LAWN TENNIS.
NOTES ON THE GAME. The rain that fell on Friday evening ; made play on grass courts impossible, I and prevented the completion of many j finals arranged for Saturday last, both inter-club and club matches. Some of the latter were completed during the week and the inter-club finals will be completed, weather permitting, after Easter. Excellent entries have been received for the Easter tournament at Hamilton, Whangarei, Birkenhead, and Northcote. At Hamilton the Waikato provincial championships are to be decided, and at Whangarei the first championship meeting of the newly-formed North Auckland Association is to be held. In conjunction with both these meetings, handicap matches are to be played. At both Northcote and Waikato the juniors are catered for in a championship for lads under 21 years of age. These Easter tournaments are always much sought after by the city folk and combine good tennis with an enjoyable holiday. At Rotorua a big championship handicap tournament, confined to Maoris or their descendants, will be played. There were feelings of regret at the meeting of the Auckland Association last week, when communication was received from the Taranaki Association, giving as one of the reasons for the abandonment of the annual match against the local association the fact that C. J. Dickie's services were not available, as that well-known player had decided to give up the game. Followers of tennis in the old days will remember the first appearance of C. J. Dickie in his palmy days, when the Taranaki team included players of the calibre of Miss Powdrell, J. Nicholson, Dickie and Wallace in their prime, and the contest was played at the Eden and Epsom Club's courts. It was in these matches that Dickie and Wallace worked up the combination that provided so many spectacular contests throughout the Dominion. In 1907 this pair, who are brothers-in-law, first won the New Zealand doubles, and in 1913 they repeated the performance. Dickie was the hard-working partner of the team, and made the openings which Wallace polished off in brilliant style. For sportsmanship this pair hold a record to be envied throughout New Zealand tennis. An Auckland-Taranaki contest will not seem the same now the combination ceases to exist. It is not generally known that J. C. Peacock, who was originally selected as captain of the New Zealand team at present in Australia, met with an accident when alighting from a car and broke his arm, thus preventing him accompanying the team. A. G. Wallace being selected to captain the team in his stead. A subject of much discussion in tennis circles has been which is the better of the Johns brothers, V. R. or A. C, and the match played between them in the semi-final of the Eden and Epsom Club championship was peculiar for its score in the various sets, and although ending in a victory for the elder brother, proves how close these two are, the score being 4—6, C—l, 4—6, 6—l, 7—5. The final of the Eden and Epsom doubles was played at Stanley Street on Monday last, resulting in a win for V. R. and A. C. Johns, who beat M. A. Campbell and A. K. Turner, 6—4, 6—4, C—l. The court was slow on 1 account of recent rains, and the play did not reach the high 'standard that has marked this contest in the earlier stages. The Johns brothers owe their success "principally to their accurate lobbing, the slippery turf preventing Turner from chasing everything, as is his habit, and Campbell from his brilliant and good length volleying. Campbell has come on in his game a lot this year, and when going well there are few better volleyers in Auckland tennis. The Johns brothers are a clever doubles pair and are winners of many contests. The Parnell Club events are practically all finished, the following being the winners:— Men's Championship Singles.—Steele defeated Boardman, 7 —5, 6—3, 3 —6, 6-0. Men's Championship Doubles.—Coates and Chalmers defeated Lamb and Boardman, 2 —6, 6—2, 6 —o, 6 —3. Men's Handicap Singles.—Chalmers defeated Steele, 6—l, I—6, 6—4. Men's Handicap Doubles.—Coates and Steel defeated Litherland and Bassett, ,6—l, 6—2. Ladies' Singles.—Miss Potter plays Miss Sharp in the final. Ladiesf Handicap Single^.—Mrs. Fearnley plays Mrs. De Lough in the final. Ladies' Handicap Doubles.—Mrs. De Lough and Mrs. Gill , defeated Mrs. Fearnley and Potter by default. Combined Handicap Doubles Final.— Coates and Miss Frankham defeated Lamb and Miss Napder, 11 —9, 6 —2.
