N.Z. TENNIS STAR

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 5, 1 October 1935, Page 14

N.Z. TENNIS STAR

Malfroy’s Success in England

How C. E. Malfroy, the New Zealand tennis player, triumphed in the final of the Frinton-on-Sea tennis tournament recently, and heat H. Nishimura, the Japanese, 6-2, 8-6, is explained in a London exchange. The weather for the final was dreadful. High wind and rain made things generally unpleasant, aud when the wind died down there were thunderstorms. Such a day made the result of a match almost as much a matter of hazard as of skill; direction was upset by the wind, against which length was often impossible.

i Malfroy gained a stirring if unexpected victory over Nishimura in straight sets, states the exchange. The conditions disturbed Nishimura more than Malfroy, who from residence in this country probably knows more about them. Nishimura seemed puzzled in the first set by his inab ! ’ity to drive through the wind or to control the ball with the wind behind him. and with his ground strokes uncertain he was deprived of anything but the most hazardous attempts to volley. Malfroy had gained experience of

these matters from a mixed doubles match in the morning, and he was fully prepared for the unexpected, sometimes allowing even a short lob to bounce rather than risk a wobble in the air. Malfroy led by four games to one in the first set. playing with a determination which forced results. He served I with a strong kick to his opponent’s forehand, drove hard, and volleyed confidently. In the seventh game Nishimura enjoyed a measure of success, but it was short lived, and Malfroy won the set in the next game. In the second set, although Malfroy kept level, one always had' the impression that it would be Nishimura who would force matters He did not have the best of luck. He lost the fourth game on his service against ra’-i which almost blinded him and held up the match. He went ahead in the next game on resuming, and broke through the service for a valuable lead in the sixth game, hitting hard and placing deep, to the corners. Then it was Mal Troy's turn to win two successive

games to draw level at four games all, and the eighth game contained the best rally of the match, each player in turn retrieving ' almost untakable strokes. Nishimura led once more in the ninth game. The struggle went on with a thunderstorm approaching; Nishimura at last lost ‘bis service in the thirteenth game, and then the vital game came in Malfroy’s favour. He served hard to his opponent's backhand, recovered from a hopeless position to retrieve a lob wi*h a grand drive mnde backward and finished the match witt a perfect cross-court drive.

Poland has Miss Stella Walsh’s agreement to defend her Olympic sprint title for her native land in Berlin. She Will stay all summer in Europe, and her appearance in the Poland-Germany meet on August 25 at Dresden was to be one of the highlights of the season.