NATIONAL TENNIS AT NEW YEAR

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22592, 23 December 1938, Page 7

NATIONAL TENNIS AT NEW YEAR

'Major Fixture for Wilding Park

CANTERBURY’S GOOD PROSPECTS; ENTRIES REVIEWED

[By CRCksSCOURT]

The difference that the transfer of A. D. Brown from Auckland to Christchurch has made to the strength of Canterbury lawn tennis becomes apparent by a glance at the draw for the New Zealand championships, which will be held after the Canterbury provincial tournament, which will open to-morrow. Canterbury not only has a real chance to win the premier event, the men’s singles championship, for the first time since 1931, but it may easily have four players in the semi-final round.

- It is to be expected that the visiting Australian players will dominate the women’s events; Canterbury's strength in the men's section will give the province an excellent chance of capturing the Wilding Memorial Cup, -which is awarded annually to the association whose players score most points for successes in the championship finals. Canterbury, a fairly consistent winner of this trophy in the first eight years of competition, has not been successful since the 1927-28 season. The entries for the New Zealand championships compare very favourably with those for national tournaments of recent years. The total entries are 152, as against 162 at Auckland last year, 152 at Timaru the year before, and 114 at Wellington in 1935. Likely Semi-Finalists

Miss T. Poole’s Chance A first-round upset may come from the match between Miss Cooke and the Canterbury champion. Miss T. Poole. Miss Cooke, a young player, has earned a high reputation in the North Island, but she has not yet been seen in the south. She played most consistently last year and earned a New Zealand ranking for the first time. Miss Poole, who disappointed in the New Zealand championships at Auckland last year, may be a very different player on her home courts. Miss Hardcastle’s first opponent will be the winner of the match between two Canterbury players, Miss B. Gould and Miss I. Morrison. Indications are that the semi-finalists will be Misses M. Beverley and Rice and Misses Hardcastle and Miller. The last-mentioned may find the hard-driv-ing Waikato player, Miss N. Beverley, a difficult opponent in the quarter-final, but if her form has not been affected adversely by the injury which kept her out of the game for part of last season, she should repeat her success of the 1937-38 semi-final, when she beat Miss Beverley in straight sets. Miss M. Beverley, one of the youngest champions New Zealand has ever had. may be expected thoroughly to extend Miss Rice; Miss Hardcastle would probably be beyond her powers.

Canterbury has three seeded players in the first lour—A. D. Brown, C. Angas, and H. A. Barnett. R. G. Pattinson is seeded fifth. He is in the quarter of the draw occupied by J. T. Mayson (Auckland), whom he should have an excellent chance of beating. The seeding committee’s expectations are that the quarter-final matches, reading in order from the top of the draw, will be:—Brown v. N. F. N. Bedford (formerly of Wellington, and now of Auckland), Mayson v. Pattinson, Barnett v. J. W. Gunn (Auckland), and Angas v. Sturt (Auckland). It is seldom that there are no casualties among the seeded players before this stage of the tournament is reached, and an indication can be given here of possible upsets in the early rounds. Brown has H. Dymond, Canterbury’s third ranked player in his section, but he is likely to take this match in bis stride if he is in his best form. Dymond himself will have no easy mutch against the youthful W. J. Smith (Otago). Bedford may find N. V. Edwards (Wellington) more than a match for him in the third round. Mayson has a hard section of the draw, containing E. A. Roussel! (Wellington', K. W. Dyer (Wellington), and C r . F. Penfold (Canterbury). Roussell. a wonderfully sound and steady player, is most likely to upset expectations here. Pattinson also has a difficult path to follow. He begins with that most tenacious fighter, R. McL. Verkins, of Wellington, and if he is successful in this game he will meet the winner of B. E. Souter (Canterbury),who recently extended him in an in - ter-club match, and D. B. Livingstone. Waikato’s No. 2 player. The Final Rounds

For Angas and Sturt all should be plain sailing until their quarter-final match. None of Barnett’s opponents is likely to trouble, either. Gunn’s least tractable opponent is likely to be J. Roach, the Waikato champion, who has wins over Barnett and Dymond in a Wilding Shield match’to his credit. There is scope for an unexpected development here. On past performances and what is known of present form the only doubtful quarter-final match should be that between Mayson and Pattinson. Brown should beat Bedford without trouble, and Barnett should prove too consistent for that shrewd tactician, Gunn. Angas has not yet lost to Sturt, but his record in the championships over the last few years has been most disappointing. . In a five-set match, too Angas may find Barnett no easy opiponent in the semi-final. Brown has ;been beaten before by his former 'doubles partner, Mayson, but with his overseas experience and general improvement he should account for the winner of the Mayson-Pa Hinson bracket. An Angas-Brown final is likely, but by no means certain. Should he get so far Angas would undoubtedly make a bold bid to recapture the title which he held in 1929 and 1931, and which Brown won for the first, time last season.

