Junior tennis seeds beaten

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 34031, 20 December 1975, Page 46

Junior tennis seeds beaten

Several seeds were scattered yesterday as a hot and gusty nor’wester blew over Wilding Park, where the Qantas national junior tennis championships are being played.

Among those who saw their title chances wafted away were the fourth seeds in the boys and girls singles, Sam Dean (Auckland) and Sally Chapman (Canterbury). In the dress-rehearsal for the championships earlier this week, Miss Chapman won the Canterbury girls singles final and Dean was the runner-up for the boys title. In the singles semi-finals today the three top-ranked players in each event will be joined by the “giant-killers” yesterday — Joe Harvey (Auckland) and Jenny Sim (Canterbury). Miss Sim, who transferred from New Plymouth to Christchurch this summer to improve her game, reaped the benefit of her move when she beat Miss Chapman, seeded one place ahead of her in the girls singles. The unseeded Harvey, who had to win a qualifying match before he took his place in the field, caused an even bigger stir by eliminating the sixth seed, Malcolm Elley (Wellington) and Dean on his way to the semifinals. Earlier in the tournament Harvey beat the New South Wales No 1, Chris Herden.

Later Harvey figured in the wrong side of an upset when he and his partner, Brian Simpson (Auckland), seeded third in the boys doubles, lost to Graham Liddell (South Canterbury) and Michael Turner (Southland). Two other seeded pairs in the event, Glen Ryder and Geoff Mays (Auckland) and Mark Dunphy and John Reader (Hutt Valley), were also eliminated.

FATHER A COACH Harvey, a Rugby and tennis player of note at King's College, the alma mater of such prominent All Black forwards as lan Kirkpatrick and Hamish Macdonald, has the advantage of having a tennis coach for a father. “Mosey” Harvey has guided his son’s progress carefully, and in his two matches yesterday the 17-year-old Auckland boy displayed unmistakeable promise.

He handled the difficult conditions well, and revealed excellent temperament in clinching the tense tiebreaker to take the match. Miss Chapman was not as steady in the wind as Miss Sim, and she made, many uncharacteristic errors. After being shaded in a first set tie-breaker she lost the second set 1-6, but the score was a little unfair to her, as most games were closely contested. BETTER PLACING Miss Sim said she had ceased to be a "basher,” as her experiences in Christchurch had taught her the value of placement. “Playing against top women such as Shirley Haig and Judy Phillips has given me a good pointer on where to direct the ball, and I have begun to play better without sacrificing my power,” she isaid.

The leading players had mixed fortunes on their way to the semi-finals. Stephen Harley (Canterbury), the No.

1 seed, dropped a set to the promising Paul White (Manawatu), whose father, Mr Eric White, is a former Davis Cup manager and North and South Island singles ehampion. The second seed, Peter Hampton (Canterbury), was taken to three sets by his Shirley clubmate, Brett Hibbert. But Michael Mooney (Canterbury) seeded third, came through impressively against Glen Ryder (Auckland). The favoured girls all won in two sets, although the top seed, Brenda Perry (Auckland), encountered vigorous second-set opposition from Julie Verdellen (Canterbury) before prevailing, 7-5. Sheryl Tebbutt (Waikato) did not concede a game in beating Miss Perry's doubles partner, Jane Goulding (Auckland), and Helen Harris (Waikato) was just as impressive in beating Eliza Coffey (Canterbury), who earlier knocked out the eighth seed, Jenny Oakley (Hutt Valley). In the semi-finals of the boys singles Harley will play Mooney and Hampton will play Harvey. In the girls event. Miss Tebbutt will play Miss Harris, and Miss Sim will! meet Miss Perry. The boys final will be played this afternoon. In the Wayne Reid roundrobin series, designed to assist in the selection of the New Zealand under-16 team, those with the best records are Debbie Leaf (North Shore), Gav Robinson (Otago), David Patterson (Wellington), and Simon Norman (Auckland). Abbreviations used in the results are: — Auckland (A.), Wellington (W.), Canterbury (CO, Bay of Plenty (8.0. P ), Northland (N.I. Hutt Vai-

ley (H.V.i, North Shore i.N.Sj, Manwatu (M.), Waikato Wk.i, New South Wales (N.S.W.). Results were:— Boys Singles Eighth finals.—S. Harley »C.) beat B. Scott (C.), 6-2, 6-4: P White (M.) beat G. Simmvi (N.S.), 6-3, 6-4; M. Mooney ,( beat J. Reader (H.V.), 6-4, 7-6; G. Ruder (A.) beat I). Neilson (C.). u-2, 7-5; J. Harvey (A.) bea: M. Elley (W.). 6-4, 6-2: S. D< • i(A.) beat M. Dunphy 11 V.i. 6-2 6-3; B. Hibbert (C.) beat B. Firop son (A.), 6-4, 3-6. 7-6; P. Ilsnipton (C.) beat C. Swift (N.S.W.h 6-3. 6-3. Quarter-finals. — Harley beat White, 7-5, 1-6, 6-4; Mooney beat Ryder. 6-4, 6-3; Harvey beat Dean, 6-2, 7-6; Hampton beat Hibbert, 6-1. 6-7. 6-2. Girls Singles Eighth finals.—S. Tebbutt (Wk.) beat A. Ngatai '8.0.P.i. 6-1,

,|6-3; J Goulding A.) beat P.. Scarce 'A.\ 7-5, 6-3; H. Harris , Wk.i beat R. O’Dea (Wk.). 7-6, 16-0; E. Coffey (C.'i beat J. Oak-, Iley (H.V.), 6-3, 7-5; J. Sim (C.) I heat R. Miller (N.I, 6-4. 6-1: S. .* ' lapman >C.) beat K. Sproul A ), 64. 6-0; J. Verdellen (C.‘ )eat D. Farquhar (N.S.). 6-0, 6-3; B. Perry (A.) heat W. Carroll ; A.i. 6-1, 6-2. ) Quarter-finals.—Miss Tebbutt . heat Miss Goulding, 6-0, 6-0; Miss • P-.r-is beat Miss Coffey, 6-2, 6-1; css Sim beat Miss Chapman. 7-6, 1; Miss Perry beat Miss Verdeletion. 6-1. 7-5. Girls doubles Quarter-finals.—S. Tebbutt and t FI. Harris iWk.) beat A, Pooley ! and W. Carroll (A.). 6-1, 6-4; A. ’(Ngatai f8.0.P? and J. Oakley ’ iH.V.) beat J Verdellen and E. 'Coffey iCn. 6-2. 7-6: S. Chapman • and J. Simm beat D. Farqu--Ibar (N.S.I. and S. Spiers (H.V.), J 6-0. 6-0