LAWN TENNIS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15554, 11 March 1914, Page 6

LAWN TENNIS.

NOTES AND. COMMENTS. The men's championship singles of the Parnell Club has again fallen to R. J. Coates, who defeated P. Hanna in the final by three sets to one. Hanna started well, but the steadiness of his opponent gradually wore him down, the last two sets going to the winner with something to spare. In the West End Club the ladies' championship' singles has been won by Mrs. Fee, who defeated Mis. Wilson in the final, 6—3, 6—2. According to a cablegram received during the past week another attempt is to bo made to amend the rule governing the service. Much interest will be taken in the fate of the new proposal, which is to bo considered at a meeting of the International Federation at the end of tho month. This is not the first move thai has been mado with a view to curbing the alleged foot-fan Iters, but in tennis as in other leading games the conservative element is much in vogue, and any suggested amendment of the rules is looked upon with disfavour, and probably rightly so. The* present reading of the rule in question is as follows ;— The server shall before commencing to serve stand with both feet, at rest on the ground behind (i.e., further from the net than) the base line, and within the limits of the imaginary continuation of the half court and side lines, and thereafter the server shall not run, walk, hop or jump before the service has been delivered, but the server may raise one foot from (and, if desired, replace it on) the ground, provided that both feet are kept behind tho base line until the service has been deliovered." It is now proposed to add the words : " And provided that such foot is replaced on the ground behind the base line before either foot is placed on tlio court." That tne proposed addition to the ride will find strong support goes without saying, but whether it will be adopted is a matter of pure speculation. There is no rule of the ganto so much discussed as the foot fault rule, and at every tournament are to be heard arguments as to whether certain players infringo the rule or not. Undoubtedly many players gain a great advantage by following in on their services, and it is often a doubtful point as to whether these players are not already in the act of "running, walking, hopping, or jumping" when they strike the ball." On the other hand the proposed alteration will find plenty of opposition, for the suggestion that the alteration would strike at the root of the volleying game will cause alarm in all those countries where the volleying game has somewhat superseded the base lino game. Already America is up in amis against the proposal, and the statement is being made that the proposed alteration is an attempt to stop the progress of Maurice McLoughlin, whose whole game depends on his ability to get to the net to meet the return from hit! serve. In Australasia it is doubtful if the proposal will receive official support, for the style of game so general in America has beconra almost universal in Australasia amongst the leading players, and the new proposal must have a great effect on a player such as Brookes, who prefers to take every ball on the full. In the writer's opinion the suggested alteration would n.ot assist the game in Australasia, but would tend to reinstate the base line game, which is much in vogue in, England and the Continent, whence the new proposal has apparently arisen. Like many other rules the sufficiency of the rule Jn question depends upon its interpretation, and there would be little agitation for an alteration if more attention given to the matter of umpires. With a capable umpire on the stand the present rnlo can be reasonably enough interpreted to prevent a player obtaining an undue advantage, while at the same time no harm is done to the volleying game In addition to the above proposal it is mooted that a suggestion will be made to allow only one service. This last proposal shoujd create an interesting discussion, but it, is very unlikely that it will receive very .serious consideration. Such a rule wouW be detrimental to the gams, for it would cause most players to develop Ufc P** 1 ' serve, the fear of faulting being to© great to allow any risk,, m this respect. The existing method of going for pace on the first serve and for safety on the second has much to commend it, and it would not be in the inSr f game to ■"?* altera - With the exception of the play-off between the winners of tho A and B sections of the first grade the inter-clnb matcfies were completed for the season last Saturday. The A section has been won by Jtenfliera and the B section by Onehunga I. and both teams have come through the competition without the loss of a match. These teams are now to play off for the championship, on a date to be fixed by the Match Committee. On Saturday Remuera had little difficulty in defeating Auckland 1., the Auckland players only securing one match, in which Miss Woodroffe had a meritorious win from Miss Barslow. The Auckland team were unfortunate in having to let three matches go by default, but this did rot have any,effect on the result. The Auckland team was to a great extent outclassed, but some of the events were well contested. Webster did! well to take six games from McCutcheon, and'Milnes fought the issue out with Henderson "to the last, Btroke.* Milnes and Snelling .were also Keen to advantage against McCutelieonj and Dnthie, and 9—7 was the result of good efforts by them. Apart from these matches and Miss Woodroffe's wfn, the OEtenauera players were not fully extended. Miss Barstow's defeat was unexpected, but although she' has improved wonderfully this season she is inclined to play a little in and out, and w*hile at one time' she is really brilliant yet at another she may play very indifferently. The match between Parnell and West End I. was keenly fought out, and but for the non-arrival of Miss Gray the West End players would in ail probability have been successful. At the last moment the cervices of Mrs. Wilson were called upon rather than that the games in which Miss Gray was to take part should go by default. The Parnell team was also a lady short, and after the matches in which «ihe was engaged had gone by default under the rules, and in consequence a win was due to West End, the West End captain generously allowed the matches to be played after the arrival of a substitute, nome time after four o'clock. As a result of this, victory went to the Parnell team by seven matches to six. It was in the ladies' division that Parnell was superior, and the absence of Miss Gray from the West End team was much felt, for all the ladies' matches went to the winners. In the first ladies' double between Misses Steele and McCormick and Mrs. Fee and Mrs. Wilson, the Parnell ladies were nearly caught napping. After being behind to Che extent of s—l the West End players made great progress* and chiefly through the agency of hard driving by Mrs'. Fee, who scored ace after ace straight out, they were on several occasions within, a. point of making it six all. During the last game the play was mostly directed against Mrs. Wilson, but the West, End lady played up most plnckily, and only ■extreme steadiness on the'»part of Misses Steele and McCormick enabled them to win. The West End men showed their superiority by winning three out of the few singles, and two out of the three doubles matches. Ralph was the only Parnell man to make good, and Snelling found him both accurate and aggressive. Ralpli is a much-improved player, and plays with a nice free style on either hand. Snelling was inclined to act too much on the defensive, and although be made ml-ny good recoveries he invariably failed at anything easy. Coates found Dr. Keith a rather difficult proposition, and although he took the first three games by superb tennis he was only s able to get one more. In this game the rallies were splendid, but notwithstanding great efforts on the part of the Parnell man he was unable to make much progress against the well-known tactics of his opponent. The match was but a further indication that as a singles player the doctor has quite recovered his form, and that he will have many more victories to his credit before being classed as a back number. Lyttleton was too steady for Hanna, and his capacity to keep getting them back broke up Hanna's accuracy, victory jroing to the West End roan, 9—3. K. Keith proved too good lor Simpson, and led throughout, winning jratiej- easily.; Keith's style .very much

