LAWN TENNIS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 280, 26 November 1931, Page 18

LAWN TENNIS.

RAIN POSTPONES MATCHES.

REMUERA CHAMPIONSHIPS REVIEWED. (By HALF-VOLLEY.) Rain setting in heavily early on Saturday afternoon resulted in all fixtures being postponed, and there was no.play at any of the grass-court clubs. The Parnell team, which journeyed to Pukekohe, was unlucky in striking heavy rain there, and the match against the Franklin Sub-Associa-tion had also to be abandoned. There is some talk of this match being attempted again next Saturday, the Parnell team being reinforced from other clubs if Parnell cannot spare a full team aw_ay two weeks in succession. All inter-club matches in' junior grades were postponed. Practically all the matches that were to have been played last Saturday have now been set down for next Saturday, and these., added to the programme that had already been allotted to that day, will make a very full programme for this week. Next Saturday, too, will see the commencement of the A. grade competition, University being drawn against Campbell Park at Stanley Street. The other first-round match (Parnell v. Royal Oak) will be played .at Stanley Street on the following Saturday, December 5, and the winners of these two matches will play-off, again at Stanley Street, on Saturday, December 19. The draw has wisely been made deliberately, giving Remuera a bye as far as the semi-final, where Remuera will meet the survivor of these four clubs. This match will be played at Stanley Street on January 16. The survivor of this match will then play the challenge match against Eden and Epsom (holders) in February. Next Saturday's contest, between Campbell Park and University, should be very even. Campbell Park should have a distinct advantage in the men's singles and doubles, where Martin, Andrews, Porter and others should have an advantage over the student team in the absence of Alan Stedman. The 'Varsity team will be headed by S. Walton, J. N'. Wilson and C. G. Bowden, and it is rumoured that A. M. Nicholson will once more respond to the call of the 'Varsity selectors. The 'Varsity women should be superior on the day to their sisters at Campbell Park, Misses Whitelaw, Roberton, Taylor, Mcintosh and Chambers being a fairly strong quintet at the head of the team. Misses Bull and Rukutai will probably lead the Park' team. The Draw at Remuera. The Remuera Club's match draw, now to hand, shows the great strength of this club from a playing point of view. The championship events are eight in number: the full five usual championships, plus a B grade men's singles, and boys' singles and girls' singles events. In the A grade men's singles only sixteen have been allowed the right of entry. This is a wise step in a club of sufficient playing strength. A. C. Stedman has been seeded to meet N. G. Sturt in one semi-final, and E. L. Bartleet to meet E. W. Griffiths in the other. Stedman, Sturt and Bartleet seem reasonably certain of reaching their respective semi-finals, but Griffiths has successively to defeat b. J. Robinson and the survivor of D. G. Macfarlane and S. Lamb. Robinson, though he can play very badly on occasions, is also liable, when in the mood, to upset any tournament draw, and may quite possibly be seen in the semi-final. The B grade singles has an excellent entry of twenty-five. C. G. Bowden is seeded to meet J. Gregory in one-half of the draw, and A. Christmas to meet J. IS. Wilson in the other. Neither Bowden nor Gregory has completely fulfilled the promise shown a few seasons ago, and I think that out of the four seeded players Wilson is possibly the one most likely to display improvement this season. Twenty-two pairs are entered for tne men's doubles championship—a good entry. Stedman and Sturt look easily the stiongest pair entered, and should win with ease. One misses Brinsden and Griffiths, and Bartleet and Robson; two pairs who for years fought out the final of this event with almost monotonous regularity. Neither Robson nor Brinsden has entered —Auckland tennis is the poorer, missing the brilliance of the one and tlie genius tor doubles tactics of the other Griffiths has entered with S. Lamb, while Bartleet has no partner. Other pairs who may be heard of in the concluding rounds are Lucas and Milne, Watkms and Robinson, and Ohlson and Macfarlane. . Limited either by accident or design to sixteen entries, the ladies' singles looks as if it will again be fought out between Miss Marjorie Macfarlane and Miss Ramsay, who are seeded on opposite sides of the draw. Miss Marion Macfarlane ;s seeded to play her sister in one semi-final, .while Mrs. Napier is scheduled to meet. .Miss Ramsay in the other- Miss Roberton, though she occupies a place above Mrs. Napier on the Auckland ladder, was not seeded. The committee was of course within its rights in ignoring the ladder placings when considering the merits of two players between whom there, is so little. Nevertheless Miss Roberton is unlucky to have been drawn against Miss Ramsay in the first round, but she is by no means incapable of winning. Miss Taylor is also in this quarter of the draw. Another junior player with an outside chance of coming through is Miss Betty Griffiths, against whom Miss Marion Macfarlane will need to show her best game. In the ladies' doubles, for which sixteen pairs are entered, the Macfarlane sisters are drawn to meet Misses Roberton and Taylor in one half, and Mrs. Napier and Miss Ramsay to meet Mrs. Robson and Miss Kerr-Taylor in the other. The only other pair I can see doing any damage to the draw is Mrs. Shroff and Miss Richardson, who are drawn against Mrs. Robson and her partner in the first round. I think the unseeded pair have at least a fifty-fifty chance. Miss L. Roberton and S. Lamb, the title-holders, look to me the best pair in an entry of 23 pairs in the combined doubles championship. Miss Griffiths and Griffiths and Miss Macfarlane and D. G. Macfarlane are also in the running, but I think the first mentioned pair are; good enough to win again. Junior and Handicap Events. Spacc will not permit a detailed review of the junior boys' and girls' singles, for which there ere the excellent entries of 14 and 20 respectively. The handicap events all have good entries, and I am glad to see the " receive " competitors put well forward. In the men's handicap singles the " limit man " receives 15, W. G, Watkins being 30 3-6 behind scratch. The extreme instance of this sort of thing occurs in the ladies' doubles, where the Misses Macfarlane. play off owe 40, and the " limit" players receive 30 2-6. Southern Jottings. Christchurch news to hand shows H. A. Barnett to be in form again this season. He recently defeated T. Rhodes-Williams (who, of course, jnay be anything from brilliant to second grade, according to the occasion), with the loss of only two games in'two sets. Barnett has been practising with the veteran Glanville, whom a Christchurch writer describes as being as fresh as ever this season. In another ladder match T. W. Patterson put up a great fight against C. Angas, who was able to win the first set only after 24 games had been played. Patterson ultimately lost the first set 13—11, after having had several set points,' and Angas, playing with the confidence which is perhaps his greatest asset, clapped on a little extra pace in the second set to win 6 —2. In Wellington it is interesting to notice Miss D. Howe playing first for her club(Brougham Hill). Mrs. Dykes being selected second by the club . selectors: Even though Miss Howe is club champion, one would think that the Brougham HHi selectors had heard by now of the result of the last New Zealand championships. Strokes for Beginners: The Lob.

