Formidable Task For N.Z. Davis Cup Players

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31669, 3 May 1968, Page 13

Formidable Task For N.Z. Davis Cup Players

(By Our Tennis Reporter) As usual, the New Zealand Davis Cup team wiH face a formidable task when it meets Jugoslavia at Zagreb this week-end. Slow, clay courts and partisan crowds have always been an obstacle.

But this time New Zealand has had a stroke of good fortune, stemming from the radical changes in the status of players in recent months. Jugoslavia’s No. 1 has turned professional.

With N. Pilic, a semi-finalist at Wimbledon last year and ranked sixth among the world amateurs, Jugoslavia would have been unlikely to lose. Without him, it can feel no more confident than New Zealand, in spite of the advantages of venue.

This is New Zealand’s nineteenth Davis Cup venture since it separated from Australia in the tennis international in 1923. Eight of the teams have won one tie but none has won two. New Zealand is back in the European zone, after playing in the American zone last year. Because of an alteration to the rules, as a country without a zone, it will always be considered for Eimopean inclusion before countries belonging to a zone. First Meeting New Zealand has never met Jugoslavia. Of other Eastern European countries, it has been drawn four times against Czechoslovakia and once each against Hungary and Rumania.

In European zone entries since World War IL New Zealand beat Norway, 3-2, and lost to Czechoslovakia, 0-5. when it had J. Drobny, in 1947; lost to Hungary, 23, in 1954; beat Lebanon, 5-0, and lost to Britain, 0-5, in 1957; beat Ireland. 5-0, and lost to Rumania, 23, in 1959; beat Israel, 5-0, and lost to Spain. 23, in 1961; lost to Denmark. 1-4, in 1962, and lost to Britain, 1-4 in 1966. In 1963, New Zealand was in the Eastern zone, and in 1964, 1965 and last year, in the American zone. If New Zealand beats Jugoslavia in the third quarter of the A section, it will meet the winner of Russia v Greece. Russia is the seeded nation in the quarter. Tennis Stalwarts Pilic and B. Jovanovic have been the stalwarts of Jugoslav tennis for several years. Thev were good enough to reach the third round for

three years in succession, from 1963 to 1965, before losing to Sweden, Britain and France, respectively. However, for the last two year* the side has been eliminated in the first round by Spain and Brazil. In that time also, these men have been in the group of world touring amateurs playing in tournament* in Europe, the Caribbean and the United States with a great deal of success. So Pilic’s loss is a severe one and it coincides with a move down the scale by Jovanovic. Against Brazil last year, a newcomer, Z. Franulovic, played the singles with Pilic, and he is now ranked top ahead of Jovanovic and another youngster. N. Spear. In the national championships, Pilic defaulted to Jovanovic in a semi-final, because of injury, and Franulovic beat Jovanovic in the final. So Franulovic, Jovanovic and Spear are likely to be the New Zealanders’ opponents and all three are well performed on European court*. Defeated Taylor In last year’s Italian championships, Jovanovic beat R. Taylor, of Britain, in the first round and reached the quar-ter-finals; Franulovic beat the top Russian, A, Metreveli, in the second round and lost to A. Roche in the quarter-finals. Jovanovic was a Naples semi-finalist and won in Sardinia; and a measure of Spear’s ability is that he was a finalist at St Moritz, a semi-

finalist in a Swiss tournamept, and a victor over the New Zealand title runner-up, C. Stubs, of Victoria, in Germany. Thia is the quality of opposition the New Zealand team of B. E. Fairlie, R. N. Hawkes and 0. Parun will meet. The only meeting they have had was when Fairlie beat Franulovfc, 6-4, 6-2, at the Queen's Club, London, last June. That was on grass; elay will even the chances. However, Fairlie has already shown that he is capable of beating some of the bett in tfae World, which the Jugoslavs certainly are not, and his fine win over R. Osuna on clay in Mexico City shows that he can also adjust to surface and crowd. Only 19, Fairlie will be playing in . his third Davis Cup tie, and he has scored New Zealand’s only wins in the last two years. Hawkes, who has thoroughly deserved inclusion in this team after the change in policy to select on performances only instead of potential, may be preferred for the second singles place. Although he has not Parun’s power, bis greater consistency and placing ability may be more suited to the clay.

If, as is hoped, Fairlie can win both his singles. New Zealand will need to take another singles or the doubles, and these are where the tie may be decided. Fairlie has not been as sound in doubles as he is in singles and this will put pressure on one or both of the others.