LAWN TENNIS.

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 18577, 30 December 1925, Page 8

LAWN TENNIS.

N.Z. CHAMPIONSHIPS. FINALS IN SIGHT. THIRD DAY'S PLAY. Another fine day allowed Mr Murray Kean, secretary of the New Zealand Tennis Association, to push forward the championships at the United Courts yesterday. There were many spectators to watch the many first-class eame3. The men's siDgles, ladies' singles, and men's doubles have been brought to the semi-finals, and there remain to be played only the finals of the ladies' doubles and the boys' and girls' singles. Six matches have to be decided in the mixed doubles. Pour men —two from Canterbury and two from Wellington —remain m tho men's singles. Ollivier has rarely displaved better form than he did m his iaatch with Bartleet, and he should account for A. It. France, who has had three-set matches so far. The result) of the D. G. France versus Peacock strilssle seems to be much in doubt. On the strength of his defeat of Seay, it looks as though the ex-New Zealand ohaiapion could master France, if the latter had beeu playing as he did in the first rounds, but he has improved wonderfully. All tilings considered, it seems that Geoffrey Ollivier will be singles champion for the sixth time. If Miss Speirs does not take the ladies' singles again, it will surprise most of the people who have seen her plav in this tournament. She heat Miss Tracv comfortably and she should beat the Auckland representative, Miss Kni.dit. Miss Marjorie Macfarlane nnd Mrs Scott (nee Miss McLaren) are bound to Lave a tussle, ancl both are slaving tennis which is worth watching. In the men's doubles, Peacock and Wilson meet the France brothers, and the result appears to be much in doubt. The winners are almost sure to meet Ollivier and Seay in the final, unless Hjeiie and Parker spring a big surprise. , Canterbury has a big chance of winning the ladies' doubles, in the liriiil of which Miss Speirs and Mrs Scott meet Misses Travers and Tracy. AH four are hard hitters, and both Miss Tracv and Miss Speirs are brilliant ati ihe net. Three matches in the third round of the mixed doubles will be interesting. Miss Tracy and Haege meet Miss Ballantvne and .Smyth, and the winners plav Miss Speirs and D. G. France in the semi-final. Miss Marjorie Macfarlane' and Lowry will play Miss Marion Macfarlane and Hill, and Miss Tracy -nd AVil'son will meet the Timaru pair, Mrs Scott and Pearse. Two good boys, Lucas, of Nelson, and Malfroy, of Wellington, have reached the final of the junior singles. The Wellington lad has lost only seven games in three matches, while Lucas had a tough match with McDonald, of Auckland. Last year's champion, Miss Dulcie Nicholls, plays Miss Gibson, of Timaru, in the final of the girls' singles. THE PLAY. Ollivier beats Bartleet, Ollivier struck his old form against Bartleet, and made the Aucklander look almost inexperienced in the first four games, which he won to love. Bartleet occasionally scored with a "good forehand driye down the line, but Ollivier volleyed at pretty angles, and leTt his man. The champion was careless in the next two games, and BarfJeet's fine service had him thinking. The essential seventh game went to (Mlivier, and Bartleet lost his service and the set', 2-6. Snappy play marked 'the beginning of the second set, Bartleet, driving with more force h.nd while Ollivier, showed that uncanny accuracy down the side lines. The; Aucklander took the first two games, but Ollivier caught up by the use of shrewder tactics, and led 3-2. Botli men were keeping an excellent length, and the champion was playing with coolness. Ollivier led again 4-3, and Bartleet evened the games with Ready drives. The next game QJlivier won to love with his service, and his opponent made the score 5-5, mainly with Vms strong serves. Tho advantage game went to Canterbury, and playing'his best, Ollivier took the set 7-5. Bartleet had been weak overhead. In the first game of the third set Ollivier served his first double fault, and Bartlcet's astonishing recoveries often beat him. The Aucklander, showing improved form, and a steadier drive, won the ftret four games. In the fifth game Ollivier served two double faultsj and was completely beaten by Bartlect's cross-courts. The Aucklander led! 40-15 in the last game of the set," and won it after three deuces. He had taken a love set. Cleverness came back to the Canterbury, man in the fourth set, and he won the first. game to love, and also the second. Driving perfectly, Bartleet forced his man, and notched both the next games. His deadliness at the net, and his unwearying drive put Ollivier three games in front at- 5-2. In tho next game, Bartleet made a perfect smash, and a