competing internationally? That would no doubt be an insult to her memory. The risk of losing increased in the international circuit though. Indeed, he had done nothing but losing since he started. It was a dilemma, and one that he was yet to solve.
 
Perhaps he was being inflexible. He did have that reputation. Yes, routines and operating within a well-structured framework was important to him, but it wasn’t like he never deviated. Like his rackets, for instance. For as long as he could remember he had made use of his rackets according to a certain hierarchy. He always kept three identical rackets of the domestic Babelfish brand, and they could only be separated by their different vibration dampeners. For years he always played with the panda bear one, and if that racket malfunctioned critically in-game, he would move on to the fox one. The elephant one was the spare’s spare, and he could count the number of times it had seen action on one hand. About a year ago, he had found himself in a slump. Nothing concrete, things just weren’t working. After contemplating his situation for a few weeks, he stormed into an uncharacteristic bout of creativity and decided to change things up. From that day he had started picking his game racket at random. He hadn’t necessarily been able to discern any noticeable effect on his performance, but man, walking on the wild side like that really made you feel alive.

So, no one could accuse him of being incapable of decisive action. Yet, even though he had a tendency to obsessively mull over things before making his swift decisions, six months was a long time. The hour of decisiveness was surely nigh, because really, how long could you wait for a thing like that? There was probably some sort of socio-cultural invisible barrier. One of those that you just know you’ve crossed when you cross it. He wasn’t there just yet, but probably not that far off. He had stalled all through the Salvador Hills. True, he had only played one game, so in earnest he had only postponed making a decision once. He thought long and hard about it through the reminder of his time in the hills though.

Emilie Elroy. That was today’s opponent. Fredrik stopped color-coordinating his waistbands for a moment and trailed off in his head. Not ideal for a dedication. Fredrik had crunched the numbers, and he saw what way they were pointing. Well, crunched is maybe taking it a bit far. He had compared Elroys international wins and losses on grass so far in her career against his own, and she was the stronger card. True, he had only competed on grass outside of Gnejs once before, so maybe the numbers were a bit skewed, but surely not in his favor.

The time of contemplation was nearing its frontier. A leap of faith was needed. Fredrik was never one for leaping, and he didn’t put much stock in faith. He was still undecided about what to do as he started making his way to the court.