Inter-Zone Davis Cup Final This Week-end

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29384, 10 December 1960, Page 5

Inter-Zone Davis Cup Final This Week-end

FOR another year the long Davis Cup competition with its results from throughout the world, its great prestige, its surprises, its heartbreaks, its wrangles, is almost at an end. This week-end at Perth the United States and Italy are meeting in the second inter-zone match to find the team to challenge Australia at Sydney on December 26, 27 and 28. Italy, after a bye in the first round of the European zone, beat Hungary, Chile. Britain and Sweden, in the final, to win the zone after reaching the final for the eighth time in 12 years. Italy won the final in 1958 but later lost to the United States; it won the zone in 1959 but later lest to Australia. The Philippines won the Eastern zone after beating Japan and India, the winner of the zone last year, but it was eliminated, 5-0, by the United States in the first of the inter-zone matches held at Brisbane a few weeks ago. Comfortable Win As expected, the United States moved fairly comfortably through to victory in the American zone. It beat Canada without the loss of a match but then, like Australia the year before, looked as if it might be troubled by Mexico. The United States was one down after R. Osuna’s surprise defeat of Barry Mackay in the opening singles. But Earl Buchholz then beat M. Llamas and Buchholz and Chuck McKinley beat Osuna and A. Palafox in the doubles before Mackay clinched the tie .by beating Llamas.

America then beat Venezuela, which had beaten New Zealand. 3-2. without the loss of a match in the American zone final, and it had even less difficulty with the Philippines last month in the first inter-zone match. Australia, which regained the cup in America last year after the sensational win by the United States in Australia the year before. can assess the form as it waits. It seems certain that Australia and America will contest.

N. PIETRANGELI the challenge round as they have done every year since 1938. There is a slight possibility of an upset this week-end as there usually is when the competition gets this far. The leading Italian, N. Pietrangeli, beat Mackay at Wimbledon this year and he has beaten Buchholz twice. Also, Pietrangeli and Sirola have just won the Victorian doubles title, beating the top Australian pair, Neale Fraser and Roy Emerson, 6-2, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, in the final after beating the Americans Denis Ralston and McKinley in a semi-final, 5-7. 11-9, 15-13. 6-2. The manager of the United States team, Mr D. Freed, was impressed enough by the doubles results to say that he was “a little disturbed” by the Italians’ win. On his past record it would be possible for Pietrangeli to beat both Mackay and Buchholz in singles but he has given little evidence in Australia of what his form is at present. He withdrew from the singles in the New South Wales championships in the middle of last month officially because of the effects of cholera inoculation but it was rumoured

because of dissatisfaction with expenses. Then he forfeited his' quarter-final in the Victorian titles last week to McKinley, it was reported because McKinley donned spikes. The Italian was leading, 11-9, 6-3, 0-6, 1-0.

If the Italian chances are difficult to assess it can be said that the Americans have just had a very good tournament in the Victorian championships, a tournament that must prevent the Australians from becoming overconfident. The team comprises in all, the young players, Buchholz, aged 20, McKinley, aged 19, and Ralston, aged 18, plus the experienced Mackay, aged 25, of four Davis Cup teams, and Bernard Bartzen, aged 32. It looks as if Mackay and Buchholz will do nearly all the playing. They were just outplayed by the Australians in the New South Wales championships when Eraser beat Buchholz and Mackay beat Laver in the semi-finals and Fraser beat Mackay, 10-8, 6-4, 7-5, in the final of the singles; and Fraser and Emerson beat Ralston and McKinley, and Laver and Bob Mark beat Mackay and Buchholz in the doubles semifinals. All-American However, in the Victorian championships there was an allAmerican singles final when Mackay beat Buchholz. None of the Australians got even to the semi-finals. Buchholz beat Laver in a quarter-final. McKinley beat Emerson in the third round, and Fraser was sensationally eliminated by fellow-Australian, Bob Howe, in the second round. There was some success «n doubles, too, because McKinley and Ralston beat Laver and Mark in a quar-ter-final, but Mackay and Buchholz lost easily to Fraser and Emerson in a semi-final.

Mr Freed, anyway, is confident that the United States can take the cup again and it has been agreed that Mackay and Buchholz are much improved players to when they were in Australia two years ago. ,