TENNIS THRILLS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 289, 7 December 1933, Page 17

TENNIS THRILLS.

TEST IN SYDNEY. A MIRACLE BY HOPMA.N. CRAWFORD BOOMS AND CRASHES; (From Our Own Correspondent.) SYDNEY, December 1. At the time of writing ..(Friday, December 1) the first Tost has hot been completed, but a great deal of extreme interest to tennis players and enthusiastic onlookers has been compressed into the last- two -days. On : Thursday Quist outplayed Wilde, and, after losing the first set, recovered •himself, had all the best of the play, and allowed his opponent only four games in the remaining sets. Quist has -certainly been improved by his experiences- on "the grand tour." Off the ground his strokes are more accurate and better directed than they -were, and he displayed more consistency and selfcontrol, keeping up long rallies with Wilde, who is a very persistent player off the ground, and often wearing him down. But Quist is superior to Wilde chiefly by virtue of Jiis . volleying and smashing, and if he had gone into the net early and often he would have won more easily.

An even more interesting game was the match between Hughes, the English captain, and young McGrath. Hughes, who is extremely accurate off the ground, a clever volleyer and a most indefatigable "trier," -evidently thought that the best way to handle McGrath was to slow down the game by slicing and cutting, and to keep everything away from his famous "double barrelled" back-hand. But McGrath is more likely to be beaten by hard driving on his fore-hand than by "soft stuff"; and yesterday he made very few mistakes. His* service has improved in pace and direction, his. fore-hand is far more consistent and under better control than it was last year, and his back-hand yesterday Was -iu first class working order. It sounds ridiculous, but all that Hughes could get fiom him was two games in each set. and it was all that he was worth yesterday.

Hopman's Remarkable Recovery. < The next item was Hopman's match with Lee, and this turned out to be the great event of. the day. Lee is a vigorous and persistent driver, placing from side to side'with great accuracy, and apparently able to go on for ever if nobody interferes with well-timed volleys. Hopmajl, who was perhaps hampered a little by being foot-faulted, kept to the back of the court and let Lee play the sort of game that suited him. Lee won the first set and though Hopinan, by judiciously mixing his game and volleying at intervals, took the )»ext (J—l, he seemed to lose confidence and retired to the back line in the third set. For a . huig .time Lee lia.d things his owji way, and he certainly deserves credit for the severity and accuracy of his ground strokes. He took five games to love and in the .sixth £ame he brought the .scare to 40—15, when Hopman took.a. new lease of life. Very late in the day he began to slice his strokes so as to keep the ball low and weaken Lee's drives, at the same time giving himself time to reach volleying position; and in a few minutes 'the character of the game was completely changed. I can't spare time or space to describe this . remarkable 6ct in detail. I will only say that it was one of the most wonderful illustrations of the value of the "mixed" game—playing for ;position and then . scoring with volleys from inside the service line— that I have ever witnessed.

It .seemed quite incredible that Hopman could win. For he had to start five games down, and -with two matchpoints against him. Yet he won that game and he won six more games in succession, finally running out winner of set and match at 7—5. To do this, he- had to out-manoeuvre and outstroke a man who ranks third or fourth in England, who had been playing all along with great confidence aiid skill, and ,wbo..iiceded -only, a lucky stroke or two to clinch his victory.

After Hopman had - pulled his first game out of the fire, Lee, with the score s—l hi liis. favour, led 40—love on his own. service—he had two 'match points in hand. But Hopman, playing ceaselessly for position, covering " the not with extraordinary agility and •skill, and volleying and smashing with decision, saved that game, too. Againl! when the score was 5—,3, Lee led again 40—15 on HopmanV service. In all, Hopman recovered the game, and won it on no less than eight occasions when ''match-point" .was called '.against him; and in the later stages of the .struggle Lee, for all his skill, and experience, seemed almost helpless hi his opponent's 'hands. Needless to /say, the thousands of spectators simply rent the air with tltfcir shouts when Hopman played the winning stroke.

An Anti-Climax. Hopman's -victory left Australia with! throe rubbers to the good, and we looked forward to tlie doubles match—Crawford l and McGrath v. Perry and Wilde—with some complacency. But what should have! been the best event of tlie day was spoiled by Crawford's inability to play even decently well. We knew that the effects of the strain entailed by so much play during the past four years had wrecked his chances in America, and that there had - been a" recurrence of this incipient collapse in Melbourne, but we hoped for the best. All that can be said about the match is that Crawford was physically incapable of doing himself justice or of keeping up to the level of. play expected in such a contest. He made occasional. brilliant efforts, but these were followed by errors winch the merest novice would hardly perpetrate. Some-' 1 times he seemed unable to see or to hit the ball correctly, and, as often happens in.a "four," his weakness affected all the. other players on the court, till a regular' "rot" set in. McGrath was-distinctly the best of thefour in accuracy and consistency, and the help that he gave Crawford enabled. the Australians to win the third set. The English played just a little better than our men and won, three sets to one. B u t' I never thought that Crawford could play so badly, and I ! have never seen an international match; played at so consistently low a level of. judgment and skill.

Under the circumstances, no one was i surprised to read in this morning's 1 papers an announcement to the effect that Crawford lias withdrawn from the next two Te<=.ts. It is hoped that he l will be able to play later on in the i season, but his medical adviser has ordered a complete rest for at least a month, .and no one who watched him try to play yesterday can imagine that' the warning ias eome too *odeu : i