LAWN TENNIS NORTH ISLAND JUNIORS TO PLAY SEMI-FINALS

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28805, 28 January 1959, Page 13

LAWN TENNIS NORTH ISLAND JUNIORS TO PLAY SEMI-FINALS

Three Wellington boys and one from the Waikato will contest the semi-finals for the Coronation Cup at the B.P. national junior lawn tennis tournament which will conclude at Wilding Park today. Three Auckland girls and one from the Waikato will make -up the semi-finals for the Coronation Rose Bowl. There were no surprises yesterday and the eight players have all emerged according to form shown in the New Zealand junior tournament, interprovincial matches and other meetings this season. In the boys’ semi-finals, J. B •Souter (Wellington) will play R. Hawkes (Wellington), and R. Clarke (Wellington), who beat Souter in the national under 19 singles final, will play the New Zealand under 17 champion I Crookenden, of Waikato. Souter won this tournament last year. In the girls’ semi-finals, last year’s winner, Miss E. Green (Auckland) will play another Aucklander, Miss P. Belton, and the national under 17 girls’ champion, Miss M. Smith, of Waikato, who beat Miss Belton in that final, will meet Miss H. Lockington, of Auckland. Play, which has been on back courts for the first two days, will be shifted to the centre courts today with the four semi-finals in the morning and the finals in the afternoon. Conditions varied yesterday with a north-westerly wind for the first part of the day, a calm with some spots of rain in the middle, and later southwesterly winds. The trying heat continued throughout. Souter Loses Set Of the eight semi-finalists, the 16-year-old Souter was the only one who lost a set yesterday. He beat a tall left-hander from Northland, K. O’Carroll, 4-6, 6-2. 6-2. After the first day Souter and O’Carroll had both won two matches each in their section and it looked as if. their meeting would be a crucial one for the section until B. Corbett, a boy from the Bay. of Plenty, who looks surprisingly like the professional, Richard Gonzales, beat O’Carroll, 6-4. 1-6, 6-3, in the morning. Corbett played his drives far too close to his body but he imparted plenty of pace and, in spite .-of his awkward style, he played with great determination and deserved his win. If Souter had lost to O’Carroll they would have then had three wins each in the section but Souter would still probably have entered the semifinals on a count-back. However, Souter, who lost the first set partly because of his own errors at net and at half-court and partly because of some fine passing shots by O’Carroll, made no mistake about winning the next two. He played with far more purpose, with fewer misfakes and he covered the court with his usual quickness; his shots were much cleaner. Hard Set Hawkes, whom Souter will meet today, was fully in control when he beat M. Mathieson (Wairarapa), in his first match, and in the first set of his second match with L. Walpole, of Can-

terbury. Then Walpole gave him a hard struggle in the second set. Hawkes won an interesting match, 6-1, 9-7. In the first set he went to net a lot to put away good volleys and he kept a marked advantage. In the second set the Wellington boy made a lot of errors, especially in overhead at tbe beginning, and Walpole had leads at 5-4 and 7-6. Walpole’s retrieving was excellent but he could not finish off the set.

