Author: dlockwood2@berklee.edu

Hello out there!

Welcome to August!

Some lovely tennis weather this weekend and for the upcoming week: keep making playdates!

As the Montreal and Toronto tournaments near their conclusion with #1 Coco Gauff being taken down last night by Victoria Mboko, there has also been a shakeup on top of our very own challenge ladder…on July 21st Alan Tang defeated Roman Krasikov in a third set 7-5 blockbuster: thousands of lucky fans were present to watch this epic match.

Congratulations Alan. I wonder how long you will stay….

Roman then had the AUDACITY to defeat yours truly this past week, 3 and 3. It was not pretty tennis but ya know what, he got the job done and I am furious. Revenge will be sought.

A special shout out to Kevin Lalli. This guy has played in SEVEN super tie-breakers this summer. SEVEN! This speaks to his competitiveness and…fitness! I applaud that. Nice work, Kevin! You are right there.

On the points ladder, Clarke Gasper continues to dominate with a whopping 45 points. The race for second however, is TIGHT, with Kevin ‘Super-Tie’ Lalli at 25, Neal Riley and Neang Chea tied at 24 and Caleb Adams right under them with 23. Remember that first and second place finishers on the Points ladder will both receive unfathomable prizes at the end of the challenge season!

Keep on keeping on and remember to always double check my recording of scores and points and placement etc because…I make mistakes.

See ya!

Doug

Heloooooo!

Forgive me: I am way overdue for an update on some things happening on the 2025 Challenge Ladder.

But here goes, my first report: we have 35 players this summer, which is awesome. Please remind any friends who you think might be interested that they CAN still join, there is always room on the ladder for more rungs!

Special shout out (and vague concern?) for Neang Chea and especially Clarke Gasper. Back on June 22, Neang played not once but twice in one day (!) Clarke also played twice in one day on June 11 and then, what’s worse, on June 19, which if memory serves was a terribly hot day, he played THREE times! I do not understand either of you but….well done!

I encourage you all to NOT get into a tie break with Daniel Benitez-Posada: he has won Two deciding tie breaks #clutch

Update on the 2 Ladders: Challenge Ladder and Points Ladder

Congrats to Roman Krasikov who on July 4, defeated Jason Wu (7-6, 6-3) to take over the top spot on the Challenge ladder. But I ask you…is that position secure? Do I sense a wiggly rung? Take care up there, Roman. Folks are thirsty.

Congrats also to Clarke Gasper, Caleb Adams and Neang Chea. Clarke is in first place on the Points Ladder with a whopping 34 points, Caleb is in second with 20 and Neang is just behind with 19. Remember, there are end of the season prizes for #1 AND #2 on the Points Ladder. This means they have all been playing a lot of tennis, which is the whole idea: well done to you 3!

Just a friendly reminder that only the Winner of the match needs to email me the result and please remember to include the info on Who challenged Who as different points are allotted for those things.

Stay hydrated out there. The heat is real.

Wimbledon quarterfinals are almost here…who will take it this year? Who will rise up? Those same questions are being asked right here at the Challenge Ladder. Who has the answers?

-Doug

The countdown has begun.

This Sunday the 29th of September is the last official day for the 2024 Summer Challenge Ladder and STILL there are questions that need to be answered….such as….

Will anyone shake Mr Tang? Mr. Houlden and Mr. Krasikov continue to loom directly underneath him on the second and third rungs respectively but there is only one spot at the top and he has been holding it for pretty much the whole summer…will anyone challenge him this week? Come on, People!

Over on the points ladder, Mr Wang continues to lead with 40 points, Mr. Goldman has the second rung at 34 points and Mr Wu is right there with 33 points. Remember on this ladder, it is the top TWO who will both receive prizes of inestimable worth…(Trust.)

The other prize for who has made the biggest jump from start of summer to end of summer I shall keep a mystery.

All will be revealed by the end of next week. On that note, if you do play this week/weekend, please try and get me your results by Tuesday October 1st so I can announce final results by Friday and the massive celebrations can begin!

Yours always,

Dougie of the Longlegs

Greetings!

The US Open begins today, even as the Summer Challenge Ladder arrives at the homestretch

We have just about one month to go, and I am writing with a few updates:

On the Ladder itself, the top 3 players continue to have the last names of:

Tang

Houlden

Krasikov

There is only ONE prize in this category and that’s for the player who ends up #1: will it be one of these 3 or will there be an attempt to dethrone as the season reaches its’ conclusion?

On the points ladder, the top 3 names are:

Wang

Goldman

Wu

Remember here that the top TWO point-accumulators will receive prizes.

Some August tight matches of note include:

Grosdidier over McDonough:  6-4, 7-6 (6)

Wang over Jackson in a rare official 3 set match: 7-5, 2-6, 6-2

Goldman over Chak:  6-3, 4-6, 10-8

Remember the official last day of competition is September 29.

Happy almost September! Play on!

-Doug