TENNIS CHAMPIONS

Evening Star, Issue 22878, 9 February 1938, Page 5

TENNIS CHAMPIONS

brown wins the singles THREE TITLES TO MISS BEVERLEY (Per United Press Association) AUCKLAND, Feb. 8. The protracted New Zealand lawn tennis tournament was brought to a conclusion at the ■■Stanley street courts to-day, when the semi-final and final ." the Men’s Doubles and the finals of the Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles, and Mixed Doubles were decided. The weather was fine and warm, and the courts were again in hard condition. Following are the 1938 champions:— Men’s Singles.—A. D. Brown (Auckland). _ , Women’s Singles—Miss M. Beverley (Matamata). Men’s Doubles.—R. McL. Ferkins and E. A. Roussell (Wellington). Women’s Doubles.—Misses N. and M. Beverley (Matamata). Mixed Doubles.—J. W. Gunn (Auckland)’ and Miss M. Beverley (Matamata). The outstanding competitor at the tournament was Miss M. Beverley, who won three titles, following upon her successes in five championships at the Auckland tournament; which was staged immediately prior to the New Zealand one. Miss Beverley has created a record for the Dominion, and it is one that may never be equalled. No other competitor won more than one title. , ~ . , Following were the results of today’s matches: — MEN’S SINGLES Final A. D. Brown (Auckland) beat R. G. Pattinson (Canterbury) 6—o, 7—5, 6—l, WOMEN’S SINGLES Final Miss M. Beverley (Matamata) beat Miss D. Miller (North Otago) 6—2, 86 ’ MEN’S DOUBLES Semi-final R, McL. Ferkins and E. A. Roussell (Wellington) beat D. G. France (Wellington) and N. G. Sturt (Auckland) 4—6. 7 —5, o—6, 7—5, 7-5, Final R. McL. Ferkins and E. A, Roussell (Wellington) beat M. T. Wilson and B. W. Smith (Auckland) 4—6, 6—4, 6—4, 6—B, 6—2. MIXED DOUBLES Final J. W. Gunn (Auckland) and Miss M. Beverley (Matamata) beat R. J. D. Sharpe and Miss, M. Glenny (Hawke’s Bay) 6—2. S—3. A POOR EXHIBITION MISS MILLER'S DEFEAT (Per United Press Association) AUCKLAND, Feb. 8. In the final of the Men’s Singles the crowd saw one of the poorest exhibitions ever staged in such an important match, apart from Browns play. Whether the occasion was too great for Pattinson, or whether, he was nervous, is a matter for conjecture. He was unable to make a race of it at all, and did not display his fine form of the early rounds of the tournament. The first set was a walk-over, with Brown not exerting himself much to win 6—o. Pattinson was unable to get touch, and made numerous errors. The second set was better, and the Canterbury man led 4—3 and 5 —3, but chiefly because of Brown’s errors. Pattinson varied his game, but his chop shots rarely proved winners, and he did not hit with sufficient pace to win many placements. Brown evened at s—all, and won at 7—5. There were some good rallies in- the third set. Pattinson won well-earned applause for several bright drives. Brown, however, had his measure, and found no difficulty in winning the last set 6—l. It was a disappointing end to the Singles Championship, in which many fine contests took place in’the earlier rounds.

An exchange of good-length driving characterised the final of the Women’s Singles between Misses M. Beverley and D. Miller. The latter was unable to vary her game to the extent that the champion did, and her driving was much less severe than that of the winner. With the southerner playing steadily and making some great recoveries, there were several long rallies, but on other occasions Miss Beverley finished them off with powerful drives deep into the corners, especially on her opponent’s backhand. The champion varied her play much better than the loser did, with the result that changes of length and pace, .accompanied by clean volleying, had Miss Miller continually on the run, and also wondering what the next move of her opponent would be. Miss Beverley went, to the.net much more frequently than she had done previously during the tournament, and she rarely failed to score winners in that position. Displaying greater severity from the outset, Miss Beverley won the first five games on end. By over-driving ana serving double-faults, .she then allowed Miss Miller her first game. The visitor maintained a successful backhand attack in taking the next game, but Miss Beverley retaliated with more powerful driving into the backhand corners and finally aced her opponent to win the first set.

With the score at 2—l against her, Miss Beverley jarred herself severely when she fell full length in trying for a backhand shot. Although she played on immediately, it took her some time to recover, and during this period Miss Miller won two games to lead 4—l. Once she settled down again Miss Beverley had her opponent continually on the run, with the result that Miss Miller tired and lost the advantage set. Miss Beverley gave a fine display and would have been unfortunate to have lost the set under the circumstances. The semi-final of the Men's Doubles provided an exciting match between the holders of the title, Ferkins and Roussell, and France and Sturt. The latter pair dominated the play in the first three sets, even though the score went against them in the second. Up to this stage Roussell was well out of touch, over-driving repeatedly. On the other hand, Ferkins played very consistently, and actually carried his partner to a great extent. France and Sturt played splendidly, their crosscourt volleying evoking applause and cheering. The superiority they displayed in winning the third set without the loss of a game led to the supposition that they would bring about the downfall of the title-holders. The latter, however, speeded up their play after the interval; Their smashing and volleying increased in power and their lobbing, too, was practically faultless, and allowed them to dominate the situation at the net. There was general excitement in the last set when the losers saved eight successive match points. Wilson and Smith started well in the final.. They hit hard to win the first set after a fine struggle, in which Roussell and Ferkins were always steady. The Wellington pair took the second and third sets, and after a long-fought series of games, the Auckland men evened at B—68 —6 for two sets all. The fifth set was shorter, and a good match ended in favour of the holders. They

proved a steady pair, with a close understanding and expert knowledge of the tactics of Doubles. Their retrieving was excellent throughout and no smash was too difficult for them to try and return. This heart-breaking return of apparent winners often proved upsetting to their opponents. Ferkins was the better in this match and played with admirable consistency ,and patience. The success of the winners lay in their accurate lobbing. Wilson was generally sound and carried his partner through most of the game, Smith being very erratic and inconsistent. Gunn and Miss Margaret Beverley were far too skilful for Sharpe and Miss Glenny in the final of the Mixed Doubles. The last-named pair reached the Anal quite unexpectedly, but they had put up good performances in earlier rounds. They were outclassed in all departments. TO VISIT AUSTRALIA MISSES COOKE AND HODGES (Per United Press Association) AUCKLAND, Feb. 8, The Auckland Lawn Tennis Association has decided, in view of the recent performances and the promise shown by both girls, to send to the forthcoming Australian age champi<mships Misses Pamela Cooke and Marian Hodges. Both will leave by the Awatea on Tuesday next in company with the four members of the tear, which has already been selected to represent New Zealand at the same tournament. It has been pointed out by the New Zealand Management Committee, however, that they did not necessarily select the best team available, but chose the girls who, in their opinion, showed the most, promise. The omission of Miss Cooke created a great deal of dissatisfaction among supporters of the game in Auckland as they considered that her recent performances, especially against the New Zealand champion, Miss Margaret Beverley, had' earned for her a trip to Australia.