LAWN TENNIS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20481, 5 February 1930, Page 15

LAWN TENNIS.

DOMINION TITLES.

PLAYERS' FORM REVIEWED^ MISS NICHOLLS' GOOD SHOWING*

BY SIDELINE.

During the past week .the attention dE tennis enthusiasts has been centred in Mirarnar, where the New Zealand championships have been .in progress. C. Angas, the new title holder, has well deserved his success which, following his success in the North Island championships and his win of the singles championship of Canterbury, inarms him as the outstanding player in New Zealand at the present time. Angas is said to, be one of the few tennis players who really trains for his matches. If this "is so he is following in the footsteps of the greatest tennis player New Zealand has produced, the late A. F. Wilding, who always held that a player who desired to do himself full justice on the court must undergo a hard and strenuous preparation off tlio court.

Both N. G. Sturt and A. G. Stcdnian did well and reached the last eight, the former going out to Malfroy in a splendidly played match and the latter being beaten by D. G. France. Stedman also figured in the final of the doubles and

the semi-finals of the combined event. Sturt was a semi-finalist in the men's doubles. Both Stedman and Sturt are destined to improve their present standard considerably. What is required is hard match play under all sorts of conditions and against all kinds of opponents. TIIO closeness of Malfroy's matches against Angas, both in the North Island meeting and the national championships,

indicates that tliero is little difference between these two players. Previous to this season Malfroy was generally considered slightly better than his Christchurch rival, hut recent results give Angas a slight, margin of superiority. It is essential to progress that competition should bt- keen and the fact that C. E. Malfroy, D. G. France, N. G. Sturt, A. G. Stedman, J. Charters and other young players are pressing closely on Angas in point of skill will help to stimulate healthy rivalry and the desire for continuous improvement without which stagnation is likely to result. This is all for the good of New Zealand tennis. The present tendency in New Zealand, as abroad, would appear to be a general evenness of skill. Success of Miss Nicholls. The day of the complete domination of the game by any one player appears to be passing and in its place is keen competition for the highest honours between a number of players more or less even. The same tendency is apparent in the Davis Cup contest, the improvement in the play of Italy and other nations, previously hardly considered, adding an interest to the early rounds which was lacking in the early days of this competition. Miss D. Nicholls' success will be popular in Auckland where she is well known, having played at the Remuera Club for some years. Her game, always brilliant, has now apparently attained that extra control which is essential if a player is to survive in the first flight. That she

fought on undaunted and eventually triumphed over Mrs. Melody after losing' the first set is a tribute to her excellent fighting qualities, without which no player is wort-3y to hold the highest tennis honour in New Zealand. Tenniir authorities in New Zealand have been" slow in recognising Miss Nicholls' ability;? I In the last ranking list, she was given only' the eighth position and previous to this , she was not ranked at all. Belated recognition in the official ranking lists, how- : ever, has not deterred Miss Nicholls and " each year has seen an improvement in her form until this year she has carried all before her and won the two highest titles " that New Zealand can offer. Mrs. Melody's Fine Effort. Auckland enthusiasts will naturally be : disappointed that neither Miss Macfarlane nor Miss B. Knight succeeded in bringing the title north. They gave of their best-,-however, but that was not quite good enough. Mrs. Melody's effort in reaching the final is worthy of the highest praise. Every year she has to be reckoned with and this year only Miss Nicholls' aggressive game kept her from her second win of, ' the title. Her game may not be as spectacular as that of some of her younger opponents, but it is backed by a profound knowledge of the game and magnificent lighting qualities which are worth many a hurricane forehand drive. The success of D. G. France and Malfroy in tho doubles was generally expected and is further proof of the advantage of the combining of two players who are conversant with each other's game as opposed to pairs hastily brought together for the purposes of the tournament and as hastily dissolved afterwards. Nevertheless, Wilson and Stedman did well particularly in defeating Angas and Sturt. The win of Wilson and Sirs. Thomson in the combined event was also according to established form. The ladies' doubles was a very open event and the success of Misses Wake and Andrew will be popular not only in Canterbury but also in other tennis centres that havo been privileged to see them play. The outer-suburban championship tournament, which commenced last Week at t Stanley Street courts, and wliich, weather permitting, would have been concluded on Saturday, proved to be a most popular fixture.' Undoubtedly this type of tournameut which commenced last week on the makes a greater appeal than handicap events. The difficulty is the grading and although play in inter-club teams was the basis of this year's ranking, it is obviously a most "uncertain method as players in the C grade team of a strong A grade club might well find places in tho A team of a weaker club. At the same time it is difficult to suggest a remedy, there being handicaps, as at golf, bv which players can be graded. SPORT OF CYCLING. EVENTS AT IE AWAMUTU. WADE WINS THREE RACES. Tho five cycling events included on the programme of tho To Awamutu Amateur Athletic Club's sports last week provided somo interesting racing. The half-mile was run in two heats, the finalists bciug C. Rogers, 90 yards, G. N. Clarke, 75 yards, F. Stephens, 70 yards, F. G. Henwood, 40 yards, J. Wliitten, 20 yards, and A. Mackie, scratch. Tlw finish produced a good effort on the part of F. C. Kenwood, who won from A. Mackie, with" J. Wliitten third, in lm 12 2-ss. J. Wade and A. Mackie were on scratch in tho next race, the one-mile handicap, and pacing well together, soon had the field, but over the final stages, Wado went on to score an easy win. L. Alilred, 80 yards, and L. Dwight, 80 yards, finisher second and third respectively. Tho time was 2m 325. In the two-miles event Wade, scratch, again won, in convincing style, after a good race, in which he displayed P' eu of judgment and pace. H.Dwig , _ ),ui, \vho *. red. 1,!.,®, and ». 0. »>£?£ third. The time was 5m 255. ling annexed the one and a-ha from H. ~ championship by half a gcratch Dwight and A. MacKl „ race collided, men in the tbree mdes rue Wade falling and Mfki Ilo t robbed b( Nevertheless, the iac yards, was interest, for H. handicap, and gradually making up produced a 380 yards. &BL