Clarke beat D. Cowe, of Hutt Valley, with the loss of only two games in his first match and then he met M. Wilford, of Hawke’s Bay, another undefeated player, in his second match. Wiiford had his knee bandaged and at times he only hobbled about the court but he put up a fine struggle for all that. Clarke won, 6-4, 6-1, using his sound basic strokes and consistency, but Wilford put in some very strong services and he hit all his shots hard and at the top. He could not run for many. Crookenden was in grand form when he beat B. Young (Auckland), 6-2, 6-2, and A. Hatherley (Canterbury), who had been put in the draw on Monday at the last moment to fill a vacancy, without losS of a game. Crucial Matches In the girls’, section there were three crucial matches when unbeaten players met yesterday. Miss Belton beat Miss R. Jones (Southland), 6-1, 9-7; Miss Lockington beat Miss P. O’Carroll (Northland), 6-4, 6-2; and Miss Smith beat Miss E. Cavaye (Hutt Valley), 6-0, 6-2. The match between Misses Belton and Jones had markedly varying sets with Miss Belton vastly superior in the first and struggling hard in the second. In the second set Miss Jones was driving a lot better and winning points with shots into the corners but Miss Belton gained her advantage in the end by better positional play. Miss Lockington seemed surer in her ground shots than Miss O’Carroll, who sent her opponent too many short shots. It was generally a driving duel and Miss Lockington was able to put them out of Miss O’Carroll’s reach eventually by varying from side to side. Miss Smith, who looks in excellent form, lost only two games to Miss Cavaye. Her cleanly-hit drives and tidy all-round game were too much for an opponent who impressed occasionally with sorties to the net. Miss Smith kept a good length, had a great deal of force in her drives and made few errors. Results:— Boys (Coronation Cup) Group I.—B. Corbett (Bay of Plenty) beat L. Milne (Auckland), 6-3, 6-4; J. B. Souter (Wellington) beat J. Taylor (Hutt Valley), 6-4. 6-4; Corbett beat K. O’Carroll (Northland). 6-4, 1-6, 6-3; Taylor beat Milne, 8-6, 7-5; Souter beat O’Carroll, 4-6, 6-2. 6-2.

Group 2.—L. Walpole (Canterbury) beat J. Brady (Manawatu), 6-3, 8-10, 6-3; R- Hawkes (Wellington) beat M. Mathieson (Wairarapa), 6-2, 6-1; Brady beat R. Purser (Taranaki), 6- 6-3; Hawkes beat Walpole, 8-6, 7- Purser beat Mathieson, 6-0, 6-3.

Group 3.—J. Mahoney (Southland) beat D. Cowe (Hutt. Valley), 6-1. 6-4; M. Wilford (Hawke’s Bay) beat M. Thom (Canterbury), 6-4, 6-3; R.

Clarke (Wellington) beat Cowe, 6-1, 6-1; Mahoney beat Thom, 6-2, 6-1; Clarke beat Wilford, 6-4, 6-1. Group 4.—1. Crookenden (Waikato) beat B. Young (Auckland), 6-2, 6-2; G. Moss (Canterbury) beat D.. Heatherbell (Nelson), 9-7, 6-3; Crookenden beat A. Hatherley (Canterbury), 6-0, 6-0; Young beat Heatherbell, 9-7, 6-2; Moss beat Hatherley, 6-1, 6-1. Girls (Coronation Rose Bowl) Group I.—E. Green (Auckland) beat J. Andrews (Canterbury), 6-3, 6- J. Hay vice (Wellington) beat C. Wansbone (Northland), 6-1, 6-4; G. Hirst (Hutt Valley) beat Andrews. 7- 6-3; Green beat Wansbone, 6-1, 6-0; Hayvice beat Hirst, 6-2, 6-0. Group 2.—P. Belton (Auckland) beat R. Jones (Southland), 6-1, 9-7; A. Smillie (Taranaki) beat R. Garland (Wairarapa), 6-4, 6-1; Belton beat M. Stewart (Otago), 6-0, 6-0; Jones beat Garland. 6-2. 6-2; Stewart beat Smillie, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1. Group 3.—S. Sutton (Otago) beat G. Paterson (Wellington), 7-5, 6-0; H. Lockington (Auckland) beat P. O’Carroll (Northland), 6-4, 6-2; Paterson beat J. Shenahan (Bay of Plenty), 5-7, 6-2, 6-2; Lockington beat Sutton, 6-1, 7-5; O’Carroll beat Shenahan, 6-0, 4-6, 6-3. Group 4.—E. Cavaye (Hutt Valley) beat G. Ogilvie (West Coast), 6-1, 6-4; B. Green (Nelson) beat J. Hatch (Canterbury). 5-7, 6-4, 6-4; M. Smith (Waikato) beat Cavaye, 6-0, 6-2; Ogilvie beat Hatch, 6-3, 6-4. Smith beat Green, 6-1, 6-2.