Author: dlockwood2@berklee.edu

Storming Up the Ladder!

Greetings players.

It is I, the ladder master.

It has been a while.

We have a little more than a month left (Ladder season ends on September 26) so I thought I would send a few updates. While the pros do battle in Cincinnati, en route to the US Open….here things are just as spicy!

Mr. Grosdidier continues to sit atop the Ladder, although Mr. Chuang almost took him down earlier in August in a three set THRILLER! After taking the opening set, Mr. Chuang and Mr Grosdidier were neck and neck in set 2, with Mr Grosidider eeking it out 7-5. He then ran away with Set 3, 6-1, as the fans regained their breath. Well played, both of you.

Mr Cunha continues to ascend, finding himself now in the #7 spot. How far can he go? Time will tell.

On the Points Ladder, Mr. García continues to sit well out in front with a whopping 74 points. But remember, Spectacular Prizes are awarded to the top TWO players on the Points Ladder. Currently in the #2 spot sits Mr Wu with 44…with Mr. Hart close behind at 37 and Mr Cunha at 35. Play on, gentlemen!

I haven’t looked too closely yet on who has made the biggest ascension from the start of season to now (this person will also be awarded an incredible prize) but Mr Wu could be the front runner there, as he began at the #30 spot and now sits at #15, with more matches to play, no doubt.

Thanks for your continued reporting and yes, totally fine to play 10 game pro-sets if folks are waiting and if both players agree.

There is still time to shake things up. September is when things begin…to fall!

So, Vamos Rafa (?) and happy Mid-August to you all!

-L.M.

The Olympic Ladder!

Greetings Summer Ladder Players!

It is mid-July and things continue to heat up, in between various storms, both environmental and emotional…

The Olympics are right around the corner and it makes me wonder…who will stand tallest on our ladder ‘podium’ at the end of summer? Will it be Mr. Grosdidier who remains at the top spot DESPITE my attempts to dethrone him TWICE. Today I did take a set so…careful John. It can be a bit wobbly at the top…(John happens to be new to tennis4all and a swell guy. Damn it.)

Some other movers up the ladder include Mr. Cunha who now appears at #8 and also Mr. Krasikov who has reached #4. Maybe we should all watch our backs? Great playing guys!

Mr García continues to keep a healthy distance on the ‘Points ladder’ with a whopping 60 points with Mr. Cunha in second at 31. Great job getting out there and playing so much, guys! Seriously.

Plenty of time to play. For things to change. For players to rise and fall…

Keep sending in your match reports. Make sure to include who challenged who. And always let me know if I make a mistake. As my 8 year old son Max can attest, it happens.

A lot.

Cheers, summer Olympians!

-Ladder Long Legs Lockwood

The Ladder Turns 40!

With the addition this evening of Sean Singer, I am pleased to announce that the 2021 Summer Challenge Ladder is 40 tennis humans strong!

Please continue to let friends know they are still welcome to join the ladder. Let’s go for 50!

Some close matches of late, with special mention to Sam and Janfevric who went to a super tie-breaker where Sam came out on top. Nice match, guys!

Raúl García continues to astound with a whopping 48 points for matches played mixed in with victories. How high will Raúl go? Only time will tell….

John Grosdidier sits atop the ladder at present, with yours truly a recent arrival right under him.

I see you John…and I will see you on the court the first week in July!

Wimbledon is here. I guess it’s pretty important. But the Summer Challenge Ladder is where it’s at.

If you ask me

-Longlegs

 

Heat and Movement on the Ladder!

The Summer Challenge Ladder is heating up!

Some horribly hot weather mixed in with some delicious conditions.

All kind of movement happening on the ladder, from the bottom to the top

Special kudos to Raul Garcia who is Dominating on the Points ladder by virtue of his playing TONS of matches! Well done Raul!

I have been notified by some lovely ladder lad that the MIT courts are still UN-available so…don’t play there.

I hadn’t thought of it but if you know of any other UN-available courts, feel free to let me know AND also if you know of any courts that maybe others SHOULD know about, feel free to share that info with me too and I will spread the word here in blog land.

Have a fantastic week. Forecast is favorable. And of course, congrats to Barbora and Novak. And she won the doubles title too?! What an incredible two weeks for her. And Novak just simply does not break, even as his body bends in positions I don’t really understand. Just stunning.

On to the grass season!

-Long legs

Week One Ladder Highlights and Updates!

Greetings! As they get underway in Paris this weekend, the rains have prevailed here in Massachusetts.

However, earlier in the week there was some action on the Summer Challenge Ladder.

John Grosdidiér makes an impressive jump to the #2 spot. Well done John!

Joe Eklund managed to play twice last week and so leads on the Points ladder with 6 total points. Nice, Joe!

Please review the ‘Scoring Rules’ section as we have added some new pre-match possibilities to be discussed between you and your partner.

