Gerrard's Fine Display Of Controlled Tennis

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 29067, 2 December 1959, Page 20

Gerrard's Fine Display Of Controlled Tennis

There is now no further cause for complaint that the members of the New Zealand Davis Cup team are not showing their,play for the three of them took part in the early rounds of the Remuera invitation tournament. It was virtually the only chance to see Lew Gerrard at his best since his return and he did not disappoint. The British hardcourt champion beat his Davis Cup team-mate, Brian Woolf, 6-1, 6-1, with a magnificent display of power and controlled tennis. Mark Otway beat K. H. Long, 6-2, 6-4. Suffering from tonsilitis, Otway had to default his semi-final match to Jeff Robson and Gerrard beat P. G. Nicholls, 6-3, 7-5. In the final, Gerrard, who lost 6-4, 5-6, 4-6, to Robson in a club match the previous day, beat Robson, 6-4, 6-0.

The challenge to Auckland for the Wilding Shield by a combined team representing the Taranaki, Manawatu, Wanganui and Hawke’s Bay associations has been turned down by the New Zealand association on the grounds that only a combined team of two associations may challenge for the shield. At first the New Zealand association had allowed the challenge before it had the rule brought to its notice. Auckland will now have challenges only from Wellington, Waikato and Otago.

There were two major upsets in Wellington tennis recently. In a men’s ranking match, B. R. Boon, who attained eighth national ranking in 1957 but whose form had slipped since, beat New Zealand’s top junior and ninth-ranked senior, J. B. Souter, 8-6, 3-6, 6-2.

I In a women’s club match, Mrs H. Ward (Khandallah), formerly top player for Northern Districts, beat the third ranked national player, Miss B. Nelson (Karori), 6-2, 1-6, 6-3. It was described as the biggest surprise for some seasons. Miss Nelson has also been' beaten in a ranking match by the top-ranked ¥ New Zealand junior for last season, Miss M. Johnston.

Mr C. S. Plank, honorary secre-tary-treasurer of the New Zealand Lawn Tennis Umpires’ Association, is writing a pamphlet containing "umpiring instructions for children” which it is proposed to use in the Wellington association where there is a demand for such information.

The top ranked New Zealand man and woman, Jeff Robson and Miss Ruia Morrison, made their first appearance of the season in the third rounds of the Auckland association’s . club competitions. Both enabled their teams—West End (Robson) and Eden-Epsom (Miss Morrison)—-not the strongest in the competition, to win. Robson beat K. H. Long, 7-5, 6-2, and Miss Morrison beat the second New Zealand junior, Miss G. Landells, 6-0, 6-0.

Indoor tennis, being held in the most attractive Caledonian Gymnasium, is proving most popular in Dunedin. Two exhibition evenings have already been held to raise funds for sending the Otago team to Auckland to play for the Wilding Shield and also to give the players .likely to make up the team, practice. Those who have taken part have been D. Shaw, D. Brookes, T. Withers, A. Stretton and also the Gore player and former national junior champion, R. Welsh.