Davis Cup Pair Face Most Testing Challenge

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 31983, 9 May 1969, Page 13

Davis Cup Pair Face Most Testing Challenge

(By Our Tennis Reporter)

Several months of preparation, some good wins in tournaments, and a successful trial against the Netherlands last weekend, have sent the New Zealand Davis Cup team to Germany, according to reports, physically fit and not lacking confidence.

A letter received by “The Press” only this week from a member of the side, R. N. Hawkes, said that everyone was well and B. E. Fairlie, especially, appeared to be iff good form. These, aspects are encouraging, and 'Fairlie and 0. Parun, who are almost certain to play two singles each and the doubles, must by now be becoming experienced enough world tennis tourists to be less affected by the disadvantages of slow court surfaces and strange venues than some New Zealanders have been in the past. SEVERAL SUCCESSES

They have had some good wins this year—Fairlie over E. Smith, M. Anderson, J. D. Newcombe, J. McManus, R. Ruffels, Z. Franulovic; Parun over A. Ashe, I. Buding and P. Dent. ' . Also, both have had creditable losses—Fairlie to R. A.

Laver, A. D. Roche and T. Okker; Parun to J. Alexander and R. Osuna. Their doubles win over A. Ashe and C. S. Pasarell was remarkable. The cup situation is improving for New Zealand. Because of an alteration to the rules, as a country without a zone, it will always be considered for European inclusion ahead of countries belonging to a zone, instead of being passed round the world. And it now has two young men who are international tennis players in the true sense. FAIRLIE’S FOURTH All this has built strongly on the credit side of the ledger but nearly everything else is a balancing debit. Statistics are against them. New Zealand has beaten Portugal, China, Norway, Lebanon, Ireland, West Indies and Israel in first-round ties, but it has not defeated one of the stronger European sides. At the age of 20, Fairlie is in his fourth Davis Cup year. He was blooded with L. A. Gerrard when they lost to Britain, 1-4, in 1966, and it was Fairlie who scored the win when M. J. Sangster had to withdraw. He was joined by Parun, now 22, in 1967, when they lost, 1-4, to Mexico, Fairlie beating Osuna; and he and Parun lost 0-4 to Jugoslavia last year, Fairlie leading Franulovic in the last singles when it was stopped. EXPERIENCED With this background, they will meet two of Europe’s most experienced players who have proved themselves in Davis Cup play and at Wimbledon. Out of serious tennis for some time, C. Kuhnke has returned to the German team after a win over the top Ger-

man, W. Bungert. These two, who will face Fairlie and Parun in the first singles, came to the fore at Wimbledon in 1963, when they were the first Germans to reach the quarter-finals since G. Von Cramm in pre-war days. , Aged 24 then, Bungert beat R. Emerson before losing to the eventual winner, C. McKinley in a semi-final. Kuhnke lost to M. Santana in a quarter-final. Bungert was still unseeded when he repeated the per formance the next year, leav ing a trail of distinguished victims such as M. Sangster, T. Ullrich and Osuna, but this time he lost to Emerson in a semi-final. At the same time Kuhnke was again a quarterfinalist after beating Santana. FINALIST IN 1967 Bungert was seeded in 1966 but he did not justify it when he lost in the third round. However, neglected again in 1967, he astounded everyone by reaching the final after a win over R. Taylor in the semi-finals. It has been said of the tallslender, stiff-legged and dignified Bungert from Dusseldorf, that “when he is good, he is very, very good, but when he is bad, he is incredible.” His footwork is faulty but his remarkable wrist control makes up for it and he hits the ball on the rise inside the baseline with a deceptive flick. Kuhnke is also noted as touch player and this pair brought a resurgence in German tennis. In 1964 they reached the European zone cup semi-final, losing to Sweden after beating Belgium, Russia and Denmark. In 1965, when L Buding, who will probably be third

choice for singles this weekend but may play in doubles, had replaced Kuhnke in the side, Germany lost to Spain in the quarter-finals; and in 1966 it won European zone B, beating Norway, Switzerland, Britain (Bungert beat both Sangster and Taylor), and South Africa, before losing to India in the inter-zone semi-final. Germany was surprisingly beaten by Russia in the first round in 1967, but 1966’s outstanding performance was repeated last year. Switzerland. Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia and South Africa were the zone victims but India again won the inter-zone semi-final, even though Bungert won both his singles, over R. Krishnan and P. Lail. He has also beaten R. Hewitt and R. Moore in the South African match. This is the quality of the opposition that New Zealand will meet at Cologne this week-end. There may be some consolation in the fact that Bungert does not play as much tennis now because of business commitments—he was not at Wimbledon last yean—that Kuhnke’s return to form after little play in recent seasons may be shaky, and that both Fairlie and Parun have beaten Buding. The winner will meet Finland or Sweden in the second round.