LAWN TENNIS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume L, Issue 15482, 13 December 1913, Page 10

LAWN TENNIS.

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

To-day being Show Day there will be I '- no inter-club matches this afternoon- : , The matches will bo continued nextH . Saturday, when in the "A" section of , the first grade West End will meet ''■ f , Remuera, and Parneil will try conclusions "' "'' with Auckland. ' J Most of the clubs are getting their own matches under way, and are endeavouring • to get the first rounds out of the Way before the holidays. The members of the •' , West End Club are reminded that Jl first round matches must bo played not later than next Saturday, December 20 Under the rules governing the Dunlop Shield competition the- names of the members of each team entered should be in. the hands of the secretary of the association by the second Wednesday in December. It lias not yet been decided when : the competition is to commence. t There has at various times been a Teat i difference of opinion amongst clubs as tc 3 the value of inter-club matches and open ; tournaments, and on more than one occai sion there has been a tendency on the ; part of some to let these contests drop i | and confino the competitions to tiic club's j own matches. Whenever such a discus--1 ! sion has arisen the opinion expressed in ; this column lias always been against the i curtailing of healthy competition, as it « ; recognised that if the standard of tennis i is to improve, or at the least not do- . teriorate, great caro must be taken to , see that every opportunity is given to the i younger players to improve their play. ■ That this can only be accomplished by I outside competition is being brought homo -' • to the Wellington Association at the present time. During the last few years the '■ | Wellington Association has gradually re- '■ 1 duced its inter-club mathes, until* this ' year, with the loss of the Day's Bay ~ | courts, they have been abandoned alto'- : , gether. The open tournaments which at one time were so successful in Wellington ! have met the same fate, until of late ' there have been little or no opportunities J offered to players in the matter of open , competition. Tho only possible result has I been that Wellington has lost its reputa- . | tion as tho leading tennis centre of New , j Zealand, and no new players have arisen , | to take the places of those fine players ; who must gradually drop cut of the first . flight. The writer calls to mind the . palmy d.-'.ys of Wellington tennis, when the same scheme of inter-club matches . was in operation as is at the present time [ in rogue in Auckland. It is therefore to > be hoped that the local association will profit by the experience of Wellington, ■ and not be influenced against the progress of the game by some of those players who i appear to be tired of open competition, '■ and in consequence do not wish to grant~ 1 the younger players the same opportunities it was their former privilege to have. a One writer in a Wellington paper eon- I t demns the association in very strong 1 terms, and asks what is the use of any association that has nothing whatever to & offer to its affiliated clubs. "Huka," of $ 1 the Post, adds his protest against the I existing state of affairs, and under the - heading of "Young Players and the 'i Sport," writes as follows":—"The Wel- : lington Association, with such a body of : , young players behind it, should he one of,' the most alive bodies in the Dominion, | i and should have several tournaments ran M off in this city every season. But that' *| , reminds one that there are 'no courts,' •& at least, that is the reason why the Wei- p ■ lington provincial championships have id been given away to Masterton. So very M soon there will be possibly as little tennis v as there is interest in the matter of tour- % naments or inter-club contests. Then, no i. matter how many young players there are, ; the result will be nil, as they will be 'M attracted by some other sport that is'lll doing its best for its city players. Someone remarks: 'Unless the rank and filers rise and suddenly find tongue, and demand a, change not only»in the policy but in'W' the administration.' The fault lies with' --ithe delegates elected by the clubs; there- -- fore, the clubs being the electors of those delegates, the whole blame falls upon .: ■ club members, who do not take sufficientinterest in the sport to see that they get what is best for the advancement of the . /' : game in the city." -.< v There was naturally some disappoint- :. ment in Melbourne when Brookes de- iCj faulted to Heath in the final of the Vic- •'_' torian championship. The interest in the I, match' was very great, for Heath was " playing in wonderful form, and had de- ".' feated Doust in both the inter-State match : J ; and in the championship. The reason that ■ Brookes did not play has not yet been - disclosed,, but it is possible that after his defeat by Doust he did not wish to run the risk of further defeat by Heath, who ■ had already defeated Doust "twice. Every impossible suggestion is being made in Aus- 7 ; tralia to account for Brookes's defeat by .0 Doust, for it is admitted that while Doust --~ had just arrived from "England and was ;|>; short of practice Brookes, on the other hand, had been training for some time, ; ? and was considered to be in first-class ;- form. It strikes one, however, that not •'■'■'-;■ only the present but also some of the past '-'*' defeats may be put down to the tendency .- Brookes often displays of withdrawing :■-• from tournaments, and" thereby very often v losing that very hard competitive practice. ' that has done so much to bring on the other v leading players of the world. Although .; : Brookes gets plenty of really hard practice ■■■ in Melbourne it is usually of a friendly V nature, and against players whose weakness Brookes knows only too well. When,.''; however, he is called "upon to meet new •;'--' aggressive players, fresh from the sphere ;' o-f international competition, ho has been .: found wanting. It. therefore, leads one to t*io belief that if Brookes is to retain v the undoubted supremacy he has achieved ' ; ' in the past he will require to follow the. . j Wilding and a/ways be found''. . | where the competition is keenest, and the •' 1 likelihood of defeat present .it all times. .'■-' ; '' : jNo player can prevent defeat ; .n some -'-," occasions, but the fact remains that -■;'.-,■ Brookes has more than once been defeated ;• at the first meeting by a player who conla . '. not under any circumstances repeat the ■?'■.?■:. performance. It is little use reverting to K ' the past, but much can be learnt from the 0; fact that Brookes withdrew from last year's ;■■;_' Victorian championship and allowed J. C. "■/'■■ Parke to romp through the ooposition and annex the championship. It may almostbe said that by that withdrawal the Davis Cup was lost, for it is more than reasonable to assume that had Brookes met Parke v)* in the Victorian championship, and havo Dossiblv been defeated by him ho would ' * have gained that experience which enabled him to turn the tables on the Irish cham- -\'j pion on the two subsequent occasion on which they met. However, by virtue of his withdrawal from the Victorian cham- • :'. pionship that experience came too late, j«*| and in consequence the cup passed into .-'.si other bands. ' _ >k Apart from Heath and Doust the most ; promising player at the Victorian tourna- jf*i ment was A. O'Hata Wood. Immediately ";■'£ after defeating Buckley in five sets he "<|| went on against Rice, and put the Davis £| Cup representative out of tho running, |§ although the match went to five sets, and > Rice was leading in the final set, love. .J| Wood, however, met his Waterloo in Heath, .;'' but again the full five sets had to be -';-; played. _ _ [«| The Todd Brothers again were in bril- ' £* liant form and looked like reaching tho -g' final, fot they defeated Heath and Rice W in a five set match, onlv to go down to J; that strong Victorian double, Campbell -'-'r and Lvcett in sets straight, 6—2, 6-4. : 'H: 7-5. " . . "-M

