BRILLIANT TENNIS

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIV, Issue 296, 12 November 1934, Page 5

BRILLIANT TENNIS

ENGLISH TEAM AT CHRIST- " CHURCH. HUGHES BEATS PERRY. Per Press Association. CHRISTCHURCH, Nov. 11. Even more brillant in many respects than that of the first clay, the tennis produced by the visiting English team, F. J. Perry, G. P. Hughes and the Misses Round, Lyle, and Dearman, at Wilding Park on Saturday afternoon aroused a large gallery of nearly 2000 spectators to a high pitch of excitement and enthusiasm. To this feast of first-class play the New Zealand players who took part in the matches, D. G. France, C. Angas, and Miss T. Poole and Miss E. Rudkin made worthy contribution. The men’s doubles match between Perry and Hughes and Angas and France that concluded the afternoon was one of the most brilliant exhibitions ever seen in Christchurch and invited comparison with the match at Wilding Park last year in which Perry and F. H. D. Wilde met the Australian Davis Cup pair Quist and Turnbull.

The gallery saw Hughes gain his third successive victory over Perry in one of the finest singles ever seen in Christchurch; Bliss Dearman beat Miss Rudkin m a game in which the local player offered stout resistance to her formidable opponent, and a women’s doubles in which the combination of the young English Wightman Cup pair, Misses Lyle and Dearman, triumphed over the occasionally brilliant but ill-balanced team consisting of the Blisses Round and Poole. The scores were as follow:

G. P Hughes (England) beat F. J. I erry (England), 6—4, 3—6, 6—3. Bliss E. 81. Dearman (England) beat Miss E. Rudkin (Canterbury), 6 2, i F i\ J u' Per J7 nnd G - p - Hughes (EngD n r b^ at /4'- S ,v S (Canterbury) and France (Wellington), 62, B—6,

Blisses N. M Lyle and E. BL Dear?Fnb (E af 37ld 1 ) i’, eat Mlss D - E - Round &t n <£-a T - p °°>° The most keenly-anticipated match was the singles between Perry and Hughes, and it more than justified expectations. Showing wonderful ball control even when dealing with Perrv’s most telling shots, Hughes directed the course of play for the greater part ot the three sets. Undoubtedly he was helped by Perry’s errors. The Wimble don champion certainly did not show the machine-like accuracy and steadiness which is said to mark his play in championship events, but Hughes’s display nevertheless was masterly; his well-directed ground shots carried an infinite variety of spin, and with the greatest skill lie limited Perry’s exploitation of his famous forehand drive to a minimum. Against a less active player than Perry Hughes’s ground strokes must have opened up the court for frequent easy volleys, but so quickly did Perry get into position for his returns that Hughes seldom had an easy hall to deal with in a short court. He volleyed, however, with a.n accuracy and touch that delighted the gallery, and frequently out-guessed his teammate in these sparkling duels. Hughes’s replies to Perry’s advances to the net also were effective. His returns, dipping quickly under the influence of heavy top spin, or floating deceptively with heavy cut or slice, were never easy to volley, and he frequently drove Perry back with a welltossed lob. Perry’s brilliance showed in flashes. His beautifully-produced ground strokes —with forehand frequently played so close to the bounce of the ball that the stroke was more a half-volley than a drive —were seen to, advantage in many baseline rallies. Again the spectators revelled in the Englishman’s energy and speed of foot, but on Saturday h was opposd by a player no less agile than himself, and one who made fewer mistakes. It was not on Perry’s mistakes alone, however, that Hughes won, for the balance of “earned” points was in his favour, and his service; particularly in crucial games, was the more effective. The women’s singles match between Bliss Dearman and Bliss Rudkin was, as could only be expected, one-sided, but the local player never relaxed her efforts in a battle against superior strokes and tactical ability. The tall English player used a telling forehand drive to good effect, and supported her forceful bacldin© play by decisive volleying. The women’s doubles match was not a very satisfactory event, although it produced much sparkling tennis. Blisses Lyle and Dearman are England’s best doubles pair, and they brought to the game a combination and an understanding that could not have been possible between Bliss Round and Miss Poole. In volleying and smashing Bliss Poole was little inferior to the other three, but her ground strokes were very inaccurate. FINE DOUBLES PLAY.

The New Zealand pair opposed to Perry and Hughes in the concluding match of the day—Angas and France —lifted their play to great heights, to provide one of the most brilliant

contests ever seen at "Wilding Park. Perry, as Hughes stated later in an interview, played his best doubles match for a year and in service, the clever direction of his ground strokes, and in the crispness of his volleying, his partner was no whit inferior, yet Angas and France were never outclassed, and, as the scores indicate —6—2, B—6,8 —6, 64—they offered splendid resistance to the English Davis Cup pair. It was a match of scintillating rallies, great recoveries, and spectacular and sometimes amazing shots. Perry was here, there and everywhere. He was punching his service harder than in any previous match at Wilding Park, and if there was the least weakness in the New Zealanders’ returns he pounced on them with devastating smashes and hard-hit volleys. At times he took outrageous liberties in covering the full length of the net. and then Hughes frequently was called on to cover up the opening should Perry’s coup not immediately be successful. HuiJhes himself worked for the position with less force, but more subtlety, and having gained it, was no less decisive in the kill. The New Zealanders disputed the commanding position at the net throughout the three sets, driving the Englishmen back with thrustful drives and volleys, and in turn forcing them to put up weak shots that could be smashed or anglevolleyed for the winners. They lacked the finish of their opponents, however, and the indecisiveness in their smashing lost them a commanding lead in the second set.

TOURNEY FOR AIR RACE FUNDS. A SPLENDID FINAL. As a means of assisting the Blanawatu Centenary Race Committee in its campaign to raise funds, the Palmerston North Tennis Club held a handicap doubles Ya-nkee tournament at the Linton Street courts on Saturday afternoon, when there was a splendid entry from the sister clubs. The final was contested between F. Bull (Palmerston North) and Bliss K. Purcell (Wairarapa) and J. Cope (Palmerston North) and Bliss B. Smith (Woodville). Each pair had won seven games at the time of their clash without suffering a loss, and they proved to be well matched, the score going to 5 all. However, Bull and Bliss Purcell took the sixth game to win the tournament, giving them eight successive wins.