Youngsters impress, but... NO UPSETS IN B. & H. TENNIS

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33671, 22 October 1974, Page 34

Youngsters impress, but... NO UPSETS IN B. & H. TENNIS

(By ]. K. BROOKS) Canterbury tennis officials sat snugly and smugly in Cowles Stadium last evening watching the Benson and Hedges Classic unfold according to plan and listening to the sweet music of the rain falling harmlessly on the roof.

It was a happy night for the organisers. Their move in taking the tournament indoors turned out to be the right one. Last year it was ruined by the weather.

All the players who were supposed to win yesterday came through the first round of the singles without a great deal of bother. Only once was there the whiff of an upset. C. Lewis (Auckland) took the first set from K. Warwick, but the Australian tightened his game and volleyed and smashed his way past a determined young opponent. The two top seeds, G. C. Richey and L. R. Tanner (both United States) flew in

from Australia last evening to complete the arrivals. Close sets The Segura in the field turned out to be Pancho’s son, but he did not make the trip anyway. I. Fletcher (Australia), who is injured, also cried off. i Lively opposition was offered to some of the overseas players by young New Zealanders. P. Langsford (Auckland) pressed one of the Wimbledon semi-finalists last year, A. Mayer (United States) all the way and lost after two close sets. Langsford uncoiled slowly to produce a big first serve, and he volleyed severely too, but Mayer paced himself cleverly and just when it seemed that a tie-breaker would be needed in the second set, the American picked up some extra points close to the net to gain the decisive service break. Lewis showed a willingness to chase anything, and Warwick gave him plenty of work by varying his length and punching the ball to the corners.

Strong serve A strong first serve which carried some late swing helped Lewis to edge ahead in the first set. and he maintained the advantage with some accurate back-hand play near the baseline. Although Warwick dropped the first set he was smiling confidently at the changeover, and from then on he called the shots. He picked off many of Lewis’s returns with a series of crisp midcourt shots and scored several spectacular points with low, bouncing, back-hand shots which whistled down the sidelines. A. Whittaker, a red-headed Aucklander and a former Wimbledon junior champion, proved a colourful opponent for the lofty Australian, R. D. Crealy.

Although the score of 6-3, 6-2 indicated that Crealy’s passage to the second round was a smooth one, Whittaker had the satisfaction of striking several impressive blows, notably several aces and a handful of good passing shots. But he was less impressed with some of his other efforts and he startled the crowd with some of his outbursts of despair. Fine control Crealy maintained fine control over his game and he cruised to victory because of his superior court craft and reliable service. The two leading players on show, I. el Shafei and O. Parun, moved confidently into the second round with straight-sets victories against teen-age opponents. El Shafei overpowered D. Neilson without the loss of a game, and Parun gave little more away in beating the national under 17 champion, P. Hampton.