TENNIS STARS

Evening Star, Issue 23499, 13 February 1940, Page 6

TENNIS STARS

SUCCESSFUL AUSTRALIANS BROMWICH AND CRAWFORD TO MEET IN SINGLES FINAL THE NEW ZEALAND CHAMPIONSHIPS [Per United Press Association.] WELLINGTON, February 12. New Zealand has three representatives in the final matches of the Dominion Centennial lawn tennis championships, to be decided at Miramar to-morrow. The Canterbury pair, Angas and Brown, came through the semi-final to-day, and will meet Crawford and Bromwich, of Australia, in the final. The other New Zealand player is Mrs Gallagher, of Wellington, who, as Miss Dulcie Nicholls, has been Dominion champion. She is paired with Miss Hardcastle in the final of the women’s doubles against Misses Wynne and Coyne, of Aus-. tralia. The men’s and women’s singles finals will be disputed between Australians.

A northerly wind that increased to half-gale force during the afternoon, played! havoc with many of to-day’s games. The Australian visitors again found the conditions especially trying, but being more accustomed to the wind than they were in the early stages of the tournament last week, they showed better control over their shots, although sudden gusts, accompanied by a swirling, blinding dust, often made accurate placements down the ■ sideline pr to the baseline a matter of luck, BROMWICH AND MISS COYNE WIN MIXED DOUBLES.

One championship final, the mixed doubles, was decided late in the afternoon, when conditions were particularly bad. The crowded galleries nevertheless were treated to a brilliant exhibition between Bromwich and Miss Coyne and Crawford and! Miss Wynne. The men dominated the play, and thrill followed thrill as the points see-sawed to the finish. Miss Wynne had received a slight injury to the eve as the result of being struck by a ball off her racket in the semi-final, and! this explained some of her lapses in the final. Nevertheless she was hitting very powerfully, Crawford worked hard to capture points. He played a perfectly-judged ball from the baseline right to the far corner of the court to win a long and varied rally when Bromwich and Miss Coyne were at match point. Crawford! and Miss Wynne were too good for Barnes and Miss Cooke in the semi-final, but the latter pair made a gallant fight of it, with Barnes playing many sensational shots_ to find their opponents out of position. Crawford was the outstanding player, piling up the points with brilliant interceptions. In the other semi-final Bromwich and Miss Coyne were superior at the net. and never looked like losing to Howe and Miss Beverley. CRAWFORD’S BRILLIANT POSITIONAL PLAY.

Crawford looked like beating Angas in straight sets after losing only three games in the first two, but the Canterbury player has plenty of courage, and, taking the offensive, he outplayed Crawford to win the third set 6-2. He was unable to sustain the effort, however, and Crawford, who always appeared to have something in reserve, put himself in an almost unassailable position by quickly establishing a lead of 3-1 in the fourth set. Angas fought back, capturing two more games, but be could! not match the brilliant positional play of the Australian, who frequently left him standing with clever placements. Angas lacked confidence in the first two sets, losing many points by netting easy returns. There were many fine driving rallies, and Angas covered the court with remarkable agility. He made numerous brilliant recoveries and scored from the net position with well-directed volleys. Howe, who had displayed consistently good form throughout the tournament, was disappointing in the other semifinal against Bromwich. The Australian took some time to settle down, find Howe had! two set points in the first set, but went down 6-8. After this Bromwich was in complete control, and his deep, , accurate placements Forced his opponent into errors. Howe Frequently took the net position, but more often than not he was passed by Bromwich. MISS COYNE BEATS MISS HARDCASTLE.

Miss Hardcastle, who has beaten Miss Coyne in Australia, went very close to repeating the 'performance in the third set of their singles semi-final, which was held over from Saturday. The driving by both women was of a high standard, and the spectators were treated to many long rallies. Miss Coyne took longer to settle down than her opponent, who' established a lead of 4-2. Miss Coyne, however, showed her fighting qualities by levelling the score in games. _ A tremendous struggle followed, in which both players in turn held a winning position. Miss Hardcastle twice dropped her service, and her opponent, showing greater steadiness, forged ahead at the crucial point of the match.

It was reported at the courts to-day that Bromwich had lost u wallet containing £35. Bromwich looked a very worried young man until news of its recovery was received late in the after* noon. Both he and Crawford, along witli the women members of the Australian team, can usually be seen surrounded by numerous amateur photographers and autograph ■ hunters, many of whom invade the court the moment the umpire has announced the news of their win. Results: MEN’S SINGLES. —Semi-final.— J. Bromwich (Australia) beat R, Howe (Wellington), 8-6, 6-2, 6-1. J. Crawford (Australia) beat C. Angas (Canterbury), 6-2, 6-1, 2-6, 6-3. WOMEN’S SINGLES. —Semi-final. — Miss Coyne (Australia) beat Miss M. Hardcastle (Australia), 3-6, 6-4, 9-7(. Miss Coyne will meet Miss Wynne (Australia) in the final. MEN’S DOUBLES. —Semi-final.— Brown (Canterbury) and Angas (Canterbury) beat Sturt (Auckland) and France (Wellington), 5-7, 6-2, 6-2, 6-1. Brown and Angas will meet Bromwich and Crawford in the final. MIXED DOUBLES. —Semi-final.— Crawford and Miss Wynne beat Barnes and Miss Cooke, 6-0, 6-8, 6-0. Bromwich and Miss Coyne beat Howe and Miss M. Beverley. 6-4, 6-4. —Final.— Bromwich and Miss Coyne beat Crawford and Miss Wynne, 7-5, 6-2,

WOMEN’S PLATE. -Semi-final.— Miss Howe (Wellington) beat Miss Nicholls (Wellington), 6-3, 6-2. —Final. Miss Cooke (Auckland) beat Miss Howe, 3-6. 0-3, 6-0. VETERANS’ DOUBLES. R. Y. Hooper (Manawatu) and M. L. Lampc (Wanganui) beat R. Browning (Canterbury) ami 11. F. Glanville (Canterbury), G-4, 4-6, 10-8.