brilliant recovery, but they were unavailing, and the game, set, and match went to the chanjpion. Seay v. Peacock. Peacock had to get match points nine times before he could~wln his Marafoion against Seay. In the fourth set he was seven time's within a stroke, which would have finished tho game. Seay began to serve, and took the first gamo and ran up a lead of 3-1. Peacock was volleying crisply, but his ground shots were patchy, and Seay was driving nicely down the side Jine's. Seay lost his next service, and the Wellington man went into the net and smashed perfectly, to make the score 3-all. The I next game was a love one to the Canterbury man, who served three aces. Although Peacock smashed spectacularly, Seav volleyed beautifully, and led ■ 5-3. He finished the set with a fine line drive, which left his opponent standings Tho first game in the second set went to Peacock, who served well and followed up his cross-court drives. Peacock peppered Seay's backhand, and the Canterbury man tried to cover his weakness by running round his backhand. The Wellingtonian led 2-0 and 3-2. Seay went down to love on his service, and Peacock won his, losing only one point. The last game and the set went to Peacock, Seay being worried by the sun. The third set began brightly, both men using judgment in their drives. Seay led 1-0 and 2-1, and then Peacock evened up with good killß at the net. Seay came ahead 3-2, and then lost' his service to love, Peacock volleying brilliantly. The Canterbury man was passed repeatedly at the net in the next two games/ but he won the second through sheer grit, and made the score 4-4. In the ninth game Seay volleyed and smashed accurately, and he led 5-4. The next game was a great struggle. Seay led 40-15, and there were eight deuces, four 'vans out and threl 'vans in before Peacock evened the score to 5-5. Again Seay came ahead, led 6-5 and 7-6, but Peacock took the evening games and, winning his service, led 8-7. However, he had to win two more games before he took the set, 10-8. The older player was playing shrewdly, and Seay lacked confidence. His drives did not have their usual sting. The tennis in the third set was not of a high order.

The games were even at 1-1 and 2-2, and then Seay came away 4-2. He could not keep tho lead, Peacock winning the next three games after some long rallies. Seay went down 15-40, but Peacock lost two match points and the games were 5-5. Gaining the nest game, the Wellingtonian won points through his opponent's mistakes. Again Seay went down 15-40, and Peacock missed two match points and the games were 6-6. Peacock came ahead 7-6, and in the next game, Seay serving, he lost three match points, Seay winning after four deuces. Losing his service, the Wellingtonian was down 7-8, but Seay also lost his, and the score was 8-S. The last two games went to Seay easily, Peacock developing cramp in the hand. Both men were tired in the last set. After being down 1-2, Peacock led 4-2. In the next game his hand was badly cramped again and he practically gave it to Seay. After a little massage he went on, and in the eighth game, which he won, Seay's hand became cramped. The last game, Peacock serving, went 40-15, 40-13, and game-set-match. The Other Singles. One of the brightest matches of the tournament was the Wallace versus D. France game in the fourth round of the singles. Wallace's fine forehand drive shot in with great pace, but France was too versatile a player for him. The Taranaki man's service and his backhand were' his weaknesses, while France's service was a tower of strength. In the first set Wallace's drive had France thinking very often, and both men smashed and volleyed with a nicety that pleased the crowd. The last three sets were fought out, although the Taranaki man's totals were not large. A. L. France dispatched Parker, who had pub Smyth out in the third round, with comparative' ease. A general like the Wellingtonian had too many shots and too much experience for a plucky player with good driving powers. Parker took six games in the match, and the last set was a love one. Ladies' Singles. Punching her drives and coming to the net gainely, Miss Marjorie Maefarlane defoated the Otago 'Varsity woman, Miss Ballantyne, 7-5, 6-2- The loser was saie in the first set, and she returned everything, many of her shots being long lobs on her opponent's backhand. it was the Aucklander's grit which won the first set. When she was down she did not ease up, but hit out harder than ever. At the net Miss Ballantyne smashed carefully, and never missed a shot. In the second set she was outplayed, shots down the lines often leaving her standing. Miss Speirs (Christ-church) was on the attack the whole time in her match with Miss Tracy, and her overhead work was too good for the Wellington girl. Miss Speii? had a punch in every shot, and she placed them remarkably well. The recoveries were good on both sides, and Miss Speirs occasionally made the error of being drawn to the net on short shots, and thereby losing Miss Tracy's well-dis-tance.'