United captures senior tennis title

Press, 2 April 1979, Page 32

United captures senior tennis title

In spite of the presence of two junior Davis Cup squad members in the opposing side, United carried off the B.N.Z. senior men’s tennis championship by beating Shirley in the grand final at Wilding Park yesterday. It was United’s fifteenth senior championship, but its first for nine years, and it ended six years of dominance by the seasoned men of Elmwood. Shirley has never won the title, but the presence of the two national squad players, Peter Hampton and Brett Hibbert, in the top two positions suggested that the omission was about to be repaired. In the event, however, Hampton and Hibbert both had to climb back from the brink of defeat to win their singles, but they conceded a set each in the process and this was sufficient to give victory to United. Neil Pattinson and Lindsay Walton played with adnirable efficiency in the hird and fourth positions or United to win their aatches comfortably. Pattinon, in fact, produced his est form of the season and is ground strokes were a mature of his play. Ralph Webster, United’s aptain, said he spent much ?f the time in the doubles watching Pattinson hitting winners against Shirley’s Bruce Clarke and Ron Adams, who wrested only three games from the United pair. Hampton and Hibbert were too strong for Walton and Hugh Robinson in the other doubles match, and

their win put Shirley on terms with its rival. The energetic Walton then raced away from Clarke in his singles, and a precise Pattinson was too good for a robust Adams. Then Robinson, one of the most underrated players in the competition, had an upset victory against Hibbert in his grasp, only to falter at the vital moment. He won the first set with calm, thoughtful play and led, 5-4 and 40-15 in the second. But the slim Shirley player saved the two match points and fought back grimly to win the set before romping away with the third. Webster and Hampton have had many needle matches in the past, and yesterday’s encounter was no exception. Webster won the first set on a tie-breaker which ran to 16 points, and he had the makings of a straight sets win when he had Hampton hopelessly out of position on break point at 4-4 in the second. But, unaccountably, he shoved a simple volley into the net, and Hampton extracted himself from the tight spot before breaking Webster’s service to take the set. He won the third, too, with some well judged passing shots. However, the first set successes by Webster and Robinson had sealed Shirley’s fate, and United came home a handsome and well deserved winner after a run of consistent performances over the summer. United used the same four players throughout the season. In th§ final round of sec-

tion play on Saturday, United drubbed Woolston and Shirley swept Sumner aside to confirm their leading placings. Final points were:— Section I.—United 90, Elmwood 87, Avonside 53, Woolston 26. Section 2.—Shirley 88. North Linwood 81. Edgeware 44. Sumner 11. Results of matches in the grand final were:— United 8 sets, Shirley 4 R. D. Webster lost to P. Hampton, 7-6 4-6. 3-6; H. Robinson lost to B. Hibbert, 6-3, 5-7, 1-6; N. Pattinson beat R. Adams. 6-1, 6-3: L. Walton beat B. Clarke, 6-3 6-1. Robinson and Walton lost to Hampton and Hibbert, 1-6, 4-6; Webster and Pattinson beat Adams and Clarke, 6-1, 6-2. Results of Saturday’s matches were:— United 4, Woolston 0 R. D. Webster beat D. Hunt, 6-2, 6-3; H. Robinson beat D. Lawn. 6-1. 7-6; N. Pattinson beat G. R. Wilson 6-3, 6-4; L. Walton beat A. Chapman, 6-3, 7-5. Robinson and Walton beat Wilson and Lawn, 6-3, 6-4; Webster and Pattinson beat Hunt and Chapman, 7-6, 7-5. Elmwood 5, Avonside 1 W. Edgecumbe lost to A. Croad. 3-6 4-6; R. Mason beat B. T. Knight. 7-6 7-6; R. Dalman beat D. McKav, 6-3, 6-3; W. ' >m beat R. Wilding, 6-4, 1-6, 6- . iason and Dalman beat Croad and McKay. 7-5, 6-7. 6-2; Thom and Edgecumbe beat Knight ■and Wilding. 5-7 7-6, 6-3. Shirley 4, Sumner 0 P. Hampton beat R. McCutcheon. 6-2, 6-1; B. Hibbert beat G. Hayes. 6-0. 6-1; R. Adams beat D. Blackwell. 6-4. 6-4; B. Clarke beat H. Loveridge, 6-1, 7Hampton and Hibbert beat Loveridge and Hayes. 6-1, 6-0; Adams and Clarke beat McCutcheon and Blackwell, 6-1, 7-6. North Linwood 8, Edgeware 7 S. Harley beat M. Mooney, 8-7, 6-1, 6-2; J. P. Martin lost to N. Dillon, 3-6, 7-5, 6-7; M. Purcell beat J. Dillon. 6-4. 6-0; R. Sandford lost to S. Agar. 1-6, 1-6. Harley and Martin beat N, Dillon and Agar, 6-2, 6-2; Purcell and Sandford lost to J. Dillon and Mooney, 6-1, 6-7, 1-8,