ENGLISH VISITORS

Evening Post, Volume CXVIII, Issue 115, 12 November 1934, Page 5

ENGLISH VISITORS

PLAY AT WILDING PARK

HUGHES IN GREAT FORM

S (By lelegi ipli — I'nss Association) 1 LHIUSI CHURCH, November 11 L\cn moie bnlliurt in many icspccts thin tint ot the lust dij, the tennis i)io duted b$ tlit \i ltmj ] ntlwh team, 1 J Pcn >, G P lliijhcs and the Mi*, c Round, Lj le, and Utumiu it Wilding Piik on bitiudij dtlcmoou Housed a luge gdllfij ol ueuly 2000 spcclatoi to a ln,;li pitch of excitement ami euthusnism lo tin least of histchvi pliv the New Zealand players, who took part in the matches, D G ['wince and C Angus and Miss T. Poole and Miss I£. Kiidkin made worthy contribution. I The men's doubles match between Perry and Hughe? and An^as and Fiance that concluded the afternoon was one of the mo t bnllnnt exhibitions ever bten in — Lhiistchmch and united compan on with the match at Wilding Paik last jear in which Pel iv md PHD Wilde met the Aiistiahan Divis Ci p pair Quist and Turnbiill, 'lhe gallely saw Hughes gain his third successive \ictoiy o\ei Peiiy in one of the finest singles ever seen in Chnstclnuch, Miss Deal man beat Miss Rudkiti in a game in which the focal pl-ijer offeied stout re istince to her foimiduble oppon ent and a women's doubles in which the combination o*f the joung Lnghsh Wight man Cup pair, Misses Ljle and Dearman, titumped over the occa lonally biilliiut but ill balanced team consisting of the Misses Round and Poole lhe iieoies weie js follows — G P Hughes. (Enghml) beat F. J Perry ,(England), 0-4, 3-0, C-3. Miss E M Dcdtmin (England) beat Mi«s T Poole (Canteibmy), 02, 61 F. J Peiiy and G P Hughes (England) beat C Angas (Canteibmy) and D G Tianee (Wellington), 62, 80, 0 4 Misses N M Ljle and E M Dearman (Lngland) be it Mi*s D E Round (Tnghnd) and Miss 1 Poole (Canterbuty), 63, 0 2. PERRY AND HUGHES. The most keenly-anticipated match was the singles between Peny and Hughes, and it moie than justified expectations Show ing wonderful ball control even when deal ing with Periy's most telling shots, Hughes directed the comse of play for the greatei pait of the thiee sets Undoubtedly he was helped by Peny's eriois lhe Wimble don champion ceitainly did not show the machine like accuracy and steadiness which is sud to mark his play in championship events, but Hujheb's display neveitheless was masteily, his well-dnected giouud shots earned an infinite vanety of spin, mid with the greate t skill ho limited Peiry's exploitation of his famous foiehand drive to a minimum Against a less active player than Terry, Hughes's ground strokes must have bpeuea up the couit for frequent easy volleys, but so quickly did Perry get into position for his leturns tlwt Hughes seldom had an easy bill to deal with in a shoit couit. He -volleyed however, with an acaniacy and touch that delighted thes gallely, and frequently out-guessed his teammate in these spaikling duels Hughes's implies to Peuys advances to the net aho woie effective His letmns, dipping quickly under the influence of heavy top spin, or floating deceptively with heavy cut or slice, weie never easy to volley, and he fiequently diove Peny back with 1 well tossed lob Pcny'fe bulliance showed in flashes His beautifully piodiiced ground stioKcs —with foiehanJ fiequently played so clo c to the bounce of the ball that the stioke was moie a half volley than a duvc —weie seen to advantage in many baseline rallies Agam the spectators revelled in the Englishman's eneigy and speed of foot, but on Satin dayjie. was opposed _by a plajei no less igile than hnnselt, and one who made fewei mistaken It was not on Penv's mistakes alone however, that Hughes won, for the balance of "earned" points was in his favour, and Ins senice, paiticulaily in ciudal games, wah the mote effective "• v lhe women's singles match between Miss Deal man and Miss Rudkin was, as could only be expected, one sided, but the local plajer nevei relaxed hei effoits in a battle against supcrioi strolrc and tactical abihtj The tall linghfli phjer used a telling foiehmd duve to good effect, and suppoitcd hei foicelul backlme play by decisive vollcjing DOUBLES PLAY. lhe women's doubles match was not a veiy satislactoiv event, although it pioduted much spaiklmg tennis Misses Lyle and Deal man/die Lngluids best doubles pair, and they brought to the game a com bination and an undet standing that could not have been possible between Miss Round and Miss Poole In vollcjing and smashing Miss Poole was little mfeiioi to the other thiee, but hci giouud stiokcs weie \eiy inaccurate / * lhe New Zealand pan opposed to Peirv and Hughes in the concluding maton'of the day—Angas and liance—lifted then play to gieat heights, to provide one of the most bulhant contests cvcl seen a.t Wilding Paik Peny, as • Hughes stated later in an interview, plajed his best doubles match for a jeai, and in service, the clever direction of his ground stiokes, and m the ciispness of his volleying, his partner was no whit mfeiior, yet Anga& and Fiance Weie never outclassed, and, as the scores indicate—6 2, 86, 6-4—they offered splendid resistance to the English Dans Cup pair , It was a match of scintillating rallies, great recoveries, and speetaculai and sometimes amazing shots Peiry whs heie, theie, and everywhere He was punching his seivice harder than m any pievious" match at Wilding Park, and if there was the least weakness in the New Zealanders' returns he pounced on them with devastating smashes and hard hit volleys At times he took outiageous hbeities in covering the full length of the net, and then Hughes frequently was called on to cover up the opening should Peiiy's coup not immediately be successful Hughes himself worked for the positior* with less force but more subtlety, and having, gained it, was no less decisive in the kill. The New Zealandeis disputed the commanding position at the net throughout the three sets, driving the Englishmen back with thiustful dines and volle\s, and in turn forcing them to put up weak shots that could be smashed or angle voNejed for the winners They lacked the finish of their opponents, however, and the indeciweness m their smashing lost them a commanding lead in the second set