! return. At the net the Christ church girl had a decided advantage over her opponent with well-directed fihorfc chops. Taking the match on the whole, it was Miss Speirs's smashing: overhead work that won her the match so comfortably. Men's Doubles. Two young Auckland players, Jackson and Turner, were outclassed by Peacock and Wilson in the first two sets of the fourth round match, but in the third they came to light and led 3-0 and 4-1. Wilson struck form early in the game, and Peacock was bHlliant till he seemed to tire in the third set, which went to 5-5 and 6-6. The younger men led 7-6, but Wilson won his service to love. The Aucklanders fought gamely when the score was 7-8 against them, and hit out. They drove extremely well, and Jackson killed all the high balls decisively. Combination was the secret of the Frances' win in the first set against Griffiths and Johns. Griffiths was rather off colour, and Don France'? service was a feature. The jVucklanders lacked the game-winning strokes. In the second set Franco Bros, ran up a lead of 4-1, having a superiority of court-craft, and they took the set 6-2. L. Franco was very strong overhead, and his brother was driving steadily. The Aucklanders struggled valiantly at the beginning of the third set, and there were snappy rallies. Playing with neat combination the France Bros, took the first two games, and then the Aucklanders pulled themselves together and evened the .score at 2-2 and 3-3. Don France killed effectively the high stuff, but the volleys of the other pair beat him often. The Aucklanders took the set 6-3. The first game of the fourth set went to half a dozen deuces before the France Bros, took it, and they won the next three with clean net-work, and solid ground_ strokes.. Griffiths lost his service t.o love, and L. France won his, and the match. Beginning badly. Haege and Parker pulled themselves together, and bested Page and Knott in four sets in a third round match. Haege actually served four double faults in a game in the first set. Knott, was slightly off his game, while Page and Parker were steady all the time. After the 18 games of the second set, Haege improved and showed his spirited driving and his good volleying again. In an interesting game Patterson and Tait played good tennis against the experienced men, Ollivier and Seay. Ollij; vier played with his head, and Seay kept good length. The second set Avent /to 5-5, all four players volleying and smashing well. In the third set Ollivier flayed a powerful game overHeacl, and also scored many aces. Mixed DoubW Wilson was missing a lot overhead in the first set of the mixed doubles, in which he and Miss Tracy beat Miss Knight and Turner, but he regained confidence, and with big help from Miss Tracy, who played spirited tennis all through, he won 6-1, 6-3. Miss Ivnight put a lot of shots over the back line. In the second round the Wellingtonians accounted for Miss Wright and Field fairly easily. After an extraordinary reversal of form. Miss Marion Macfarlane and Hill defeated Miss Bowron and L. France in three sets. France was all over the court in the first set, and their opponents won only thirteen points. He was careless in the second, in which the first game went to 12 advantages, and in the third set Miss Macfarlane and Hill completely out-manoeuvred the opposing pair. Miss Bowron was steady all through. Miss Speirs and France were too good for Miss Saunders and Somerville in the only third round match of the mixed doubles yet played, but they Had to pla" steadily before they won by the comparatively narrow margin of four games. Ladies' Doubles. Misses E. Travers and M. Tracy (Wellington) never looked like losing in their semi-final against Misses B. Knight, and D. Nicholls (Auckland). It was a hard hitting game, with good volleying, and though there was little lobbing it was always good. Miss Tracy was best at the net, placing her shots carefully and well, while Miss Knight lost points by careless play. HEN'S SDIGIiES. (Fife advantage sets.) (Present champion: G. Ollivier (Canterbury.) Fourth Ecmnd. G. Ollivier (Christchurch) beat E. L, Bartleet (Auckland), 6-2," 7-5, 0-6, 6-2. A. It. France (Wellington) beat J. B. Parker (Wellington), 6-2, 6-4, 6-0. D. G. France (Christchurch) beat A. G. Wallace (Taranaki). 2-6.. 6-2, 6-3, 6-3. J. C. Peacock (Wellington) beat I. A. Seay (Cknatchorch), 3j6, 6*2, 10-8, B*l0 t 6-3.

