LAWN TENNIS

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 11, 14 January 1933, Page 18

LAWN TENNIS

, By "Drive" BRILLIANT MEETING

N.Z. CHAMPIONSHIPS

LIKELY WINNERS

What is likely to be the most interesting New Zealand championship meeting of recent years will begin at Miramar grounds on Tuesday next. The men's singles field, in variety of play and strength of players, has not been rivalled since E. D. Andrews' gained his singles win from a group which included Norman Peach, and it is more than probable that this year's field is of distinctly higher calibre than that one. There are no less than six players who are capable of winning the national title if they can produce the sustained form. At any moment any one of them might beat any other. They are Andrews, Malfroy, D. G. France, Stedman, Angas, and Wilson. The favourites, of course, will be Andrews and Malfroy, and as they are in different halves of the draw the only preliminary to considering their meeting will be to search for players who may cause an upset. Stedman is virtually certain to be a semi-finalist, but D. G. France and Malfroy are likely to have to dispute that honour, and thus settle the/juestion of what might have happened Tiad France managed to take the second set from Andrews in. the Wellington championships. Before Malfroy went away from New Zealand France was definitely his master; indeed, at that time France was the best player in New Zealand; and held a most impressive record. Lately his play has not been as consistent as of old, though it has been brilliant at moments, and reached fineness at Auckland last season. If Malfroy wins this time he will deserve his victory. The Real Test. In the third quarter there appears to be no one capable of keeping Angas from the semi-finals unless Ferkins docs it. The pair are to meet in the first round, and-the match should be a good one, but Angas, by dint of his greater experience, will be favoured. At the foot of the draw. Andrews will have to pass N. E. C. Wilson to reach the last four, but that should be possible for Mm unless he is enmeshed in a very long match. Wilson caa play the kind of game to beat Andrews, however, and it would be foolish to underrate his chances of winning. The real -test will thus come in the semi-final. Malfroy has. beaten Stedman twice, and thus has shown beyond doubt that h.e is at present ahead of the young Aucklander, but their meeting at the close of the tournament will be played between two men who are in good form, and Stedman's forehand will give him a great chance of winning in a five set encounter. He had some excellent chances at Wanganui, and should have taken the match to five sets there, and any man who is beaten by only the odd set in five is capable of reversing the decision. Can' lie Beat Angas? Andrews will also find himself confronted with the hardest opponent in New Zealand, Angas, who rarely plays a forcing game until compelled to do so, but whose defence and answer to a net attack are excellent. Were Andrews a vdlleyer by choice he would bo well matched with Angas, but since he himself prefers the backline game ho will be more likely to find matters easy for him against the present champion. Angas is famous for his retrieving, and he will have ample opportunity to demonstrate* his getting, power in this match. But unless Andrews fails physically he should enter the final. What will happen there will depend entirely upon how fit Andrews has become since the Wellington match. His form at the opening of that match conclusively demonstrated that he is the best player in New Zealand to-day; his play at the end has conclusively proved that he is far from the fittest. Unless physical condition radically different from that of his last appearance here is revealed by Andrews Malfroy may win his first New Zealand singles crown. The Women. •Once again the women's singles event resolves itself into a duel between two players, Miss Nicholls and Mrs. Dykes. There can be no question of Miss Marjorie Macfarlane beating Mrs. Dykes unless a miracle happens, and there is only the likeliliood of Miss Knight, the mO3t accomplished of all our women players, striking form to beat Miss .Nicnolls. This may happen, but the odds are against it. So the Wellington singles' final is probably to be duplicated m the New Zealand singles final. But this, time Miss Nieholls, if she is wise, will strive for a quick win In her series of matches against Mrs. Dykes she has usually held- an early advantage, and then lost it when the other player, a great match-winner answered the crisis with desperate measures. Unless Miss Nicholls wins in straight sets she may not win at all, for time has shown itself to be on the side of the more active Mrs. Dykes. Thus the singles final is likely to be a match of relentless pressure by Miss Nicholls and answering brilliance by Mrs. Dykes. Other Events. • There are some good pairs in all three doubles events Mrs. Dykes and Mrs. Adams, Mrs Melody and Miss Nicholls, M lS ses Wake and Andrew, Miss MacfarxPf aild I Mr, s: Na Pier> witt Stedman and Z»T' ¥?l fI?Z and Seav > and » and4 he Erance br°tters, Andrews KUh ff S-£ yyeS£eS' A- L- France'and Miss Aicholls, Malfroy and Miss Macfarlane, W^son ana Mrs. Thomson, and it is difficult to say who will win Those nuances of doubles play which arie from combination and are possible to a team can be revealed'only if rrfavprt are matched temperamentally as weTas in ability,- and teams can be judged only when seen in action. Malfroy Wins. Of the semi-final at New Plymouth in which 0.- E. Malfroy beat A. C. Stedman the "Taranaki Daily News" says—Malfroy won 6-3, 6-4, after Stedman had forced him every inch of the way. Although both players made mistakes, the match at times provided really brilliant tennis, and for a period in the' second set, when he dominated play Stedman revealed the form which made him New Zealand champion of two years ago It was obvious that the court was too slow for tke Aueklander's fancy, while it suited Malfroy perfectly. Malfroy's chop tactics slowed down the game, and on a court- deadened by the previous night's rain there was very little bounce. Stedman was therefore given little opportunity to play his consistent driving game. Although a shower just 'after play had started to a certain extent spoilt the courts for spectacular play the match between C. E. Malfroy andN E L. Wilson for the men's singles championship was keenly followed. Tho sodden and greasy condition of the ground played a large part in the decision. The treacherous surface militated against foot-work, and both players found the receiving of hard services difficult because the ball did not rise. Tho match was always interesting, not only because of the attractive stylo of play, but also because right until the last few games the loser was not definitely out of the running. Malfroy served and drove with great pace, but his overhead shots were somewhat weak, a weakness which gave Wilson a number of openings. - " ~ "