LAWN TENNIS.

Dominion, Volume 19, Issue 117, 11 February 1926, Page 12

LAWN TENNIS.

(By

"Forehand.”)

THORNDON CLUBThe Thorndon Club has already commenced its club championships which are always played under proper test conditions, best three of five advantage sets. The following are the results:—

First Round: H. W. Burns beat W. K. Andrews. 6—2, 6 —4, 6—4; L. France beat T. Humphries, 6—4, 6—l, 17—19, 2—6, 6—3; C. E. Malfroy beat E. D. Gore. 6—o, 6—3, 6—l. Second round: A. J. Park beat C. E. Scott. 4—6. 6—4, 6—o. 6—l; N. R. C. Wilson beat I. A. McEwan, 7—5, 6—l, 4—6. 6—l.

The match between L. France and T. Humphries was one deserving of some comment. II: showed Humphries in an entirely new role. France had no difficulty in winning the first two sets. Humphries then leaped to life and, hitting to win, and perhaps not caring much if he lost, he ran into a lead in the third set. and when France caught him, played him game for game until he took the set at 19—17 on a net card. He overwhelmed France in the fourth set again by his hard hitting. He led in the fifth set three Jove, but France, almost for the first time of the match, devoted his attention to Humphries’ backhand. France thus won the match, which had lasted for nearly four hours and three-quarters, in the fifth set. Spectators of the match who have often seen France play, state that they have never known any opponent score so many aces off him, either in the service or in driving. By desperate hitting Humphries simply passed France clean many times. His service was one of terrific speed, and was in good going order. WAIRARAPA v. WELLING. TON The tennis writer of a Wairarapa paper observed on Thursday:—“At a meeting of the Wellington Lawn Tennis Association la.st night a letter was received from the Wairarapa Association asking if it is possible for matches to be played between a team from that association and a selected Wellington team. They are to be written to and informed that, if they can see their way clear to send a team down to the Easter tournament, a series of matches will be played on the conclusion of that tournahient.—This is just like the cool cheek of the .Windy Cityites. It is really a hardship on any visiting tennis player to ask him to play on a dreary, sand-swept, miserable, windy spot like Miramar.” ASSOCIATION LADDER The following matches have been played in connection with the association ladder:— L. France beat N. R. C. Wilson, 6—4, 6—2; R. H. Donovan beat R. R. T. Young, 6—l, 2—6, 6—3; It. Mansfield beat B. O’Brien, 6—4, G—2; A. E. K. Murray beat T. L- Humphries, 4—6, 6—l, 6—4; T. L. Humphries beat F. H. Paul, 6—5, I—6, B—6; 11. N. Burns beat N. J. Sutton, 6—4, 6—3; M. D. Gardner beat F. Cornet, 6—4, 6- 3; H. R. Baigent. beat L. A. Ronald, 6—2, 6—l; 11. R. Baigent beat V. Brown, 3—6, 6—3, 6-1. WELLINGTON DEFEAT HAWKE’S BAY The following account of the provincial tennis matches between Wellington and Hawke’s Bay is taken from an exchange:— Even as it was, many of the rubbers were closely contested, some of Hawke’s Bay’s outstanding performances being— Richards and Milburn beat Park and Thompson in a three set encounter, Lowry, as at Dannevirke, took a set off Andrews and made his presence felt in both doubles against the Palmerston North champion. Richards scored as many games as Young. He laughingly suggested he had not been fairly beaten by the Wellingtonian and on the score-sheet being analysed it was found that Richards had actually scored 99 points to Young’s 95! Milburn got 17 games to Paul’s 20, and Hay in the biggest scoring match of the day took 19 games to Thompson’s 23. Only three games separated the contestants in the leading double (a threesetter) while Lowry and Milburn were only vanquished by the Andrews-Park combination in the advantage sets.

After Donovan’s great performance in tire hard court championship, in settling Noel Wilson, he was the cynosure of all eyes on Saturday. He cieated a fine impression, aiid appears to have the temperament for big tennis. He has a very nice style, is coolness personified, and keeps consistently plugging in good length stuff.

