SECOND DAY OF N.Z. TOURNEY

Press, Volume XCIII, Issue 27862, 10 January 1956, Page 5

SECOND DAY OF N.Z. TOURNEY

LA WN TENNIS I

Injury Causes McDonald

To Withdraw

ONLY UPSET OF SEEDINGS IN WOMEN’S SINGLES

The main surprise on the second day of the New Zealand lawn tennis championships at Wilding Park was the withdrawal of the promising Wellington player, J. R. McDonald, from all sections of the tournament. McDonald pulled a muscle in his match with D. F. Radford (Otago) on Saturday, and he was in obvious pain when he played another- Otago player, M. A.. Ellis, yesterday.

Seeded third. McDonald has been in fine form in recent weeks. He won the Canterbury title and reached the final of the South Island title at Timaru, beating some of, New Zealand’s top players in both tournaments. His prospects of becoming a national champion were very bright. McDonald was examined by another player, Dr. A. D. L. Hunter, of Canterbury, who advised that if he carried on he might do himself more harm. He and C. T. Parker (Auckland) were seeded third in the men’s doubles, and had already won one match. McDonald was not entered in the mixed doubles.

The only upset of seedings was in the women’s singles. The top national junior, Miss R. Morrison, of Auckland, beat Miss B. Nelson (Wellington), seeded seventh, 6-3, 6-4, in a fine match on one of the centre courts.

Winner of the New Zealand junior title last year and also the Canterbury women’s title, Miss Morrison, although ranked top of the junior list, did not gain a senior ranking. She was unseeded for this tournament, but has shown her ability by winning the North Island title recently and by her play yesterday.

In beautiful weather with very little wind, the second rounds of both the men’s and women s singles were completed. The courts were much faster than they were on Saturday.

The match between Misses Morrison and Nelson mainly consisted of very fine baseline driving, with long and hard-fought rallies. After taking the first set, 6-3, Miss Morrison faced a 2-4 deficit in the second, but her smoothly-flowing, well-placed drives won her the match.

A most attractive player to watoh. Miss Nelson impressed with a flat backhand and some neatly-judged lobs, but towards the end of the second set, when she needed them most, her shots were not finding the lines. She survived four match points before she lost to a player with an imperturbable match temperament. Spectators found some of their greatest interest in two five-set matches on back courts., G. I. Nicholson (Otago) beat J. J. Bbrou'.h (Auckland), 3-6. 6-2. 6-4. 4-6, 7-5; and M. L: Dunn (Wellington), seeded eighth, beat C. W. Pritchard, also of Otago. 4-6, 4-6. 6-2, 6-2, 6-3. Nicholson had a 2-1 lead in sets when he fell into errors, and Borough showed great determination to take the fourth set. With plenty of brisk net play between two very evenly matched contestants. Borough went to a 5-1 lead in the fifth set, but Nicholson took six games in a row, and the match ended 3hr 20min after it began.

Better known as one of New Zealand’s foremost table tennis players, Dunn was given a difficult task by Pritchard. He made a fine recovery to win after losing the first two sets. Best Match of Day

The best match of the day was undoubtedly that between sixth-seeded P. Becroft (Auckland) and the Otago iunior, D. V. Shaw. At a high peak of fitness, Becroft covered the court very quickly, gave difficulty with his service, and smashed devastatingly to win. 4-6. 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.. Both played most aggressively all round the court, and Shaw appeared to have a good chance after he won the first set on some of Becroft’s simple errors. Later, in spite of Shaw’s fighting qualities and accurate ground strokes, Becroft gained an advantage with his consistent net attacks and some neat drop shots.

J. E. Robson (Auckland) and R. S. McKenzie (Wellington) both won their second-round matches with good scores. Robson, showing much improvement .on his Canterbury and South Island form, was given little opposition by Canterbury’s foremost junior, A. D. Huston. Robson won without the loss of a game. With Huston not nearly at his best and seeming somewhat overawed, Robson exerted pressure throughout to play Huston all over the court. Huston made more mistakes than usual, including many double faults. After winning the first two sets fairly easily, although there were many deuce games, • McKenzie was given a stern struggle by A. D. L. Hunter, of Canterbury, in the third. Hunter volloyed well, especially on

his backhand, but McKenzie’s positional play and ability to force gaps were decisive.

It was evident that McDonald was suffering from an injury when he frequently put his hand to his stomach and showed a lack of his usual energy in his match with M. A. Ellis (Otago). Showing little of his recent form, he won, 6-4, 7-5. 6-4, and was fully extended by Ellis. McDonald played very casually, and the match deteriorated in the third set, both making many mistakes. Ellis served well, and on occasion played all over McDonald, but he could not hold his advantage.

