Helena coming back

Press, 8 November 1978, Page 48

Helena coming back

Helena Anliot (above) the pert Swedish blonde who was the star performer at the Benson and Hedges New Zealand tennis open in Auckland earlier this year, will be among the gifted overseas competitors in the big Colgate women’s tournament at Wilding Park this month. The 22-year-old Swede romped away with the women’s singles title in Auckland — beating the Australian, Marilyn Tesch, who later won the New Zealand championship — and combined with Chris Lewis to win the mixed doubles final from Russell Simpson and Miss Tesch. Her entry for the Christchurch tournament will boost the appeal of the event, the richest for women in this country. Already, 70 entries have been received, and other prominent players are expected to join the list once current tournaments in the United States have been completed. At the age of 18 Miss Anliot won the Australian women’s hard-court singles crown and went on to qualify for Wimbledon at her first attempt: she played in the mixed doubles with Bjorn Borg. She has had several doubles successes with another Colgate competitor for Christchurch, Mimmi Wikstedt, a bouncy, athletic player who also has had New Zealand experience. Miss Anlidt’s latest computer ranking is forty-

seventh in the world, but she has been as high as thirty-sixth. The highest ranked player in the Wilding Park field at present is a Czech, Regina Marsikova — but Miss Anliot beat her last year.

Two other Czech competitors, Hana Strachonova and Renata Tomanova, are also in the field, and they are forty-second and forty-third respectively, in computer rankings. The others in this top group who will play at Wilding Park are Brigitte Simon (France), who is thirty-sixth, and the experienced German, Katja Ebbinghaus, who began playing Federation Cup tennis in 1970 and who has been No. 2 in West Germany for four years. A question mark hangs over the entry of the seasoned and colourful Frenchwoman, Francoise Durr, who has many titles in her travelling bag, including the German, South African, French and Canadian singles and the Wimbledon mixed doubles. She is doing well in the United States at present, and if her good form continues she might by-pass Christchurch for Melbourne. the venue of this year’s Federation Cup contests.

The Christchurch tournament has attracted entries from Belgium, Canada, Czechoslovakia. Denmark. France, Germany, Indonesia, Ireland, Mexico, Sweden and Switzerland, as well as leading New Zealand players.

The Belgian contingent includes Michele Gurdal, who beat the top New Zealander. Judith Chaloner, in last year’s Federation Cup event in Eastbourne. Miss Gurdal has been her country’s No. 1 since 1973 and is recognised as one of the most conscientious players on the circuit.

A former junior star, Annemarie Ruegg, will be in the Swiss team, and she will be especially remembered by Chris Newton of Christchurch. Last year, when she improved six places to become the Swiss No. 1, Miss Ruegg beat Miss Newton in straight sets at Eastbourne — and was also on the winning side in the doubles, in which she paired with another Colgate entry, Petra Delhees.

Among other prominent competitors will be Iris Riedel, who was bom in Brazil and lives in West Germany — and has represented both countries in the Federation Cup — and Gail Lovera, Australianborn and French-domi-ciled, and five times national champion in her adopted country.

The overseas players will filter into Christchurch during next week, led by the three-strong Irish contingent of Helen Lennon, Bernadette Davy and Jo Sheridan. The tournament will start on November 20 and play will continue through the week until the finals on November 26.