CHAMPIONSHIP TENNIS

Dominion, Volume 23, Issue 83, 2 January 1930, Page 17

CHAMPIONSHIP TENNIS

PLAY IN THE NORTH ISLAND TOURNAMENT TWO HOURS’ DELAY CAUSED BY RAIN By Telegraph—From “Forehand.” Wanganui, January 1. The North Island Lawn Tennis Championship tournament was commenced to-day on the Wanganui Club courts. J-he ten glass courts, on which a considerable, amount of labour has been bestowed, are in perfect order. Rain fell in the morning, and _ while it caused a postponment of play for about two hours, it in nowise affected the surface of the courts, which played tine. In the afternoon the weather was ideal for tennis. The arrangements left nothing to be desired, all the committees working solidly in the players' interests. Strangely enough, hone of the courts in the morning was supplied with singles sticks. Ball boys were appointed, but they could hardly be called a success, and it is questionable whether, because of .'the closeness of the courts and their own inexperience, they did not interfere frequently with the strokes of players on adjoining courts. Very often, too, they were to be observed sitting at the foot of the umpire’s stool, When they could without interference have gone for the ball. The frequent passing of trains within a few yards of the grounds did not assist the players. The umpiring varied, greatly in standard, but umpires were handicapped in the early part of the day, by the fact that the balls became green and dirty on the damp grass.

There were great variations in the standard of play, more so among the men than the ladies. This, was due largely to the fact that the ladies mostly pursued a baseline game, while many of ■ the men tried to force matters. The draw has been unlucky in some instances by bringing players of the same towns together in the first or second rounds. The entries are a record; 68 in the men’s singles championship; 37 in the ladies’ singles; 40 in the men’s doubles; 21 in the ladies’ doubles; and 52 in the mixed doubles. Entries in the handicap events are respectively: 83, 56, 47, 32 and 69. In the men’s singles the most interesting match was that between C. Aligns (Christchurch) and Nicholson (Auckland). Angas was by no means as aggressive as usual, and he found in Nicholson a very persistent player. Nicholson’s main shot may be described as a mere poke, varied sometimes by a jab at the ball. But he is very quick at covering the court and very accurate in his placements. His volleying, too, because of his fleetness and the fact that he plays the ball always in front of him, is much above the average. It was astonishing how well he kept his foothold on the damp court. He was very weak overhead. Both players were inclined to be short on the forehand, but Angas scored many points with a sharp crosscourt drive or volley. Junior of Promise. J. Bradley, of Taihape, is a junior of promise, who plays a good all-rouud game, in which his volleying and smashing are a strength. His chief weakness was in following in to the net on drives that were too short to place the opponent at a disadvantage. He was later overwhelmed by Angas. Although Pease, of Hawera, made a vantage second set of it against,Malfroy, the Wellington player was not extended and was content to take risks in the second set, and so lost many points over the sidelines. Pearce seemed to play the first overawed by the reputation of his opponent. D. Earle (Wanganui) was in great form against A. Powdrell, driving on both wings with pace and accuracy, and coming to the net to volley and smash with but few mistakes. The most pleasing feature was the clean way that Earle hit the ball with his full weight thrown into the stroke. . . . Powdrell, who perhaps was winning championships before Earle was born, kept a good court' position and played a varied assortment of shots, which though they lacked for speed made up in the skill with which they were placed. He netted too many