LAWN TENNIS CANTERBURY TITLES

Press, Volume LXXXVIII, Issue 26662, 22 February 1952, Page 2

LAWN TENNIS CANTERBURY TITLES

SEEDED PLAYERS ALL WIN —‘ ■ - MISS MACGIBBON taken TO THREE SETS With an outstanding entry in the men’s section, including competitors from Australia and the North Island, the Canterbury lawn tennis championships opened at Wilding Park yesterday. No seeded players were beaten in either the men’s or women’s singles. The weather was perfect for tennis, with little wind. The courts were in good order, though som? were slow at the start of play. All the quarter-finalists in the men’s singles Won their first and second-round matches fairly easily, except C. AngJs (Wellington), a former New Zealand champion, who is seeded eighth, and Brian Sorensen (Wellington), fifth seeded player. The winner of the New Zealand junior title in 1950, Sorensen did not show exceptional form in his match with I. H. Johnsdn, and lost nine games to him. Sorensen will meet the first seeded player, D. Beckett (Wellington), in a quarterfinal match to-day. Other matches will be between Vqsty and/A. N. Bailey (Canterbury), Angas and W. J. Smith (Canterbury), and P. Nicholls and F Herringe, both of Wellington, ranked second and sixth respectively. The latter match should be one of the most interesting. Angas had little trouble in taking the first set of his match with the thirdranked player in Canterbury, S. Watson, but the tenacious Canterbury man began to get the measure of Angas's game in the second set. The scores were even at 4-all, when Watson took the lead for the first time in the ninth game, breaking through Angas’s service. Neither player managed to hold his service for the next seven games, until Angas rallied in the seventeenth game and quickly finished the match at 10-8. Powerful Australian F. Herringe, an Australian player who has had considerable experience against such opponents as Frank Sedgman, displayed a rather-incomplete range of shots in his match with J. McDonald (Wellington). Herringe’s services were powerful and fairly accurate, and his drives stayed very low; but many returns were untidily executed and found the net. He won, 6-2, 6-2. W. M. Logan plainly showed the effects of his lack of practice in recent weeks (he has been in camp with the 18-year-old trainees), and he made many mistakes in the first set of his match with Watson, losing at 0-6. He was down 1-4 in the second set before he began to show his real ability, and he fought grimly back for four games, taking the lead for the first time at 5-4. Services generally dominated the play and honours were even for another four games, until Watson broke through Logan’s service on the first match point in the sixteenth game. Miss Ower*s Good Fight All the first-round matches and two quarter-final matches were played in the women's singles. After a bye in the first round, the New Zealand champion, Miss Jean Mac Gibbon, was fully extended to three sets in a quarter-final match by Miss Felicity Ower. a young player whose game is still a mixture of brilliant and faulty shots. From 3-all in the first Set, Miss Mac Gibbon won three games in succession to take the first set at 6-3. Miss Ower took the initiative early in the second set, and maintained such a good length with her drives on either hand that her opponent could find no answer. When Miss Ower came to the net, which was quite often at this stage, Miss MacGibbon’s passing shots and lobs were not difficult to return. Miss Ower led 5-0, and won the set at 6-2. Miss Ower lost her service at the start of the second set, but had the advantage five times on Miss MacGlbbon's service before she broke through to equal the scores. Miss Mac Gibbon began to assert herself with improved placements and smashes from the net, and allowed her young opponent to win only one more game. Miss I. Stuart, reserve player for the Otago Nunneley Casket team last season caused a minor surprise when she beat the promising young Canterbury College senior representative, Miss Joan Buchan, in three sets. The- tournament was fairly well advanced in other sections at the close of play. Three of the four quarter-final men’s- doubles matches were played, and two matches in the women’s doubles section were also taken to this stage. Only two mixed doubles matches were contested in the first round. Detailed results:— Men's Singles First Round.