Tony Giangrasso Tony Giangrasso of Garden City and Bill Fiordalisi of Lloyd Harbor (formerly of Garden City) recently teamed up at the 2006 United States Tennis Association's National Men's 65 Grass Court Championships held in Rumson, N.J.

After receiving a bye in the round of 64, they drew the team of Allan Drazen (Thousand Oaks, CA) and George Sarantos (Fresno, CA). Sarantos was the defending tournament champion and was a member of the 2005 U.S International Tennis Federation's Super-Seniors team at the World Championships in Antalya, Turkey, where the U.S. team took second place in a field of 18 countries, and Sarantos was awarded the individual doubles championship cup.

Somewhat intimidated by their opponents' reputations and their impressive display of shot mastery during the pre-match warm up (and with the excuse of never having played a match on grass before), Tony and Bill unsuccessfully tried to convince each other that they were "relaxed" because as heavy underdogs they had "nothing to lose."

During a brutal first-set-bagel, they were given a quick, awe-inspiring, and painful lesson in how to play tennis on grass. However, from that first-set debacle they took away the following valuable principles of playing successful tennis on the beautifully manicured soft grass of the Seabright Lawn Tennis Club:

Bill Fiordalisi 1. Never let the ball touch the grass because it will not bounce --- ergo, "camping on the baseline" is suicidal;

2. Don't allow a lob to get over your head because even if you run it down, the ball will plop (rather than bounce) when it hits the turf;

3. Be prepared to hit a lot of low balls (including service returns) off your shoe tops;

4. Hitting the ball hard is not always the best choice, because slow balls that hit the grass bounce very low, while hard shots bounce higher;

5. Even dry grass can be slippery, so watch your footing;

6. Get to the service line quickly, and be ready to volley or back up for overheads from that position;

7. A lob volley is a great shot to have;

8.A kick-serve is not advisable because it will rise to the perfect height for the receiver;

9. A slow-curving-slice is the serve-of-choice because it stays low. An occasional drop-serve is also effective because the ball will be rolling by the time it reaches the receiver;

10. As the receiver moves in, have a dependable hard serve to occasionally keep him honest;

11. A chip return of serve can be very effective on grass;

12. At the national level most senior players can still run well, and all have great hands -- so assume the ball will be coming back at you.

The "education", received from Professor Sarantos during the frustrating first set, paid off for the Long Islanders as they adjusted their style, which had been honed on Har-Tru, to the plush lawn on which they now found themselves embattled. In the second set Tony and Bill proved to be "quick learners" and managed to stay on-serve for the first eight games (a moral victory, they felt) until the Californians broke serve and won (6-0, 6-4).

Although knocked out of the main draw, all was not lost for Tony and Bill. The next day, after receiving a bye in the round of 32 consolation draw, they faced the well-credentialed team of Tom Brunkow (Bethesda, MD) and Bill Poist (Washington, DC). Brunkow is a member of the Athletic Hall of Fame of DePauw University where he played first singles for three years, and Poist was an NCAA Regional Champion in both singles and doubles while playing for Ohio Wesleyan University.

Again Tony and Bill lost the first set. Undaunted, they began to serve and volley more effectively to win the second set, and tie the match at one set apiece. With their newly acquired momentum, Tony and Bill got on top in the third and deciding set, and were serving for the match leading 5-3. But, alas, their opponents rallied to a Garrison finish by taking the last four games and snatched away a victory in the two-and-a-half-hour match (6-3, 3-6, 7-5). Poist and Brunkow proceeded to win their next three matches (all in straight sets) to become the consolation draw winners.

Vince Lombardi is credited with saying, "Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing." While this statement may have some application to a professional whose livelihood depends on winning, it certainly does not apply to the amateur sportsman.

Tony evaluated the experience by saying, "It is not merely an attempt at "sweet lemons" to say that in spite of the fact that we were not 'winners' in our two matches, the tournament was 'successful' for us. Every person is entitled to define 'success' in his own terms. We thoroughly enjoyed the competition; the setting was beautiful; the weather was delightful; we both felt in good physical condition (for people on social security); our opponents were accomplished players and affable gentlemen who made the contests both challenging and enjoyable; during both matches we were able to make successful strategic adjustments; we played about as well as we could despite a tough draw and an alien playing surface; we gave the consolation winners a good scare, and we learned a little about playing tennis on grass."