N.Z. has tramped long, hard trail in Davis Cup tennis

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33778, 26 February 1975, Page 14

N.Z. has tramped long, hard trail in Davis Cup tennis

(By

A. M. MENZIES)

New Zealand’s twenty-sixth year of Davis Cup entry, which has already brought perhaps its finest win — over India at Lucknow last month

— now brings it the unprecedented prize of playing a zone final at home. Whatever the outcome of the meeting with Australia in Auckland this week-end, it can probably be said that no tennis event in New Zealand has produced greater interest. But it will be the fourth Davis Cup tie to be held in this country. New Zealand’s participation in Davis Cup fixtures goes back to 1905 when an Australia and New Zealand combined team of Norman Brookes and A. W. Dunlop (Victoria) and H. A. Parker and Anthony Wilding (New Zealand) was beaten, 5-0, by the United States. The next year Australasia went down, 2-3, to the United States, but this was reversed in 1907, and for the first time Australasia’s name was engraved on the cup when it beat the British Isles, 3-2, in the challenge round at Wimbledon. The brilliant Wilding and Brookes retained the cup at Melbourne in 1908 and again at Sydney in 1909 when the challenger each time was the United States. No contest was held in 1910 because of the prohibitive costs for challenging nations, but at Lancaster Park, Christchurch, on December 29 and 30, 1911, and January 1, 1912, the trophy was again successfully defended against the United States by a 5-0 margin. Disappointingly, Wilding, who was overseas, did not take part. The Australasian side was Brookes, Dunlop and Rodney Heath; the Americans, Beals Wright, William Larned and Maurice McLoughlin. The British Isles halted Australasia’s run of success at Melbourne in 1912 — again Wilding did not play — but in 1914 Wilding and Brookes regained the cup by beating the United States, 3-2, at Forest Hills. World War I put a stop to Davis Cup play, and Wilding’s death in action put an end to New Zealand representation in Australasian teams. After Australasia beat British Isles in Sydney in 1919, the challenge round the next year, between Australasia and the United States was held in the Auckland Domain. This was Brookes’s swan song because he and Gerald Patterson were beaten, 5-0, by the' formidable team of William Tilden and William Johnston at the begin-

ning of their seven-year reign.

A rift had developed between New Zealand and Australia, and on April 8,

1922, the New Zealand Lawn Tennis Association’s affiliation with the Lawn Tennis Association of Australia terminated. From then until the end of last year, when it met South Vietnam in the first round of the Eastern zone of the 1975 competition, New Zealand has been unable to have a home match. Regarded as an unzoned nation — along with Australia and South Africa — it has been forced to enter other zones and compete in other countries with all the problems of finance, acclimatisation, differing court surfaces and some unfriendly crowds that this has brought. Between the wars most New Zealand entries occurred when a group of players were either overseas or going overseas for private tennis or business. New Zealand* entered for the first time separately in 1924 when F. M. B. Fisher and J. C. Peacock lost 1-4 to Czechoslovakia in the first round of the European zone. Entry was made again in 1925 but Canada was drawn as New Zealand’s opponent, which i forced withdrawal because i of the high costs. The first success came in | 1928 when Peacock, R. R. . T. Young and E. D. Andrews beat Portugal, 4-1, but the second round was j defaulted to Czech-• oslovakia. Andrews, A. C. Stedman ; and C. E. Malfroy comprised the 1934 team s which lost, 1-4, again to ? Czechoslovakia, and the | same team represented ii New Zealand in 1935 in) the only previous meeting | with Australia before this ) week-end. New Zealanders may) hope the precedent stops, there, because the strong | Australian trio of J. H.t Crawford, V. G. McGrath! and A. D. Quist had already won, 3-0, when rain

stopped play during the third singles. In 1937, New Zealand was in the field again with Andrews, Stedman, Malfroy and D. C. Coombe who beat China, 3-2, in the first round of the European zone, but who lost, 1-4 to South Africa, Stedman registering the only victory. Cam Malfroy and Dewar Brown (singles) and Malfroy and Dennis Coombe (doubles) made up the 1939 side which led, 2-1, over Great Britain after Malfroy had won singles and doubles at Brighton. But Britain took the last two singles.

That ended the second era for New Zealand in the Davis Cup and the first on its own. After the war it began to struggle again. In 1947 John Barry, Ron McKenzie and Jeff Robson were entered in the European zone and they turned the tables on Norway after losing the first two singles. Robson, who is now manager of the New Zealand team, was outstanding in the doubles with McKenzie, who levelled the scores at 2-2. Barry recovered from two sets to one down to win the final singles. However, the traditional opponent, Czechoslovakia, now with the great Jaroslav Drobny and Vladimir Cernik, had too much experience for the New Zealanders and won, 5-0, in the next round. Not for seven years did

New Zealand enter again. Robson, Barry and Mark Otway lost 2-3 to Hungary. Then Robson, Corbet Parker and Lew Gerrard beat Lebanon, 5-0, but lost to Britain, 0-5, in 1957.

One of the causes of New Zealand's downfall was Mike Davies, who is now the executive director of World Championship Tennis, with which the present New Zealand players, Onny Parun, Brian Fairlie and Jeffery Simpson, are contracted. From 1959. New Zealand has entered in the Davis Cup every year in either European, American or

Eastern zone and only now has it gained a permanent niche — in the Eastern zone.

In that period three pairings have been the mainstays of the difficult quest

— first Gerrard and Otway, then Gerrard and the tall left-hander, lan Crookenden, and then Parun and Fairlie.

Teaming with Otway (1959-60-61) and then with Crookenden (1963-64-65), Gerrard played Davis Cup tennis for New Zealand in eight years altogether and emerged with a record exactly square — 11 singles won from 22 played, six doubles from 12. He played in 13 ties altogether and his record after his first four years in singles was well on the credit side — nine won out of 13. The elusive goal was

alwavs to win a second tie In 1959, 1960. and 1961 Gerrard won the first singles of a second tie against Rumania. Venezuela and Spain. and

against Rumania Gerrard and Otway also won the doubles.

However, it was not until two years ago when Parun and Fairlie beat Austria, 3-2, and Jugoslavia. 3-2. that this success was achieved at New Zealand’s twenty-fourth year of trying. They had been close to it three years previously against Canada after beating Mexico, but Parun, who had had influenza. suffered cramp and had to be carried off in the fifth set of his first singles.

Against Rumania, which had the brilliant Hie Nastase, Parun and Fairlie lost, 1-4 in 1973, but they are now in the same position again; the second-tie victory has been gained for the second time and the third-tie win becomes the goal.