resembles that of his brother, and his constant cutting is inclined to worry his opponent, The first double was secured by Coiites and Baker, although their opponent, Dr. Keith and Bnelling, led them, 7—4. The Wesi End men failed badly afe the business end of the match, while Baker steadied up and Coates played in freat form, smashing most aggressively, 'ho other two doubles both went to West End, Newall and Lyttleton having too much combination for Ralph and Pavitt, and Goiclio and K. Keith beating Hanna and Simpson. In the latter match the Paraell men actually led, —1, when the West End players started to lob persistently. The result was that Hanna failed dismally, and put smash after smash into the net. A glance at the pairing of the Parnell men leads one to the conclusion that it would be possible to harden up the doubles by more judicious pairing than was the ease on Saturday. In the combined events honours were oven, each side winning a match. Congratulations are due to Onehunga I. for their win against Devonport on Saturday, the result putting them at the head of the B section. The result is some reward for the enthusiasm shown by this club in the inter-club competition. Onehunca entered three teams, which have all done well, and there is no club in the competition which shows more interest in the matches than does Onehunga. In Saturday's match Sherriffs followed up his previous good form by disposing of Gardner. 9—3, but this was the only men's single secured by Devonport. Richardson accounted for Ewen after a close fight, but E. Ohlson and G. L. Taylor won against Whittaker and Best somewhat easily. The Onehunga men were'also successful in the doubles, winning two out of the three, but all the matches were very keenly contested, and there was little* between the respective pairs. In the ladies' singles I Miss Gudgeon won from Miss Worrall, but Mrs. Taylor evened matters for Onehunga by defeating Miss Wnitfciker. Both ladies' doubles went to Devonport, but in the combined event a win was secured by each team, Dr. Aickin and Miss Scott putting up a creditable performance bv defeating Raiuger and Miss' Handlev. The match was secured by Onehunga "by the narrow margin of one" match, but a'close contest has the effect of making victory the more creditable. vln the second round of the Dunlop Shield contest Remuera easily defeated 'Auckland by three matches to nil. The scores were as follows :— McCutcheon beat Webster, 6—4, 6—2 Duthie beat Snelling, 6—o, 6—l. McCutcheon and Duthie beat Webster and Snelling, 6—2, 7—5. West End is to meet Eden and Epsom next Saturday afternoon, and the winners' in this match will play Remuera in the anal. The West End Club will be represented by Dr. Keith and E. Snelling, and -he Eden and Epsoin Club's representatives are H. Gold Smith and W. A Brown.

