TENNIS.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 54, Issue 197, 2 June 1934, Page 2

TENNIS.

DAVIS CUP CONTEST, UNITED STATES WINS THE ZONE. NEW YORK May 31. At Baltimore to-day the United States won the North American zone of the Davis 'Cup round ? Lott and Stoeffen defeating the Mexican doubles team, Tapia and Nestre, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.

THE FRENCH CHAMPIONSHIPS. SOME STIRRING SEMI-FINALS. PARIS, May 31. The .semi-finals of the tennis championship singles provided a stirring contest. Stefani fully extended von Cramrn before losing the fifth set and the Crawford-Boussus encounter took two hours before Crawford won after a great exhibition of all-round tennis. The von Cramm-Stefani match showed a great ambidexterous tactician matched against a brilliant driver. Cramm looked like the winner all through, but the Italian pressed him hard till the end of the fourth set, when von Gramm’s stamina prevailed. The best tennis of all was seen in the third set of the Crawford-Boussus match. After eacli had won a., set, Crawford three times pulled up from 15.40 to win games. At 5-5 Boussus began to show the effects of strenuous play, and Crawford, putting on pressure, won the set. After a rest Boussis spurted, and led 4-1. Crawiord then brilliantly won five games in a. row for the match. . , , r . Women’s Singles—Semi-final: Miss Helen Jacobs (United States) defeated Madame Mathieu (France), 6-2, 6-3.

MIKI’S defeat of stedman Commenting on the defeat, by R. Miki, captain of Japan’s Davis Cup team of A. C. Stedman, of New Zealand, by 6-2, 4-6, 8-6, in the final of the men’s singles ta the Hampstead HardCourt Lawn Tennis Club’s recent tournament, an English critic says: “Most of the play was conducted from the back of the' court, and perhaps it was just as well, for the wind made volleying and smashing a matter of difficulty. There were several fluctuations, Miki leading at one time

by a set and 2-love and 4-3 in the second, and at another period the Japanese was 4-love in the third set, hut Stedman in each set made a splendid recovery. In fact he led by 6-5 in the last set. If he had attacked Mild’s backhand and had gone up to the net a New Zealand victory might have been recorded, as Mild had no adeouate reply, so far as backhand passing drive straight down the side-line was concerned.