XJLDEES' SINGLES. (Three advantage sets.) Present champion, Mrs _W. J. Melody (Wellington). Third Bound. Miss M. Speirs (Christchurch) beat Miss M. Tracy, 6-3, 6-2. Miss Marjorie Macfarlane (Auckland) bea. Miss E. M. Ballantyne (Otago), 7-5, 6-3. MEN'S DOUBLES. (Five advantage sets.) Present champions, E. B. "W. Srajth (Wellington) and A. W. Fotheringham (Auckland). Third Bound. J. C. Peacock and N. R. C. Wilson. (Wellington) be*at S. E. Jackson and A. K. Turner (Auckland). 6-0, 6-3, 9-7. A. 3j. France (Wellington) and D. G. France (Christchurch) beat E. W. Griffiths * and A. C. Johns (Auckland), 6-2, 6-2, 3-6, 6-0. G. Ollivier and X. A. Seay (Christchurch) beat T. W. Patterson and K. H. Tait (Christchurch), 6-2, 7-5, 6-1. P. Haege (Victoria) and J. B. Parker (Wellington) beat V. E. Page (Otago) and Xi. G. Knott (Auckland), 2-6, 9-7, 6-4, 7-5, LADIES' DOUBLES. (Three advantage sets.) Present champions, Mrs W. J. Melody (Wellington) and Miss J. McLaren (Otago). Semi-final. Misses E. Travers and M. Tracy (Wellington) beat Misses B. Knight and D. Nichoti: (Auckland), 6-1, 6-3. anXBD DOUBLES. (Three advantage sets.) Present champions, Mies J. McLaren (Otago) and E. D. Androws (Wellington). First Bound. Miss Y. Ferrier and W. Sheppard (Christchurch) beat Miss D. Nicholls and A. C. Johns (Auckland), 6-0, 6-4. Miss E. Bowron (Christchurch) and A. L. France (Wellington) beat Miss B. Cotterill and K. J. Walker (Christchurch), 6-3, 9-7. Miss M. Tracy and N. Wilson (Wellington) beat Miss B. Knight and A. K. Turner (Auckland), 6-1, 6-3. Second Bound. Miss M. Speirs and D. G. France (Christchurch beat Miss J. E. Ramsay and 8. K. Jackson (Auckland), 6-1, 6-3. Miss E. Travers (Wellington) and P. Haege (Victoria) beat Miss Ferrier and Sheppard, 6-1, 6-4. Miss E. M. Ballantyne (Otago) and E. Smyth (Wellington) beat Mrs E. W. Reeves and A. B. Loughnan (Christchurch), 8-6, 6-2. Miss Marjorie Macfarlane (Auckland) and Lowry (Hawke's Bay) beat Miss E. Buchanan and W. Goss (Christchurch), 8-6, 6-4. Miss Marion Macfarlane (Auckland) and L. J. Hill (N.S.W.) beat Miss Bowron and France, 2-6, 6-3, 6-1. Mibs Tracy and Wilson beat Miss G. Wright and S. W. Field (Christchurch), 6-2, 6-2. Mrs, W. A. Scott and Wame Pei*se (Timaru) beat Miss M. Wake and F. B. Hule (Christchurch), 6-1, 6-3. Third Bound. Miss Speirs and France beat Miss L. Saunders and W. S. Somerville (Christchurch), 6-4, 6 : 4. BOYS' JUNIOR SINGLES. (Three sets.) Present champion, R. }fcL. Perkins (Wellington). Fourth Bound. A. 11. McDonald (Auckland) beat H. H. Tawhiri (liawke's Bay), 6-4, 6-3. G. W. Browne (Christchurch) beat H. R. Tawhiri (Hawke's Bay), 6-3, 6-1, 0. E. Malfroy (Wellington) beat C. A. Blazey (Christchurch), 6-2, 6-2. Seml-Flnal. R. A. Lucas (Nelson) t'eat McDonald, 8-6, 6-2, 6-2. Malfroy beat Browne, 6-2, 6-0. GIBLS' JUNTOS SINGLES. (Three sets, third only advantage set.) (Present champion, Dulcie Nicholls (Auckland). Semi-final. Dulcie Nicholls beat Norah Haggitt, 6-1, 6 r o. TO-DAY'S DRAW. The fpllowing is the time-table for to-day:— . . „ . 9.3o—Final Girls' Singles. 10 —Semi-finals of Ladies' Singles. 10.15—Ollivier-Seay v. Haege-Parker. 10.30 —Final Boys Singles. 11 —D. France v. Peacock. • • ••" 12—Mixed Doubles. I—Ollivier v. L. France. During the afternoon the final of the ladies' doubles will be played, and Peacock and AVilson will play France anct France. Further rounds of the mixed doubles will also be played. WILDING SHIELD. CANTERBURY TEAM. The selectors have chosen the following team to represent Canterbury against Auckland for the Anthony-Wild-ing Shield on January Ist and 2nd:— G. Ollivier (captain), I. A. Seay, P*. G. Greenwood, and D. G. Franco. Emergencies: B. B. Ivoughnan and G. G. AitlJen. After consultation with Mr E. W. Griffiths, it was decided to appoint Mr P. E. Harman to act as referee.