GOLF. AUCKLAND CLUB'S REPORT. The annual general meeting of the Auckland Golf Club is to be held at the Chamber of Commerce, Swanson Street, on Saturday, March 21, at 8 p.m. In the annual report the committee congratulates the club upon a most successful year, interest in the game having been well sustained. The policy of making the course playable in all weathers was followed during the year, and a large amount of tiledraining was effected. All bunkers and tees were drained, and a large piece of the fifth fairway. As outlined at last annual meeting, the bunkering of the course was the leading feature of the year's work. The committee adopted a scheme covering the main bunkers, and their construction has been pushed on Tapidly. The whole of the earthwork in connection with the bunkers and tees will be finished early in tho new season, and turfing and sowing will then, be pushed on as fast as possible. The form of bunker adopted has provided a large quantity of surplus earth, Which has been used in the construction of permanent tees and in top-dressing the fairways. New tees have been made at the Ist, 2nd, sth, 7th, Bth (two), 9th, and 13th (two), and it is anticipated that the few tees remaining (five) will be provided for early in the new season. The committee realises that when the scheme is finished it will only cover the absolutely necessary bunkers. Experience will show future committees, however, where more hazards are required. It is considered that the present scheme will be sufficient .for the time being. To carry out the work, the committee found it necessary to make an issue of debentures to cover the cost. The last annual meeting authorised the committee to issue up to £2000, but up to the present only £640 has been applied for. Members are asked to provide at least £360 to finish the work without in-1 creasing the bank overdraft. Members will notice that a good deal of tree-planting has been done on the course during the year- The plantations, consisting of hardy trees, have all been placed in such positions as will divide up the fairways as much as possible, as well as making necessary breaks in the open meadow country which comprises the club's- property. The plantations are <ioiuz well, a very small percentage of failures being noted. Feeling that it was the desire of a large number of golfers that a provincial tournament should be held in Auckland, the committee decided to hold a tournament during the Easter holidays. The programme has been issued, and copies sent to all New Zealand and Australian clubs. A large entry is anticipated, and members are asked to assist in making this the first Auckland Provincial tournament, asuccess. It is proposed to make the meeting an annual affair. The New Zealand championship meeting will be held on the Middlemore links this year, commencing about October 5. It is some years since the tournament was held .in Auckland, and the committee felt it would be a fitting time to hold the meeting here— to stimulate interest amongst local players, and partly to introduce the finished course to visiting golfers. At the present rate of progress the course should be in perfect order for the meeting. Congratulations are tendered to Messrs W. S Ralph and F. C. Fryer, on winning the Wanganui and Napier championships respectively. l The membership shows a net increase of 11 during the year, the numbers being — Playing members, 162; limited, 19; country, 23; non-playing, 41; absentee, 18; life, 22; bey, 18: total, 303. The committee records with sincere regret the deaths of Mr. J. C. Colbeck and Mr. E. S. Grundy. Thanks are due to the following for prizes presented during the vear- — J. B. Lusk (captain), H. Horton, B. Dawson, C. Dawson, C. I Nathan, N. A. Nathan, and d' MacCormick. Also to Mr. A. Clark (four deck chairs), and Mr. E. W. Pay ton (framed photographs), and to Dr. H. D. Bamford for legal advice, preparation of debentures, etc.

The committee wishes to record its appreciation of the good work performed by Mr. W. W. Bruce, who has carried out the duties of honorary treasurer for the past seven years. The committee has now adopted the system of allowing three-fourths of medal handicap for match and bogey play instead of two-thirds as hitherto, the former being the system now in vogue with the Southern clubs, and with most of the clubs in England. With regard to finance, the balancesheet discloses a healthy state of affairs.