TENNIS MATCHES AT MIRAMAR

Dominion, Volume 26, Issue 68, 13 December 1932, Page 14

TENNIS MATCHES AT MIRAMAR

Some Dissatisfaction Over Uncompleted Games

COMMENT ON PLAY: NOTES FROM CLUBS

(By

“Vantage.”)

Saturday saw the completion of the third round of the men’s first division inter-club competition at Miramar. Brougham Hill A and Thorndon have both won three matches. Brougham Hui A has now met and defeated University, Brougham Hill B, and Wellington, and Thorndon has beaten Wellington, University. and Newtown. Newtown has won two matches against Brougham Hill B and Wellington. University had its first win on Saturday against Brougham Hill B. and Wellington and Brougham Hill B have yet to win a match Wellington lost an excellent chance ot winning its second round match against Newtown. The rain, which stopped all play on November 26. left it with a lead of four matches to one. On Saturday, when the three remaining doubles matches were played. Wellington unexpectedly lost them all. and went down to Newtown on a count of sets by ten to nine. The match in the Thorndon-Newtown contest between N. R. C. Wilson and W. Svkes was one of the most interesting ot the afternoon. Sykes played very well. He was putting as much spin on the oan as ever, and in addition at times was hitting very hard. In some of the raUies he completely outplayed Wilson, who seemed to be trying to put.more pace than was warranted into all his shots, and in consequence was missing a lot. Wilson’s type of game needs very favourable conditions to be seen at its best, and on Saturday the extreme spin of his opponent’s shots, and a violent wind, combined to leave his hard hitting very little margin for error. He has still some way to go before he reaches his best form, and lie was perhaps just a little lucky to beat Sykes in straight sets. , ■ . ’ Rollings continued on his winning way by a fine victory over Sandral. He is playing well at present, and has not yet lost a singles match. Burns, of the Thorndon team, is another who has won all three singles. He beat Lezard fairly comfortably on Saturday, although he dropped the second set. D. G. France and Roussell had a rather uninteresting match with too many mistakes on both sides. France had no difficulty in winning, but he hit a lot of shots into the net.. He is not nearly at his best yet. Roussell did well to pick up to 5—6 in the second set. Pearce, the Brougham Hill A second player, left his run very late in his match against O’Brien, of Wellington. He lost the first set and was well down in the second with match points against him. lie recovered, however, and by good driving and net play ran out an easy winner in the third set, 6 —o. R. Howe, in the same contest, had to go all out to beat Purvis, after winning the first set easily. He eventually won 6 —l» 5—6, 7 5. Wilkinson was the only Brougham Hill player to win a match in the UniversityBrougham Hill B game. He did particularly well to record such a good win over Gosnell, who has been playing good tennis lately.

Postponed Matches. There has been considerable dissatisfaction, mostly among lower division players, with the decision of the Wellington association’s management committee that all postponed individual matches should be replayed from the beginning instead of from the point at which the play was stopped. At Miramar on Saturday this ruling was the cause of quite a lot of comment and some wrangling. In a letter to “Vantage” a prominent senior player presents the case from the point of view of the disaffected clubs. The letter is as follows: —

“The Wellington Lawn 'Tennis Association must be considered unfortunate in having had three days’ Interclub matches interfered with by rain, but the committee is not to be commended on its actions with regard to completing these matches. I understand it has ruled that uncompleted individual matches must be played from the beginning again, and as this ruling was the subject of much comment last season, captains of clubs and individual players may be interested in the outcome of last year’s decision. “In this case an appeal was made by the writer through the Wellington association to the management committee of the New Zealand association against the decision, and I have seen a copy of that body’s ruling which indicates that under no circumstances can a local association, by its own interclub competition rules, set aside the Rules of Lawn Tennis, which state in rule 27 that, ‘ln any case of postponement the previous score . . . shall hold good, unless the referee and the players unanimously agree otherwise.’ “The local association appears to be adopting the attitude that, as clubs have entered teams under interclub regulations giving the management committee control over postponements, etc., the committee can do as it pleases in this respect; but the ruling of the New Zealand association definitely states that this is not so, and this ruling should have been available to club delegates when the matter was brought up for discussion at the last council meeting of the Wellington association. “I may say that neither myself nor my club is affected by these later decisions of the Wellington association, but many clubs are in this position, and I think that team captains and individual players should realise that they are quite within their rights in refusing to replay matches from the commencement, and would hardly be loyal to their clubs if they did not insist on continuing play where it was stopped in any case where they held a decided advantage. “In matters of this kind players would expect to find the Wellington association as insistent on upholding the rules of. the game itself as they have recently been, quite rightly, in rules regarding affiliated clubs and players, and 1 regret that I consider it my duty to. Wellington chibs, particularly the junior chibs of the city, to draw attention to the matter. —I am. etc., “HERBERT S. WILKINSON.” Wellington, December 9. Ranking Matches. The first round of the ranking matches for places 7 to 14 on the men’s list has been completed, and although the places cannot be determined finally till after next week’s play, soniC idea of the progress of the competitions may be obtained. The ranking is on a “points” basis, three points being allotted for each match. If the match goes to three sets the winner gets two and the loser one, while if it. is won in two sets the winner gets all three points. The present position is:—

