TENNIS.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 3 January 1925, Page 10

TENNIS.

Marlborough Championships —-Decern. ber 25, 26, 27, at Blenheim.. North Otago Championships —December 25, 26. 27, at Oamaru. Southland Championships —Decern ber 25, 26, 27, at Invercargill. Rotorua Championships —December 25, 26, 27, at Rotorua. East Harbour Championships —December 26, 27, 29, 30, at Eastbourne. Soutii Wairarapa Championships —December 26, 27, 29, at Martinborough. Canterbury Open Tournament —December 26, 27. 29, 30, at Christchurch. Kaikoura Championships December 27, 29, 30, at Kaikoura. Wanganui Championships—January 1, 2,3, at Wanganui. South Canterbury Championships—January 1,2, 3, at Timaru. Taranaki Championships —January 6 to 9, at Mew Plymouth. Auckland Handicap Tournament —January 1,2, 3, at Auckland. Hastings Championships—January 10, 12, 13, at Hastings. Wellington Championships January 13, 14, 15, at Palmerston North. Rotorua Junior Championships—January 15 and 16, at Rotorua. Dannevirke Championships J anuary 19, 20, 21, at Dannevirke. Wairarapa Championships January 22, 23, 24, at Master-ton. Waipawa Championships.—January 26, 27, 28, at Waipawa.

“Anno Domini” beat Norman Brookes in this year’s lawn tennis championship, but he gave a great display for a man of 46, while M. J. Ritchie, who will be 54 next month, continues to vanquish much younger men in big tournaments. Nor should Colonel Mayes be forgotten. Sir George Thomas was 40 when he won the last four successive AU-England badminton championships in 1923, a,nd he considers badminton an even more exacting game than lawn tennis. Other examples .itould be given, but unquestionably athletes “live” longer than in Victorian days. The seeding of Lowry in the Dominion tennis tournament at Auckland is a tribute to an unknown quantity so far as New Zealand is concerned, but to one whose reputation in England while at Cambridge University was a high one. But English tennis has been proved to be at a fairly low standard comparatively speaking, so that the estimate formed of Lowry by those responsible for the seeding may be just a. little exaggerated.

A FINE ATTRACTION. The year lias been a bounteous one for tennis enthusiasts. There are further; treats in store, and of the fixtures which promise to excite tremendous interest is the proposed match between the 1923 and 1924 Davis Cup teams. Ii the match takes place, as there seems every likelihood, nothing better for the progress of the game could happen. The dates for the. match, which will ■be played in Melbourne, are February 26, 27 and 28. A return will be arranged for Sydney in March. Such fixtures would create extraordinary interest — already enthusiasts have accepted it as a topic—and they should be a great sdeeess financially, and to a. certain degree make up for the lost visit of the French team

A difficulty arose in respect to Schlesinger. who was a member of both teams, but it was decided to put G. M. Hone, the South Australian colt, in the breach. As there is much, talk of these matches being an index to selecting the 1925 Davis Cup team. Hone will have an opportunity of showing • his capabilities, for he is considered a possible for the next Davis Cup. Mr. Marsh also desires to arrange, games between R. O. Cummings, Baylev, Hone, and others thought to have a chance lajf selection jin the overseas campaign.

The teams were: 1923, J. O. Anderson (captain), J. B. Hawkes, It. E. Schlesinger, R. D. Mclnnes. 1924, G. Wood, It. E. Schlesinger, and F. Kalms. A team picked from these eight should surely stand a big chance of retrieving the lost Cup. The big four will more than probably be selected from those mentioned, and one hopes that this year we will have, a Davis Cup team that is thoroughly representative.

HELPING YOUR PARTNER. When playing four handed tennis many people fail through not paying sufficient attention to court positions. There are three set positions adopted by doubles experts. The most popular is for the player who serves to remain behind the base-line while his partner stands up at the net. Another is for both to remain at the back of the court; while many experts insist that both partners should dash for the net at every conceivable opportunity. Have a thorough understanding, then, with your colleague on the courts regarding the type of game you are going to play, and watch carefully what your opponents are doing at the same time. If you are receiving the service against opponents who specialise’ in net play, you should return a lob high over tlie head of the server’s partner, or drive across court in the direction of the player who has taken thei 'initial stroke WHEN NET PLAY PAYS.

In the latter ease, however, you must be careful not to attempt what in the ordinary way would be a good length return pitching near the baseline, as if you do you will find that the server who comes dashing for the net will probably -be able to bring off an. easy volley from the half way line off a ball that meets him about waist high. The best stroke in such a case is the “stab” drive, which makes the ball pitch near the half way line at the feet of your oncoming opponent. Give a slight upward jerk of the wrist at the moment of impact, at the same time turning the racket head over rather farther than you would do for an ordinary drive. You do not require quite so much “follow through” as usual.

Before you decide on your plan of campaign when playing with a partner, you should weigh up your strong and weak points. If both of you are good at volleying, try to indulge in as much net play as possible; if, on the other hand, your long, deep drives are more effective than your attempts to return the ball before it has touched the ground, keep to the back of the court until you can see somehing approaching a certain chance of running in and bringing off a killing “smash.” When one of you is really weak and can only expect to lob the ball back, the stronger partner must be prepared to “poach” at every opportunity. The weak player must remain at the back of the court, endeavouring to return the ball anyhow, so that the stronger performer has some sort of chance of winning points outright by hard volleying.

KEEP OPPONENTS GUESSING. An excellent play adopted by many first class players is for both players to remain behind the base-line during the opening stages of their service games. Then, when a favourable chance can be seized, the leader of the pair gives the signal for both to dash towards the net. This often lias the effect of putting, opponents off their game, as they never know when the change of position is going to take place. In “mixed” doubles much will depend upon the strength of the womai partner. If she is fast on her feet and capable of taking most of the lobs that are sent over, there is no reason why she should not ‘‘play up.” just as frequently as a man, although, of course, she is not likely to have the same “punishing power” when volleying.

If, however, her game is not*strong, she will do well to keep to the hack of the court. Then she can go forward easily to - meet any bad length returns.