Two Canterbury players have reached the third round—A. N. Bailey and R. G. Pattinson. Bailey had an easy win over T. L. Le Comte, also of Canterbury, 6-1, 6-2, 6-0, but Pattinson was tested to beat P. C. Angland (South Canterbury), 6-4, 6-2, 8-6. Pattinson’s good strategic play, clever lobs, and accurate backhand won him the day. Two other Canterbury entrants, B. R. Crawford and M. C. Healey, were eliminated by P. G. Nicholls (Wellington) and B. E, Woolf (Auckland). Crawford hit his forehand particularly well, but Nicholls’s net attack was much too good. Miss Bulleid in Form The English Miss R. Bultoid. was again in excellent form. She beat Mrs E. G. de Bazin (Otago), without the loss of a game. Although Miss Bulleid was unseeded she has now reached the quarter-finals of the women’s singles. She will have a harder task when she meets Mrs H. Robson today. Her strong service and long ground strokes kept Mrs de Bazin continually on the defence. Mrs de Bazin played some good passing shots, but she was unable to cope with volleys and smashes to the corners. The winner of both the Canterbury and South Island titles, Miss S. Cox (Wellington), seeded fourth. took some time to settle down against Canterbury's top woman. Mrs J. Lewis, but she won. 6-3, 6-0. Retrieving brilliantly and driving with power. Mrs Lewis held Miss Cox to 3-3 at the beginning. Later Miss Cox placed intelligently, and made few mistakes. Seeded second. Mrs H. Robson (Auckland) beat Mrs E. Lambert (West Coast), 6-1, 6-0, by keeping a good length and hitting hard. She swung the ball from side to side, pnd Mrs Lambert was not quick enough to get to returns. When she was, Mrs Robson was usually at the net to cut them off. Mrs Robson served several aces. Another West Coast player, Miss J. Lambert, a daughter of Mrs Lambert, went down to the third seed, Miss P. Nettleton (Auckland), 1-6, 3-6. In the final of the Canterbury mixed doubles title, which had been held over, Robson and Mrs Robson beat A. S. Burns and Miss E. Becroft (Auckland), 6-3, 9-7. The following abbreviations are used in the results:—A., Auckland; W., Wellington: C„ Canterbruy; 0., Otago; S.C.. South Canterbury; W.C., West Coast; 8., Britain: N.. Nelson; Wai., Waikato. Results:— MEN’S SINGLES (Holder: J. A. Barry, Wellington.) Second Round R. S. McKenzie (W.) beat A. D. L. Hunter (C.), 6-2, 6-0. 6-4. J. R. McDonald (W.) beat M.-A. Ellis (O.), 6-4, 7-5, 6-4.

W. H. Scoltock (N.) beat F. G. Dick (W.). 6-8, 6-0, 6-3, 6-2. P. Becroft (A.) beat D. V. Shaw (O.). 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4. J. E. Robson (A.) beat A. D. Huston (C.), 6-0, 6-0. 6-0. A. N. Bailey (C.) beat T. L. Le Comte (C.), 6-1, 6-2, 6-0. P. G. Nicholls (W.) beat B. R. Crawford (C.), 6-1, 6-3, 6-1. R. G. Pattinson (C.) beat P. C. Angland (S.C.), 6-4, 6-2, 8-6. _ B. E. Woolf (A.) beat "M. C. Healey (C.), 6-4, 6-3, 6-3. M. L. Dunn (W.) beat C. W. Pritchard (O.). 4-6, 4-6. 6-2. 6-2, 6-3. M. B. Tait (Wai.) beat T. W. Callander (C.). 6-4, 6-8, 8-6, 6-1. G. I. Nicohlson (O.) beat J. J. Borough (A.), 3-6, 6-2, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5. WOMEN’S SINGLES (Holder: Mrs J. F. Tinnock. formerly Miss Burke, Auckland). Second Round Miss R. Morrison (A.) beat Miss B. Nelson (W.), 6-3, 6-4. Miss P. Nettelton (A.) beat Miss J. Lambert (W.C.), 6-1, 6-3. Mrs H. Rot son (A.) beat Mrs E. Lambert (W.C.). 6-1, 6-0. Miss R. Bulleid (B.) beat Mrs E. G. de Bazin (O.), 6-0, 6-0. Miss S. Cox (W.) beat Mrs J. Lewis (C.), 6-3, 6-0. MEN’S DOUBLES (Holders: J. A. Barry and J. E. Robson.) First Round - Becroft and Healey beat Ferkins and Wright. 6-0, 6-1, 6-1. McKenzie and Nicholls beat Cormack and Crawford, 6-0, 6-1, 6-1. . MIXED DOUBLES (Holders: J. A. Barry and Miss E. Becroft.) First Round Burns and Miss Becroft beat Huston and Miss Hopkinson, 6-3, 6-1. Steinmetz and Mrs Lewis beat Bright--* well and Mrs Brightwell, 1-6, 6-3, 6-1. Scoltock and Miss Field beat M. Healey and Miss Pauli, 6-3, 6-4. Parker and Miss Nettleton beat Angland and Miss Oliver, 6-1, 7-5. DRAW FOR THIRD DAY Men’s Singles.—ll a.m.: J. E. Robson v. A. N. Bailey, court 1; R. S. McKenzie v. G. L. Nicholson, court 2; P. Becroft v. E. Kirkland, court 3; M. B. Tait v. A. G. Burns, court 4; P. G. Nicholls v. R. G. Pattinson, court 5. 12 noon: B. E. Woolf v. G. T. Parker, court 1. 12.30: M. L. Dunn v. P. Healey, court 2. Women’s Singles.—l.ls p.m.: Miss E. Becroft v. Miss K. Morrison, court 1; Miss P. Nettleton v. Miss D. King, court 3; Miss S. Cox v. Mrs H. Dykes, court 3. 2 p.m.: Mrs H. Robson v. Miss R Bulleid, court 2.

These will be followed by the second rounds of the men’s doubles and the mixed doubles.