Eight Wimbledon seeds

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32636, 18 June 1971, Page 20

Eight Wimbledon seeds

(Special Crspdt.

LONDON.

The surprising decision by the Wimbledon committee to seed only eight for the men’s singles for the eightyfifth championships, which will begin on Monday, has brought a disgruntled reaction from some of the world’s leading players.

Since the tournament became open in 1968 and allowed back some of those who had excelled as amateurs at Wimbledon but who had later turned professional, 16 players had been seeded until this year.

Now there is the strange situation of competitors of the standard of the Australians A. Roche and R. Emerson, the American C. E. Graebner, the Dutchman T. Okker, the Spaniard AGimeno, and the Englishman R. Taylor, without places in the seedings. Roche was the runner-up to R. A. Laver in the first open, and has been in the last eight for the last two years; Graebner was a semi-finalist in 1968, and has also been in the last eight since; Emerson has won the title twice previously and was a quarterfinalist last year, Okker was ranked second player in the world only a few years ago; Gimeno and Taylor were semi-finalists last year after Taylor had beaten Laver. None of these players had particularly strong claims to be included in the eight because their recent form had not warranted it In the case of Roche a severe groin injury has made his fitness very doubtful. EXCITEMENT The committee’s decision puts those who might have been a second eight into the ruck instead of protecting them to the fourth round. For those who think they should have been seeded the way is much tougher, but the restriction will be welcomed by many of the others because it gives them a chance to go further. It also adds to the uncertainty and hence the excitement of the early rounds.

Juggling of the draw at Wimbledon, as is done sometimes at other tournaments would be unheard of. So among the first-round contests are such stimulating matches as those between Okker and the Czech, J. Kodes, who recently won the : French title and was runnerup to Laver in the Italian

after beating Roche; and between Roche and the American, C. Pasarell, who has had some titanic Wimbledon battles, including his 112game, 5-hour 12-minute match with P. Gonzales two years ago. TOP SEED

Laver, seeking the title for the fifth time, is the top seed for the fourth year in succession, the defending champion, J. D. Newcombe, is second, and the 36-year-old K. R. Rosewall, who has never won a Wimbledon title but who was runner-up last year and who has since won the United States, Australian, and South African championships, is fourth. A. Ashe, C. Richey—a decisive winner of the inaugural Pepsi Grand Prix—the Rumanian I. Nastase (leading in the same series this year), and the South African C. Drysdale, make up the seedings. Retaining their usual eight selections in a field of 96 compared with 128, the women have no such seedings controversy. At the age of 28, Mrs M. Court, the holder, will be attempting a fourth success and so will the little American, Mrs B. J. King, who has been seeded second to her. They might both fear that their places

will be usurped by the thirdseeded 19-year-old Miss E. Goolagong. WOMEN’S SEEDS The other seeded women are the Americans Miss R. Casals and Mrs N. Gunter, formerly Miss N. Richey, Miss V. Wade, of Britain, Miss F. Durr (France) and Mrs H. Masthoff, of West Germany, formerly Miss H. Niessen. Three New Zealanders—B. E. Fairlie, O. Parun and Miss M. Pryde—are in the draws. Fairlie's first-round opponent is the American, R. Barth, who did not impress in the New Zealand open in March and who is well below

Fairlie in their group’s world series. Parun has had the misfortune to be matched again with the Frenchman, J. L. Rouyer, who put him out in the quarter-finals of the New Zealand championships at Wilding Park in February. Victory in the first round would probably bring Fairlie against the clever Rumanian, I. Tiriac, but Parun would meet either a comparatively unknown Czech, F. Paia, or a player yet to be found from the qualifying rounds. Miss Pryde is drawn against an American, Mrs J. M. Carter-Trioio, formerly Miss D. Carter, ranked in the first 10 in the United States.