Impressive record

Press, 3 January 1979, Page 14

Impressive record

Young men hoping to make a name for themselves in tennis as mixed doubles exponents should form a queue at Sally Chapman’s door. The pert young Christchurch player has built up an impressive record in this event in the last 12 months, and there is obviously a lot more tennis in her yet.

Last summer Sally won the New Zealand mixed doubles title in association with Dale Collings, of Australia. She had also carried off the Auckland mixed doubles title, and later, during her European campaign, she won both the Surrey hardcourt and grasscourt titles in the event, and the Scottish mixed doubles championship.

Now she has added the Canterbury championship to her growing list of mixed doubles titles. In partnership with Michael Mooney, she overcame two unseeded Americans, Mark Moyle and Lisa Bee, in the final at Wilding Park. This was the true expression of Sally’s ability to cope with the unexpected, which is often evident in mixed doubles. Moyle and Bee had previously eliminated Ralph Webster and Judy Phillips, which seemed the most potent local combination, and Peter Joyce (Australia) and Robyn Hunt, the women’s singles winner, with a peculiar off-beat type of game.