INTER-CLUB TENNIS

Dominion, Volume 24, Issue 53, 26 November 1930, Page 17

INTER-CLUB TENNIS

Start Made Last Saturday

SOME GAMES REVIEWED

(By

“FOREHAND.")

Miramar Grounds for the start of the Wellington Lawn Tennis Association’s inter-club matches ou Saturday were in excellent condition. For this Groundsman Vaney and his assistant, Mr. Parsons, were alone responsible. Their work has had to be done under the difficulties of very bad weather, and it seemed impossible in the short time that had elapsed since I first saw the grounds that the courts could be brought to such perfection. The sixteen grass courts which, are justly Miramar’s pride, freed from any growth likely to affect the true bound of the ball, cut well down to the ground, so marked out as to provide more ample space betweeif courts, would have' done credit for the playing of any. championship tournament, whatever its importance. The nets were in good order, and' umpire stools were provided. Nor were the court surroundings one whit behjnd tbe courts in the excellence of their maintenance, and all conspired to make conditions for tennis almost perfect. I say almost, because on Saturday a strong northerly, wind interfered greatly with players producing their best brand of tennis. It was disheartening, to say the least, to see beautiful shots down tbe sideline being carried out by the wind, or excellent lobs so held by it that they ..fell short to be killed by the opponents. . Principal interest centred in the senior matches between Brougham Hill and Thorndon and University and Wellington. Newtown, the other senior team entered in the grade, had a bye.

Brougham Hill v. Thorndon. A weakened —I do not say a weak — Brougham Hill club team had an easy victory over a strong Thorndon club team. The absentees from the Brougham Hill team were Miss Dulcie Nicholls, lady ehampion of New Zealand; Mrs. R. P. Adams, lady champion of Brougham Hill club and an ex-New Zealand champion; and D. G. France, champion of Brougham Hill club. While Thorndon club was, of course, without the services of C. E. Malfroy, who is in England, it had the services of N. R. O. Wilson, who had previously played for the Miramar Grounds club. The match between N. R. C. Wilson and A. L. France, the number one men of Thorndon and Brougham Hill teams respectively, was a disappointment. Wilson was never in the hunt. 'With rare exceptions nothing he could do would go right. As of old, his weakness was in the net- France was not playing nearly so hard as I have frequently seen him play, but the cut on the ball, plus the wind, seemed to upset Wilson’s judgment. Even when he gained the net position he was usually outplayed in the rallying exchanges. France, too, exploited the lob and Wilson not infrequently smashed into the net. Umpires ’lmportant. ! i

Before dealing with further matches I would like to stress the importance of having an umpire. This match, And other matches in the senior grade, were played without umpires. This ought not to be. If players are prepared to play under the best court conditions then they ought to be prepared to do their fair share of umpiring. It is not right that the responsibility should devolve on the opponent pf saying whether a ball is in or out. The player who is conscientious-finds himself trying to look at tho ball and the line at the same time, with the result that his stroke suffers. Only when a player is able to concentrate the whole of his attention on the ball-and the work in hand can he give of his best. A. E. Sandra! (Thorndon) had a hollow victory over T, S. Williams (Brougham Hill). Williams was outplayed right throughout, and some of the games he won in the two sets were the result of nets by Sandral from winning volleying positions. In a short match there are few more aggressive players in New Zealand than San-

dral, and his service nearly always places at a disadvantage anyone not used to it. Sandral plays always to get the net, and goes in not always on the best ball, so that lie is open to a passing shot: or being caught at his feet. It has to be a really good lob to get over his head. Making all allowances for the play of Sandral, Williams’s performance was most disappointing. It seemed as though his heart was not in his game. A i Good Performance.

I did. not expect B. Howe (Brougham Hill) to beat H. Burns (Thorndon), and he must be credited with having put up a fine performance in taking him to three sets,. Howe was within measurable distance of winning the first two sets. He did win the first one easily. Burns is a stolid player and a solid one. There is nothing flashy about his game, as there very often is about Howe’s. He serves strongly, drives strongly, advances to the net strongly, and smashes and volleys strongly. Were his strokes as accurate as they are strongly made, he would go further.

Howe is a young player capable of further improvement when he realises his strengths and his weaknesses. •

Skilful Volleying. E. Pearce (Brougham Hill) had a very comfortable win over J. Rogers (Thorndon), mainly by virtue of his excellent volleying from the net. On Saturday in the strong wind the base-liner was nearly always at a disadvantage. Pearce stormed the net and made winner after winner by sharply angled volleys. Rogers relied mainly on passing shots which did not materialise, and lobs which either went out or were killed. Pearce is inclined to play his forehand strokes from a cramped position, but his backhand strokes are beautifully played. ,< I Her wonderful steadiness aud sound placing, as well as ability to coyer the court, gave Miss M. Williams (Brougham Hill) the. victory over Miss M, Preedy (Thorndon). Miss Preedy, who was made to run about the court a lot, was inclined. to net her drives, and was not always fortunate in her volleying, other smashing when Miss Williams resorted to lobbing.

