Aust. was prepared for loss—tennis umpire

Press, 12 August 1985, Page 26

Aust. was prepared for loss—tennis umpire

By

KEVIN TUTTY

Australians were steeling themselves for elimination from the Davis Cup tennis semi-finals for the first time in 12 years when they were trailing Paraguay, 1-2, at the end of the doubles in Sydney last week-end. A Christchurch tennis official, Mr Dave Munro, was the umpire at the quar-ter-final tie, and at the teams’ dinner last Saturday evening the Australians were talking about the prospect of losing the tie, said Mr Munro.

The next day, however, Paul McNamee, played outstanding tennis to upset the Paraguayan No. 2, Francisco Gonazales in four sets

and gave John Alexander the chance to win the tie in the final singles. “McNamee said afterwards it was the most emotional game of tennis he had been involved in,” said Mr Munro. Alexander beat the Paraguayan No. 1, Victor Pecci, in three sets, but not without a little drama. In the third set Pecci held set point. “He went for a volley that appeared to be going well out, and instead pushed his shot long and wide. Alexander went on to win the set, but if Pecci had won, the match would have been interrupted because of failing light. Anything could have happened if the tie had had to be resumed.”

The tie was played on a grass court at White City, and the standard of the winter surface was excellent said Mr Munro. “I can’t remember there being one irregular bounce.”

From the Australians’ view point, the one disappointing feature was the size of the crowds. “They were very small. Australians apparently give tennis a low priority during the winter. There were a few more people there on the final day, but the stadium wasn’t full,” said Mr Munro. In spite of the tenseness of the tie, the behaviour of the players was exemplary. At no time during the five matches did the umpires have to warn the players.