L. A. Gerrard May Make Another Overseas Tour

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 29016, 3 October 1959, Page 5

L. A. Gerrard May Make Another Overseas Tour

FEELING that he is just below the top level in tennis overseas, the New Zealand Davis Cup player, Lew Gerrard, of Auckland, has turned down the offer he had of a scholarship at the University of Arizona, Tucson, so that he can play in New Zealand summer tournaments and then, perhaps, make another overseas tour.

“With a bit more hard work I might be able to make the top grade. I am prepared to work hard, so who knows I might get there,” Gerrard said when he returned to Auckland recently after his third tour in successive years In spite of the Davis Cup team’s disappointing loss to Rumania in the second round, Gerrard had a most successful trip and every reason for thinking he is just short of the top, especially from his performances up to Wimbledon. Altogether, Gerrard won four singles titles—Cumberland, Sutton, Nottingham, and the British hardcourt at Bournemouth, for "’hich he received great praise from tennis critics in Britain and overseas. With Mark Otway he doubles titles in Surrey, Nottingham and Frinton.

French Singles

As well, Gerrard went out in the fourth round of the French singles to Neale Fraser, reached toe semi-finals at Manchester, he was narrowly beaten by Kurt Neilsen, of Denmark, put a magnificent performance in “8 11-13, 6-3. 7-9 loss to the American Davis Cup player, ® a rry Mackay, in the Queen’s third round, and beat a leading Frenchman, Pierre Darmon, very comfortably at Hamburg before losing to Billy Jtoight, his victim in the British ®*rdcourt. ..Gerrard's disappointments were toe loss of his second singles against Rumania to a player later “eaten by Darmon, and his elimination in the second round at **unbledon by the veteran. Gardner Mulloy. “Mulloy was too »°od on the day. He has had a

lot of experience and was a lot faster than I had expected,” Gerrard said in Auckland. “Where everything against Ireland had been most enjoyable, everything was exactly the opposite against Rumania. The line calling was really bad and by the third day we were scared to hit anywhere near the lines and were reduced to pansy stuff up the centre.”

A fellow member of the team, Woolf, was high in his praise of Gerrard’s game when he returned to Auckland. “For sheer pace and stroke-making his games in the British hardcourt tournament were the best tennis I saw,” said Woolf, who also said that none of the world’s leading players could play ground strokes like Gerrard.

Woolf said that he and Otway were both more used to grass court play and found their lack of ground strokes a source of embarrassment on the hard courts. "It was awkward for us on the European courts where the hard volley just stood up and looked at an opponent and gave him plenty of time to put back a tricky ground shot.”