—Top half: D. Beckett beat E. J. Donnithorne, 6-0, 6-0; W. A. Dickson beat I. Archibald, 7-5, 7-5; I. H. Johnson beat R. M. Caln, 6-2, 6-1; B. F. Sorensen beat I. Lovegrove, 6-2, 6-0: B. Hood beat A. L. Blackwell by default; P. R. Vesty beat D. B. Reid, 8-0, 6-0; M. M. Agar beat P. M. Wilson, 6-4, 6-3; A. N. Bailey beat W. J. Lewthwalte, 8-3, 6-1. Bottom half: W. J. Smith beat J. Cornish, 6-3, 6-2; G. Shaw beat A. D. Atkinson, 6-2, 5-7, 6-4; S. Watson beat W. M. Logan, 8-1, 9-7; C. Angas beat P. Steinmetz, 6-1, 6-0; F. Herringe beat R. Hulston, 6-1, 6-1; J. McDonald beat R. G. Pattinson, 6-2, 6-4; R. J. Telford beat S. Suckling, 6-4, 6-4; P. Nicholls beat T. Humphreys, 6-1, 8-1. Second Round—Top half: Beckett beat Dickson, 6-3, 6-4; Sorenson beat Johnson, 6-3, 8-6; Vesty beat Hood, 6-1, 6-3; Bailey beat Agar, 6-1, 6-2. Bottom haff: Smith beat Shaw, 6-0, 6-3; Angas beat Watson, 6-2, 10-8; Herringe beat McDonald, 6-2, 6-2; Nicholls beat Telford, 6-4, 6-2. Women's Singles First Round.—Top half: Miss J. MacGibbon, a bye; Miss W. Ower beat Miss J. Fairlie, 6-3, 6-1; Miss J. Beadel beat Miss S. Murray, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4; Miss H. Henderson beat Mrs G. Robinson, 6-3, 8-6. Bottom half: Miss D. Bennett beat Miss J. Tregear, 6-8, 6-2, 6-10; Miss I. Stuart beat Miss J. Buchan, 2-6, 6-4, 6-0; Miss P. Allen beat Miss P. Cuddon, 6-4, 6-4; Miss L. Luxton, a bye. Quarter-finals: Miss Mac Gibbon beat Miss Ower, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2; Miss Luxton beat Miss Allen, 6-3, 6-1. Men’s Doubles First Round.—P. Nicholls and F. Herringe. a bye; I. Johnson and A. D. Atkinson beat S. Watson and A. L. Blackwell, by default; P. Vesty and W. M. Logan beat R. M. Cain and B. Hood, 6-4, 6-1; J. McDonald and D. Beckett beat R. Hulston and T. Humphries, 6-3, 6-0; G. Shaw and S. Suckling beat W. A. Dickson and J. Cornish, 7-5, 5-7. 7-5; T. W. Callander and R. G. Pattinson beat P. Wilson and M. M. Agar, 6-0, 6-1; A. N. Bailey and W. J. Smith beat I. Lovegrove and D. Reid, 6-0, 6-0; C. Angas and B. Sorensen beat W. G. Lewthwalte and P. Steinmetz, 6-2, 6-3. Quarter-finals. —Nicholls and Herringe beat Johnson and Atkinson, 6-2, 6-3; McDonald and Beckett beat Shaw and Suckling, 6-4, 6-1; Bailey and Smith beat Vesty and Logan, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4. Women’s Doubles Frst Round.—Misses J. Mac Gibbon and L. Luxton, a bye; Mesdames J. Fairlie and H. Lovegrove, a bye; Misses P. Allen and J. Buchan beat Mesdames A. Cheyne and J. Llpcombe, 6-3, 7-5; Misses J, Beadel and S. Murray, a bye; Misses H. Henderson and N. J. Walker, a bye; Misses J. Tregear and F. Ower beat Mrs W. Redpath and Miss B. Hatherley, 6-0 (Mrs Redpath retired hurt): Misses P. CUddon and D. Bennett beat Misses M. Henderson and B. Jenkins, 6-1, 6-3; Mesdames G. Robinson and G. O’Connor, a bye. Quarter-finals. —Misses Henderson and Walker beat Misses Beadel and Murray, 6-2, 6-0; Misses Mac Gibbon and Luxton beat Mesdames Fairlie and Lovegrove. 6-2, 4-6, 6-3. Mixed Doubles First Round.—l. Lovegrove and Mrs H. Lovegrove beht W. D. Rawlings and Miss J. Tregear. 6-1, 5-7, 6-0; F. Herringe and Miss J. Buchan beat R .Hulston and Miss N. J. Walker. 6-3, 6-2; P. Nicholls and Miss H. Henderson, a bye.