All-N.Z. final now probable in national tennis

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33424, 4 January 1974, Page 16

All-N.Z. final now probable in national tennis

(New Zealand Press Association)

WELLINGTON.

A Frenchman and an American stand between an all-New Zealand men’s singles final in the B.P. national tennis championships on Sunday.

W. Brown (United States) and T. Bernasconi (France) were the sole members of a large overseas contingent to survive a heavy schedule of secondand third-round matches at Central Park yesterday.

After three days of fitful tennis, the tournament has come to life, producing in the main some spectacular matches.

The first signs of life were provided by the 23-year-old Australian, S. Docherty, and the top seed, O. Parun. Docherty, who has spent the last five years studying at Washington State University, looked as if he was serving up bullets to Parun. Service aces A fearsome hitter of the ball, the tall, powerfullybuilt Docherty flashed a flurry of aces past a helpless Parun in the early stages of the match, three of them coming in one game.

However, Parun weathered the early onslaught and somehow managed to gain one service break in each set to run out a comfortable winner, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4. Afterwards, Parun said that Docherty had the fastest first serve he had faced in seven years on the tennis

circuit. Perhaps it was just as well for Parun that the rest of Docherty’s game was not of the same high standard.

On an adjoining court, R. J. Simpson (North Shore), recent winner of the Wellington and Auckland titles, was having to play' some of his best tennis against H. Fickentscher (West Germany). Simpson and Fickentscher, who, in spite of a bruised knee, was able to scamper about the court when necessary, hit a steady stream of winners from all corners of the court during the first three sets, after which both players began to tire and make errors. German beaten In the end it was Simpson who was the more steady player, but Fickentscher will be remembered for his superb volleying, especially a flashing forehand which was a feature of his game.

Then, in the last match of the day, A. D. Parun (Wellington), played his best tennis in years to dispatch

the well-performed American, L. Parker, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4. Parun, whose concentration is apt to wander at times, kept his mind on the job for the entire match. He got on top early and made very few errors. Bernasconi, a late arrival from Australia, was far from impressive against D. H. Hawkes (Wellington), three of the four sets being tiebreakers. A fluent, wristy player, Bernasconi looked to be a slow mover, and he will have to speed up a lot to beat A. D. Parun in a quarter-final today.

“Rigged” draw

Brown, a former United States marine, won the plate event at the Australian open last week and scored a good win over O. Parun in Timaru two years ago. Unfortunately, his opponent yesterday, P. Langsford (Auckland), showed a total lack of interest in the game, being upset by what he thought was a “rigged” draw, and he allowed Brown to coast through, 6-2, 6-2, 6-2. Afterwards, Brown said that Langsford had hit more winners against him during their brief encounter than anyone has in the last three months. He was disappointed that Langsford did not make more than just a token gesture. Surprise defeat The women were banished to the hard-courts at Miramar to complete their secondround singles, and the only surprise was the straight-sets defeat of Miss B. Vercoe (Auckland), by the American, Mrs K. Bryan. However, the result was not altogether unexpected, as the American had some solid performances to back up a more than solid game. The only other overseas woman player, Miss N. Lauteslager (Netherlands), beat Miss J. Phillips (Canterbury), 6-2, 7-6. Results were:— MEN'S SINGLES Second round.—D. A, Parun (Wellington) beat H. Lloyd (United States), 6-3, 2-6, 6-3, 6-7, 6-4; L. Parker (United States) beat G. Pellezzi (United States), 6-1, 6-3, 7-5.

Third round.—R. Simpson (North Shore) beat H. Fickentscher (West Germany), 3-6. 6-5, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3; D. Simmonds (Hutt Valley) beat D. McCurdie (United States). 6-0. 6-3, 6-0; T. Bernasconi (France) beat D. Hawkes (Wellington), 7-6. 7-6. 6-7, 6-3; O, Parun (Wellington) beat S. Docherty (United States), 6-3, 6-4, 6-4; G. Oliver (Auckland) beat W. Bryan (United States), 7-6, 4-6, 6-4. 7-5; R. N. Hawkes (Wellington) beat B. Wade (United States). 4-6, 6-3, 6-7, 6-3, 6-1; W. Brown (United States) beat P. Langsford (Auckland), 6-2, 6-2, WOMEN'S SINGLES Second round.—M. Pryde (Wellington) beat J, Amer (Auckland), 6- 6-1; L. Ward (Auckland) beat P. Monds (North Shore), 6-4, 6-0; K. Bryan (United States) beat B. Vercoe (Auckland), 6-1, 6-4; N. Lautesiager (Netherlands) beat J. Phillips (Canterbury). 6-2, 7-