Roche Defeats Tired Laver In Final

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 31904, 4 February 1969, Page 17

Roche Defeats Tired Laver In Final

(From Our Tennis Reporter)

AUCKLAND.

When the red carpet was rolled out on the steps of the stand at Stanley Street yesterday, it was not the player generally rated as the world’s best who mounted it first.

R. A. Laver was in the unaccustomed position of having to fall in behind his fellow Australian, A. D. Roche, as he went up to receive the men’s singles trophy on the final day of the first New Zealand open tennis tournament, the Benson and Hedges Open.

And Auckland officials had to be quick with the carpet because the end could be seen coming swiftly. However, they were a little too quick when Roche was leading, 5-1, in the fourth set because Laver survived two match points and actually broke Roche’s service and held his own before succumbing.

It is the second time Roche has beaten Laver in just more than a fortnight. At his very fine peak at Wimbledon last July, Laver won his final with Roche, 6-3, 5-4, 6-2, in double quick time. But Roche won the final of the New South Wales open last month, 6-4, 4-6, 9-7, 12-10. Yesterday Roche won, 6-1, 6-4. 3-6, 6-3, in about an hour and a half and when he was moving through the third set one Auckland official, with the crowd and its money’s worth in his mind, said plaintively: “We must have a fourth set.” The players must have sensed his feeling because Laver got into the game for the only time and won the set. As well as his handsome trophy, Roche received $1750, compared with Laver’s $1162. Strong Shots Aged 23, compared with Laver’s 30, Roche, a New South Welshman who turned professional at the beginning of last year, is very strongly built and his shots pack a hefty punch. A left-hander, like Laver, he sung his service through the air and his opponent was seldom able to attack with the return. After that he was quick into the net and his volleying was sharp. However, his path was made all the easier by the lack of form of Laver and it was sad to see such a great player struggling to produce the brilliance of which he is capable, and not succeeding. Laver could not get his first service in often enough and it is significant that this was one of his failings when he lost to Roche in Sydney. Apart from that he could not produce the brilliant winner, which leaves an opponent standing looking sheepish, that has been a feature of his finest hours. Sore Arm Quite noticeably, Laver is showing the signs of too much hard play. He has had a sore arm for some time and he looks tired. Roche played competently indeed but Laver's off day probably made him appear even better.

Roche struggled to hold his service in the first game before breaking Laver’s. He broke again for 5-1 and the set was his in the next game after only 22 minutes. In the second set Roche reached a 5-2 lead with a sec-ond-service break before Laver broke back for 5-3, but was too late in doing it and Roche won the set, 64, with a glorious, widely-angled service. At the beginning of the third !

set Laver looked like a player thinking that if he was to win he would have to gain control immediately and hold it. He broke service for 2-0 but then lost one. However, he gained another break for 4-2 and won the set: It now appeared that Laver could save himself, especially when he showed a patch of true brilliance by taking Roche’s service with four slashing passing shots at the beginning of the fourth set. But he lost his service in the next game and twice in the set again to allow Roche the most money. A long and closely-fought

men’s doubles final began good humouredly because the South African “hippie,” R. Moore, appeared with his “Humpty Dumpty” shirt but also a Maori headband to keep his golden locks in place. But Moore did not begin well and he and his partner, the English professional, R. Taylor, lost the first set to M. Anderson, of Australia, and the Russian, T. Lejus, 13-15, after Moore and Taylor both dropped services early and Taylor lost his to lose the set. Lejus was playing steadily and Taylor was volleying strongly, but Anderson was shaky and Moore was also making many errors. Moore improved but the pairs were still very even when Moore and Taylor won the next three sets, 6-3, 9-7, 8-6.