Rose wall Fights Back To Win Wimbledon Semi-Final

Press, Volume XCIV, Issue 28013, 6 July 1956, Page 7

Rose wall Fights Back To Win Wimbledon Semi-Final

LAWN TENNIS

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright)

LONDON, July 4. The Australian, Ken Rosewall, the No. 2 seed for the Wimbledon mens singles title, reached the final today after one of the most brilliant fighting come-backs of his career. In the fifth and deciding set, his opponent, Vic Seixas. of the United States, had smashed his way to a 5-2 lead. But Rosewall calmly and confidently broke Seixas’s service three times and held his own twice to win the crucial final set 7-5. The full score was 6-3, 3-6, 6-8, 6-3. 7-5. The match, which lasted four hours, was delayed for two hours and 20 minutes by rain when each of the players had won a set, 6-3 and Rosewall was 5-4 in the third set. The final set of the match was marred by a patch of bad temper from Seixas after a Rosewall smash was called in. The score was then one game all and deuce. Sexias yelled “No” to the line umpire and demonstrated with his hand and his racket how far out he thought the smash was. Then he stalked around angrily, swishing his racket. The usually restrained crowd began to heckle Seixas and several people loudly yelled: “Get on with Seixas turned to the crowd and yelled. “Shut up,” but his voice was drowned by the crowd, who obviously sided with those yelling for Seixas to continue. Seixas angrily went back to the service line and won the game. Then, apparently goaded into fight by what he considered a shocking injustice, he broke Rosewall’s service twice to lead 5-2. But then it was Rosewall’s turn to fight and his brilliant stroke play prevented Seixas from taking another game. After the match, Rosewall said he was not affected by the long break for rain or by Seixas’s remonstrances with the line umpire. “While this was going on 1 was having a rest,” said Rosewall. He would not say whether he considered the questioned smash in or out. “It was difficult to see from where I was standing, but I think it was pretty close,” he said.

Rosewall modestly dismissed his win by saying: “For any player to be 2-5

down and win there must be a certain amount of luck, and I guess I have the luck. I realised I had to try something else, because my game so far in the set was not good enough.” Number of Errors The early part of the match contained a fair number of errors. Seixas was playing the steadier tennis, but Rosewall, although a little patchier than usual, was getting back some difficult returns and back-hand cross-court shots. His return of Seixas’s service on the forehand was often at fault, and he said afterwards that there seemed to be patches of lawn where the ball skidded and kept low. Many of the forehand services that Rosewall did not return were quite high, however, and swinging away. At one stage before the rain. Rosewall had a run of poor net volleys. He appeared to be hitting them down too much and they were smashing into the middle or the base of the net. However, when he got the shot working properly, and the ball did clear the net. it kept so low that Seixas’s returns were played half on the wood and half on the strin'gs. Rosewall’s speed often beat Seixas, and he won gentle drop shots that Seixas considered were perfectly safe. Because of the delay caused by rain, the second men's singles semi-final between the favourite. Lew Hoad (Australia) and American, Ham Richardson, was postponed until tomorrow. Two women’s singles semi-finals will also be played tomorrow, when the top seeded Miss Louise Brough (United States) will play the second seed, Miss Shirley Fry, also of the United States. Sixth seeded Miss Angela Buxton (Britain) will play the unseeded British player, Miss Pat Ward. The only men's doubles semi-final will be between the Italian pair Pietrangeli and Sirola, and the Australians, Cooper and Fraser. The outstanding quarter-final between Candy (Australia) and Perry (United States) arid Howe (Australia) and Larsen (United States) is also scheduled for tomorrow. Results:— Men’s Singles Semi-final.—K. Rosewall (Australia) beat V. Seixas (United States), 6-3, 3-6, 6-8, 6-3, 7-5. Women’s Doubles Third Round.—Mrs D. L. Wedderburn (South Africa) and Miss G. E. Woodgate (Britain) beat Miss E. Becroft (New Zealand) and Miss R. J. R. Bulleid (Britain), 6-3, 3-6, 6-4. Fourth Round.—Misses F. Muller and D. Seeney (Australia) beat Misses D. Spiers and G. Walter (Britain), 6-2, 6-4. Mixed Doubles Third Round.—N. A. Fraser (Australia) and Miss P. E. Ward (Britain) beat S. Davidson (Sweden) and Miss M. H. O'Donnell (Australia), 7-9, 7-5, 6-3; G. D. Oakley and Miss P. A. Hird (Britain) beat W. S. Farrer and Miss E. van Tender (South Africa), 8-6, 6-2; Malcolm Anderson and Miss Fay Muller (Australia) beat R. Holmberg and Mrs D. P. Knode (United States), 6-4, 6-3.