In the women’s matches Miss M. Howe beat Mrs. Campbell 6—3, 6—4; Miss Fernie beat Miss Whisker, 6—2, 6—l; Miss Whisker is leading Miss Howe 6—l, 4—3; Miss Fernie is leading Miss Warsaw, 6—l, 4—6, 4—3. These matches will be concluded next week. In the elimination contests among the men, Dyer beat Long. 6—2, 6—l; Dyer beat Clifford-Jones. 7—5, I— 6, 6-yl; Moore beat Knight. 6—3, 6—l; Livingstone beat Moore. 6—l. 6—l; Livingstone beat Dyer. 6 —3, 6—2. Dyer and Livingstone thus qualify to challenge Nos. 13 and 14 on the ranking list. .Matches for next Sunday are:—l.3o p.m., Tilbury v. O’Brien, Wilkinson v. Stoddart; 3 p.m., Pearce v. Gosnell, McCarthy r. Sykes; 4.30 p.m., Tilbury v. Wilkinson. O’Brien v. Stoddart. The following women’s matches will also be played:—l.3o p.m., Miss Fernie v. Miss Todd. Miss M hisker v. Mrs. Campbell. Miss Howe v. Miss Warsaw; 4.30 p.m., Miss Fernie v. Mrs. Campbell. Miss

Whisker v. Miss Warsaw, Miss Todd v. Miss Howe. , ’ When these matches are completed it will he possible to place the eight men and the six women provisionally;, but some further matches will be necessary for a final placing. The position is that the players occueving positions 9 and 10 will each play numbers 11 and 12, while the two finalists in the elimination contests will each play Nos. 13 and 1,4. Also, Nos. 7 and 8 will be eligible to challenge the two bottom men among the first six in the provincial ranking list. These matches will all have to be played after the Christinas vacation.

It must be remembered that if for any reason a player is unable to compete on Sunday, the onus is on him to arrange the match within seven days and to report the result. The player concerned should also notify the opponent beforehand. Seatoun Club.

Steady progress has been made with the handicap events at Seatoun. In the doubles the finals have been reached and will be played within the next few days. The semi-finalists in the men’s doubles were Scotland and Bedford ( —10), who defeated Hickson and W. D. Murie (6), 61—48, and Lauchlan and N. A. Morrison (scr.), who defeated Webley and Rothville (7), 61—50. The women-’s doubles saw the elimination of Misses S. and E. Bell ( —10) in the third round by Mesdames Muri and Colquhoun (11), who won 51—45 ; the winners were defeated in the semi-final by Misses Simmonds and Watt (25), 51 —43. The other finalists to meet Misses Simmons and Watt are Misses Donald and Anderson (16), who had a somewhat easier run to this stage, winning their semi-final by default. The mixed doubles have produced some good tennis, and in a number of matches very close results. The finalists in this event are Scotland and Miss Low (5), who defeated Bedford and Miss N. Lang (—10), 52—50, and Smith and Miss I. Small ( —5), who won from Hull and Mrs. Muir (S), 51 —48. Considerable keenness is being shown in ladder contests, particularly among the men, some of whom have already played four or five challenge matches. Not quite so much activity is in evidence by the women, but some of them, are gaining useful practice and experience by trying for higher places on the ladder. A friendly match against teams from Newtown Tennis Club was played recently. Four men (Bedford, Smith. Hickson, and Barritt) visited the Newtown courts and had a very enjoyable series of matches and were generously entertained by the Newtown club. The matches resulted 4-all (Newtown, 9 sets, 98 games; Seatoun, 9 sets, 93 games). At the home courts the women’s team (Misses I. Small, Nichols, Hall, and S. Bell) were unsuccessful, the visiting Newtown women winning 5 matches to 3. Another friendly match is being arranged before Christmas, on this occasion with Broadway club. After the holidays it is proposed to. arrange similar games with two or three other clubs. Entries for the club chmpionslnp events have closed and have resulted in good fields, particularly in the singles. The draw has been made and progress should be fairly rapid in the doubles, with which it is intended to push ahead. The singles, owing to shortage of courts and the non-completion of the handicap singles, which, on account of large entries, have reached the fourth round only, will not be commenced till a little later.