Australians’ Strength

How strong are the Australian Women visitors? More will be known of their ability after the Wellington championships at Christmas, but in the meantime it may be assumed that, like most of their predecessors from across the Tasman, they will have much to teach New Zealand’s women players. That should certainly apply to Miss M. Hardcastle, who is ranked sixth in Australia; Miss T. Rice is not quite so distinguished a player. In the entry of 31 women players are many who might well have been considered for seeding ahead of the chosen eight, and it will not be at all sur-

prising if there are some big surprises Deiore the tournament has progressed The seedings should bring the owuig pairs into opposition in the wjjrtcr-finals;—Miss M. Beverley (Waiy. Miss B. L. Bishop CAuckn» i,’.. Miss Rice v. Miss E. Plummer iwemngton). Miss D. Miller (North j-SSo) v. Miss N. Beverley (Waikato), v. Miss P. Cooke Miss M. Beverley will have by no an easy first and second round. yjfS, fl rst opponent will be Miss M. (Canterbury), a former national oubies; champion, and her second Miss' vn,l (Southland), a promising pla y fir w h° should have bene®d from her trip to Australia last

year. In Miss Rice’s section are Miss M. Howe, one of Wellington’s leading players, and Miss K. Armstrong, the Canterbury youngster who made such an outstanding advance last year. Miss Plummer may be upset by Miss J. Douthett, one of Wellington’s most promising young players. Miss Miller meets first Miss I. Poole, Canterbury’s second ranked player.,, and then the winner of the match ~%tween Mrs C. B. Beatson (Nelson)—a former Canterbury champion—and Miss J. Burns, a leading Wellington player. Both will be hard games, but she should bo equal to them.

Doubles Possibilities There are numbers of good pairs to threaten the progress of seeded combinations in all the doubles events. Roussell and Ferkins, who have won the men’s doubles for two successive years, will meet a strong Canterbury pair, Pattinson and Penfold, in the first round. Nor will the other seeded pair in the same half, Barnett and Cant, have an easy passage, for Roach and Livingstone and Edwards and Dyer, two very competent pairs, are in the same section of the draw. Angas and Brown have yet to give evidence of the teamwork without which two individually brilliant players can be innocuous in doubles, but they should have no difficulty in reaching the semi-final, where tbeir opponents should be Sturt and Mayson. The latter pair will first have to dispose of Dymond and Corich, and later Gunn and Bedford. In either case they may strike trouble.

Angas and Brown v. Ferkins and Roussell is a likely final, with the result depending on the measure of teamwork which the former pair can develop during the preliminary rounds and the Canterbury championships.

The Australian women should be unbeatable in the women’s doubles. Misses T. and 1. Poole, title-holders two years ago. are in the same half of the draw, and to reach the semifinal will have to dispose of a pair who very nearly beat them last season, Mrs Beatson and Miss Armstrong. The only threat to the seeded pairs in the other half of the draw. Misses M. and N. Beverley (the present champions) and Misses Cooke and Bishop, are Misses Miller and Wilson, who should meet the Beverley sisters in the second round.

Miss M. Beverley won her third title last year by capturing the mixed event with Gunn. There are many good pairs in the event this year, but the odds favour Sturt, and Miss Hardcastle. In the quarter-final they are likely to meet Miss Rice and Penfold, the lastmentioned being a Canterbury youngster who has a distinct flair for mixed doubles. The other quarter-final in the same half should be between Ferkins and Miss Miller and Sharpe and Miss Glenny—“dark horses” from Hawke’s Bay, who reached the final of the event last year. The seeded pairs in the top half are Gunn and Miss M. Beverley, Mayson and Miss T. Poole. Angas and Miss I. Poole, and Brown, and Miss Cooke, all strong pairs between whom it is hard to differentiate.