AWN TENNIS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 75, 29 March 1935, Page 12

AWN TENNIS.

WAIKATO DEFEATS AUCKLAND CLUB MATCHES CONCLUDING, (By HALF-VOLLEY.) ' Club matches were advanced a little 3 further at the leading clubs over the week- ; end, though the absence of an Auckland ' team at Hamilton held up many matches that would otherwise have been played. ' The practice of sending touring teams away ; at this time of year is liable to be a source of serious inconvenience to match committees, who find that Saturday after ' Saturday some one or more players who are urgently needed in club events are [ away with an Auckland team in some . part of the province. Last Saturday it was . Auckland's turn to send a team to Hainil- [ ton to play the Waikato representatives, and the Waikato players amply revenged l themselves for their defeat at Stanley , Street last year, defeating Auckland at I Hamilton by the margin of 13 matches : to 10. A. W. Sims In Action. The Auckland team, though fairly 6trong, was by no means a representative side. The men playing were as selected, but Miss Macfarlane and Miss Eccles, after being selected, found that they were not available, and were replaced by Misses Stewart and Burges Watson. This rather weakened the Auckland ladies' side. The standard of play was high, however, and the matches were interesting. A. W. Sims, the ex-Dominion champion, headed the Waikato side, and gave an interesting exhibition of slow sliced stroking, against the more aggressive play of 3S T . G. Sturt. Other matches of interest were games in which promising young players on both sides met— both Auckland and Waikato have several colts who are rapidly reaching Dominion class. D. Livingstone, for instance, at times pushed M. T. Wilson quite hard, while Jenkinson, who is developing into a really useful player, defeated John Wilson. J. Roach, who beat Partridge, and also (partnered by the reliable Sims) defeated Sturt and Lamb in the doubles, is another player who will be heard much more of next year. On the Auckland side, J. T. Mayson gave the Waikato people a sample of the play to be expected from the Auckland youngsters. Among the ladies, it was pleasing to • see Miss Nessie Beverley fully recovered — : she defeated Miss Ramsay with triumph- | ant ease. Her sister, Miss Margaret j Beverley, romped home equally easily i against Miss Betty Griffiths. The Beverj ley sisters present a problem to any team

meeting them. Miss Mueller played very , well indeed to extend Miss Ruth Taylor to three long sets. Miss Drake and Miss Bulges Watson also played steadily and attractively in a long three-set encotinter, in which the Waikato lady won at 7—5 in ; the third set. Altogether the match was a most eni joyable business, played in the semiholiday spirit which seems to be cliarac- • teristic of Waikato-Auckland encounters. . The team was accompanied by Mr. Percy Harrison, the president of the Auckland Association, and other officials who were conferring with Waikato officers on various matters of importance to the game. Remuera Matches. At Remuera, J. W. Uunn has now reached the final, defeating Porter in the semi-final in straight sets, (j—l, o—o, 7 —5. Gunn now meets Sturt, who defeated Robinson in the top half. The men's doubles final, between Morrison-Stin t and Wilson-Hankin, is also still to be decided. Among the ladies, Miss Taylor has now entered the final, defeating Miss Marion Maefarlane, G—4, G—3. She now meets Miss Marjorie Maefarlane in the final. Misses Taylor and Griffiths have reached the ladies' doubles final in one half, defeating Misses Colson and Best, o—3, B—6. In the other half, however, matches are delayed, and the committee will be well advised to hurry this event along. Xo progress has been made in the mixed doubles since last week. At Parnell the ladies' singles has been advanced a stage further, .Mis. Wren defeating Mrs. 'long. I—G, 6—l, 6—4 in the top semi-final. She now meets Miss Bishop in the final, and u most interesting match should result. Brown Defeats Stevens. Eden and Epsom matches show little progress since last week, but one or two events have been moved nearer completion. In the men's singles an interesting quarter-final was played on Saturday when J. L. B. Stevens met A. D. Brown. Stevens won the first set 6—f, but Brown then began to play more steadily and

gradually came on to his game, winning the last two sets and the match. Brown will now play M., T. Wilson on Saturday, while in the other semi-final J. S. Wilson meets Mayson. The only other championship match to be played was the final of the mixed doubles, in which Miss B. Cooke and A. K. Turner defeated Mrs. Shroff and A. C. Johns after losing the first set and being down 3—o in the second. The match went to 7—5 in the third set. Next Saturday should see considerable progress made at Eden and Epsom in championship events. Royal Oak matches are well advanced, and in the ladies' events Miss A. Ellett has had an excellent series of wins, being successful in winning the singles and mixed doubles championship finals, and ljeing runner-up in the ladies' doubles. In the singles she defeated Mrs. Colledge in the final in straight sets, and in the mixed doubles, partnered by Arthur Bockett, won by defeating Mrs. Wilson and W. Brownlee. In the ladies' doubles Mrs. Colledge had her revenge, and partnered by Miss I. Sutherland, defeated Misses Ellett and Mellsop in the final. Racket or Racquet? The spelling of this word is a matter which often enough opens up an argument between players who are interested enough in the literature of the game to care about such things, and a recent number of "Lawn Tennis and Badminton," the Eng-

. lislx journal dcvotecl to the game, contains :> an interesting essay on this subject. "It i- is generally agreed," says the writer, - "'that in this country there should be no 1 alternative spelling of the word 'racket' ; in connection with the implement used in i lawn tennis and many other games." "Racquet" is deemed by him to be an > American usage. Going back into the hist tory of the word, its origin appears lost in obscurity, some authorities considering • it to be derived from the Arabic "raliat," meaning the palm of the hand, while r others derive it from the German "racken." "to stretch." An interesting 1 speculation is that it is derived from i "reticulum," "a little net." Be its derivation what it may, it t seems certain that the "qu" spelling is a . comparatively modern innovation, and i that "racket 1 ' is the purer and more 'correct form. "In England," concludes the essayists above quoted, " the word will ! continue to be spelt 'racket,' but in i America;' where this spelling has other and more sinister connotations, writers I may prefer to dissociate tennis from the

. secondary meanings of the word and thus | adopt 'racquet' as a mark of such mental dissociation." "I doubt," says an American i writer, whom he quotes, prehaps with his : tongue in his cheek, "whether any club in the United States would care to adopt the name 'racket club,' because the name in . itself would imply in many people's minds what we call a 'speak-easy.' " A tennis matcli which was tn have been played between Campbell Park and the Outer-Suburban Clubn (luring the week-end has been postponed until April 7.