TENNIS.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 22 November 1924, Page 9

TENNIS.

The members of the various clubs are now hard at practice and the courts morning and evening throughout the town bear an animated appearance. Nothing can be achieved in any realm of sport without practice; not spasmodic, but constant applicar tion to this duty. With their club competitions and the various tournaments coming along shortly tennis players will have ample time to rivet their attention.

Hawera is extremely well off for courts, and in that respect owes a deep debt of gratitude to the far-sighted men of the Hawera Club in years gone by such as the late J. A. Turton, Mr. A. W. Webster and Mr N. Caplen, who were mainly responsible first for the enterprise shown years ago in fostering a love of the sport and also for acquiring the wonderfully fi'''' pi ■*. ’ they now possess. This applies also to our civic 'authorities, left by oiir progressive Mayors and Councillors, for the valuablue assistance given in providing the series •of excellent courts at the Park. In that -work they have shown a most commendable spirit of helpfulness in forwa-ding the interests of a fine sport in Hawera.

TENNIS AT HOME

"Referring to some Home news received the Australasian says: Perhaps the most interesting item of the week is the news that the Lawn

Tenn's Association has decided to take a. strong stand on the question of amateurism. The commencement of the campaign was opened at a recent meeting of the association, presided over by Lord Desborough, when the minutes of a meeting of delegates of the international federations and Olympic committees were gone into and discussed. The question of the correct definition of an amateur was raised by a letter from Mr. H. Wallet, the president of the International Lawn Tennis Federation, who suggested that an attempt had been made to undermine the authority of the federations, both as regards the amateur definition and also the management of other sports. After due consultation, the council of the association agreed to write to Mr. Wallet, as follows: “lieferring to your letters of August 11 and 12, the latter enclosing the minutes of the meeting of representatives of international federations and Olympic committees, held in Paris on Juiy 28 and 29, I am instructed by the council of the Lawn Tennis Association to reply generally to the points raised in your letters, and to the series of questions relating to the amateur definition, as follows: (1) The International Lawn Tennis Federation must be recognised as the only competent governing body for all purposes of lawn tennis at the Olympic Games and all other international contests, except the Davis Cup, which is governed bv a special set of regulations. (2) The Lawn Tennis Association adheres to its own amateur definition for Great Britain, and supports, and cannot countenance any modification of, the existing amateur definition of the Interiuitional Lawn Tennis Federation, for all international contests. including the Olympic Games. (3) The two definitions of an amateur referred to above contain the answers to the questions framed.,by the meeting held in Paris on July 28 and 29. (4) A certificate of the amateur status of players in any country, as supplied by the governing body of the game in that country, should be sufficient guarantee of the status of its players.

A FEW NOTES

THE LADY CHAMPION

(Christchurch Star.)

Although Maoriland failed to achieve a reputation in its first season as a separate entity in Davis Cup matches, and was not exactly a howling success, last season, was nevertheless one of the best in the history of the game in New Zealand. For one thing, saw the triumph of the younger men; for another, it was a summer notable for the wonderfully prolonged dry spell, that allowed ideal conditions for tennis over a long period. Then, again it marked the advent of a. new lady champion. Miss M.. Spiers (Christchurch), perhaps the moht promising lady player New Zealand has produced for some time (says a Napier paper). Always, of course, must be excepted the brilliant Nancy Curtis, now married, who won her way to the limelight by sheer, force of character, grit, and a hawk-like eye. Now her Mantle falls upon Miss Spiers, sturdy, active and aggressive, the personification of a champion in the making, one more illustration of the fact that a lady player, to be a genuine success, must have a basis- of sound driving on which to build a vigorous net game. Miss Spiers, in point of fact, could give many • of the best men players a lead in tactics. She never hesitates to follow a goodlength ball to the net for a legitimate kill. PROMISE FULFILLED. And what of the men ? Many in Hawke’s Bay will remember with great pleasure the ding-doing encounter between A. W. Sims and G. Ollivier, when the New Zealand tennis champpionships were played at Hastings two years ago, and will recollect that Sims then stamped himself as a player of promise, resourceful, sound, enterprising. Then he went to Australia with' a New Zealand team, and was described by far-sighted Sydney critics as much the most promising of the Maoriland team. And last year he came out and walked through New Zealand’s best to champion honours. A young and native medical student, Sims combines amazing versatility with a well balanced game. Ambidextrous (he learned to use both arms when crippled by a dislocated shoulder), he takes overhead balls, and serves, with -the left arm, while for ground shots he employs the other. - E. D. ANDREWS. With him must be coupled E. D. Andrews. Not five years ago Andrews, a schoolboy at Palmerston, astonished his elders by his suddenly developed proficiency. and he has never looked back. It will be interesting to see how J. M. Lowry, the Cambridge Tennis blue, fares with Sims and Andrews. If past performances are any indication, Sims, Lowry, Andrews- and Bartleet should be a formidable quartette against even the best outside opposition. GREAT DOUBI.ES PLAYER. CAREER OF ALF DUNLOP. (Bv “Advantage” in the Sydney Globe.) For many years past we have been in the habit of considering that the standard of doubles play in Australia is very high—equal to anything in the world if you take our leading players —and that it is of a relatively higher standard than our singles.

