TENNIS DRAMA.

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 17, 21 January 1939, Page 16

TENNIS DRAMA.

BROWN INJURED. DISLOCATES HIS SHOULDER. RETURN! TO BEAT MATIOX. There was a dramatic interlude during yesterday's play in the concluding series of matches for tlie Wilding Shield, the. emblem of intcrprovincial lawu tennis supremacy in New Zealand when, in a vital singles match, A. D. Brown, the ex-Aucklander and a member of the challenging Canterbury team, fell and dislocated his shoulder when playing! against J. T. Mayson. A(t«f the match had been adjourned for an hour to j enable Brown to receive medical attention, he returned to. continue the m-itch and win in straight sets. A. D. Brown is the former Xew Zealand singles champion and present holder of the Auckland title. Until recently he was a resident of Auckland, but now lives in Christchurch. 2 He had a set in hand at 6—i and was leading 4 —2 in the second set against Mayson when, in chasing a hall along the baseline, he slipped and dislocated bis shoulder. He Immediately called fer a'doctor. Shoulder Strapped. Fortunately, a medical man was acting as line umpire. He put the shoulder back into position and Browu left the court to nave his arm and shoulder strapped up by a massuer, returning more than an hour later to complete the match and win at 6—4, B—6. He played }n stockinged feet to avoid any further chance of slipping, and earned applause for many fine pasisng shots. Mayson, however, did not press hi.decided advantage. At the conclusion of the match Brown received an ovation. There was mutft discussion among spectators and officials as to Brown's absencc from the court as, according to the rules, it is at the discretion of tho umpire to say whether a player is fit to continue or whether a match should go by default. Though the umpire was not a participant in the Wilding Shield matches, he was a well-known Auckland tennis player. He consulted the Auckland captain, N. O. Sturt, and the referee, Mr. Spencer Lamb, president of the Auckland Lawn Tennis Association. Both agreed, in sporting Spirit, that Brown should be allowed to play again on his return, if he was fit. As it probably meant the retention or loss oi the Wilding Shield, the geature was greatly appreciated by the Canterbury manager, Mr. J. H. W. Sheppard.