Fairlie-McCutcheon Match May Be Tennis Highlight

Press, Volume CV, Issue 30981, 10 February 1966, Page 15

Fairlie-McCutcheon Match May Be Tennis Highlight

Thirteen men’s and eight women’s singles matches well be the features of the programme for the first day of the Gold Leaf international tennis tourhament at Wilding Park today.

Overseas players and leading New Zealanders arrived in Christchurch by air last evening after playing in Auckland and Wellington.

Twenty-one players in the draw for the men’s singles mean five first-round matches to be followed by eight in the second round. The first-round encoounters are the holder of the Canterbury championship, J. B. Souter (Wellington) v. L. W. Watkins, of Canterbury, J. Lockington (Auckland) v. J. Dickie (Canterbury), the Canterbury juniior, L. Legge, v. W. Thom, J. W. Mitchell, the leading Canterbury junior and a member of this year’s Linton Cup team in Australia, v. I. D. Stanton* (Canterbury), and R. McCutcheon, at present top of the province, v. the Dominion’s outstanding young prospect who has had much success in Australia, B. E. Fairlie, of Auckland. Fairlie’s First Time The most interesting of these fixtures could be that between McCutcheon and Fairlie. On the 1964 list, McCutcheon, now aged 20, ranked third New Zealand junior; he has twice won the South Island championship, and he rose to the top in Canterbury just before Christmas. Fairlie’s feats have brought remarkable interest in the last year and it will be the first time he has played at Wilding Park. If he beats McCutcheon, he Will meet the eighth seed, R. G. Clarke, of Wellington, in the second round, and this could be a most stylish match. The English Davis Cup player, R. Taylor, who has the first seeding, will be seen initially against J. Martin, of Canterbury; New Zealand’s

leading man, L. A. Gerrard, playing for the first time in Christchurch since he beat P. Darmon, of France, to win this tournament last February, will face the determined B. Crofts, of Canterbury. Angland Plays Chilean Third-seeded P. Rodriguez, the colourful Chilean who beat Gerrard in Auckland, has his first opponent ,in P. Angland, of Canterbury, and the young Spaniard, J. Gisbert, will meet the winner .of the Thom-Legge contest. If the draw goes according to the seedings—and there are few tournaments in which it does —the quarter-finals on Friday would be Taylor v. Souter; Lockington v. Rodriguez: Gisbert v. Clarke; and R. N. Hawkes v. Gerrard. Sixteen players' for the women’s singles eliminate the need for a bye. The most notable of the first-round matches may be those in which three Canterbury juniior girl members of the provincial Howe Shield team will meet overseas visitors. Their performances will be a guide to their potential. Miss R. Legge (Canterbury) will play the top seed, Miss A. Jenkins, of the Australian Universities team, Miss J. Bishop, the national under 17 champion, will meet Mrs P. Rodriguez, the former. Miss Michele Boulle, fourth in France, and Miss R. Dillon will play Miss M. Greenwood, 1963-64 British junior champion, now living in Wellington. The one centre court will be used for the first time this season and it looked in good order yesterday although it may be a little dead for a start. The 10 a.m. match on this will be Souter-Watkins, to be followed by Miss Jenkins v. Miss Legge (11 a.m.), Miss Bishop v. Mrs Rodriguez (noon), Fairlie v. McCutcheon (1 p.m.), Taylor v. Martin, Gisbert v. the winner of Thom and Legge, and Clarke v. the winner of Fairlie and McCutcheon.