Tennis HARD COURT TITLES

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29189, 27 April 1960, Page 19

Tennis HARD COURT TITLES

N.Z. Players At Bournemouth

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) LONDON, April 25. Five New Zealanders and one Australian today won through the first round men’s singles when the British hard-court tennis championships opened at Bournemouth, Hampshire. New Zealand’s A. L. Gerrard—the defending champion—surprisingly lost the first set before defeating 21-year-old R. Dixon, of Birmingham, 1-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3.

Only in the third set did Gerrard manage to produce the form that won him the title last year. "I have not got the confidence yet to produce my best strokes,” he said.

The New Zealand No. 2 player, M. Otway, defeated a fellow countryman, R. J. Greenwood, 7-5, 6-3, 6-1. Other New Zealand victories were: R. N. Hawkes beat C. W. Hannam (Somerset), 3-6, 6-3, 6-3. 5- 8-6; C. G. Judge beat L. F Strong (Middlesex), 9-7, 6-4, 6-2; J. H. Lockington beat D. G. Collins (Essex). 6-2. 0-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. Other New Zealanders were less lucky in the singles. The Davis Cup player, B. E. Woolf, lost to Britain's W. A. Knight,—the favourite—after a 3-6, 4-6, 5-7 struggle during which the Briton was not entirely convincing and was inclined to make back-hand errors. R. G. Clarke went down to R. K. Wilson (Middlesex), 1-6, 0-6. 2-6, and W. Thom fell to R. Backer (Surrey), 2-6, 1-6, 6-4, 3-6. P. Dibley lost. 8-10, 4-6, 4-6. to S. D. Lester (Middlesex), and J. R. Macdonald went down, 5-7, 6- 4-6, to H. F. Walton (Warwickshire).

Gerrard and Otway had no trouble against Collins (Essex) and New Zealander Dibley in the first round of the men's doubles, winning 6-3. 6-2, 6-1. Another New Zealand partnership, Lockington and Woolf, beat the English pair Hannam and Walton, 6-2, 6-3. 6-2. Their fellow - countrymen. Clarke and Hawkes, were less lucky against J. E. Barnett (Middlesex) and M. P. Hann (Yorkshire), losing 3-6, 2-6, 4-6.