LAWN TENNIS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21162, 20 April 1932, Page 15

LAWN TENNIS.

DOMINION RANKING LIST. PROBABLE FIRST TEN MEN. C. ANGAS IN LEADING PLACE. BY SIDELINE Very shortly the New Zealand Lawn Tenuis Association will be faced with the task of ranking the Dominion's leading players. This annual classification becomes more difficult as the game increases in popularity. To-day iri New Zealand there are obviously more players corning into the front rank just as there are more players in the average class. To judge talent in New Zealand one is greatly hampered by the few occasions on which the leading players are brought together. Also some players meet in three set matches only, and soine do not meet at all, and have to be judged and compared by their performances against the same opponents, always a rather uncertain method. The difficulties, therefore, are so great that it is possiblo to say with certainty that no list, however compiled, is likely to meet with universal acceptance. As regards the men, the writer submits the following ranking, based on performances throughout the past season: —1, C. Angas (Canterbury) ; 2, 11. A. Barnett (Canterbury) ; 3, N. Tt. C. Wilson (Wellington) ; 4, E. L. Bartleet (Auckland); 5, N. G. Sturt (Auckland); 6, 1). G France (Wellington); 7, A. C. Stedman (Auckland); 8, 1. A Seay (Canterbury); 9, J. T. Laurenson (Waikato); 10, A. L. France (Wellington). First Two Places. There will be no dispute about: the first two whose performances in the Dominion championships were outstanding. Jn the Wilding Shield matches Barnett lost to D. G. France, but this result is more than made up for by his other performances. N, 11. C. Wilson's win of the Wellington championship and the Wellington Easter tournament entitles him to the third position. This season he has proved himself definitely superior to D. G. France, and lias been far moro consistent than in previous years. E. L. Bartleet, who is in the fourth position, is once again Auckland champion. He defeatod Angas in the Wilding Shield matches, and lost to the same player in the New Zealand championships after a close contest. Ho was defeated by I*. A. Court at Palmerston North and by N. G. Sturt in the Remucra Club championship. Bartleet. is possibly the finest stroke player in New Zealand. N. G. Sturt ended the season a vastly better player than ho began it, clue chiefly to improved control in all his shots. He lost to Bartleet' in the Auckland championships, but reversed that result at Remuera, when he also scored over A. C. Stedman. It ip difficult to separate Sturt and D. G. France, but Sturt's late season play would seem to give him tho advantage. Play of Stedman. D. G. France may perhaps be considered to have had an unlucky season. He appears to be a better stroke than a match player. His best performance was a win over Barnett in the Wilding Shield matches. A. C. Stedman did not fulfil his promise of last year. His forehand has been the dominating feature of his game, and those players able to return it consistently have been able to expose his limitations. Stedman's best, however, is still to come, and next season should see him in a higher position. Tile last three places are given to I. A. Seay, Laurenson and L. A. France. There is little to support this placing, and personal opinion of necessity largely enters into it. Laurenson has only been defeated by players well up the ranking list, and is still the master of those just outside the inner circle. L. A. France is another player of the extremely steady type, who is able to break up the games of all but the best. J. A. Seay has been playing well in Christchurch this season, and had he attended the New Zealand championships would probably have consolidated his position. This classification is confined to singles. It does not claim and will not receive universal acceptance. So far as is possible it is founded on a substantial basis. Players who might lay claims to the tenth position are Morrison (Auckland), Glanville (Christchurch), Russell (Wellington), and R. A. Court (Hawke's Bay).