Negative attitude' PARUN HITS AT NATIONAL TENNIS BODY

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33527, 7 May 1974, Page 28

Negative attitude' PARUN HITS AT NATIONAL TENNIS BODY

(New Zealand Press Association)

WELLINGTON.

The New Zealand player, O. Parun, has accused the national tennis body of “the most negative attitude by any sport this year.”

In a letter received yesterday by a Wellington newspaper, Parun claimed that the New Zealand Lawn Tennis Association was not interested in getting past Austria in the Davis Cup competition, because to continue winning would have cost the association too much money.

The New Zealand team of Parun and J. Simpson was beaten 3-1 by Austria on Sunday.

In his letter Parun said he had been told of the national association’s attitude towards this year’s Davis Cup venture by his fellow-professional. B. E. Fairlie.

Parun said he had spoken with Fairlie in Tuscon and Fairlie had indicated that he would probably be unavailable for Davis Cup play this year. “But he really shocked me when he told me that when he was negotiating with the N.Z.L.T.A. they told him that this year the association wanted to beat Austria, but they must lose to France as the Davis Cup cost too much money,” Parun said. The winner of the AustriaNew Zealand tie meets France in a quarter-final clash later this month. SlO.OOO loss New Zealand’s successful Davis Cup venture last year, when it beat Austria and Jugoslavia in successive rounds before losing narrowly to Rumania, made a loss of about $lO,OOO, which was widely reported at the time. ; It also met with the disapproval of a number of local associations and clubs,, who felt the money could have been spent more wisely. Parun described Fairlie’s claim — and he said he had no reason to doubt it — as outrageous and said that if true it was “the most negative attitude by any sport this year.” In the letter F?,run said he i could not say “enough bad (things about the whole eflfort.” The chairman of the N.Z.IL.T.A. (Mr I. D. Wells) last night denied that any such instructions were passed on to Fairlie But Mr Wells did confirm that he had mentioned last

year’s loss and the fact that it cost New Zealand money every time it won, in discussions with Fairlie. “We discussed the whole situation including last year’s tour, this year, and the future,” Mr Wells said.

“But we made it quite clear to Fairlie that we wanted to win this year and that we would pick the best available team.” Fairlie was named in a five-man squad.

Mr Wells also said that Parun was quite at liberty to take up the matter with the association “through the correst channels and not through the news media. "In fact, this enhances my conviction that players should stick to what they can do best, and that is play tennis, and not try to administer it.” he said.

New Zealand’s Davis Cup expedition last year cost the N.Z.L.T.A. $15,000, of which less than one-third was recouped. In addition to paying match fees of up to $650 per player per tie or win, the N.Z.L.T.A. also contributed toward the cost of Fairlie’s wife accompanying the team on tour. No such arrangements weie entered into with any of the players this year. New Zealand’s loss to Austria was one of those matches that could so easily have gone the other way, according to Robert Horrocks. the N.Z.P.A. staff correspondent in Vienna.

The five-set loss which Parun and J. Simpson suffered in the doubles was inexplicable, particularly in view of the early service breaks which the New Zealanders achieved in each of the first three sets, he said. A win then would have put all the pressure on the Austrians, and quite a different result could have been expected in the reverse singles. Simpson was too nervous in the early stages against his experienced, 33-year-old opponent, P. Pokorny, and his 6-1, 6-2, 9-11, 6-3 loss sealed the tie’s fate. Abandoned The final match was abandoned with Parun leading Kary, 8-8, 4-6, 6-2, 7-7. New Zealand could have won the tie with B. Fairlie playing, but a victory in Vienna and the continued absence of Fairlie would have given little confidence for further progress against France in the next round. The only gain for New Zealand from defeat would be a less-hefty Davis Cup bill than the one suffered by the N.Z.L.T.A. when the team did so well last year, Horrocks said. New Zealand’s non-playing captain (Mr J. Lockington) said that the result was “a little disappointing. It was a close tie, but we lost and that is what goes in the record books.” he said. 38 games The Davis Cup holder, Australia, won a 38-game first set on its way to a doubles victory which gave it an unbeatable 3-0 lead in its eastern zone semi-final against Pakistan in Lahore. A. Roche and C. Diblev beat H. Rahim and S. Meer 20-18, 6-4, 6-3 to put Australia through to the eastern zone final against India, 4-1 semi-final winners over Japan.

Australia conceded the two reverse singles against Pakistan. scheduled so that the Australians could leave immediately for Calcutta, where the zone final will begin on May 10. Competition in the two European zones moved towards the semi-finals. France, 5-0 winners over Portugal in Oporto, and Austria, reached the semi-finals in the A group.

In f B group, Egypt, West Germanv, and Spain all completed 5-0 quarter-final victories — against Britain, Denmark, and Norway respectively. Jugoslavia completed the B group line-up by beating Belgium, 3-2. Colombia and South Africa meet in Bogota on May 11-13 in the American zone final, with the winner to play the European A group champions : n the inter-zone finals. The other inter-zone semifinal will bnng together the winners of the AustraliaIndia eastern zone final, and the European B zone champions.