Concluding my column as usual with .1 few words on tactics; addressed to beginners. 1 will deal briefly with a stroke which, while often despised and ncglected

by poor and medium players, is one of the most useful match-winning strokes in the repertoire of the champion—the lob, or "toss," as it is nowadays often called. No player can afford to lie without this stroke, and it is particularly essential for any girl player with an ambition to shine in mixed doubles. There are two kinds of lobs, the defensive and the offensive lobs. To deal with the latter first, it is used either when retrieving smashes (no other shot is possible very often here), or to gain time when out of position. These lobs should be tossed high—the higher the better —and so as to fall near the baseline. Against •doubles opponents who are entrenched at the_"net, the lob is often the only method available to break up a hard smashing game. The higher the'lob and the nearer it lands to the baseline, the better; for the higher the lob the longer the lobber has to get back into position, and the faster, too, will the ball be dropping when it lands —and, therefore, the more difficult the lob will be to smash. The offensive lob is most used in a double, and particularly on the return of service when your two opponents are volleying w r ell close in. This stroke, whose aim is either to score an outright winner or to force the opponents to run back and so push them off the net, should be played as low as possible, but of course so as to be just out of your opponents' reach. I-A little top spin can be imparted to the ball with practice. Lob over, but onlyjust over, your opponent when playing an attacking lob. It will surprise you how many lobs played like tfiis will turn out clear winners.

OUTER SUBURBAN MATCHES

The second round of the inter-club competition for clubs in the outer suburban section of the Auckland Lawn Tennis Association, which was postponed from last Saturday on account of the weather, will be played on Saturday. The B grade match between Manurewa and TakaniniKingfislier, which was originally set down for next Saturday, has been postponed until later in the season.