TENNIS.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 30 August 1924, Page 11

TENNIS.

MAKE FRIENDS WITH THE. DALI

One of the most essential things to do to excel in lawn tennis, is to keep your eye on the ball the whole of the time it is in play. It is also one ol the hardest things to do, declares Allan E. Norman in the Daily Chronicle. It seems a simple enough matter, but next time you play try and find out how often the cause of you missing a stroke is due to allowing your eyes to leave lire ball. The truth is, to make a habit of keeping your eyes on the ball requires a certain amount of will power. You have to concentrate on this one task. And to enable you to do this I suggest that you regard the tennis ball as the one factor of supremest importance in your game. It is the hall that is going' to secure your victory or bring about your defeat. That is why I say make friends with it. It is upon vour ability to secure your victory or bring about vour success on llie court will hr* measured. Cultivate an -a(icetioiia(o comradeship, muse it. ami I lie hall will be your best friend: neglect it., however momentarily, and you will lie served a host of scurvy nicks.

1 lu> other day aL a lug tournament a match player was explaining how i( happened—the losers always do even in the host circles. It seemed that he couldn’t find any length—the lines oi’ the court were so faint he couldn’t nee them. “1 could not even see the service line. he harked indignantly. Wed. he should not have wanted to. When sti iking the ball a player should never think o! trving to see the line. In doing so Tie is neglecting his best Iriend—all his audition should have been given to the hall. The lines nr a court arc fixed, immovable. and it is the I'asl-moving hall that needs all the attention oven the inn~t experienced player can give it. Idling to me the pjaver who practically coe.s the hall on u, his racket at iho moment of hilling, and 1 will immediately show von a great pjaver. j The later the beginner can keep his eve on the hall, the greater control of it will he acquire. Another mistaken idea is inn; tlie stiiker must look up just when hitting to see what his opponent is doing. It is quite unnecessary. As the hall comes across the nel von can. while closely watching the flight, see what vonr adversary is doing, whether he is charging up to the net. In

that fraction of a second you have learned all you need to know about your opponent’s doings. And the success of your shot depends upon watching the ball intently. This rule is the chief secret of success ip all the strokes—for serving, driving and for all the volleys.

WIMBLEDON AN INCENTIVE? The crowds at Wimbledon Tor the Lawn Tennis Championships have demonstrated once more the astonishing popularity of the game. People not only go to the matches, but are eager for the latest news of them, and rival the golf players in their Heal for discussion. Law r n tennis is rapidly becoming the game of games in public opinion. This is the more ■surprising because many of the spectators have never played in their lives, and many more - who do play make but the smallest efforts to achieve a moderate standard of skill. There is probably no pastime in which the average is so far below the summit. Wimbledon will do a' lot of £°od if it puts a little ambition into the breast of the normal player, and saves him from remaining ignobly content with patting the ball over the net in all human tenderness.