WIMBLEDON TENNIS Unseeded German In Semi-Final

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30481, 1 July 1964, Page 17

WIMBLEDON TENNIS Unseeded German In Semi-Final

(A'-Z. Press Association—Copyrights

WIMBLEDON, June 30.

A German may appear in the Wimbledon men’s singles final for the first time since Gottfried von Gramm was the losing finalist in three successive years—l93s, 1936 and 1937. The German number one, W. P. Bungert, yesterday eliminated the seeded Mexican, R. Osuna, to reach the semifinals, in which he will play the 3-1 favourite, R. Emerson, of Australia.

Bungert, a slim 6ft ice-cool player, beat Osuna 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 in 70 minutes.

The other semi-final will be between the holder, C. R. McKinley (United States), and last year’s beaten finalist, F. S. Stolle (Australia). An all-Australian final —the sixth since 1956—became a distinct possibility after the brilliant play yesterday of both Emerson and Stolle in their quarter-finals. McKinley was not troubled to beat the South African left-hander, A. Segal, 6-3, 6-3, 4-6. 6-4. Bungert is the only unseeded player in the semifinals. In Straight Sets Emerson beat a fellow Australian, R. A. Hewitt, 6-1. 6- 64, while Stolle smashed his way to an easy win, 6-3, 7- 6-3, over the German No. 2, C. Kuhnke. Emerson beat Hewitt easily because the latter’s big service—the chief weain his armoury—had only pop-gun accuracy. He aced Emerson three times in succession in one

fine burst but double-faulted 10 times. Low Boiling Point

These lapses annoyed Hewitt, who has a notoriously low boiling point. At various stages he hurled his racket in the direction of the umpire’s chair when changing ends, ironically slow hand-clapped a lucky net cord by Emerson, and angrily fired a ball high into a crowded grandstand. Emerson was supremely confident when his serve-volley-smash game began working smoothly.

Hewitt had more than his share of what bad luck was going and in the second set, racing at full stretch to make a backhand return, he hurtled headlong into the front row of the crowd. It was a heavy fall. Kuhnke Erratic

Stolle was. too strong in all departments for the lefthanded Kuhnke. The broadshouldered German did not have enough power in his service and was erratic with forehands and volleys. Stolle, with some of . the best tennis he has produced in the championships, got two quick breaks in the first set,

to lead 5-1. He took Kuhnke’s service in close and punched his returns deep down both lines.

Kuhnke, trying to get to the net, was frequently trapped by service returns and 'forced to half volley them into the net. The match had few note-worthy moments, mostly because the 25-year-old German never really looked in the running. Like A Soldier Bungert, as straight-backed as a soldier on parade, played a calculated and intelligent game to bustle Osuna out of his usual delicate rhythm. He got into a winning groove from . the start, and the swarthy Mexican only once looked likely to dig him out of it.

McKinley rarely had to raise his game to beat Segal. The American was able to control the match throughout, apart from the third set, when he was pinned to the base line and made errors to drop, his own service and concede the set.Though serving six double faults,' MeKinley never seemed worried, and was always ready to hit his way out of trouble.