CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS

Evening Post, Issue 82, 6 April 1936, Page 14

CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS

D. G. FRANCE WINS FINAL

LADIES' TO MES. LATHAM

In a fine exhibition of tennis and especially of brilliant volleying, yesterday afternoon, D. G. France, Wellington provincial champion, defeated D. C. Coombe, top player in Wellington ranking, and T. F. Lyons, champion of Newtown Club, in the semi-final and final of the second annual champion oi champions tournament. Coombe and Lyons both fought hard and well, Lyons playing probably better than he has ever played before, but France's reliable and accurate driving, his excellent tactical play, and his outstanding net attack did not give either a chance of final victory. France was extended to three sets by Coombe, and nearly lost the first set of the final to Lyons, but towards the end of both matches he definitely had the upper hand. In a long and hard-fought contest, played largely from the base line, Mrs. A. D. Latham, after being one set down, defeated Mrs. Dickson and won the women's champion of champions title. Both players bombarded each other's backhand, and hard-hitting rallies from the corners were frequent and fast. When Mrs Latham came to the net, which she did very often in the third set, she showed her superiority in'weilplaced and accurate volleying. THE QUARTER-FINALS. Two quarter-finals were completed yesterday morning, the first between M. Ferkins (Hawke's Bay Club champion) and T. F. Lyons, and the other between A. L. France and D. C. Coombe, a match that was interrupted by rain the previous weekend. In the first quarter-final against M. Ferkins, Lyons opened strongly and quickly led to 5-1, when Ferkins made a brilliant pick up, and hazarding a number of set points against him, took ' six games in succession. Ferkins won ' with drop shots and under-cut volleys, and his lobbing was probably the best in the whole tournament. Lyons s smashing was wild at times, and both players avoided their backhands. • Ferkins took the set, 7-5. In the second set, Ferkins was forehand driving fast and low, but netting too.frequently. Lyons drove accurately and volleyed well, winning the set, 6-2 In the final set, both Ferkins and Lyons played cautiously, but Lyons maintained the greater accuracy of his driving, and won the set, 6-3. A L France was one set down, but leading 4-1 in the second set when play, postponed from the previous weekend, was resumed- in Jie other quarter-final yesterday morning. Coombe opened well, and mainly on the strength of his overhead, took five games in a row, leading C-5. When the score was 40-15 against him, and the result of the match seemed a foregone conclusion, France produced some brilliant chop shots, drawing Coombe right up to the net, and then lobbing over his head. France's angular volleys frequently caught Coombe out of position, and passed him. France equalised at 6-all and won the set, S-b. With the excitement passed, France relaxed, and Coombe, attacking strongly from the net, and smashing accurately, won the last set, 6-1. THE SEMI-FINALS. J. C. Charters (Muritai and Hawke's Bay champion), in the first semi-final, against T. F. • Lyons, was not driving sufficiently deeply to keep Lyons back from the net and to allow him to come up himself. Charters did not vary the length of his drives, and frequently, when he followed a soft drive to the net, he found the return lobbed over his head or passing him down the line. Lyons volleyed on his own terms, and won the match 6-1, 6-3.

D. C. Coombe attacked right from the beginning of the other semi-final

against D. G. France, forcing France into many errors, with his fine volleying, and winning the set 6-1. In the second set, France settled down quickly and both played carefully, driving on to each other's ■ backhand and coining to the net only after fast base-line rallies. Although Coonibe won with many fine passing shots France attacked from the fore-court more frequently, and with better volleying won the set 6-4. In the final set, France's volleying was outstanding. The fast pace was causing Coombe to send up shallow lobs, which France smashed with ease. Copmbe's overhead was not as strong as when lie defeated France in the final of the Thorndon Club a fortnight ago. France, mainly on the strength of his volleying and His tactical play, won the third and deciding set 6-3.

Lyons fought well against France in the final, and nearly won the first set, but having played a match more than anyone else, and fallen very heavily, in ah earlier game, he was too tired to sustain the pace and accur- [ acy of his drives. Lyons used the only ' tactics that could have succeeded [ against France, playing the ball high, and trying to keep France to the base line. In the early stages of the first set, France came to the net, in every rally but he had to retreat to catch well-placed, deep lobs. Lyons gained a number of points with shots • that dropped just over the net, and there was practically no delivery, however well placed, that he did not attempt and nearly always succeed in returning. So well did Lyons's tactics succeed that when he was leading 5-4 France changed his game and took to the net only when he saw a certain winner. Then he volleyed brilliantly. In. the'long rallies that followed, Lyons's tiredness became apparent. His backhand was frequently netting, and France finally beat him at his own game, winning the set 7-5. In the second set, France was getting better, length with his drives, and frequently played Lyons out of position, turning the latter's defensive returns into winning volleys and halfvolleys from the net. France forced the pace, and won the final set 6-2. In the first ladies' semi-final, between Miss 1.. Small and Mrs. Dickson, Miss Small had a. very bad cold and was not on form. She went down to Mrs. Dickson's steadier driving, 6-2, 6-1. The match was to a large extent a baseline affair. Miss Small forced the pace and frequently netted. Mrs. Dickson was getting both pace" and spin on to her drives, which were very well placed. In the other semi-final, between Mrs. Latham and Miss Fernie, both players drove hard from the back of the court, but Miss Fernie was exceedingly inaccurate, and was defeated 6-0, 6-0. THE LADIES' TOURNAMENT. The final of the ladies' tournament between Mrs. Latham and Mrs. Dickson was a fast three-set match, won by Mrs. Latham mainly on the greater accuracy of her drives and her fine volleying. Both were ■strong defensively and chased the ball from most difficult positions. The cross-court driving at times was brilliant, but Mrs. Dickson was hitting too hard. Mrs. Latham won mainly because of her fine volleying, which ended many of the long volleys with a shot into the corner. Mrs. Latham won 1-6, .6-3, 6-2. At the conclusion of the tournament the Champion of Champions Cups were presented by Mr. C. G. White, a vicepresident of the Wellington Lawn Tennis Association. THE SCORES. The following are the scores:— MEN. Third Round.—T. ■ Lyons beat M. Ferkins. 5-7, 6-2, 6-3; D. Coombe beat A. L. France, 6-4 • 6-8, 6-1. Semi-finals.—T.' Lyons beat J. Charters; 6-1, 6-3; D. G. France beat D. Coombe, 1-6, 6-4. ti-3. Final.—D. C. France beat T. Lyons, 7-5, 6-2. LADIES. Second Round.—Miss Ruddell beat Miss Knox, 6-2, 6-3; Miss Neil beat Miss J. Bedford, 13-11, 4-6, 6-2; Mrs. Christie beat Miss McNeill, 6-2, 8-6. Third Round.-^Miss .1. Small beat Miss J. Ruddell, 6-0, 6-0; Mrs. N. Dickson beat Miss Neil, 6-0, 6-1; Mrs. Latham beat Miss Ferkins, 6-0, 6-1; Miss F.

Fernie beat Mrs. Christie. 2-6, 6-3, 6-1. Semi-finals.—Mrs. N. Dickson ■ beat Miss I. Small, C-2, 6-1; Mrs. A. D. Latham beat Miss F. Fernie, 6-0, 6-0. Final. —Mrs. A. D. Latham beat Mrs. N. Dickson, 1-6, 6-3, 6-2.