KING COUNTRY ASSOCIATION. *§§ . JH The first match of the season for the .•<.; Howard Shield was played at Taumarunui on Saturday last, when Mangapehi, tlio , holders of 'the shield, met and defeated - the Taumarunui Club by 6 matches to' 4: one match being unfinished- ."; iMm In the men's doubles the Taumaninut players showed their superiority, but tho ';_ Mangapehi representatives annexed two ,; out of three singles. Honours _ in the -, ladies' singles fell to Mangapehi, while _ the combined matches were equally • di- , vided. The following are the results, the Taumarunui players being mentioned . •; . first " ' -

mistp±~- — — illftaVMatches: Gray v. Hayson, 5-6, BUBS?-5-6VBom v. McCracken, 3-6, Brumby, 6-5,6-2. " \ am' »« d Allkins v> Hays ? n and , ~ n,m , by ' ffi i m&s 6-4; B 0 " a,ld & "' ah v * McCrackcn i 11! a «A Seymour, 6—4, Gray v-Hayson 5-6, Vn 2-6; Boss v. McCrackcn, 3-6, TV. AUkins v. Brumby, 6-5, 6-2. Mv'sod Allkins v. Hayson and Brumby, 'rV a_4- Boss and Sarah v. McCrackcn 6-°' ° a /I A_9 ' ni) Sev" 101 ""' ° ' -* < ladies' Matches: Miss Garrett v. Miss 1! j, Johnson. 5-6 4—6; Miss rjymonds fllltffcMiu McCracken, 1-6, 6-4, 2-6. ■■'■■ I ■ lift Strang and Miss A. Symonds v. I Mi«cs W. and D. Johnson. 3-6. 6-5, ,r | ■' '7, Misses P. Symonds and Garrett v. Ajiss' McCracken and Mrs. Gray, 6-3, Wf£(> 2-5 (unfinished). : f ; Combined Matches: Allkins and Mrs. : qi rall( v. McCracken and Miss W. Jolin''son 4-°'' 2-6; "' ah and Miss A. Sy " ; -mends v. Seymour, and Mrs. Gray, 6-1, 5-6, 6-2. In the final of the 'I.uimarunui Club's p handicap singles Allkins (rec. 12) beat . Hayson (rec. 5), 60—52. * . The King Country Association are send- ' j ß jr a team t •> Hamilton to-day to try conclusions with lie Hamilton Club. The ' following will represent the King Country ' Association:— Ross, Hayson, Gray, 8 '. McCracken, McCarthy, Allkins, Mrs. I ' Strang, Misses Graham, Jordan, Johnson % ps), and Symonds (2).