A Keen Battle. The best battle of the day was between Miss F. North (Brougham Hill) aud Miss M. Whyte (Thorndon). Miss Whyte won the first set 6—3 and had a 4—l lead in the second, losing it 5—6 and the third set 4—6. Miss. North is essentially a base-line player with a natural cut stroke, which usually is very accurate and remarkably consistent. Miss’Whyte is a much better all-court player who strokes strongly from tbe base line or at the net. She was helped in the first set from the fact that Miss North was netting badly. Nothing that she did seemed to go right. Her usually accurate cross-court drive from the forehand corner too often went just over the line. Meanwhile Miss Whyte was driving hard and coming to the net and volleying or smashing out of Miss North’s reach. Miss North, however, even when down I— 4 -in the second set never lost heart. As the match progressed she came more on.her game, and Miss Whyte, commencing to tire, lost her accuracy and fell into mistakes.

Below Form. The match between Miss M. Macassey (Thorndon) and Miss D. Howe (Brougham Hill) was well,below the best ot which- both have shown themselves capable; Miss Macassey missed the side lines often by yards. Miss Howe (when playing against the wind) failed badly, to clear the net by reason of the excessive cut she was putting on her forehand drives, and also because, expecting the ball to bounce further back, she had ■to drive forward to it at the Jast^ moment. Only in about three games did she play with confidence, when she hit hard, aud smashed with effect from the net. Apart from that the game was a base-line one with both making errors on easy shots. For this tlie wind was mainly responMrs Burke (Brougham Hill) with hci; deep corner to corner drives, proved too much for Miss S. Preedy, who was forced into errors in the net. Mrs Burke, is a very steady player from the base-lmc, who chases for everything, and can drite a hard. ball. Miss Preedy was not at her best. . „ , Space will not permit of much comment on the doubles and mixed doubles matches, except to saythat the outstanuing player of both teams was N. K, L. Wilson, who with Sandral beat France and Williams, aud witli Miss M. Preedy, beat France and Miss D. H<?we. University v. Wellington. Against M. R. Smith (University) the steadiness and hard hitting from the base line of B. R.' O’Brien (Wel)mgton) was too much in a closely contested three set match. ■ Smith has n fine style aiy; plays the all-court game. His volleying, smashing mid driving, however, wefe not decisive enough against the r'lricv ing abilities mid doggedness ot O Brien. Much' was expected of L. A. Rons? sell (University) because much was promised of him When lie won the Junior Hard Court Championship of New Zealand. That promise has not been uifiired. He still has fine strokes, but they lack sting, and be js not last enough to get his feet into the proper position. •When lie did not beat D. Reid (V' ton) easily on Saturday he was lucky to win at all. Reid has a free and style and he is a earc-free player. Wserves well, and drives well D ; wings. His smashing mid ins volleying arc not so accurate. Munro (Wellington) came to MclJnit.ton from Canterbury with n reputaUou which up to the present has not b e justified. He could scarcely have had a better opponent: to show up his stiei gt and his weaknesses than R- h ofkinb (University). Forking was Wonderfully steady, a remarkable retriever of seemingly impossible gets, and outstanding!} agile mid quick thinking from the net. On Saturday he completely outplayOu (Wellington) and IL Long (University) are still young players whose free style of l ' B! ! <b ’! ef ? to go for the winner, suggest that tnej will develop still further. Tlie. Ladies’ Games.

There was more unevenness ■ among the ladies of the Iwo teams than among the men. Miss Sheppard (Wellington) was the outstanding player, her service and her driving to the sidelines being too much for Miss Carty, who was nearly always on the defensive. Miss Carty was not as accurate in her service, either. The standard of play below these two showed an appreciable drop, although Miss Dyer (University) and Miss \oung (Wellington) fought an interesting baseline duel. , . . I do not intend to refer, at this juncture, to the lower grade matches, beyond mentioning the play of Mrs. Watlc.t, who plnyed'No. 1 Indy for Newtown Clubs third grade team in its mutch against Khandallah. . Mrs. Watlcy is a new recruit to Newtown Club. Not only should she be classed as a senior phi yer, but 1 make bold to add that she would have no dilliculty in qualifying for provincial status, and, with practice, might even # cause a surprise mjd heartburnings ut • * New Zealand championship tourni "ic'itNewtown Chib is very fortunate indeed to have her. us a member. . . Before closing I would like to ion gratulnte Miss M., Dart "nfto an entowl absence of two or t hr*'” ilig very well indhed. Always play with AIDES’ "CHAMStitchless Tcuins Ball—the ball which will be used for the ri.3o-31 New Zealand Tennis Champion-, ships. Insist on Ayres’ British and' Best.' —Advt,