TENNIS CHAMPION

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21274, 30 August 1932, Page 7

TENNIS CHAMPION

......... ■••• ■ ■ -. CONQUEROR OF WIMBLEDON i '• •! j. .q . ~ ' -» VINES' TERRIFIC SERVICE , • .• •* * '> • >; • : . :• ' PLAYER WITH MANY STROKES . [from OWR. OWN correspondent] • ' ■ • LOOT) 017, July 8" Tbol "lawif tennis 'championships werd concluded on the courts of the All England Club afc Wimbledon, on July 2, in. i the presence of the King and Queen. Their Majesties had attended on several days and had shown- themselves keenly - interested spectators. H. E. Vines, . winner of the . men's ~.<•> singles, had been beaten previously at ■» Queen's.Club by H. A. Hopman, the Australian, ■ but he could noWhava been then -~r : in anything like his besfcaorm. The Times had previously remarked of the -Ameri- • - 5;. can: "Vines has many amazing strokes, - delivered with a power and speed such 3 as few players have ever achieved, but ? "■ in the midst of great activity and accuracy' '[ he is liable to lapse into sins of sluggish- ]; ness and carelessness that are well nigh " ".V incredible." ' When Vines met Crawford in the semi- . J,V final round, the match lasted only forty " -.'V minutes, the Australian being beaten at t 6—2, 6—l, 6—3. Tho Tim.es then' com- .. 4 mented:—"ln this match Vines gave a '•' clear indication of his quality, and his v ' opponent seemed, on' the play, to be al-_ • -li most second, rate, which. ho is not. Vines ~5, lias the advantage of an .enormous reach and periodically ho sends over: his. ser> ■ vice at such a paco that no man may "j'A hope to return it. "On the other hand,;-Vijjcs did serve quilc a number of double faults,- bat, by - 110 means perturbed by them, generally won tho' next point. Perhaps Vines' favourite gambit, which beat Crawford ~r-- -> time and time again, .was a terrific lowdrive, which .went in turns to either si do ■ > !of the court in tho" extreme corners.. The matcli was played mainly from tho back .*T~? of tho court." V';"

Finalists Compared \.} Contestants in -the final round were. Vines and. 11. W. Austin, Great Britain, The two had never met previously. Austin had on the dav previous defeated J. Satoh-, Japan, 7—5, 6—2, 6—l. When they met on the last day.Vines defeated Austin, and from England's point of view tho match 'TV was disappointing. : The Times' - expert writes:—' - V -V «j t was soon, evident that no plan for coping with the devastating - c service and the terrific-drives of his op-j..;* ponent. He could do little more than hold out his racquet in hope, and when that availed nothing he'found it a hard business to deal with \ ines even .in his gentler moods. It was also evident, that * Vines was hitting, hard. and. feme. .It a raging, tearing campaign of massacre before whioh nothing could stand; 'she** _ £ murder,' as a famoufi-. player described it afterwards .in humorously advocating- atrench where 1 the receiver conld seek fuge. Austin won only.six games. "Such hitting has never been; seen■•be* ■ fore. There w'as r 'no'answer to - it; Th® j terrific service -might possibly .have' been* 1 dealt with in a mariner by standing far : .g*. outside the court, but whether the. re- y turn might have caught the server unprepared is" not certain. The only, way to stop the driving would have been to hit the ball back into- hfc feet so jthat Ke,..sp£ could not himfself for h}s drive. « > -T" ''AH"It was a battle- against .great odds. Tlie contest Vines-.aibU prob/ ; ablv, and those who would beat- .him when t_ VJ he "is at his best must, have some definite plan of campaign mid-he .able.to work it out with-- confidence* r skilly determination vjog. and daring.; His opponent on. Saturday, -£Si was but a victim led' to the slaughter, iiy There was nothing for it but to bow in submission. -; - \ '-j*

Revelation of Surprises v . -7^ "Of thejaew.chsanpions Vines certainly... stands out-first...He. is young> and. promises to com? again to: Wimbledon, .where .gjfe he has won the v >i:h^pionship,.-like den and Patterson, .on .-his -first xdsfL play has been a constant and progressive ..-r----revelation-of surprises. ?• Hibse who saw "'-?£s■ • him in his first matches in London would hardly have known him to be the same man who finished off his "final , round. on.- !i Saturday in the short time of 50 minutes —surely an unprece:dented_feat. Vines has been bringing forth new" treasures from his store each day, and he may have , others to produce that have never yefc J? been seen. 'Some, are to compare V.i him favourably with-the giants ofthe past, but such a comparison: is JonJaur. He is' yourig 'yet, and has much' to learn. Yet it may_ be said that tHers" has never been-a player who could hit. so hard over a considerable stretch of play. At times . there, are., few intervals between hip works. It is an unremitting, barrage. > . "Discussion will now probably .range - as to the advisability of allowing two service balls to such players. Many may feel that it is giving a player too much to allow him a first service, which- he can drive with all his force.regardless of the ?*. consequence to himself, as ne has still an-,i>K other to fall back on- if, he fails to attain. the mark: Yet in Vines' case the. service U is 'not everything, much as it may be. He can with just as much force and.-3 power suddenly end . a prolonged .- rally y, with-a terrific drive on either hand. He is no one-shot player, but a kind of fabled 'amphisbaena, each' end a sting.' '