INTER-CLUB TENNIS

Dominion, Volume 24, Issue 65, 10 December 1930, Page 19

INTER-CLUB TENNIS

Play of the Seniors. Reviewed

WHY EVERYONE IS BELOW FORM

(By

“FOREHAND.”)

With the New Zealand tennis championship tournament only three necks away the Dominion's best are still below form. That is the position which confronts us. For this the bad weather may be in part responsible, but I do not think it is mainly responsible. “The fault is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings.” So it is in the world of tennis. The heights are reached and kept only by intensive practice and a willingness to meet'one’s equals or superiors, whenever possible. The more times the better. But our best players think far otherwise. Visit any of the clubs and it is the exception to find the best players opposing each other. Rather do they seek to evade each other. Jealousy of one’s own and of the other’s prowess seems to be the keynote—not. the enjoyment of the game.

Association’s Part. .. Nor have the associations done much to remedy matters. The Wellington Association Management Committee has a scheme on foot whereby Wellington’s best players-will have to play each other at the dictates of a committee. ■ The system seems a good one, but it is being so long delayed in 'its operations as to be no use for this season. Inter-club matches once a fortnight provide no remedy.

To me the chief remedy consists in our best players cultivating the art of enjoying the game. At present they do not. That side of.th,e game is left to the “duds,” who are gleefully prepared to meet the world—to win or be beaten with the same degree of enjoyment. . The only player in Wellington with national pretensions Showing anything like national form at present is Mrs. R. P. Adailis. She appears to be taking her game very seriously. In the inter-club matches on Saturday she quite outclassed her opponents, driving, smashing, and placing in a way which earned her points without her opponent being able to so much as touch the ball. It is far otherwise with toe-New Zealand champion, Miss Dulcie Nicholls. At present she is well below form. She does not play in . intercl'ub matches, which I consider is a great mistake on her part. Her position in the Brougham Hill Club ladies’ team would be No. 2, below Mrs. Adams. The reason for such a placing is that Mrs. Adams is champion of the club. liaving beaten Miss M. Williams in the .final, who had-beaten Miss Nicholls in the semi-final. The rule in the Brougham Hill Club is that the club champion must play number one, although he or she is open to challenge from any other club member. .It does not matter if the club has a world’s champion as member, the number one placing goes to the club champion. Miss Nicholls, by not taking advantage of the only opportunity afforded by the Wellington association of taking part in serious competitive tennis, is prejudicing her own chances of retaining the Dominion title. . .

D. G. France and Fcrliins. D. G. France has been ill. and he, too, is well below form. That did not prevent him, however, from gaining a comfortable win over R. Ferkins. Ferkins is only now coming back, into tennis after an absence of two or three seasons, and he

is sacrificing much of his old-time accuracy to speed. The exchange is not very profitable, although he still maintains his remarkable retrieving ability. But France was all too powerful. With stinging drives to the corners he would follow to the net and win the point by a volley or smash. Ferkins was always on the defensive. A. L. France is scarcely taking tennis seriously this year, but he carried far too many guns for M. R. Smith (University), when they met on Saturday. Smith strokes freely and easily, and against the average player he drives, volleys, and serves beautifully. But France gave him no rest and no time to get properly set to play his strokes. Heavily cut shots went sizzling to the sidelines, and France would be to the net to cut off the return if there was one. Concentrating on every stroke France made Smith earn his every point. It is impossible yet to judge, but against those he has played this season France has stroked very accurately. He is. inclined to take his doubles and mixed doubles less seriously. What does the future hold for E. A. Roussell, New Zealand junior hard courtchampion? His play is far from being severe enough. It is too slow and lacks confidence, although it possesses features of style that ought to carry him far. Against T. S. Williams on Saturday he failed because he would persist in playing down-court. That applied to drives, smashes, and volleys. They lacked for speed and consequently Williams was able to cover them .without any trouble. Roussell should realise that there are two shots from which there ought to be no reply—the volley and the smash. Both ought to be decisive. A sharper angle on his drives would cause his opponent to be forced more out of position. It would enable him to obtain, a more secure position at the net. It is necessary for him to indulge in some intensive physical training off the court, because he is apt to be slow in-his movements. T. S. Williams, while he played his best game last Saturday, is not up to his best of two or three seasons ago. He played more steadily on Saturday than usual. His chief defects are wild smashing and volleying. Once again S. Moore showed himself an indifferent match player by winning none of his three matches. On his club courts he plays a good game; away from them he is erratic in volleying and smashing, the two strokes, on which be most relies for his points.

