LAWN TENNIS.

Auckland Star, Volume LIV, Issue 269, 10 November 1923, Page 21

LAWN TENNIS.

(By HALF-VOLLEY.)

In spite of an unpromising; weather j report last Friday, Saturday proved an j ideal day for tennis, and all the clubs : that opened had good attendances of players and visitors. Saturday week will see the start of the inter-club matches, and interest should be added to the A grade by the new scheme that has been adopted. It does not seem likely at present that there will be any great change in the strength of the various teams. Remuera appear on paper to be overwhelmingly strong in both ladies and men, and should have little difficulty in successfully defending their title to the A grade premiership. The scheme for the booking of courts drawn up by Messrs. Angus and Hickson (an account of which appeared in last Saturday's "Star") worked very well at the Remuera Club courts on Saturday, and clubs that are troubled in this respect would do well to try something on the same lines. In the WTiter's opinion it is much superior to the half-hour or forty minutes' change over, which is inclined to make the players play in layers or cliques, and the latter, as we know, is what all clubs wish to prevent. How often in a men's double do we sco a player smashing a ball that by rights belongs to his partner, or else we hear "yours" and the ball is allowed to fall in court untouched by cither player. Here is an expert's opinion on this question. "Every man must look after lobs over his own head. He must not expect his partner to scuttle behind him. The incoming server cannot possibly concentrate upon getting close in if his partner ia frequently calling "yours" to a toss over his head. Good overheal work in a doubles means keeping a constant lookout for the first signs of a toss; it involves the ability to run backward keeping the eye fixed on the ball. When the ball is lobbed over the heads of the players at the net, both should back away equally for the return, the idle player anyway, far enough to be certain his partner will not be forced to let it drop and play it defensively. When a lob is allowed to bound, both partners must be back behind it, for this turns the situation to a defensive one, nnd either man will be hors de combat if lie remains at the net when the opponents rush in to volley. The instant such a lob is allowed to fall, that must be considered the signal for the successful side that made it to rush forward to assume the aggressive position at the net before the next return reaches them. The mo3t successful teams often try to turn the attack against their antagonists by this manoeuvre, and when the 'ball is put up high they watch the movements of the other men closely for the key to the situation. If the opponents back away to smash., they must stay back to handle the ball from the bound, but at the -first sign of their turning to play it defensively they instantly rush forward to seize the attack at" the net. But the best practice is not to let a lobbed ball drop. 2so matter if you have to back all the way to the base-line to volley it, the advantage is better maintained by volleying it downward than by turning to play it from the bound. The instant the ball has been volleyed from a lob however, it is necessary to rush back instantly to the net position, or the next return may come tit your feet and the attack he turned in this way. This is not difficult when the lob is a comparatively short one, leaving no great distance to run to reassume the net, but when the lob is far back in the court it requires an instant recovery to got in motion at once. The idle player can start forward before the stroke is made as soon as he is certain that his partner will volley the dropping ball. One of the greatest* factors which help to place America in the first place in world tennis at the present time is undoubtedly the training of her promising young players. Richards and Williams are both examples of this early training. With a view to helping the younger players of Auckland, tihe Association has a scheme in view which it is hoped, may eventually lead to junior interclub interprovincial matches and possibly even matches with Australia, and at tine same time provide coaching •which w r ill put young players on the right track at the commencement of their tennis caTeer aud thus avoid the formation of bad habits which are always a bar to progress and more difficult to get rid of than to learn. Briefly, the scheme is to have an encouragement committee at each club consisting of three members also an associatioi committee of three to co-ordinate the work of all the others. These committees are to generally watch over the interests of junior players and to arrange matches when desired between them and the leading players. A young player, for instance, may not care to go straight to a senior player whom he may never 'have met and ask for a game. With the existence of encouragement committees that he can go to, it will be a simple matter to arrange. He can ] tell them what he wishes and they can 'arrange things for Mm. The scheme, las outlined above, is merely a basis to i start on. The mere fact that clubs are ! taking an interest in juniors and disj cussing their progress will probably lead to many different plans for the improvement of junior tennis.