LAWN TENNIS

Press, Volume LXXXVII, Issue 26362, 5 March 1951, Page 3

LAWN TENNIS

NUNNELEY CASKET SEMI-FINAL

CANTERBURY’S EASY WIN AGAINST WELLINGTON The Canterbury team had an easy win in the semi-final of the Nunneley Casket interprovincial lawn tennis competition when it won five out of six matches at Wilding Park on Saturday. It is some years since a team has won by as wide a margin as 10 matches to 2. As on the first day, Canterbury took all four singles matches, and the doubles were again divided.

The grass courts had dried out and were in surprisingly good condition. Several shower* fell towards the end of the singles matches, however, making the surface very slippery. Although the result could have no effect on the outcome of the series, since Canterbury had won 10 matches before it was half finished, the doubles game in which Mis* J. Mac Gibbon >and Mrs M. Potts beat Mesdames T. McGregor and M. Green after three sets was perhaps the hardest-fought match of the day. Mrs Green, who replaced Miss B. Meyer in the Wellington team, often had Miss Mac Gibbon badly beaten with well-placed shots. The national junior champion, Miss J. O'Brien made a strong challenge in the second set to Miss L. Luxton's first' set advantage, and won after taking the set to 20 games. Miss O'Brien went to pieces in the final set, and lost the set, 6-1. Miss Luxton played extremely well. She drove very deep and kept an excellent length, playing her- backhand shots with great accuracy. Another interesting singles match was that between Miss A. Walker (Wellington) and Mrs M. Potts. Leading 7-6 in the third set, Miss Walker lost three match points after leading 40-0. In the next game, Miss Walker broke Mrs Potts’s'service to regain the lead, but was apparently feeling the strain, and allowed her opponent to take the next three games in quick succession to win the set and match.

Miss Mac Gibbon gave Mrs McGregor no chance In their singles contest, winning in two straight sets. Canterbury will play Auckland in the final of this series at Wilding Park next Saturday./ Results (Canterbury names first):— Singles—Miss J. Mac Gibbon beat MrsT. McGregor, 6-2, 6-2; Mrs M. Potts beat Miss A. Walker, 4-6, 7-5, 10-8; Miss L. Luxton beat Miss J. O’Brien, 6-2, 9-11, 6-l;T4rs l£ Donnithorne beat Mrs M. Green, 6-1, 6-2. Doubles.—Miss Mac Gibbon and Mrs Potts lost to Mesdames McGregor and Green, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4; Mr* Donnithorne and Mis* Luxton beat Misses O’Brien and Walker, 6-4, 6-2.