of his volleys, however. Alan Stedman (Auckland), although he beat Miller (Masterton) has not yet struck form. He is at his best on balls that come up fairly high, and the fact that they did not do so on the damp court caused him to find the net low down or out over the sidelines. His mam stroke is a severe forehand drive to the corners to keep the opponent from the net and racing along’ the backline, hot this purpose be prefers to bit the ball a little below shoulder high. Ihis he could not do to-day. Hard Hit Drives. Miller played strongly and hit hard, and his drives kept so low that Stedman netted many‘of them on the volley, btedman served exceptionally well, scoring aces, and he was particularly effective with sharply angled cross-court drives, both backhand and forehand. The left-hander, ’J. Powdrell (Wanganui), played some delightfully s brewd placements against W. J. Melody (Vi ellington), who did not find the heavy court at all to his liking. He was either too short with his drives and so placed himself at a disadvantage when he followed to the net (his invariable practice), or he netted the volley or outed the smash. Powdrell was delightfully cool in his playing of the ball, his timing being excellent. He did not as of old sacrifice accuracy for speed. . Two promising young players met in A. K. Turner (Auckland), and J. Webber (Hastings).., . The latter is a lefthander, as is his father, who tu his day was a noted player. Both boys displayed courage in going for their shots and in going to the net to volley or smash, lurner was more accurate off the ground than Webber, although Webber’s drives, when h 6 did succeed, had a better length, Turner, too, won vital points with a fast cross-court drive to about the service line. Easy Backhand Style. Hay Campbell, of Wanganui, like his conqueror, T, Rhodes-Williams, of Christchurch, has a very free style, par-, ticularly on the backhand. After losing the first set without winning a game he ceased to be afraid of Rhodes-Williams, and commenced to play hard and accurately to keep his opponent from the net. He had a good lead in the second set when play was stopped by rain, and did not play quite so’well on resumption. Rhodes-Williams has a beautiful free style, and he swung the bail from side . to side, backhand or forehand, with delightful ease. His volleying was not overstrong. Although made to run far and fast, Hay Campbell made some very tine recoveries. M.' Mitchell is a young left-handed player, who has improved greatly in the last season or two. Also, he had too good a stamina for the veteran, Tukere. Mitchell drives hard volleys well, but is uncertain in his smashes. McCarthy is a young player, has good strokes, but Lampe was much too experienced in his placing to give his opponent much of a chance. . The left-hander, Charters, of Whangnrei, with his driving, volleying and smashing, had no difficulty with Latham, of Wanganui. Miss Ramsay and Miss Potter, both of Auckland, had a long gruelling match. Commencing in the morning with intervals, because of rain, it lasted into the afternoon, when Miss Ramsay won out in the third set. Miss Ramsay cut everything except her service, which was fast and well placed. Miss Potter covered the court well, and was superior in placing. Miss Rainsay won because she was stronger to stand the long chasing about. The game, although played almost entirely from tlie backline, was always interesting because of the contrast in styles. Miss Potter was very weak overhead, and Miss Ramsay made many remarkable recoveries on the backhand. She had to run fast to the forehand, and she very often netted. Mrs. Melody’s Easy Win. Mrs. Melody had a very easy win over Miss Innes, who could not handle her cut drive. Miss JI. Purcell just played quietly along, placing to the corners to keep her opponent chasing, and herself lobbed if forced out of position. She secured an way. victory over Miss Hawken.

