“Hit The Ball Hard” To Succeed In Aust. Tennis

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30337, 13 January 1964, Page 13

“Hit The Ball Hard” To Succeed In Aust. Tennis

(New Zealand Press Association)

WELLINGTON, Jan. 12. With wins over Roy Emerson and John Newcombe to his credit last year, the fourth-ranked American tennis player, Eugene Scott arrived in Wellington yesterday to compete in the New Zealand championships, which commence at Central Park tomorrow. Scott, a member of the United States Davis Cup squad, beat Emerson in the American indoor championships and Newcombe in the men’s plate at Wimbledon. For the last two months he has been playing in Australia —“but not very well.” “If you want to compete against the big boys there you’ve got to hit the ball hard,” he said. “I had only four singles in Australia, with a bad loss in my first one, then losses to Owen Davidson and Barry Phillips-Moore twice.” “We were pretty confident we would win the Davis Cup. We expected Emerson to lose both his singles, but things didn’t turn out that way. “I was just about numb when Newcombe went into a big lead in the last singles against McKinley, and the only thought that crossed my mind was the possibility of our long preparation being of no avail.”

The 26-year-old American, who is about to enter his last year as a law student at the University of Virginia, will return home shortly after the New Zealand championships, but said he would like to see some of the country and play a couple of exhibitions—perhaps with Lew Gerrard —and perhaps stage some clinics for young players at the same time. Scott’s partners in the national championships will be E. B. D. Lusk (men’s doubles) and Mrs M. Law (mixed doubles).