CHAMPIONSHIP TENNIS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20152, 12 January 1929, Page 13

CHAMPIONSHIP TENNIS.

' . RECENT DOMINION TOURNEY. BARTLEET A FINE EXPONENT. ALL-ROUND SERVING WEAKNESS. Mr. S. P. England, coach to the Victorian Lawn Tennis Association, is paying a business and pleasure visit to Auckland. Mr. England represented Victoria in 23 matches against New South Wales and South Australia, and has also represented New South Wales against Queensland. He has won many championships in Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania, and has played with or against all the leading Australian and overseas players up to the time of his retirement from amateur tennis. Since giving up competitive tennis Mr. England has devoted his time to coaching, and his school in Melbourne has a roll number of over 400. He is official coach to all the leading and many of the leading interstate^'players, both . ladies and gentlemen, have been through his school. At the present time two of Mr. England's pupils are the young daughters of Mr. Norman Brookes, the well-known ex-champion. Mr. England was an interested spectator each day during the recent New Zealand championship tournament. When asked for his views of the play and players he said he was rather reluctant' about criticising New Zealand players, and comparing them with Australians, though he would willingly give some friendly advice if the players spoken of would accept it as such. Absence of Scoring Boards. "The absence of scoring boards and line umpires in the important games was very noticeable to me," said Mr. England* "The umpires' task was made very hard because of the white kicking up roundabout the side-lines. However, generally speaking, I thought the tournament vras very well conducted indeed." "Serving was easily the weakest point throughout the tournament," added Mr* England. "The players almost invariably sacrificed their first service for no appro* ciable benefit. They tried an extraordinarily difficult first service and when that failed the second one was pathetically weak. Very frequently, also, the server was off his or her balance when serving* This was the strong point about Suzanne . Lenglen's game—she was never known to be off her balance either when serving or making her shots." Mr. England said he was greatly impressed with the style of E. L. Bartleet, the singles champion. He played hist shots, both forehand and backhand, beautifully, and his timing was perfect. Hi» greatest weakness was his low volley, just below the net. Bartleet's side-line and cross-court driving were splendid. Mr* England added he would like to see the New Zealand champion playing against! -5 some of the leading Australian exponents, because he would then become a better player than ever. Mallroy's Service. The visitor was also impressed with C* E. Malfroy's play, though he says if the Wellington player desires to improve he will have to delete his present twisting service for a straight, fast service by throwing the ball on the right side of the head. It is all right to have a varying service, but Brookes and otherplayers found it necessary to cut out the excessive twist. If Malfroy improved his service he would very soon win the New Zealand championship. In the singles final, where Malfroy made the mistake was in going too much to the net after playing a cross-court shot* It was far easier to go to the net for a volley after the ball had been played straight down the centre toward one's opponent, as the natural tendency in tennis was to send the ball back in the direction whence it came. Champion players were able to hit successfully across the natural angle of the flight of the balL Bartleet, of course, was particularly good at that. Referring to C. Angas, Mr. England is of the opinion there must be something lacking in his temperament which makes him break down on easy shots.: Angas is very similar in style to Willard, of New South Wales. The Victorian coach was much impressed by the man* ner in which Angas covered the court! but he was not quite consistent enough* He certainly made the openings, but he was a littie too impetuous, and not cool enough in a crisis. Praise for Charters. The doubles play of Charters and StecU man against Bartleet and Laurenson alsq favourably impressed the visitor. "Charters was the outstanding player of thq four for at least two sets," said Mr* England. "His side-line driving was excellent, and his dipping shot at the server's feet as he came into the net was most effective. He got this opening very frequently. His greatest weakness is his back swing, which is too long, and should be shortened. He has the strokes and accuracy, but requires a little more pace." What struck Mr. England most about the play of the ladies was that they were not consistently accurate. Generally speaking, their volleying was not so good as their ground strokes. This was particularly applicable to Miss Speirs, who worked up a position 1 with beautiful ground strokes, but then broke down with a volley. This should not occur with a champion player. Miss Speirs' Greatest Fault. Miss Speirs' greatest fault was that, when waiting for her opponent to return the ball, she jumped sideways across the court instead of running. This made it almost impossible for her to get body; swing into her shots. If a player has both feet parallel to the net, the hips are locked, and prevent body swing and rhythm in making the drive. Miss Tracy displayed the same fault. It was thS correct thing, of course, to keep on one's toes, but not so as to sacrifice the correct position for playing shots. What Mr. England liked about Misa Macfarlane was her absolute concentration, and very fine cross-court drives, though he is of the opinion Miss Speirs would have won more points had she run across court in making her shots instead of jumping sideways. He considered Miss Speirs had an ideal tennis temperament, and took her defeat very sportmgly. Regarding the junior players Mr. England said their mental attitude toward the game did not appear to be sustained. H*s had come to the conclusion, after coaching both good and promising junior players, that many of them make too long a sweep, and throw the ball too high when serving. The pace of a shot doe 3 not depend upon the length of the swing . forward, but the speed with which the racquet is brought forward to meet the ball.