TENNIS Canterbury Boy’s Fine Performance In Aust.

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30145, 31 May 1963, Page 13

TENNIS Canterbury Boy’s Fine Performance In Aust.

A very high standard among the young Australian tennis players he saw impressed the Canterbury junior. J. Mitchell who competed in the New South Wales age championsihips recently. Mitchell, who turned 15 during the tournament, did very well himself to reach the semifinals of the under 15 singles but he said he thought the Australian juniors were reaching a higher standard at an earlier age than their New Zealand counterparts. He saw some very good players of to and 11 and there was one boy of eight in the under 13 section.

Al! the boys he played had good ball control and kept consistent length, he said. They went for control, rather than speed, but when it came to the vital shot or the vita! point they had the speed, also. Mitchell said one of the m»m lessons he learnt from the Australian lunfors was that against them he had to make a very good shot to go into the net “whereas over here I have been inclined to charge into the net on any shot.”

Change of Court

The Canterbury junior found he measured up to his Austra lian opponents on the grass and this was the surface he played on until the middle of his quarter-final. The rain h«d been so heavy that a change had to be made and Mitchel' completed his quirter-final *nd then played his semi-final on a -ompositlon hard court, the one used by the professionals for their television matches.

Mitchell’s fault on thi* court was over-hitting. He described it as very hard and smooth something tike concrete and coloured green There was no give in It and sliding for shot* wa« impossible. This year’s champtonshlpwere dogged hy rain and only about three sections of the age ■hampionships were completed The school championships which are played immediately afterwards were not even begun But both Mitchell and Mr R Rodgers, a member of the association's Junior management committee, who accompanied him were high in their praise of the tournament organisation

Mr Rodger* said that everything that went on the 42 grass courts, eight cement and sane courts and the one composition court was entered beside the numbers on huge sheets One official was on the loudspeaker, another issued cardtelling players which court to go to. another collected cards and bails as players returned from matches, and girls in charge of the many draw sheets wrote the results in from the cards.

"Everything went like clockwork," said Mr Rodgers, and this wa* some achievement because even the smallest entry in the under 17 boys, was 96 and this took three draw sheets. Some needed five draw sheets In Mitchell's section. there were 128 players. Mr Rodgers's main impression of the young Australian players—they attended from New South wales. Victoria. Queensland and Capital Territorywas their concentration “They w-atch the ball: they never takr their eves off it." he said. Tournament officials were impressed with Mitchell's play. Mi Rodgers said, and one had told him that of th* number of New Zealanders who had played In the championships ir recent years. Mitchell looked the be«t prospect for his age apart from I. S. Crockenden.

Leading Lawn Tennis Player Retiring

(N.Z.P A -Reut«r—Copvrtpht) LONDON. May 30

Mis* D. R. Hard, of the United State*, on* of the world's leading woman tennis players, has announced she Is retiring from the International circuit. Mi*« Hard, who is 27. disclosed in London that she was getting married to Mr Fred Shockley, of Los Angeles