The records of the Davis Cup show that the standard is high indeed. We must not loose sight of the fact that the greatest doubles player we have had, barring only Norman Brooke s at his best, is Alf Duijlop, now out of competition tennis as he approaches his fiftieth year. It was in doubles that he reached the heights even compared with the world's best, whilst in singles he was no more than an Australian State champion, and that at a date when, perhaps, our best singles men were not as good as they are now.

Certainly his record in singles was creditable. He won the Victorian championship in 1895. when still under 21, and again in 1898; won the New Zealand title in 1900 and in. 1905; the County of Northumberland championship, beating Norman Brookes, as well as many open singles in tournaments in England, Sweden and on the Hiviera that year. But after 1905 he never seriously trained for or exerted himself in singles'. Severe he could be—woe betide the luckless wight who fed up a short lob or e'en a pretty good lob to Dunlop in his prime. With perfect footwork he could smash the ball, not as hard as Patterson, hut hard enough to 'finish the rallv —either sharply angled to either side or deep down Die middU of the court. And always, if it could be done, where no man was.

Wonderfully safe off the ground on return of service, and wonderfully cunning, never giving his opponent anything easy. An absolute master of the low volley, of the half volley, and in a class by himself as an exponent

of that demoralising shot, the low flying, fast travelling lob volley, don© unexpectedly in the midst of the hottest rallies at the net, which was always a clean point. , Dunlop never did the obvious except when no one would expect it, just because it was so obvious. The alert net player, keen and ready for an attempted swift pass down either side, found the ball unexpectedly played straight at him, and had, on the instant, to make a third guess. Like Brookes he was constantly angling to catch liis opponent “on the wrong leg.”

Indeed,.to watch Brookes and Dunlop playing together was a treat. So many times would one of their shots pass fairlv slowly within a foot of a ! layer untouched, for the simple reason that he was moving the other way, was on the wrong foot, or had his racquet all ready—on the other side of his body. Like Brookes, Dunloo had great powers of anticipation. “Uncannv” is the word always applied to Bjookes in this respect. THE RIGHT MOVE. Dunlop loved every stroke of the game for its own sake, and his mood would always captivate the crowd. He never played to the gallery, but he 'dearly loved a galiery, and the gallery reciprocated. Absolutely human on the court, quite frankly pleased with a beautiful shot, whether his own or his partner’s or his opponent’s; not too Olympian to be almost frankly disgusted with a bad shot of his partner’s or his own, he practised wliat he preached—“ Hit ’em over the nethit ’em miles out if you like, but, for any 7 sake, hit ’em over.” -

He could never play with a younger player without coaching him—frankly pointing out his faults as he made them— but his criticisms never left'a sting, never savoured of “growling at his partner.” i

He still plays, though not in competition, and is the same as ever, if less active.

NEW ZEALAND FIGHT.

No record of Dunlop’s doubles career would he complete without a reference to his great fight at Christchurch \ (New Zealand) in 1911 in the ehallang© round against America.. He had arrived back from England rather late, and reached New Zealand only a' few days before the match. Somewhat out of condition, and woefully short of practice, he was partnered by Brookes, then at his top. V The Americans. Beals Wright and M’Loughlin. naturally centred their attack on him— at first with some success, but his fighting spirit was thoroughly roused, the .constant attack gradually played him- into form, and in the last two sets he played triumphantly and Australia scored a brilliant win. His perfect play, too, in the 1912 Dayis Cup doubles op_ the Albert Ground —who -null readily for- , get that, though, to be sure. Beamish and Parke were no match at all < for Brookes and Dunlop. At “Ruapaki,” home in Studley Park, Alf has twd fin© courts —one grass and one gravel—and there is always a warm, welcome and a game in \ good company and priceless experience ■ —if he can learn —for any promising young player. Never was there a keener, seldom can there have been a better, coach than Alf Dunlop, for he has a vast experience and his heart is in the game for the game’s sake.

