LAWN TENNIS.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 5736, 3 November 1905, Page 6

LAWN TENNIS.

NORMAN BROOKES WINS A CHAMPIONSHIP. (Prom Our Special Correspondent.) LONDON, September 22. In the South of England championship tournament, decided at Devon Park, Eastbourne, last Saturday, the Australian crack Norman Brookes played a very strong hand, winning not only the Gentlemen's ’Singles in clover fashion, hut, in partnership with another colonial, A. B. Murphy, accounted for the Doubles also. In the final of the former event ho met the redoubtable Gloucester player, S. H. Smith, once more, and demonstrated hie superiority by winning three sets off the reel and 20 games to Smith's dozen. Both finalists up to their meeting had shown brilliant form boating their respective opponents one' after the ‘other in very easy fashion. In the semi-final Brookes made "a hade'' of F. L. Eiseley. one of the best of southern players, beating him three sets to love and IS games to 7. Smith served A. H. Riseley with the same class of sauce, the latter losing; all three sets and retiring beaten by 18 games to 6. UnforInnately the final did not produce the anticipated “glorious game." Smith was right off form, and. with Brookes in splendid cue, both with his service and volleying, the Gloucester crack had a verybad tune of it. Ho couldn’t servo “for .sour apples,” his usually immaculate placing was sadly at fault more often than not, and his deadly forearm smash was seldom in evidence. On the other hand Brookes gave a dazzling display. His services were akin to juggling. The ball performed circles round Smith’s seeking racquet, ‘“sat up” and looked at tho nonplueeed Gloucester player, or dimply slithered along tho ground beneath Ins weapon. Brilliant volleying by the Australian completed Smith’s discern■nture, and tho farther tho game went the more pronounced became Brookes's masiiF'* nitl i a ver - v sood fight in the first set, which the Australian only claimed at B—6, but Smith fell off in th© next, and lost it at 8-4, whilst in the tnira be was beaten rr to rags" at -6 2 Even these margins hardly disclose the full superiority of the Australian's plav u n ’ir he t?’ , Ifc as ’ Perhaps, the most brilliant display Brookes has given us on this side Smith, by the way, had held the Southern championship for five successive years. In the Doubles Brookes and Murpliv Moved together about as perfectly as the brothers Baddeley used to do. or the Doherty’s at their best, and they made their opponents look quite commonplace tennis exponents. But they were not that by any means. For instance, Brookes and his partner in tho third round ran up against Smith and G. W. Flillynrd, a very tongli proposition in couples indeed. Yet Brookes, arid Murphy “downed" this pair 6—3, 6—l. Next they knocked out the Cambridge pair, tho brothers Powell, 6 —4, 6 —l, and then took on th© brothers Allen, the holders of the trophy, who whipped the American© in the final last year. Against Brookes and partner the Allens could make no headway whatever, being outplayed at every point in the game. The Australian couple won the first set at S—l, the next at 6—4, and the third at S—l, thus claiming tho championship by three sets to love and eighteen games to six.