TENNIS CHAMPIONS

Greymouth Evening Star, 10 November 1934, Page 7

TENNIS CHAMPIONS

MATCHES AT CH.CH. CROWD-PLEASING DISPLAYS [PER press association.] CHRISTCHURCH, November 9. Approximately 2000 people assembled at Wilding Park to-day to see the visiting English tennis team engage in matches against one another, and with leading Canterbury players. A large proportion of the visitors came mainly to see Miss D. E. Round, first-rank-ed woman player in the world, for a while.

F. J. Perry, another member of the team, occupies a similar position in men’s tennis. He has already played in Christchurch. None could have been disappointed in Miss Round, for she played tennis of a standard that has never before been produced by a woman player in the South Island. Results of the matches were as follow:—

F. J. Perry (England) beat C. Angas (Canterbury) 7/9, 6/1, 6/0. G. P. Hughes (England) beat T. Rhodes-Williams (Canterbury) 6/1, 6/3. Miss D. E. Round (England) beat Miss N. M. Lyle (England) 4/6, 6/4, 6/2. F. J. Perry (England) and H. A. Barnett . (Canterbury) beat G. P. Hughes (England) and H. Dymond (Canterbury) 6/1, 1/6, 6/2. Miss E. M. Dearman and G. P. Hughes (England) beat Miss D, E. Round (England) and T. Rhodes-Wil-liams (Canterbury) 6/3, 10/8.

VISITORS IMPRESS EXCELLENT WOMEN’S STANDARD. CHRISTCHURCH, November 9. G. P. Hughes, captain of the visiting team, early in the day expressed a wish to have a “work out” in the singles, and he was accordingly matched against a leading local player, T. Rhodes Williams. In addition to this match, and a brilliant singles between Miss Round and Miss N. M. Lyle, a match that produced the finest women’s tennis ever seen in Christchurch, the spectators saw Perry lose a set to C. Angas in a contest in which the local man made the Englishman produce some really good, if not his best, tennis, in order to win. There was also much brilliant play in the doubles, in which Perry and Hughes were partnered respectively by H. A. Barnett and H. Dymond, Canterbury representative players, and in mixed doubles between Miss E. M. Dearman and Hughes, and Miss Round and Rhodes Williams. The speed and accuracy which Miss Round and Miss Lyle maintained throughout their match was a jevelation. Miss Round may not have been at her best, particularly in the first set, which Miss Lyle won, 6/4, but she exhibited a repertoire of hard-hit strokes and fleetness of foot on the court that might have been the envy of many men. All her strokes are produced with a grace that is the hall-mark of the champion. When necessary, too, they are played to a rising ball, tactics that when successfully carried out give their user the advantage of that extra fraction of a second that makes the difference between taking advantage of an opening and missing it. Perhaps the most important lesson that the English women players have to teach New Zealanders is perfection of their footwork. Miss Lyle even more than Miss Round demonstrated that footwork is half the game. Tall and heavily-built, Miss Lyle nevertheless covers the court with great speed of foot, and she is always in position for her shots. The mannei in which each woman returned shots from the deep-in backhand, corner was remarkable. Miss Lyle displayed a beautiful forehand drive, which, directed into Miss Round’s backhand corner, was a constant menace throughout the match. If Miss Round showed by her splendid driving and volleying that she is a worthy Wimbledon champion, Miss Lyle fully demonstrated that the hopes placed in her by the English tennis authorities are not misplaced.

PERRY’S RESOURCE. Perry was the same dashing debonair player who captured the imagination of New Zealand spectators last year. He gives the impression of boundless energy and. physical resource, and it comes as no surprise to see him make an acrobatic leap at a ball far out of the court and send back a scorching shot that his opnonent has no hope of reaching. erry made more mistakes to-day than he could, allow himself to make m championship play, and he attempted many shots that would not have been justified in a more . serious match. Every now and again, however, he produced forehand drive or smash of almost blinding speed, and. Angas,

his opponent, was fortunate> it tne short ball to Perrys forehand did escape punishment. Angas played in the first set as well as he has-ever done in Christchurch, and although he won only one more game in the second and third sets, he chased Perry’s corner-finding shots heroically and the champion paid him the compliment of maintaining an unrelenting attack for the remainder of the contest. Rhodes Williams played scarcely well enough against Hughes to make the Englishman reveal his wide repertoire of cut and slices, ground strokes and volleys. The Canterbury man was well below his best form, rind was quite unable to cope with Hughes’ Varied spin. The Englishman had a wonderful variety of service —cannonball, American twist, and reverse twist, and it proved a potent weapon in the doubles matches. Like Perry, Hughes is extremely quick about the court. Hughes and Rhodes Williams were opposed to each other in the mixed doubles at the end of the afternoon. Miss Dearman made her only appearance of the day in partnership with Hughes, and Miss Round played with Rhodes Williams. Miss Dearman showed herself to be the possessor of a very complete stroke equipment, but her shots did not carry the speed of Miss Round’s, and she had not the same facility for finding openings in the opposite court. Hughes could never take liberties in interceptingin the driving exchange between the two women. Rhodes Williams played much better than in the singles and had some fine volleying exchanges [with Hughes. Miss Round supported

her fine driving with splendid volleying and smashing. Playing with Perry in the men’s doubles match, Barnett, the young Canterbury player, showed his very best form. He took, advantage of every opening that Perry’s thrustful ground strokes and volleys engineered for him, and he was little less active than Perry himself in covering the court. Dymond was seen to less advantage, and was obviously overawed by the occasion, but he held his end up in the match against an obviously stronger pair.