ENGLISH LADY PLAYERS

Little 13 year-old Betty Nuthall the lawn tennis marvel, goes from triumph to triumph. She carried all before her in the ladies juvenile championships recently, beat girls four and five years her senior, and now she has just won two open tournament finals in’ successive weeks, and against grbwn-ups, too. She' is truly a wonder. Quite recentlv she partnered the eyergreen C. P. Dixon, now well over 50. in a mixed doubles, and. a more brilliant combination of youth and speed and experience it would be hard to find. They quite outclassed the opposition. Lawn tennis. „ of course, is now giving way to the hard courts" for the winter months, and in the first of the autumn hard courts tournaments now progressing at Ealing, London.. Miss Kitty McKane. the lnrlv champion, showed a return to the brilliant form which enabled her to heat Helen Willis on grass, at Wimbledon. Miss McKane won both he" heats in the early rounds of the ladies singles very easily.

LOBBING THE BALL AT TEiNNLS

By F. Gordon Lowe

The lob is a more useful stroke than most people imagine. A Famous, player once said that “when in doubt lob, and lop higni”

The average player is notoriously bad in handling overhead halls, and this fact is seldom made sufficient use of.

The best way of extricating oneself from a tight corner is to lob the ball high as a return. Time will be gained in order to take up a safer position on court. . It is an‘ exhausting process to run back continually in order to smasn lobs, therefore it is a paying tactic, even if an opponent is good overhead, to lob him frequently during a match. If your enemy is coming in too close to the net judicial lobbing wili tend to keep him back and open up the way for your drives. I have often seen the combination of a double pair broken up by persistent lobbing. The best reply to a lob that has bounced is to lob the ball back Jagain into play. If it has bounced very high, it is possible sometimes to smash it back as if you were serving. Remember it is far better to lob out than short; the latter will only make a present of a point to your opponent. Lob with the flat face of your racquet, using a little top spin. It helps to have the thumb and forefinger partly in the handle of the racquet for control. The drive-lob is a > good variety to employ, the ball travels fairly fast, just over your opponents head and out of his reach. A good deal of top should be used in making this stroke. It is an attacking lob and should be a certain winner. HIT HARD AND HIT OTJT! The secret of smashing a lob is confidence. It is similar to the service except that the server throw's the ball up himself. The great art is to be able to run backwards quickly in order to get into position for hitting. Hit hard and never' look at anybody or anything on the court exeept the ball.

Wait for a ball as it is falling in line with vour body, and hit it at the ro" of your reach. It is a good tip never to let a lob bounce if it' can be avoided. The best smashers always spring at the ball with both their feet off the ground at the moment of impact. Their action is something like a cricketer throwing a cricket ball. Hit out for all von are worth at your first overhead shots, irrespective of

whether they go out or in, in order to find vour range! OVERHEAD WORK. Ten minutes’ practice at smashing before starting a match, or better still, every (lay, wili "work wonders with your overhead work. The proper way to deal with a lob is to attempt to kill from anywhere in the' court. If a player, after much practice, finds that he cannot do this, it is best simply to “block” the ball back a good length and to wait for the .inevitable sitter before hitting out. . f ar better to smash out than into the net. While smashing the whole court is open to you, unlike th© limited space for service. Uncertain overhead players should remember this fact. the racquet swing through easily alter impact to the left side of your body and begin your smash with your weight on the right foot and finish with it on the left. Endeavour to get an angle on your kills to left or n£ht in a single and doyvn the centre in a double. A true smash ag the name implies, is a finishing stroke from which there should be no reply. IN AUSTRALIA. Writing of the reception home given to the Australian Davis Cup team, the Referee says : “No team of Australian Davis Cup aspirants .deserved a more hearty welcome home than G. L. Patterson, P O’Hara Wood, R. E. Schlesmger and F. Kalms, who on Tuesday returned to Sydney by the Sonoma. The keynote of the sneeehes at the welcome was the great form and fightiug spirit of P. O’Hara Wood and the improved play of Kalms. Owing mainly to the efti’lv hour at which the Sonoma berthed* few enthusiasts found it possible to make them way to the wharf and congratulate Patterson and his team mates. But it would have seemed strange indeed had not those two real workers for ™ g M. Henry Marsh and -Mr. 1. H. Hmks —been among the first to put in an appearance at the landing.

