TENNIS CHALLENGE

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 157, 29 March 1941, Page 13

TENNIS CHALLENGE

Wellington Leading By Two Matches WILDING SHIELD CONTEST A high standard of tennis was played at the Miramar courts yesterday afternoon when Wellington was called on by a strong team from Waikato to defend the Wilding Shield, which was won from Canterbury a few weeks ago, and is held by Wellington for the first time since 1934. At the end of yesterday's play, Wellington was leading by two matches, having won both the doubles played during the afternoon and halved the honours in the singles. Both singles and doubles matches will be-played this afternoon. Play starts today at 1 p.m. Playing conditions were not the best, as the two courts were rather heavy and slippery, and a strong wind was blowing diagonally across them. This contest marks Waikato’s tliipd bid for the Wilding Shield, having unsuccessfully challenged both Auckland and Canterbury on former occasions. The teams are :—

Wellington : N. V. Edwards, R. G. McKenzie, D. G. France and E. A. Roussell. Waikato: J. Roach, D. Livingstone, L. Roach and J. C. Charters. France beat Charters in two straight sets. Charters started well, passing his opponent frequently at the net to win points. He obtained a 3-1 lead in the first set, after which France struck form and won points from his net play and backhand. Both players set a high standard in the second set, but France’s backhand was consistently better than Charters’s, and he won the match 7-5. 6-3.

Roussell started off well against L. Roach, taking a 3-love lead in the first set. The wind made play difficult during the early stages, but it dropped slightly later on. After showing signs of nervousness. Roach settled down to his proper form, taking the next five, games and bringing the score to 5-3 in his favour. Roussell caught up with several good passing shots and a strong serve. Roach took the next two games to win the set, 7-5. The standard of play in the next set improved, and spectators saw some good rallying. Roach's forehand was his strong point, and he got his opponent into difficulties, mainly with corner to corner shots. Facing a 4-1 lead, Roussell rallied with consistent play to bring the score to 4-3, but Roach maintained the pressure and took the next two games to win the match. His brother, J. Roach, lost to McKenzie after a hard tussle, the first set going to 10-8. Many of bis shots went into the net and he was hard pressed at times by McKenzie’s all-round stroking play. He frequently scored, however, off his cross-court passing shots. A feature, or McKenzie’s play was ,hts strong driving on both hands with accurate length. He won the second set 6-4. The most keenly-fought singles, however, was the match between Edwards and Livingstone, which went to three sets. Both players hit strongly with bothi forehand and backhand drives to the corners, and till the third set there was little between them. Edwards failed badly, with many shots in the final set, which Livingstone won 6-1. Despite a failing light toward the latter stages of play, a high standard of tennis was seen in the two doubles matches, both of which went to three sets. In both games the volleying was good, and a feature of the match between J. Roach, Livingstone, France and Roussell, was Livingstone’s strong serving, and Rousseff's-well-placed smashing shots. In the other match McKenzie ehone at the net, and with Edwards provided a particularly strong opposition to the two Waikato players. L. Roach and Charters. Some of Edwards’s stop shots at the net were particularly good. Despite the poor light in the final set, the standard of play was fairly sound, but the Wellington players maintained the pressure and won the set 6-4. The results were as follows, the Wellington players being mentioned first: — Singles. France beat Charters, 7-5, 6-3. Rousseff lost to L. Roach, 5-7, 3-6. McKenzie beat J. Roach, 10-8, 6-4. Edwards lost to Livingstone, 8-6, 6-8, 1-6. Doubles. France and Roussell beat J. Roach and Livingstone, 5-7, 6-3, 6-3. Edwards and McKenzie beat L. Roach and Charters, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4.