Chris Lewis shows his form in Cup tennis against Danes

Press, 7 March 1983, Page 21

Chris Lewis shows his form in Cup tennis against Danes

By

JOHN BROOKS

Painful memories of the 1981 Davis Cup tie against Britain were erased by Chris Lewis when he hit the New Zealand tennis team into an unbeatable lead over Denmark in the first of the present Cup rounds at Wilding Park on Saturday.

Two years ago Lewis lost to Britain's “Buster” Mottram in five sets after pushing him to the brink of defeat in four, and then went down in dispirited fashion to his namesake, Richard, in the first of the “dead" singles. But it was a dynamic, bounding Lewis, hungry for success, at Wilding Park on Saturday. His tenacity denied an . extremely able young player in Peter Bastiansen even one set in the singles, and then his strong competitive streak and admirable technique played the major part in a straight sets doubles win with Russell Simpson. After claiming both singles, the New Zealanders made certain of qualifying for the Cup quarter-finals by overcoming the youthful Danish doubles pairing of Bastiansen and Michael Mortensen in only an hour and a half. “I felt pretty sharp in the doubles, and, in fact, my whole game was better than in the singles,” said an intense looking Lewis after the dual triumph. "Russell and I feel comfortable together on court, and we felt the Danes would have to play really well to beat us. We were confident after beating both of them in the singles.” Lewis said he was surprised that Denmark substituted Bastiansen for Lars Elvstrom, and thought that the beanpole blond would be the weak link in the combination. But that was not the case. The New Zealanders won on the strength of one service break in each set, and each time it was Mortensen who dropped his serve. Lewis was credited with

playing with absolute sublimity against the renowned Italian, Adriano Panatta, in Cervia last year, and he said on Saturday that he had a strong desire to play well in New Zealand. He did just that, especially in the doubles, but his poker-faced features at the end disguised what inner elation there was, and was reminiscent of the Bob Charles of 20 years ago. Simpson said the Danes were difficult doubles opponents because of their unorthodoxy. “I didn’t return too well, but we didn’t lose a serve and I guess you could call that a convincing win.” The visitors started promisingly enough, with Bastiansen’s high kicking second serve and awkward but effective cricket-style deflections close to the net bringing several points. Mortensen made some good returns and produced several startling angled forehands. But the co-ordination of the New Zealanders, particularly when they were both in shallow positions, put them a class above the Danes. Lewis cracked volleys away for winners unerrignly through mid-court gaps, and Simpson shed his serving blues of the previous day and was strong on the smash. In the most dramatic incident of the match, a string in Lewis’s racket broke when he was returning service in the fourth game of the second set. The Danes kept hammering service in the fourth game of the second set. The Danes kept hammering the ball at him to take advantage of the misfortune, but Lewis and his crippled racket were equal to the task of keeping the ball in play until the Danes hit out — much to the delight of Simp-

son. who was trying desperately to get in on the action. That gave the New Zealanders break point, and they; followed up the advantage' successfully when Lewis had fetched a replacement racket from the side-line. Earlier in the afternoon, Lewis resumed his singles against Bastiansen, wrapping up the last two sets through waging chiefly a baseline campaign. But he was not without his problems. He was called three or four times for foot faults, and seemed a little unsure of when to advance for the volley because of Bastiansen’s ability, with the top-spun lob. The Dane fought hard to the end. finally cracking in the eleventh game of the third set when Lewis put pressure on his primitive volleying. Bastiansen’s 46love lead was eroded, and he finally hit a rustic smash into the bottom of the net to give Lewis his vital break. “I hadn’t seen him play before, so I didn’t know what to expect on the big points,” Lewis said. “I guess I was a little negative instead of concentrating on my own game.” Bastiansen made an excellent showing, considering that it was his first match on grass. “I didn’t know what to do, except that I had to come in on my service,” he said. “But then, I didn’t hit my first serves too well. "I had a chance to win — it sounds crazy, but it is true. I was up 6-5 in the first set and 4-3 in the third, and had four or five break points, but couldn’t see it through.” In a tribute to Lewis’s fitness and superb court coverage, Bastiansen said candidly, “he is very fast; he ran a lot. and I did not.”