More emphasis required on doubles play

Press, 2 March 1984, Page 10

More emphasis required on doubles play

JOHN BROOKS

reports on New Zealand’s great tennis shortcoming

The New Zealand Lawn Tennis Association has been extremely generous recently, with its $130,000 hand-outs to assist the careers of promising players. In the light of developments at Wilding Park last week-end, the association might have been wiser to earmark some of the money for improving Davis Cup doubles play.

At a time when many other countries are well advanced in the area of producing strong doubles combinations, New Zealand is still putting child-like trust

in the expectation that Chris Lewis and Russell Simpson can “put it all together” in a few days of practice before a cup tie. The records suggest otherwise.

Apart from wins against weak pairs, such as the Koreans, the Danes, and the Japanese, New Zealand’s recent doubles combinations have not given rise to a great deal of confidence among their supporters. It is true that in 1982

Lewis and Simpson put up a determined showing against Paolo Bertolucci and Adriano Panatta (Italy), losing in four sets after Simpson was injured, and subsequently downed Yannick Noah and Henri Leconte (France). But those efforts were but a vague memory when the New Zealanders were beaten by the polished Paraguayan team of Victor Pecci and Francisco Gonzalez last Saturday.

Pecci and Gonzalez form a combination in the true sense of the word. They play together in 10 or 12 major tournaments a year, as well as Davis Cup matches, and had just come through a testing doubles assignment in Memphis when they arrived in Christchurch for the New Zealand tie.

Andrew Jarrett and Jonathon Smith (Britain), who played in the Pioneer Stadium in 1981, were developed as a specialised combination, and Simpson and Lewis had to agree that their dovetailed play was impressive. Even a less talented pairing in Angel Gimenez and

Sergio Casal (Spain) was too good for New Zealand a year later, cleaning up Simpson and Onny Parun after belong 1-2 down in sets.

Across the Tasman, Australia has been turning out wonderful doubles teams for 40 years. In recent ties against New Zealand, John Alexander and Phil Dent were always too good.

There are only five rubbers in a Davis Cup tie, and under its present policy, or lack of it, New Zealand is pinning undue faith on the singles. Most other countries realise the importance of a good showing in the doubles, as, in many cases, it can decide the fate of a closely contested tie.

The overseas paths of Lewis and Simpson rarely cross, and without even spasmodic tournament play together they lack the sharp understanding of a PecciGonzalez team, for instance. If the N.Z.L.T.A. firmly believes that Lewis and Simpson are worth persevering with as a doubles pair it should spend some of its Davis Cup profits in making

sure they are thrown together in several tournaments a year.

There is no doubt that Simpson and Lewis could be welded into a reliable combination. At the net Simpson is a sharp volleyer, and Lewis has developed into an excellent returner of service. The only trouble is that he sends the ball back with greater venom than Simpson on both forehand and backhand, so it is difficult to determine on which side of the court he should Play. New Zealand is sorely in need of another Brian Fairlie, the effervescent little man who proved his class mainly with Parun, but also with Lewis and Simpson.

As well as his singles prowess, Fairlie was a gifted doubles man. But there have been very few players with a genuine feel for doubles play produced by New Zealand. Jeff Robson, the former Davis Cup player and later captain, was one, but hardly anyone else matched his consistency over many seasons. One who did was Robson’s contemporary, Alan Burns,

but, unfortunately, the New Zealand selectors of the time never quite saw “the Fox” as international material. New Zealand has developed a small group of useful players to back up Lewis and Simpson. Lewis’s brothers, Mark and David, are included, and so are David Mustard, the current national singles champion, Stephen Guy, the runner-up, and Kelly Evernden, who has played much of his recent tennis in the United States. Add to that number Stephen Harley, the Canterbury player who is expected back from West Germany later this year, and New Zealand has the makings of a worth-while international squad. But before much more time has elapsed, the focus has to be fixed firmly on the doubles situation. Fresh thinking on the formation of a formidable pairing is overdue, and it should not need continuing displays by the likes of Pecci and Gonzalez to ram the point home.

Jeff Simpson, the man who took over from Robson as cup captain, was, and still is, a very good doubles player. The point should not be lost on him.