Big upset in Aust. Open

Press, 28 December 1979, Page 4

Big upset in Aust. Open

jNZPA Melbourne The easy-going Sydney tennis professional, Syd Ball, who has spent the last year relaxing and , trying to lower his golf handicap, i yesterday pulled off one of the • biggest upsets of the $400,000 Australian open at Kooyong, Melbourne, Bail, aged 29. who was on the verge of quitting his career as a globe-trotting professional, defeated last week's N.S.W. Open | runner-up, Hank. Pfister, in four ( : sets. I Pfister, the No. 4 seed, was ■ ; beaten 7-5, 4-6. 6-4. 6-3. The match was postponed from late Wednesday evening when it was stopped by bad light. For Syd Ball, who has had a broken ' engagement with Eng land's Sue Barker, the match j lifted his confidence. ■ It was the first time he had 'won a singles match since the hard-court championships in Hobart almost a year ago. Ball said he had played only nine tournaments throughout i 1979 and had been forced to prequalify. I Ball ha* been working out with ■J Phil Dent who, he said, gave him

some hints about how to play Pfister. Dent told me a lot of thing? and they were pretty right. I served to his back-hand 90 pet cent of the time/’ he said The old master, Tony Roche went into the third round with a straight-sets victory o\er Geofl Masters, of Queensland Roche, aged 34, won 7-5. 6-2 7-6. Roche, an eternal crowd pleaser, admitted he was reluct .ant to go to Melbourne after hti defeat in tht NS W. Open.

! However, h? said, his victory vesterdax had “pumped him up for the tournament The top seed. Guillermo Viias, also sailed to an effortles« victory over the Queensland^- 1 , , Alvin Gardiner. Vilas won 6-L 6-2. 6-4 Rick Fisher, an American from I Palo Alto. California, the con- , queror of the second seed. Joi n. • Alexander, on Wednesda-. jes i terday fell to the hard serving H Colin Dibley, in fixe sets. 2-6, 6-3, '3-6, 6-2. 5-7.