The first news of the details of that wonderful contest between Mdlle. Lenglen and Miss Helen Wills is to hand. Firstly, it is attractive for the description of the excitement created by the tremendous publicity of the contest, the immense cinema, fees, the daily report of the exercise of both contestants, their
dress, manners and conversation, . the j contrasting of the placid demeanour of the American as against the excitability of the Frenchwoman, and so on.' The crowd swarmed to every vantage point, even to nesting on the ridgepoles of the pavilion roofs. Seats were sold at enormous prices, as much as 100 francs being charged- for standing room. The play itself has probably never been equalled for sensationalism. Both being nervous on starting, the first set was comparatively uninteresting, and play was careful more than brilliant. 1« the coui'- of the set Mdlle. Lenglen won three love games, two on hrr Tvwn service-, anff" unany the set at six games to three, 30 aces to 17. That Miss Wills could take three games in the opening set kept the spectators alert for what might possibly happen in the second. In this set Miss Wills gained confidence. She won the first game to love on her own service, lost the next, and then won the next two in succession, and led 3—l. She lost the next two, scoring only 15 in each, and then won on her own service after deuce had been called four times. The excitement was intense when she led five games to four, at which point the American had scored 32 aces to 27 and had made them by hard, confident tennis. Mdlle Lenglen then won a love game, went to 6 —5, and then, when she needed only one point for the match, served a double fault. She ultimately lost the game, making the score 6 ail. Mddle. Lenglen won the next on Miss Wills' service, and then one of the most curious incidents ever seen on a tennis court occurred. Mddle. Lenglen serving, was again match point, Miss Wills hit a ball deep into the left-hand corner and both players, apparently considered that .the ball was out. Miss Wills advanced and congratulated her opponent, the spectators stood cheering, when suddenly it was said that the linesman had not called the ball "out." Everyone again took his or her seat, and the match was resumed. The thrilling podnt came when Miss Wills won the next point, making the'game "deuce," but Mdlle. Lenglen, playing with extreme care and precision, won the next three points, the set B—6, and the match. Mdlle. Lenglen played a characteristically beautiful game throughout, and did not
I make half a dozen mistakes, whilst those points Miss Wills got she earned. Both players did a fair amount of lobbing, but neither went to the net much. It was a great match, that will go down in the an__ls of the tennis history of the world. BILL TILDEN AS AN ACTOR. When Bill Tilden, the famous American tennis player, was in Auckland, that time he and Johnson lifted the Davis Cup by beating Brookes and Patterson, his most notable characteristic was the ejaculation "Oh, Rotten!" whenever he netted a ball. Apparently the New York papers are now getting his favourite expletive back on him in his endeavour to become a stage star. He became an actor in New York a few weeks ago, and the town is still laughing over his feeble efforts to entertain upon the stage. The temperamental net star, who long ago lost popularity, due to his -prima donna airs, his high, squeaky voice, and his "mc and heaven" attitude, became a shining target for theatrical satirists, and they let loose upon Tilden with voli leys of sarcasm after his initial performance. Some of the comments were:— i "Tilden in not.long for this life." "He was pretty awful" "Tilden left the stage approximately love fifteen." "The performance was fair enough, but William kept his amateur status all right." "At least it can be said that watching him act was not painful. Tilden was no worse than three others in the cast, which numbered all of thirteen." "Tilden appears to have carried his amateurism into the theatrical stage." Tho next day Tilden announced that he guessed he would go to Wimbledon, which caused the comment:— "If Tilden thinks his stage work will keep him from Wimbledon, he's ' probably flattering his nice little self. For, judged.by his 'acting" last night,.Tilden won't be an actor by the time' the Wimbledon tournament calls him."
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Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 78, 3 April 1926, Page 25
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1,502LAWN TENNIS. Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 78, 3 April 1926, Page 25
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