Auckland top qualifier for league tennis final

Press, 11 December 1989, Page 36

Auckland top qualifier for league tennis final

DIANNA LESLIE The rather flattering 21-5 scoreline that Auckland I amassed in the final round of the Air New Zealand national inter-club tennis league against Edgeware at its club courts yesterday gave it enough clout to finish the round-robin competition at the top of the points table. The Auckland team was pleased to win the early competition but its victory was not assured until the final top two players had forged the eight points that were up for grabs. Bruce Derlin (Auckland I), the left-handed Davis Cup squad member, had difficulty with the feisty Ron Dutton (Edgeware) as he was chased to 7-5. Dutton was in touch until the last two games when passing shots did not eventuate and Derlin started to take an aggressive stance at net. Julie Richardson (Auckland), a highly ranked national player confirmed her form for the finals with a 6-3 win over Lisa O’Neill in the top women’s singles. Stephen Harley richly deserved the plaudits which came his way for his 6-1 win over Troy Turnbull. Turnbull had a frustrated game and was twice issued with a codeviolation warning. A third misdemeanour would have meant disqualification.

Harley had a disappointing loss on Saturday but yesterday’s result was retribution against a characterisically big server. Turnbull struggled to find the percentage of first serves he needed to give him impetus, and Harley was too shrewd to let opportunities drift unchecked. Alistair Hunt took Brett Steven (Davis Cup Squad member) to a tie-break after there were no breaks in serve. Both players relied heavily on that advantage. But Steven’s mobility and intelligence around the court kept him reasonably comfortable with the rubber. Hunt took some big points but the lack of finish on two vital points in the tie-break eased three points onto the Auckland score sheet. Shirley gave Auckland I a run for its money, but the cards were stacked against it on Saturday evening. Auckland won 14-12. The Shirley women accomplished their mission winning all 10 points, and the men were only a whisker from their goal. The difference could have been in the No. 2 men’s singles between Adam Anderson (Shirley) and Steven. Steven was up 5-2 but both players pulled off some great play. Anderson took time to curtail Steven’s talented

game, but when he started to tick the impact was dramatic. He came back from an almost impossible 2-5 position. Anderson won his service game to bring the score to 35, and then broke Steven with some impressive play. Anderson served for 5-5 before Steven got into stride and hammered determined points to make it 6-5. Anderson’s serving kept him in the match and he forced a tie-break with an ace. Anderson took the tiebreak the hard way getting down 1-3 before he continued the challenge. Steven had him on the ropes at 6-3 but Anderson appeared to produce his best tennis from the tough situations. Steven had to work to finally clinch the tie-break, 8-6. Rennae Stubbs, Shirley’s No. 1 player, started her match with Richardson decisively running up a 5-2 lead, but Richardson proved that the Auckland visitors had their share of tenacity and she fought back to chase Stubbs to a tie-break. Shirley replaced Peter Hampton with Mark Belcher for the evening but he had no answers for Greg Long, losing, 1-6. The lower order in the Auckland team was too tough as Brett Hibbert also struck problems against the big serving, Troy Turnbull.

Turnbull won 6-3 although Hibbert did have the final laugh in the top doubles as he combined with Anderson to exact revenge from Turnbull and Steven. / Edgeware had control of the points tally against Auckland II at the Edgeware courts on Saturday from the start and never relinquished its hold. It won, 17-9. There were times when Auckland hit back, but its imbalance in the men’s team order and injuries to David Lewis and Andrew Lobb weakened its firepower. The Swedish player, Robert Malkvist, aged 16, was obviously out of his depth against the Edgeware No. 1 player, Ron Dutton. The manager of the Auckland team, Merv Healey, admitted that they thought of the youngster as a sacrificial lamb at No. 1. Auckland 21, Edgeware 5 Men’s singles: Bruce Derlin beat Ron Dutton, 7-5; Brett Steven beat Alistair Hunt, 7-6 (8-6); Troy Turnbull lost to Stephen Harley, 6-1; Greg Long beat Vernon Aubrey, 61. Women’s singles: Julie Richardson beat Lisa O’Neill, 6-3; Chris Hoffee beat Janine Perkinson, 6-2. Men’s doubles: Turnbull and Long beat Hunt and Aubrey, 6-1; Derlin and Steven beat Dutton and Har-

ley, 6-2. Women’s doubles: Richardson and Perkinson lost to Hoffee and O’Neill, 57. Auckland I 14, Shirley 12 Men’s singles: Philip Seeman lost to Bruce Derlin, 3-6; Adam Anderson lost to Brett Steven, 6-7 (6-8); Brett Hibbert lost to Troy Turnbull, 36; Mark Belcher lost to Greg Long, 1-6. Women’s singles: Ruth Seeman beat Janine Perkinson, 6-3; Rennae Stubbs beat Julie Richardson 7-6 (7-5). Men’s doubles: Anderson and Hibbert beat Long and Turnbull, 7-6 (7-4); Seeman and Belcher lost to Derlin and Steven, 1-6. Women’s doubles: Stubbs and Seeman beat Richardson and Perkinson, 6-4. Results:— Edgeware 17, Auckland II 9 Men’s singles: Ron Dutton beat Robert Malkvist, 6-3; Alistair Hunt beat John Dickinson, 6-4; Stephen Harley lost to Mark Long, 4-6; Vernon Aubrey beat Mark Collins, 6-4. Women’s singles: Chris Hoffee beat Arleen Jory, 6-0; Lisa O’Neill lost to Claudine Toleafoa, 3-6. Men’s doubles: Dutton and Harley lost to Long and Dickinson 6-4; Aubrey and Hunt beat Malkvist and Collins, 6-2. Women’s doubles: Hoffee and O’Neill beat Jory and Toleafoa, 7-6 (7-3).