Talavera Chib. Talavera club’s handicap tournament is keeping the attention of members occupied, to the exclusion of ladder fnatches. Events are progressing well, and some excellent games have been provided. In the men’s singles, semi-finals, V. Stace (owe .10) plays Johnston (rec. 1), and the other game will probably be between D. Stace (rec. 1) and Bray (scr.). The former game should provide bright tennis if both men display their usual form. In the second, Bray will have to use all his courtcraft io overcome his steady opponent. In the womens singles, Miss Richardson (rec. 3), by winning- from Miss Elliott (rec. 13), 51—26, and Miss Downing (owe 8), by beating Miss Hill (rec. 8), have reached the third round. In the latter game, Miss Hill played well until a tennis elbow interfered with her game. The combined event is lagging rather, but should be cleared up shortly. So far, Miss Richardson and McCallum (rec. 2), who defeated Miss Redmond and V. Stace (scr.), 51—42, and Miss Downing and Orr (owe 3), who beat Miss Trimnell and J. Wylie (rec. 6), 51 —47,. have reached the third round. The following will play off to Cud the finalists in the women’s doubles: Misses Downing and Carson (scr.) v. Misses Richardson and Olliver (rec. 6), and Misses Hill and Calver (rec. 9) v. Misses Clere and Trimnell (ree. 6). It is hard to pick the finalists here on present form. , , ~ The semi-finals in the men s doubles will be played between Stace and Stace (owe 3) and Wylie and Wylie (rec. 9), and Hudson and Johnston (rec. 4) and McCallum and Bray (scr.). The latter game should be well worth watching, the opponents being well matched, though having very different styles of play. Te Rama Club.

Since the commencement of the season at Te Rama club there has been much activity on both the men’s and women, s ladders —more especially on the women's —and there have been a number of changes. Miss’M. Aimers proved too strong for Miss J. Cockiburn, defeating her by 7 —4. Miss W. Witcombe, who also defeated Miss J. Cockburn, 7—6, recently advanced a further step on the ladder by overcoming Miss Aimers, 7 —6. Miss E. Heketa. who occupied fourth place, has suffered defeat at the hands of Miss D. Archibald, 7—5, and also went under to Miss D. Yellowlees, 7 —6. Miss H. Mackie, who advanced to seventh place by winning from Miss'M. Lang. 7 —5, was lately beaten in a subsequent encounter by the same opponent, 7—4. On the men’s ladder the first four players, S. Park. J. Clouston, R. Martin, and C. Cox, have managed to retain their places against repeated challengers. J. Gellatly, who occupied fifth place, went under to J. Wogan, 9—2, and to G. Doherty, 9 —6. Wogan has successfully resisted repeated challenges from Doherty. The eighth player. ,M. Jackson, so far has been unable to defeat J. Gellatly to gain seventh position. Both Jhe men’s and women’s challenge cups have changed hands on numerous occasions. The present holders are T. Kershaw and Miss D. Archibald. Te Rama has a number of promising young players who'should prove of great assistance to the club in the near future; of these, perhaps P. Ross is outstanding. Misses Marie Walker. Margery Walker, J. Binnie. B. Clark, E. Bell, P. Stewart, and F. Henshilwood are keen and possess n sound style, but the last-named would undoubtedly improve her game if she would cover more territory when on the court. Of the younger boys. J. Milsom. D. Cocks and J. Heketa possess a good range of strokes, and it should not be long now before thev participate in ladder competitions. Matches at Brougham Hill. 11. M. Dykes and Mrs. Dykes (6) have won the final of the handicap mixed doubles at Brougham Hill. They beat A. L. France and Miss Doris Howe (owe 10), 40—37. The losers did well in regaining thirteen of the sixteen points handicap they gave. In challenge matches played recently M. Gifford-Moore beat H. S. Wilkinson, 6—3, 3 —6, 7—5; A. D. Long beat J. Warsaw. 2—6, 6—5, 6 —4; and R. Howe beat D. Livingstone. 6 —5. 6—4. Following are the leading competitors in the vice-president's competition: — Women: Miss Williams. 1: Miss Wild,

Matches Sets Position Won Lost Won Lost Pts. 7 Pearce ... . 1 1 3 2 4 8 McCarthy . 1 1 3 3 3 9 Gosnell .. . 1 0 2 1 10 Sykes ... . 0 1 6 0 11 Tilbury . 1 0 — 0 3 12 O’Brien . 1 0 o 1 2 13 Wilkinson . 0 1 1 2 1 14 Stoildart . 0 1 0 2 0