I’m pleased to report we have 37 members on the Summer Challenge ladder at present. Please let any interested friends know that they can join any time this summer. The more the merrier!

I just checked with my sources on the tennis weather radar and things look better for this week. See you out there!

-The Ladder Master….

 

The Ladder is Up and Running!

This will be my last message to the whole membership for a while.

I did want to let everyone know that you may join the ladder ANY TIME this summer. So, if June is a little too soon for whatever reason, join us in July or August. There is always space for you on the ladder.

Official matches may begin this Monday the 24th of May and the ladder goes to September 26. Review the rules around who you can challenge etc.

Report scores to me and please make sure to make it clear Who challenged Who initially as that makes a difference in points. (you get 2 for initiating a challenge and 1 for saying Yes)

Cheers

-Longlegs

The Ladder Turns 21 and is still Growing!

I am pleased to announce that the Summer Challenge Ladder is already chock full of players, 21 current rungs are taken and there is always room for more!

A couple of reminders, as per the rules: you may challenge anyone who is 6 places above you or 4 places below you at the time of the challenge. I put that in italics because sometimes someone might end up dropping or rising and look to be ‘out of range’ by the time you play, so the important part is that at the time of the challenge, you are in each other’s range.

One thing I see that is NOT on the official rules is that there is no official rule about a third set. What I have found best is to speak with your opponent before the match begins and decide in advance what you’ll do if you split the first two sets i.e. play a third OR play a 10 point super tie breaker. Once in a while you will not agree (one player prefers to play a third, the other a super tie) In that event, I have found ye’ old classic coin toss to be the decider. I also think if you are playing at a venue that seems busy, people are waiting etc…be kind and play a Super Tie breaker. Again, there is no official rule there but…

Happy weekend! Good weather to practice!

 

Ladder Up!

It’s that time of year again… the moment to join the 2021 Summer Challenge Ladder begins…NOW!

A current membership and $10 and you’re in! Bada bing!

read all you need to know here: http://tennis4all.org/summer-challenge-ladder/

See you out there on the courts of choice…and yes, you can expect to read Sassy weekly updates from me, trust.

Let me know if you have questions.

Doug-Sass Lockwood

Vena Trifecta!

The 2020 Summer Challenge Ladder has come to a close and I am here to announce the prizes.

Before I get to those, I wanted to thank everyone for one of the Biggest number of participants in recent memory: 40 players in all. A total of 177 matches played. Thank you for being prompt in reporting your scores and just for keeping the tennis 4 all spirit alive and well here in the unforgettable summer of 2020.

Please consider joining us next summer and lets try and get 50 folks on the ladder!

And now…the prizes. Happy to see lots of new faces on the ladder this year. And there was some interesting matchups and places being traded at all levels. But one person stands out above us all.

The prize for finishing a top the ladder goes to one man: Alex Vena

The prize for making the biggest jump from the beginning of the summer to the end of the summer goes to one man: Alex Vena (from #18 to #1)

And…prizes for the 2 biggest point totals… In second place with 87 points is Scott Enos and in first place with 107 points is yes, you guessed it….Alex Vena.

Congratulations Scott and.. as for you Alex Vena, this is very impressive. Well done.

Prizes will be forthcoming. They will be epic.

Commissioner Longlegs…out.

The Climax of the Summer Challenge Ladder 2020

Good evening all. It is I, your Longlegged Commissioner. It is the last Sunday of the Summer Challenge Ladder. The extension is over. While they begin to battle it out on the clay of Roland Garros, we wrap things up here at home. Please report any scores from today or the weekend by tomorrow night (Monday)

I will wait a bit to announce Prizes but I do have a favor to ask in regards to one of them, the prize for who took the biggest leap up on the ladder from beginning of summer to the end. I took a screen shot of folks that signed up initially, but did NOT do a good job (at all) of noting where folks were dropped in after the initial ladder went up. So, if you are on this list, you are all set and I will be looking at your various Leaps. If you are NOT on this list and you have a good idea of what number you might have been dropped in (I am going to trust in your good sportsmanship and recognize that you might have to guess, that’s ok!) then please email me that information so I can consider you. If you know that there’s no way you jumped up enough to be considered, then yeah, you don’t have to. I would appreciate hearing from anyone who wishes to be considered for this by Tuesday night this week. I apologize for not taking notes on this, I have learned my lesson and will come up with a better system for next summer, I promise. People I have: Armin, Steve M, Barbara, Gino, Dan E, Conall, Conor, C.Wood, Ralph, Edgardo, Roman, Kyle, Brian B, Steve S, VIncent, Sunil, Daveth, Sam, Chris joy, Raul, Rachel, Mary, Robert K, Victor, Mike F, David George

Thanks again All. I will send out one more Blog at the end of the week with Prize Announcements in All Categories!

Participation has been Stellar this Summer, thanks for joining us on the Ladder 2020! I’ve enjoyed reading you and meeting many of you on various courts of honor.

-Longlegs