Derlin and Steven to fight it out

Press, 7 January 1987, Page 48

Derlin and Steven to fight it out

PA Auckland New Zealand’s Davis Cup squad members, Bruce Derlin and Brett Steven, will battle it out at Stanley Street today for a place in-the quarter-finals of the $200,000 international open tennis singles championships. Deriin, the 25-year-old Aucklander who has been touring overseas since he left school, set up the meeting in the Benson and Hedges Open when he crushed the 1981 champion, Bill Scanlon, of the United States, 6-3, 7-6 (8-6). The Davis Cup player who played No. 1 against Spain this year had good reason to be pleased with

his victory having had to default to the American in last week’s Adelaide Open with a knee injury when the score was at 4-1. Last year in Auckland, Derlin went out to Scanlon in the third set at 3-6. Yesterday it was Scanlon who was on the defensive. Arriving in Auckland the previous evening after going down in the Adelaide final to Wally Masur, Scanlon, the eighth seed, had little time to adjust to the plexipave surface after playing on grass. Gone was the Derlin of other years who was inclined to be tentative passively returning from the baseline:

Yesterday he hit. his passing shots with such precise timing that the American had little chance of returning. Derlin served six aces and broke for the first time in the fourth game of the first set repeating the success in the sixth game before holding to love for the first set, 6-1. Scanlon gave every indication of saving the match in the second set as games went with service until the eleventh when Derlin went ahead, 40-15, on the American’s serve. The Texan saved two break points but could not avoid the break. Scanlon, the world 77thranked player, broke back

to force a tie-breaker and was leading 5-4 at one stage. Derlin, sensing victory, conceded only one of the last five points to Scanlon to win the set, 7-6 (8-6 in the tie-breaker). His win ensured that one Kiwi will be in the quarter-finals tomorrow. His meeting with Steven is stacked in favour of Derlin but Steven has improved since being beaten 6-1, 6-3, at the BP nationals last month. Hopes of a third New Zealander advancing to the second round of the singles were dashed when Stephen Guy, of Wellington, bowed out to the seyenth seed, Michiel Schapers (Netherlands),

6-3, 7-6 (7-1). . The Dutchman shocked Guy with his strong service as he took the first three games, breaking Guy in the second game Guy, after losing the first set, 3-6, settled down to hold service on each of his serving games. Unable to break the Dutchman, the inevitable tie-breaker was played.but again Guy started badly being down four points before winning his only point of the decider which went to 7-1. Results (* denotes seeded player).— Men’s singles, first round: Milosiav Mecir (*l, Czechoslovakia) beat Peter Doohan (Australia), 62, 7-6; Bruce Derlin (N.Z.) beat Bill Scanlon (*8 U.S.), 63, 7-6 (8-6); Ramesh Krishnan (*3 India) beat Robeg Green

(U.S.), 7-5, 6-2; Derrick Rostagno (*5 U.S.) beat Jay Lapidus (U.S.), 7-5, 6-3; Pat Serrett (Aust.) beat . Nduka Odizor (*6 Nigeria), 6-3, 6-4; Wally Masur (Aust.) beat John Letts (U.S.), 6-3, 6-2; Bud Schultz (US.) beat Brad Pearce (U.S.), 6-4, 6-1; Milan Srejber (*2 Czech.) beat Kelly Jones (U.S.), 6-4, 7-5; Michiel Schapers (*7 Netherlands) beat Stephen Guy (N.Z.), 6-3, 7-6 (7-1). Men’s doubles, first round: Carl Limberger and Mark .Woodforde (Aust) beat Antony Emerson (Aust.) and David Lewis (N.Z.), 6-4, 6-7 (9-7), 6-3; Milosiav Mecir and Milan Srejber (Czech.) beat Patrick Kuhnen and Dominik Utzinger (West Germany), 76, 6-2; Gilad Bloom (Israel) and Jonny Levine (U.S.) beat John Carlsson (Sweden) and Claudio Pistoles (Italy), 6-7, 6-1, 11-9.