Onny Parun slides to defeat in first round

Press, 10 February 1982, Page 42

Onny Parun slides to defeat in first round

By

JOHN BROOKS

Onny Parun has savoured many great, days at Wilding Park, but yesterday was not one of them. The durable stalwart of New Zealand Davis Cup teams slid to defeat in the first round of the Air New Zealand tennis tournament, for which he was seeded sixth.

His conqueror was a 23-year-old English left-hander. Mark Holland, who lost to Canterbury's Michael Mooney in the semi-finals of the provincial singles championship on the same courts a month ago. Holland muzzled a typical Parun recover in the middle stages of the three-set match, clinching his victory with two service breaks. And while he savoured his win resting in the shade of the Horace Dillon memorial

stone, a stunned Parun quickly left the park. ‘‘

The veteran New Zealander was one of three seeded players to be knocked out in the first round of the tournament singles. The others were Robert Crames (United States), seeded ninth, who lost to a big. gingerhaired German. Stefan Reich. and Chris Tregonning (Australia), seeded sixteenth, who was eliminated by a globe-trotting Christchurch player. Brett Hibbert.

Bruce Berlin (Auckland), the No. 1 seed, had an easy passage to the second round, and most of the other seeded players opened on a strong note.

Randy Evett (United States). David Lewis (NewZealand). and Wayne Horskins (Australia), three seeded players, were all taken to

three sets, but at the other end of the scale an unsedeed Englishman. Nick Fulwood. completed his third match in two days with an aggregate loss of only four games.

But Holland was the Englishman who attracted the main glare of the spotlight, and he was as modest in victory as he was undemonstrative on the court.

"I served well to his backhand. and I didn't give him much that he could take advantage of." he said. "But he’s the sort of player that you can't afford to let loose in recovery. Towards the end I played tight, and fortunately he missed a few." Parun seemed set for his umpteenth cliff-hanging comeback when, from one set down, he snatched the second in a tie-breaker byeight points to six and ran up

a 3-1 lead in the third; but a remarkably composed Holland broke Parun's serve to reach 3-3 and then broke him again for a 5-4 lead before serving out the match.

"It was distracting to lose the tie-breaker after getting to six-all from 4-6 down." Holland said, “but I never gave up hope, even when he got that early lead in the

third." The young Englishman admitted he had been struggling to make his presence felt in earlier tournaments on the satellite circuit. "But 1 am definitely playing belter now than I was in the Canterbury championships because of the good weather and the number of recent matches." The Parun-Holland duel was fought out on a court with baselines virtually obli-

terated by vast tracts of dust, and Holland said it was difficult to move for returns because of the slippery footing.

Parun. however, made no comment and he seemed deeply affected by his reverse as he left the park. Holland's next opponent is Steve Maloney, an Australian who yesterday dropped a set in beating Wellington's Guy Callender. With Parun's scalp dangling from his belt. Holland could make considerable headway in this tournament.

A personable American. Rocky Vazquez, who has been off the courts for several days because of hamstring injury in his right leg. experienced a bumpy but satisfactory comeback by beating a Canadian. Bruce Millar, after teetering on a

knife edge in a second set tie-breaker. He is one of seven Americans still in the singles, there are also 11 Australians, eight New Zealanders. three Englishmen, two Canadians and one German.

As well as first round singles matches doubles qualifying games were also on yesterday's schedule. One competitor who will not be going any further in this event is lan Goolagong. brother of the famous Evonne. He failed to appear, and his rivals had a walkover. Results were

B Derliti (XZ. beat S Bale (G. 8. 6-3. 6-0. .1. Dtlouie (U.S.) beat T Turnbull (XZ.i. 6-2. 7-5: I’ ODonoghne il'i heal A Chapman (XZ.i. 7-5. 6-1. S Reich (Ger) heal R Crames if .S.l. 6-2. 6-7. 6-3; W Horskins i.\i beat E Sherbeek H'S.). 3-6. 6-3. 6-4: C

England iX.Z > beat P. Vishnesky (U.X.t. 7-6. 6-4; P MacDonald fl'.S.i beat J Stoddart iA). 7-6. 76. M Darbv (U.S.) beat B. McQuoun (U.S'.). 6-3. 6-3: J. Simpson i'X Za beat G Manning (U.S). 6-4. 6-4: B Langevad (Af beat R. Dutton iX'.Z.t. 6-2. 4-6. 6-4: R Grant (A) heat 11 Robinson i.XZ i. 6-3. 6-1; B Hibbert (N.Z.) beat Chris Tregonning (At. 7-5. 6-

J Schneider iA< beat J. N'eilzel (U.S.). 6-7. 6-2. 6-2: X. Fulwood (G.B i. beat B. Sharp (A). 6-3. 6-0: R Evett (U.S) beat G. Farmer iU.S i, 6-7. 6-3. 6-1. S. Maloney t.A> beat G. Callender (X.Z.). 6-4. 3-6. 6-4. J. McCurdy (A, beat P Lyons (U.S). 7-5.' 6-3. 1- Warder (A ) beat T. Withers iA.). 7-5. 6-0; X. Mohtadi <Ci beat M Wagner H'S). 6-3. 7-5; R. Vazquez (U.S.) beat B Millar (Cl. 3-6. 7-6. 6-1; G. Hamilton (A) beat M. Cooper (A). 6-3. 6-U; I). Melz il'S). beat F. BongU’vamii iA). 6-1. 6-2. M Holland ‘GBi beat 0. Parun iX Z i. 6 4. 6-7. 6-4. S Robinson (X Z i heal P Barton i.A.). 7-5. 6-4 D Lewis iX Z 1 beat X. Carter

(N.Z ). 6-2. 4-6. 6-1. 1 Currie iG.B.) beat A. Adamopoulos (A). 6-4. 6-3; W. Maher (A) heat M. Mooney (X.Z.). 6-4. 6-2: K. Barton (Al beat C. Emery il’.S.). 6-4. 6-1; D. Graham i.Ai beat Craig Tregonning (A). 6-2. 7-6. T Bennett (U.S > beat G. O'Riley (U.S.). 6-3. 6-2: G. Liddell (XZ.i beat G. Merchant (N.Z.). 6-1. 6-1; 1). Mustard iX.Z.) beat B Riessen (U.S.'. 6-4. 6-2. Results of qualifying matches in the doubles were

First round J. Young (Al and .1. Neitzel (t'.S.i beat P. Dixon and M McKee (A). 6-4. 4-6. 7-5; A Chapman and G Callender (X Z i beat G. Lawson and A Adair (XZ.i. 3-6. 7-6. 6-3. Second round Crames and B. Siegel il' S.i heat I Goolagong (A) and B. Peacock iU.S.), by default. I Currie (G. 8. and T. Turnbull iX.Z) beat R Mason and R Dalman iX.Z i. 7-6. 6-4; C l.angevad i.Vi and G Manning (U.S.) beat R. McCluskev and T. Metcalf iA). 2-6. 7-5.' 6-3. I’ Barion and T Withers tA> beat S Agar and M Hammond i.X Z >. 64. 6-4