Mrs. Smith is one of Wanganui’s hardest players to beat. She places Well on the forehand, and makes’ many remarkable recoveries by taking two hands to the racket on the backhand. She maintains a perfect court position, and therein is her main strength, for sho is: never unduly bnstleil, She was much too steady and accurate for Miss M. Preedy, of Wellington, who likes to force the pace whenever possible. Migs JI. Myers, with her speed and hard-hitting from the backline, had no difficulty with Miss Latham. Miss JI. Whyte (Wellington) is a hard player,, her forehand driving being a feature. Miss Cowper was no match for her aggressiveness. Miss D. Nicholls (Wellington) was in splendid driving form against Miss Zeisler (Wanganui;, who was completely outclassed in the first set, but made many fine returns in the second set, and hit hard. Miss Zeisler was very weak overhead. falling down on all lobs. Miss Scott (Christchurch) and Miss M. Duncan (Wanganui) had a solid driving game with a few sorties to the net that were far from profitable to the attacker. Both ladies showed they were not afraid to hit, especially on the forehand. ’ . A start was also made with the doubles events, which produced some fast play among the men from the net. Generally the lobbing was sufficiently accurate to throw the smashers out of their stride. There were no surprises and the crack pairs won handsomely. ■ RESULTS IN DETAIL Detailed results are as follow; — MEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP SINGLES. First round: E. Pearce (Wellington) beat N. Izard (Wanganui), 6 —4, 6—4; J. Bradley (Taihape) beat J. Gardner (Palmerston North), (4—2, 6 —2; C. Angas (Christchurch) beat Nicholson (Auckland), 6 —4, 6—4; Hubble (Auckland) beat N. Here (Wanganui), 6—*-4, Second round: C. E. Malfroy (Wellington) beat Pease (HaweVa), o—l, 7 —5; F. Leahy (Taihape) beat T. Wright (Wanganui), 6—2, 6 —2; F. Jenkins (Wanganui) beat R. McKenzie (Featherston), 6 3, G —l; D. Earle (Wanganui) beat A. Powdrell (Wanganui), 6—l, .6 —2; N. B. Barkman (Wanganui) beat K. Anderson (Wanganui), 6—l, 6—3; J. lowdrell (Wanganui) beat M r . J. Melody (Wellington), 7 —5, 6 —3: 11. Cox (Wanganui) beat W. Bennett (Wanganui), S_6, 6—3; A. Stedman (Auckland) beat N. Miller (Masterton), 6—l, 7—5; A. K. Turner (Auckland) beat J. Webber (Hastings), 6 —2, 6—l; N. R. C. Wilson (Wellington) beat E. Scotland (Wellington) g 1, 6—2; T. lihodesAVilliams (Christchurch) beat Hay Campbell (Wanganui), 6—o, B—6; K. 11. Hounsell (Wanganui) beat F. H. Hale (Strattord), g 2, 6 —3; M. Mitchell (Wanganui) beat’Tukere (Wanganui), 6—4, 6—B; 0—0; McFarlane (Hawera) beat Hudson (Hastings), 6 —l, 6—2; M. L. Lampe (Wanganui) beat McCarthy (Hawera), 6_l, ft—o; Houricks (Taihape) beat Rev. Austin (Wanganui). 6—2, 6—o; Robertson (Palmerston North) be. t Pi c I (Wanganui), 6—l, 6—4; Meuli (Wa nganui) beat Carruthers D\ an S fU ‘-" 1 >’ gL-4 fr-2; Small (Hastings) beat Masu (i a 6—2; Charters (Whangarei) beat Latham Q)| a P sa, ! u G_l 6—l; Colthart (Raetihi) beat Udy ’(Wanganui), 9—7, 6—l: Eutwhistle fAuckland) beat Lucas (Wellington). 6—4, fi—2; C. Angas /Cliristcliurch) bent Bradlev (Taihape), 6—o, U— l • (New Plymouth) beat Shaw GVangamii), V__7 6-14. 