TENNIS TUNE: "WHERE HAVE ALL THE YOUNG MEN GONE?"

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30442, 16 May 1964, Page 11

TENNIS TUNE: "WHERE HAVE ALL THE YOUNG MEN GONE?"

ft FTER the style of a more ■* famous trio the New Zealand tennis selectors in some recent years might have chosen as their theme song for May: “Where have all the young men gone?” This time three new young men have entered their top

10 at the bottom, but the theme could be varied to: “When will all the old men go?”

Not only do the old men show no sign of leaving the national ranking list, but they have actually improved their positions. In the top tens of the pop world A. S. Burns, at 43, and J. E. Robson, 37. would be like “Come into the Garden Maudes” among the “Yeah,

Yeah, Yeahs.” In the tennis world they are still eminently “with it.” All this is of great credit to Burns and Robson, but a disturbing thought for the future of New Zealand tennis. Ranked equal tenth in 1946, Robson rose to third the next year and after that was top seven times, second four times and third twice until last year when he dropped to fifth. It seemed that the form of this great player was at last receding like his hair. Not so; he is back to third and a welljustified promotion it is.

Burns has fashioned a fascinating record. Fourth in 1948, he has ranged from fifth to tenth in distinct cycles: 5,6, unranked in 1951 because the list was limited to five, 9; 5,6, 10; 5, 5. 5, 8. 10: 7,8, 9; and in 1964 back to 6. On this pattern he may be down to tenth again in 1968 and up to fifth about the turn of the decade as he approaches his half-century.

A national selector himself, Burns has no need to be embarrassed by his latest ascent, but the aspiring champions might well be. And to add to this humiliation, Robson and Burns have this year been joined by a contemporary. They can uphold well enough alone the prestige of their age group, but a 37-year-old Auckland University lecturer, P. Becroft, has re-

turned to help. Fourth in 1955, ninth in 1956 and away for most of the intervening period, he is now seventh, mainly through the defeat of the 22-year-old R. G. i Clarke at the national championships.

To counteract this slightly is a leavening of youth. The non-inclusion of I. S. Crookenden (2), who is in America, K. H. Long (7) and B. E. Woolf (8), who did not play, and F. Scarlett (10), has allowed the arrival of J. S. Halligan, of Auckland, and B. P. Taylor and N. C. McAffer, of Wellington, to follow Becroft in the last three places.

Halligan is 18, Taylor 20, McAffer 17. They are brilliant but erratic prospects and as yet inspire little real confidence. Can they move

up the list past Robson, Burns and Becroft or, as so many before, will they be gone from it while the veterans still hold places?