EXHIBITION TENNIS

Evening Star, Issue 25956, 22 November 1946, Page 10

EXHIBITION TENNIS

U.S. CHAMPIONS IN ACTION NEW ZEALANDER’S GOOD SHOWING (P.A.) AUCKLAND, November 21. l ( ’our thousand people packed tli. Stanley street tennis courts this aftei , noon to watch the American Davi Cup team play exhibition matcht. among themselves and against the tw< New Zealand champions, it. MeKenzi and N. hci'vards. Seldom has bette. tennis been seen in Auckland, anu while some matches were played ii serious vein, others were of a deh mtely amusing type. The .crowd readii, showed appreciation of jpoth types o, match The weather, although ovei cast, was fine, and the light was gent rally good, The courts were in exce. lent order. The American doubles champions Billy Talbert and Gardnar Mulloj were opponents in the first singles match of the day. This match wai played in a light-hearted manner, with Talbert, a natural humorist on tht court, putting the crowd in a happ, mood with his antics. Both players showed excellent placements on both back and forehand, and their ability to make difficult recoveries held the spectators’ attention throughout. Ottl.t two sets were played, Talbert winning the first by 6 games to 3, and Mullo.v taking the second, 6-1, CLOSE CONTEST. (R. McKenzie, the New Zealand men’s singles champion, played Schroeder, who, as Kramer’s partner, is ft possibility for the Davis Oup doubles team. McKenzie started very carefully, making only two errors in the first five games, all of which he won. Schroeder was the more forceful player, attacking strongly from either hand, but he took some time to get his length, and McKenzie won the first set, 6-2, winning the final game with a very fast cross-court forehand -drive which caught Schroeder on the wrong foot. In the second set McKenzie, began to force the pace, but . his opponent had settled down well and was driving very hard. Schroeder won the first three games, mainly through McKenzie’s errors. McKenzie won the fifth and sixth games, to make it 3-2. but was unable to break through Sehroeder’s service to draw level. The game went with the service until the score was 5-4 in Schroeder’s favour. In the next game McKenzie, worked . very hard to save the set, but after the score had gone to deuce eight times the New Zealander hit a return into the net, and Schroeder took the set at 6-4. , McKenzie gave a sound exhibition, and his play on the day would have been sufficiently good to win the New Zealand title. He showed a weakness; however, which is apparent in all New Zealand players by comparison with overseas champions—-lack of pace in his drives, which can only be developed by consistent competition. Schroeder lias the strongest: backhand in the American team, and once he found his length he used it to score many winners from positions in which McKenzie would have been on the defensive. The most tense singles match of the day was that between Frank Parker ,and Tom (Brown. It is probable that one of these two players will be Kramer’s second string in the Davis Gup singles. Both players gave the impression that they were there to win, as if each match they played, might have a on. the final Davis Cup selec-. tion. PARKER THE STYLISTi Parker impressed as the best 1 Stylist of the team. He played very steadily, giving nothing 1 away, and.forcing, his, opponent into error's with clever court tactics. Brown appeared to be off his game, mis-hitting many shots. During: the match he gradually increased the speed of his service until during the second set the crowd was continually' murmuring at its severity. Parker won, 6-1, 6-4.

Talbert and Mulloy were too strong for McKenzie and Edwards an the first doubles match of the.dayV The American champions showed remarkable understanding to win, ft-2, 6-2, The final match—a. doubles: contest between Kramer and Scliroeder and Parker and Brown—produced some brilliant volleying rallies, and was also notable for the speed which both Kramer and Brown worked into their service. Kramer played only one .match, as he was suffering from a stiff arm through practising too hard. Kramer and Sellroeder won, 7-5, 6-0.