At the official welcome practically every notability in the gam© was pre- ,, P- B. Colquhoun, president of tne Australasian Lawn Tennis Association, who presided, s aid: “We are more than satisfied with the performances overseas of our players. We congratulate the Americans, but sincerely hope that m the near future Australia will produce men capa-M© ©f defeating them. The policy of th© Association is to send a team whenever circumstances warrant it, and the performance of this years team more than justified

wt I 1 . to congratulate O’Hara Wood on his fine performance against Borotra. After Patterson was defeated by Lacoste, only f or O’Hara Wood’s fine display after being down two sets to one, Prance would have been the challenging nation.” „ ¥'■ L. Patterson said: “We had Joffn T’ n ?i l f ,ad be back again I confidently believe that we have done all that was exnected of us' Of Pat. Tilden is in a class of his own as a tennis player. It ? B °* £ job going on to the court against a Player with no weak spot in fas game lot make » »»a firm™* rTi° U i WI find Kalms a greatly own.” d p3ayer ’ and able to hSld his

FOREHAND AND BACKHAND PLAY.

(Hints by an Expert.) md C rnift 0n ’ ho ?’ pick your feet op foot" % awin Smg off your wrong Bve lyone who hag received f single day s coaching on tennis has had something of this kind veiled at is™’ \ e sulkil y wondered why the other fellow was so nasty. It was your own foot you were hitting °ff of, ana why couldn’t you hit off either one. you felt like; it was none or his business, gosh! Well, possibly so, yet he was out to try to teach you the correct stroke, and nq stroke can be made correctly if your weight is badly placed or your feet m wrong position* Therefore though they were your feet, still the position was up to your eoacher. In dealing with position the matter will be taken up in regard to various strokes. Thus writes W. T. Tilden. THE FOREHAND DRIVE.

From either court the forehand drive or ground stroke \depends on three things: (1) Keep your eye on the ball. (2) Position of feet and its relation to your weight. (3) Position of the court.

The only one we need consider today is footwork and weight position. This will also hold true of all the other shots taken up. A forehand drive y may be made two ways—either . straight down the line or cross court. The fast shot tends down the line, the flower shot cross court, the sharper the angle, the slower the shot must be to stay in the court. To hit down the line, the line of the toes of both feet should be nearly parallel to the line of driving the ball and both feet making a right angle to it; the left foot should be about 12 to 18 inches in advance of the right and the weight should rest on the back (or right) foot until the moment of hitting the ball, when it should shift with the shot onto the front (or left) foot, thus putting the full force of your body into the ball. This shot needs plenty of “top’’ spin and can be hit very hard, but a moderate sure pace is preferable. Any shot to be of any real value must go in better than 50 per cent, of the times played or it will be losing for you. The cross-court off-hand drive is made in the same manner as regards the question of weight, but the front (or left) foot is extended in front of and over nearer the sideline than the straight shot, and a distinct “pull” given to the ball by swinging onto that foot. This shot should become slower as its angle becomes greater, since speed will carry it out over the opposite side-line. THE BACK HAND. This shot, so remarkably developed by Theodore Roosevelt Pell, is capable ' of two types of footwork, both good, one safe and sure, one erratic, but making the shot much more severe. The safe footwork is the one to acquire, and will be the only one taken up now. The other will be explained when writing on Pell’s famous shot.

To hit down the line from the right court the position is merely re: versed from the forehand shot to the same place, the line from the heels being parallel to the sideline and the weight going from the left (in this ease the back foot) onto the right (or front) foot. To drive cross-court backhand from the right court, imagine a line drawn corner to corner from yjour

right hand, back-line court corner to your opponent’s, set your feet as directed for the straight shot and hit in the same manner. It is merely a question of facing diagonally across the court instead of down the line. To hit down the line from the second, or left court, the weight travels from back (or left) foot onto the front (or right) with the shot, the feet making a right angle with the sideline and the line of the toes being parallel with it. To hit cross-court shove your front foot over farther (be nearer the sides) and “pull” on it, driving ball crosscourt. The greater the angle the slower the shot must be. On all shots from the back court, the weight should travel into the shot with the swing, the. body should meet the ball as it comes to you, but should never interfere with a freer serving of the arm. There are two ways of getting this result of keeping the body away from the ball: First: To advance the front foot when the ball is away from you and you wish to reach it. Second: To retreat the back foot when the ball is coming directly ’at you or close to you and you wish to get your body out of the way of the ball to swing at it. In all shots your weight should go from the back foot to the front foot. That is in forehand shots from the right to the left, in back hand shots from the left to right. This hold 3 true in hitting straight or cross-courtj, fi\)m either court one or two from the back court.