6-4; G. Brown (Auckland) beat’Marchant (Napier), 6—4, 3— 6 B—-6;8 —-6; Boardman (Auckland) beat Ham ilton (Wanganui), 7—5, 61. LADIES’ SINGLES. First round: Mrs. Richardson (Wangais Miss Sanderson (Masterton), i 9, i <b Second round : Miss L. Hobson (Wailin’tonL Miss ‘ Baflantyne beat Miss N. Cowper (Wanganui), v- < a I- Miss M. Myers (Wanganui) beat Miss'M'. Latham (Wanganui), 0o—2; Miss R. Card (Featherston) beat Miss 0. Tilley (Wanganui), 6-1, 6-1, Mrs. Dempsey (W auganui) beat 11 ss Pownall (Wanganui), by defauit, Miss Pease (Hawera) beat Miss I. McMulla (Palmerston N.), by default; Miss 1’ ntnklin (Wanganui) won by default. Mi.s M Purcell (Wanganui) beat Hawken (Hawera), 6—2, 6 -> M s D Scott (Christchurch) beat Miss M. Duncan (Wanganui), b—3, 6-3, MasRichardson (Wanganui) beat Miss Izi (Wanganui), 6-2, 6-4; Mrs. Snth beat Miss Preedy, 6—2, 6—3,, W Frankham (Auckland) beat Miss U. Robertson (Hawera), 6-2, i *' &s £’ Nichols (Wellington) beat. Miss A. Zeisler (W’anganui), 6—o, 6—o. MEN’S DOUBLES. First round: Nicholson and Hubble (Auckland) beat Wright and Hare, b—V, 6—2; Lampe (Wanganui) and Angas (Christchurch) beat Hounsell and p. Hutchison (Wanganui), 6—-1, < •->; Carruthers and Murray beat Austin and Pownall, 4—6, 6—l, 6—4; Larkman and Earle (Wanganui) beat Strombom and Mitchell, 6—3, 6—3; Wills and Farlane beat Webber and Small, ~ u, Second round: Malfroy and Wilson (Wellington) beat T. and E. Colthint. o—40 —4 fl —2; A. and ,1. Powdrell beat McKenzie and Gardner, 6 —l, 6—3; Cox and Udy (Wanganui) boat L. Gardner and A. W. Thompson, 6—l, 7—o; Stedman (Auckland) and Charters beat Walker and Billows (W angiinill), (}_2 6—2; Rhodes-Williams and Dymond (Christchurch) beat Turner and Hardy (Auckland), 6—2, 6 —4. LADIES’ DOUBLES. First round: Misses Cameron and Sanderson (Masterton) beat Misses Watt and Lowrie, 6 — 4, G—2; Mrs. Smith and Miss Purcell (Wanganui) won by default; Misses Franklin (Wanganui) and Tucker (Wellington) beat Misses Hawken and Robertson (Hawera), u o, 7_5 ; Mrs. Melody (Wellington) and Miss Myers (Wanganui) beat Misses Cowper and Garnett (Wanganui), (> . 6 —O’ Mrs. Dempsey and Miss Cox (Wanganui) beat Mrs. Burston and Miss 1. Duncan, 6—2, 6—l. Second round: Misses J/ ec<1 ’ v a,l, [ Whyte (Wellington) beat Misses Ilearil and Innes (Palmerston North), (>—l. 6—2. MIXED DOUBLES. First round: Lampe and Miss Myeis

(Wiingiinui) bent Lucas (Wellington) and Miss Cowper (Wangauui), b—o, 6—3. MARLBOROUGH TOURNEY By Telegraph —Press xWsoeialion 1 Blcnlicim, December 30. In the Marlborough Tennis Associations annual championship tournament, Lex Bagge, of Wellington, won the mens aiii'-les defeating Coueli, ot Blenheim, in H.e’iimil, 6-3 6-2 Miss Park of Koroinino, won the ladles’ singles troni Miss D. Wood, of Blenheim, 1-6, 6-3, co. Misses Park and Wood won the ladies doubles from Misses .8. and A. Watts, of Blenheim 6-2, 6-0. Couch and Miss D. ft ood won the combined doubles, defeating Bagge and Miss Stevens in the final, 2-6, Tn °tbe handicap events, Hume won the men's singles, Newman and Jellyman the doubles, Miss Horton (Blenheim) tlie Indli's’ singles, and Miss Whisker (Mellinglon) and Miss Griffiths (Blenheim) tlie ladies' doubles. Hume and Miss Horton won the combined doubles. y New Zealand's Official Ball for twenty years—Ayres’ Uhiinipinnshin Stitcliless Tennis Ball. Why? Ayres’ last longer. Perfect in flight. Greater resiliency puts Jess strain on tlie gut. British mid best. —Advt.