TENNIS TITLES

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20170, 13 February 1940, Page 3

TENNIS TITLES

j FINALISTS FOUND THREE N.Z. PLAYERS LEFT AUSTRALIANS' SUCCESS SINGLES AND MIXED (Ter Press Association.) WELLINGTON, this day:' I New Zealand has three representai lives in the final matches of the Do- . minion centennial tennis championships to be decided at Miramar toi day. I The Canterbury pair, C. An gas and A. D. Brown, came through the semifinal to-day and will meet. J. H. Crawford and J. Bromwich, Australia, in the final. The other New Zealand player is Mrs. Gallagher, Wellington, who as Miss Dulcic Nicholls has been a Dominion champion. She is paired with Miss Hnrdcastle in the final of the women’s doubles against Misses N. Wynne and T. Coyne. Australia. The singles finals will be disputed > between the Australians. ) The northerly wind, that increased to half-gale force during tiie afternoon, played havoc with many of yesterday’s games. The Australian visitors again found conditions especially trying. Being more accustomed to it than they /were in the early stages of the tournament last week, they showed much better control over their shots, although sudden gusts, accompanied by swirling, blinding dust, often made accurate placements down Hie sideline or to the baseline a matter of luck. Bri 11 iant Exhibition * One championship final, the com- ’ fined doubles, was decided late in the afternoon, when conditions were most nrocious. Crowded galleries nevertheless wore treated to a brilliant exhibition bc-tv.eon J. Bromwich and Mis.; Coyne end Crawford and Mins W,";u e. file men dominated tile play 'infill followed thrill as the points ec-sawed to the finish. Miss Wynne had reeehed a slight ■njury to an eye as a result of being struck by a ball off tier racquet: in the semi-final, and this explained some of her lapses in the final. Nevertheless, lie was. lidding very powerfully. Cranford worked hard to capture wain's. He played a perfectly-judged ball irom the baseline right to the far corner of the court; to win a long, 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 light of ii, with Barnes play- ; ii:g many sensational shots, to find their opponents out of position. Crawford was the outstanding player, piling up the points with brilliant in!creep- 1 lions. Never Looked Like Losing ’ In 'the other semi-final the Aus- 1 ■radians were superior at the net and 1 never looked like .losing. Crawford • locked like beating Angas in straight sets afteij losing only three games in I the first two. but the Canterbury ' ..(layer has plenty of courage and. * taking the offensive, lie outplayed < Crawford to win tiie third set at 6 —2. lie was unable to sustain the effort, however, and Crawford, who always appeared to have something in reserve, put himself in an almost un- • assailable position by quickly estab- 1 lishing a lead of s—l5 —1 in the fourth i ret. Angas fought back, capturing two more games, but lie could not match the brilliant positional play of j the Australian, who frequently left v him standing with clever placements. ] Angus lacked confidence in the first j two sets, losing many points by net- j ting fast returns. There were many fine driving rallies and Angas, cover- ] ing the court with remarkable agility, made numerous brilliant recoveries and scored from the net position with H we 11 -pla ee d volleys. ]'. Howe, who had displayed consistently good form throughout the tournament, was disappointing in the other semi-linal against Bromwich. The Australian took some time to ( settle down, and Howe had two se‘ points in the first series but went down 6—B. Thereafter Bromwich was, in complete control and his deep, accurate placements forced his opponent hdo errors. Howe frequentlv took the net position, but more often than not he was passed by Bromwich. Many Long Rallies

Miss Hard castle, who has beaten Miss Covne in Australia, went very close to repeating the performance in the third set of their singles semifinal which was held over from Saturday. The driving of both women was oil 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. However, Miss Coyne showed her fighting qualities by levelling the score in games. A tremendous struggle followed, both players gaining a winning position. Miss Hard-castle twice dropped her service, and her opponent, showing greater steadiness, forged ahead at the crucial point of the match. Play in to-day’s four finals will take place on only one court, and for this purpose Nos, 1 and 2 courts are being re-lined. It was reported at the courts that Bromwich had lost a wallet containing £35; Bromwich looked a very worried young man until good news concerning' its recovery was received late in the afternoon. Both lie and Crawford, along with the women members of the Australian team, can usually be seen surrounded by numerous amateur photographers ancl autograph-hunters, many of whom invade the court die moment the umpire lias announced the news of their win. Results: — Men’s Singles Semi-final. ,T. Bromwich (Australia) d. li. Howe (Wellington), B—(i,8 —(i, (i—-2, (> ~i: J. If. Crawford (Australia) d. C. Angus (Canterbury), (i—2, (5 —1, 2—o, o—3. Women’s Singles Semi-final. — Miss T. Coyne (Australia) d. Miss M. Hardcastie (Australia). 3—o. 0 1, 9—7. Miss Coyne will meet Miss Wynne (Australia) in the final to-day. Men’s Doubles Semi-final. —A. D. Brown (Canterbury) and C. Angus (Canterbury! heat N. C. Blurt (Auckland) and P. C.