Sad tennis loss

Press, 4 November 1978, Page 12

Sad tennis loss

Tennis enthusiasts were saddened by the death last week of lan Beverley, one of the most prominent players in New Zealand for many years.

In each of the last three seasons he displayed his skill at Wilding Park as a prominent member of the Auckland team in the inter-districts’ tournament. He was unbeaten at singles in both the 1975 and 1976 competitions, and the latter feat was particularly meritorious because he occupied the No. 1 position.

Last December Auckland won the men’s title again, with Beverley this time at No. 3. Once more he did well, but dropped a gruelling match to Canterbury’s Ralph Webster.

Beverley, who was in his early 30s, was a cousin of four-time national women’s singles champion, Margaret Beverley, and first came to prominence in the Waikato. A national title always eluded him, but he was often a beaten finalist or semi-finalist in notable tournaments, and was once as high as fifth on the national ranking ladder. A lean and elegant player, Beverley began as a serve and volley man with the accent on power. But towards the end of his career he had developed many subtleties, and his accurate lobbing in his defeat of the hard-hitting David Simmonds (Wellington) at Wilding Park two years ago will be long remembered.