He was educated at Scots College (Sydney) and Wellington College. At the latter he could never beat R. I’erkins but has now the 1923 and 1924 New’ Zealand junior champion’s measure. . ~ . Hay, the Hastings colt, may not have been in the Hawke s Bay teain, had Noble Campbell been available. Yet Richards played this product of Napier High School in the first double, and he rose to the occasion magnificently in his first representative game. It was only lack of experience that caused Hav to be on the losing side in a rattling contest that took a dozen games to decide in the third set. In lifs single he made Thompson “sit up and take notice. ’ . „ . t Lowry postponed his trip to byunev for a week to give Hawke’s Bay a start with its inter-association programme This gpod" sportsmanship was recognised by the spectators when he took his first set from Andrews, and he was greeted with a hearty round of al ßussen Young exploits successfully a great shot, on both hands, straight down centre-court in a double. It always finds the weakness in his opponent’s armour. Nothing finer overhead has ever been seen in Palmerston North than Park’s work. His motto .is “kill or lose.” Norman Green, who ran Marshall to two advantage sets at Wanganui (5—7, 6—B), did well against B. O’Brien and theirs was the happiest little rubber of the day. . There is no question that Young and McDonald are a better pair than Elliott and Richardson, but the Hawke’s Bay plavers hung on tenaciously and made some truly wonderful recoveries. Young’s service was by far the best of the sixteen players engaged in the match. Challenge Issued. The following /changes have been issued: —N. A. Foden v. R. I’erkins; B. O’Brien v R. Mansfield; T. Rhodes Williams v. C. G. S. Ellis; C. Tucker v. T. L. Humphries; 11. N. Burns v. L. A. Thomas; M. D. Gardner v. N. J. Sutton; T. W. Mac Carroll v. W. A. Wilson; R. Poole v. L. Inch; R. Dixon v. C. T. Andrews. Umpiring. I have received the following letter signed “Spectator,” in connection with the much-discussed question of umpiring:—Saturday, January 23, was not a very pleasant' day, but I ventured out to Miramar to see two games in particular in which I was interested. I was no sooner inside, having paid my good money, when I was asked by someone whom I took to be an official if I would umpire; on my regretfully declining, he said the game would not take long, and would be a good one to watch. Foolishly I yielded, but the official’s prophecy was far from accurate—the game was intensely dull and monotonously long, so long, indeed, that I missed both matches I had set out to see. I tried my eyes and I tired my voice in addition, but I was rewarded with a grateful “thank you” from the players. They went the length of saying (possibly with a wink) that I was a very good umpire! Judge, therefore, “Forehand,” of my surprise when I read in your paper the following reported remarks of the Wellington Management Committee: ‘The umpiring throughout the course of the recent tournament was described as a disgrace, and the formation of an umpire’s association was suggested. The hope was expressed that better umpires would be available for the Easter tournament. The most common failing was in the omission to penalise foot-faulting.’ “Had these not been true.” adds the correspondent, "the committee would at once have contradicted them. Had thev said ‘much of the umpiring,’ etc., but no—it. was ‘the umpiring’ (as a whole). Well, it’s up to the committee to secure decent umpires for Easter, but thev won’t get me or many of my friends until they come down with a handsome apology.”

The Incomparable Suzanne. Because Suzanne 'Lenglen, although advertised, did not play at Cannes recently, spectators arriving from Nice excitedly demonstrated, and demanded that their money be returned (states an exchange). An irate old man also demanded that he should be repaid for the hire of a motor-car. The authorities gave the complainants admission tickets for the following day’s matches, in which Mlle. Lenglen gave a superb display in the mixed doubles final. She made only one mistake in the first set and three in the second. Stanley Doust expresses the opinion that it is most difficult to anticipate any chance for Helen Wills against Suzanne. In every Davis Cup Match played in Australasia Ayres “Championship Tennis Balls only have been used. Ayres Championship Balls are made in England, which implies a lot as regards lasting qualities.—Advt.