Returning to Form. Of Mrs. Adams I have already spoken/ , Mrs. McNair Thomson is getting back to some semblance of that form that made her the finest all-court player in New Zealand, even though she has not won the New Zealand singles championship. Her footwork, even when she misses her shots, is the most perfect, in New Zealand. While she has a fin'' drive, forehand and backhand, it is frpm ■ the net that she is most destructive, smashing hard to the sidelines or sharply angling her volleys. At forehand driving Miss Zeisler - (University) did well against Miss E. £ North (Brougham Hill), but her backhand was deplorably weak. Miss North, with her natural, cut .drive, kept puttingthe ball into the corners so that Miss;Zeisler was kept always chasing about./Steady as Miss North is, she is not play-'-’ ing up to last season’s form. . Miss D. Howe (Brougham Hill) and . Miss Dyer (University) have had previous battles, but the former’s victory on Saturday was more decisive than before. It is not that Miss Dyer has’,., gone back in her play, because she has not, but that Miss Howe has improved; On Saturday she drove and smashed and / volleyed in a way that Miss Dyer could. riot cope with. The shot that was giv- . ing Miss Dyer most difficulty was one < where the ball was driven to the. corner//, and whipped away fast on landing. The total games collected by the Uni-, versity ladies, in. the singles was 12,/b'/ Brougham Hill’s 48, and that about, re-U presented the difference in the standard of play. ' / . ' '

Promise Unfulfilled. Walter Rollings has not fulfilled the promise of two seasons ago. Possessed' of a delightfully free and easy style, he... is apt to be careless in his stroking., . Nor does he play his backhand in a way.,',", to enable him to cope with a very fast '.' deep drive. Against N. R. C. Wilson- . he did not give himself a chance, fop? : he double-faulted, his drives were short, he netted his volleys, and pushed his', backhand wide out of court. He was. standing in too close to the ball on. bis. ground strokes. . ' N. R. C. Wilson had no difficulty in winning. In striving for aces with his service he served an occasional double fault. He seemed to be giving himself more time with his ground strokes, and therefore made fewer mistakes in the net. He gave a much improved display on the previous inter-club match. . Tennis at its. best is as much a matter of intellect as it is a game of strokes and physical. fitness. The truth of this was to be seen in the match between -A. E, Sandral (Thorndon) and W. Morgan (Newtown). There is perhaps no cleverer player, no shrewder general in New Zea* - land, than Sandral. Morgan' is merely,'; a hard driver from the base-line. He has no other stroke. Sandral made the net his objective, and from there cut these drives off clean,- leaving Morgan help- , less. If Morgan could but add variety of strokes and pace to his drive, he would be a much better player.

A Hard Worker. Lezard (Newtown) has reached the -. senior grade tennis by sheer hard work. He has shown a disposition to profit by his ■; mistakes, and has taken note of the best. r of the other players. He is a player with : a free style that enables him to get the maximum of enjoyment with a minimum of effort, for he preserves a good court ( \ position, and he is no mean volleyer. In taking H. P. Burns (Thorndon) to three sets he must consider himself as having done very well indeed. Burns is h very solid player. Richardson (Newtown) is a steady baseline player, with a natural cut stroke which proved too difficult for Rogers to deal with. , To be forced by illness to remain out ol tennis for two or three seasons, and then to come back to her club to her old position as number one lady is a fine achievement. In these circumstances the wonder is not I hat Miss M. East was beaten b> Miss' M. Preedy, but that she took Miss Preedy to three sets. It was noticeabb that she no longer had her old accuracy but this was scarcely surprising in view of her long absence from the game. Mis.' • Preedy was not only steadier, but show ed enterprise in going to the net on occasions. . The best game among the ladies of the s two teams was between Miss M. Whyte (Thorndon) and Mrs. G. Penlington (Newtown). Both players drove hard, and were not afraid to go to the net. The difference between the two was that MissWhyte missed fewer sitters at the net than did Mrs. Penlington, and Miss Whyt; lasted the pace better.' ; . Miss N. Bell (Newtown) was beaten by Miss M. Macassey (Thorndon) for the. same reason that Morgan was beaten b? Samjral. There was absolutely no variation in Miss Bell’s game, and her cour 1 position is bad. Miss Maeasse.y deal’ with her as she should be dealt with, thn' is from the net. Driving deep to tin corners Miss Maeassey rook the net, am punched the ball into the opposite corner giving Miss Bell no chance « was tb' best game I have seen Miss him.a--s.. play If she pursues the same metho Miss Bell w ill go back, and not fol ward in the standard of her game.

.VYRES’ S “CHS?PIONsfnP” Sti'Sss British and Best! —Advt.