LAWN TENNIS.

Auckland Star, Volume LIII, Issue 309, 30 December 1922, Page 16

LAWN TENNIS.

(HALF-VODLEY.) Th e Auckland Handisap Tournament commenced'Usf Tuesday tinder very unlavouraWc weather conditions. A misty rain fell during ihe greater part of tlie morning- and'while > was not heavy enough to stop play, it made tbe ball sodden and the cqfJrfcs slippery ?nd rather slow. Very good entries bad been received, especially from country members. it was pleasing to see how many young players were competing-. Match ' play is absolutely csspntial ii players arc to improve. No matter bow sound a person may be and ip tbe pink of condition, physically, that is not enough in lawn tennis. Matches not only bring out the 'best, there ie in a player, but they probe deeply, revealing weaknesses if they exist, and sometimes these weaknesses are entirely unsuspected. Match play is, in short, the acid test which it is well for a player to apply. TUESDAY'S PLAY. in the men's singles the first round wag. finished. In niost cases the back markers came through. E. Ohlson played .in attractive steady game against Massey, a game which some of I our younger players' would do we'll to copy. He drove bard when tlie opportunity arose, at other times feeing satisfied to get a good- length and gain position. Massey went for all his shots. This -was good, policy, and would probably have brought its reiward against anyone a little less consistant than Ohlson. .Massey's footwork is pot too good, and he frequently getg too close laterally to his gj|gtg : rW§Bfi w ?'f $"""-' fitwrt added fHffhe/f t,q Ihjg remi}.at[pn ft? 4l%fW ft~s. fi—?• PrPSFtpiirW »Ji4 Wm mi f *$&>' lar alarathon. The former picked tip well after losing the first get and. being I—3 in the third. Turner did well to beat T-pnJvs, th- 3. 4—o, o—•>. He vx of his handicap and lobbed very cansistantly. Steeie proved too good lor 3%jqwell, winning jp sets, an 4'd mitleet oyer Rdbincon. •Johnston and Keith had t game which testified to the good work of the handicominiti&e. , The former wonff—s, s—fi, p—s. Go|gTQve did not strike fprm Hprnc. The latter was getting a- very gopd tengtfh, in contrast to the Remuera man. who was brilliant only in patches. Gillies and Entwjsfcle had a closer game than tbe score jndiejatea. Entwistle was ejriying Jiisiyly op ibis forehand, but he seryed ' far top many rjpiibjes. Up should rgim)mber that the first nj-lfi a-jjrjut seryicg if to "pjjt. the fist •ball in court. One fault is a mistake, but a double fault is a tennis crime. S. E. Jackson beat Wbibbread two Isets, to one, and Pi»kmere won in ! straight sets from Cavaye. The latter j has r some nice shots, but be is much too j*rratie at present, and bis footwork is l-Scjy bad. | match with Walker ran jfco> three sets be-fore tbe Remuera man l*ojuld win. Walker volleyed well at I'tiiMs. and while be took to the net did (better. In the last two sets he stayed jiback. winch proved fatal, and Hendsr- ! son, after losing the first set, ran out at j6— I,;C— 1. ; Ma'ckay proved too good for Gardner, who found the iheavy court not to his liking. In tbe doubles, Henderson and Kissling went down to Crispe and Wright. The losers found the handicap more than they could menrge. Tonks and Ohlson proved too experienced for Walker and Walker, winnin" at 6— l. t)—o. Watson and ■Sturt made a bad start against C. Elder and K. Keith, losing the first set o—6. They then improved and won the next two. G—3, c I. Other winners were Entwistle and Home, Harrison and Grant. Johns aud Go'die, jr.avi.ye. ad Whitbread. and Gillies and Bloomfield In the combined doubles Miss Maclarlanc and Tonks had a very good game with :Miss p. Witherow and Home Miss Maefar'.ane gave one of her very best displays. All her ground shots were very accurately placed and she kept an excellent length. Home played well but had practically no opportunities at the net owing to the Remuera ladys forceful driving. The Pvenrucra pair won in straight sets. Miss Pagni tmd Olsen from owe 40 j had two close rets against Miss Mackay and Mackay. The Whangarei panplayed up against their more experienced opponents. j Miss Miller and Gardener had to go ! three long sets against Miss D. Bryant I and Elder befor> they could win. " All the other oack markers came through I though P. Harrison and Miss Lowry I had a close calf against Potter and 'Miss Cadncss. I In the ladies' singles Miss Haslip proved too steady for Miss Pagni The I Remuera lady put up a good fight in j the first sot and looked like winning! Hjut the steadiness of her opponent i wore her down. ' \ ■Another good single was that 'be- i tween Miss MacCormick and Miss M. I Bartlcet. The latter i-s a young player ! possessing some very fine strokes. She i trys for everything and should be ] heard o: again before long. i Miss M. Macfarlane bear. Mis* Q. ■ Robson in straight sets. She took ad- i vantage of her opponents rather weak I backhand and voileved very nicely at ' times. ' " ] Miss Kerr Taylor had a close game j with Miss M. Robson who played very steadily. Miss Ramsay and Miss AYesto'n I both came through the first round. |