Miss Goolagong and Parun take singles

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33740, 13 January 1975, Page 20

Miss Goolagong and Parun take singles

(New Zealand Press Association)

AUCKLAND.

The 17-year-old English girl, Linda Mottram, tired and unwell just over a week ago, yesterday made a gallant, if unsuccessful, fight to prevent a tennis hat-trick by Evonne Goolagong at the Stanley Street courts.

Miss Mottram went down in the final of the women’s singles in the Benson and Hedges open tournament after taking Miss Goolagong to 7-5 in the second set.

In the Tasmanian tournament at Hobart, Miss Mottram, in the view of the British team manager, Mr R. K. Wilson, looked so jaded that he withdrew her from the women’s doubles.

Best performance

She came to New Zealand a few days ahead of her team-mates, and the rest was so beneficial that yesterday she produced her best performance on the eight-week tour of Australia and New Zealand by the British team. Miss Mottram’s ground shots at times most effectively contained the champion, and her backhand, struck with great precision and speed, ranked as one of the strokes of the tournament. There were several long and exciting baseline duels, but Miss Goolagong, exerting tremendous pressure on the British girl with her switches of speed and angle, thoroughly deserved to take'

.her third successive singles I title in this tournament.

Three victories Miss Goolagong, as expected, was the star of the final day. She won the women’s doubles with the Queenslander. Miss Wendy Turnbull, and the mixed doubles with Sid Ball.

In the men’s singles final on Saturday, Onny Parun beat his Davis Cup teammate, Brian Fairlie, in a memorable five-setter.

For some years New Zealand tennis followers have debated the merits of the two, and after this latest clash the argument was not convincingly settled, for Parun only won 6-4 in the fifth. Evenly matched For much of the contest the balance was delicately tipped, with Parun having fewer times of anxiety. Fairlie won the first set, Parun went to a 2-1 set advantage, and Fairlie had to straggle to the fifth set by means of a stirring tie-breaker. Both gained service breaks in the middle of the final set, but on the tenth game, and Fairlie’s service, Parun went to 30-love. Fairlie recovered

to 30-alI, but a few moments later, Parun’s racket was being triumphantly hurled skyward as he accepted the congratulations of his rival. Later in the day they teamed to play in the men’s doubles final against the Australians, Ray Ruffels and Bob Carmichael. But when the rains came, the New Zealanders had to default, for they left for India yesterday morning on their exciting Davis Cup mission. Results.— Men's singles Final.—O. Parun (N.Z.) beat B. E. Fairlie (N.Z.), 4-6, 64, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4 Men's doubles Final.—R. Ruffels and R. Carmichael (Aust.) beat Parun and Fairlie, 7-6 (defaulted). Women's singles Final.—Miss E. Goolagong (Aust.) beat Miss L. Mottram (England), 6-2, 7-5. Women's doubles Semi-finals.—Misses C. Martinez and L. Du Pont (United States) beat Misses C. Mattison (Aust.) and M. Gurdal (Belgium), 6-4, 6-4. Final: Misses Goolagong and W Turnbull (Aust.) beat Misses Martinez and Du Pont, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4. Mixed doubles Semi-finals.—S. Ball (Aust.) and Miss Goolagong beat Ruffels and Miss Du Pont, 6-1, 6-2; J. Soares (Brazil) and Miss L. Charles (England) beat R. Lewis and Miss G. Coles (England), 7-6, 6-4. Final: Ball and Miss Goolagong beat Soares and Miss Charles. 6-4, 6-4.