LAWN TENNIS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20282, 15 December 1927, Page 4

LAWN TENNIS.

By Smash.

The following is a list of the principal holiday tournaments: December 26 to 51.—New Zealand Championships, at Christchurch. December 24, 26, 27, 28,—Auckland handicaps, at Auckland. December 24, 26, 27.—North Otago Championships and handicaps, at Oamaru, December 26, 27.—Southland Championships and handicaps, at Invercargill. December 26, 27, 28.—American tournament, at Miramar, Wellington. December 31, January 2, 3. —South Canterbury Championships and handicaps, at Timaru. December 31, January 2, 3. —Waikato East Sub-association Championships and handicaps, at Tinau. December 31, January 2,3, 4.—Wanganui Championships and handicaps, at Wanganui. The B Grade matches were continued in fine weather on Saturday afternoon. One of the most interesting matches was mat in which Anderson’s Bay defeated NortbEast Valley by 10 sets to 6, the Bay ladies proving considerably stronger than their opponents, while the men were fairly evenly matched. The other Valley team suffered defeat at the hands of (Javersham by 11 sets to 5. Cosy Dell accounted for iaieri by 12 sets to 4, the ladies ot the former club winning a large proportion of their matches. In the men's doubles, J. and L. Swallow just got home by the odd game against Hunter and Oliver. St. Kilda No. 1 defeated Roslyn rather decisively, both men and ladies having a good margin ol matches in their favour. Deaker, playing first for St. Kilda, defeated Chisman, y—6, after a, good game. With some good practice, Deaker should easily qualify for an A Grade team. The second tt. Kilda team was overwhelmed by Balmacewau, which performed the rather unusual feat of winning the whole of the 16 sets. S. Andrew’s scored a dual victory, the No. 1 team beating Kaituna by nine sets to seven, and tno No. 2 defeating Triangle by a margin of four sets. The B Grade competition will be continued on Saturday next when the allies in the No. 2 section that were postponed on November 26 will bo played. The matches in the No. 1 section will be those according to the ordinary draw. .These will be the last inter-club games prior to the usual holiday interval. 1 The following ladies’ matches played during the week resulted as follows; Mesdames Mills and Smith challenged Misses Smith and Sraelhe for a place on the doubles ladder, and lost, 6—-9; Miss Moloney challenged Mrs M’Kellar, and won o—7; Miss White challenged Mrs Gale, and lost, 4—9; Miss Ramsay challenged Miss Sparrow, and won, 14 —12. In a challenge match played last wecic, Guv and Duthio defeated M’Dougall and Fulton, 4—6, 6—3, G—3. On Saturday last a representative team selected by the' Southland Association travelled to Gore to play the Eastern District representatives. The Invercargill side which was practically the strongest that could be selected, won by 18 matches to six The scores in the singles were as follows:—Men’s singles: Sumpter v. Honderson, 66 —2; Deaker v. Aitkcn, 6 2, 6—2; Lindsav v. M‘Leo<i,-6 —1, 6—4; Hewat v. Mirams, 6—5, 6—3; Hudson v. Livingstone, I—6, I—6; Lopdell v. Meldrum, 6—2, 6—3. Ladies’ singles: Miss Watson v Mrs Williamson, I—9; Miss Melvin v. Miss Cranstoun, 9—l; Mrs Chartres v. M ; s s K. Blaikio, B—9; Mrs Martin v. Miss R. Blaikio, 9—7; Mrs Latta v. Mrs To!for, 9—2; Miss Price v. Miss Spedcn, is reported that Paul Haege will leave Melbourne on December 15 tor New Zealand, where he will make his usual round of tournaments, beginning with the Dominion champions-ips at Christchurch. Haege has been playing fine tennis in Australia this season, and he should go a long way in the fight for the singles title, provided, of course, he does not suffer by any temperamental upset. The Canterbury ranking list is at present constituted as follows ; —(1) Seay ; (2) Walker; (3) Patterson; (4) Greenwood; (5) Angas; (6) B. B. Loughnan; (7) Glanvillo; (8) Sheppard; (9) Field; (10) A. B. Loughnan; (11) Denton; (12) Boddy; (13) W. S. Somerville; (14) Wilkinson; (15) Johnston; (16) Eaton; (17) Prcbblo; (18) Orbell; (19) Smithson. Recent results are as follows: Angas beat B. B. Loughnan, 6—3, &—U, D. E. Glanvillo beat J. H. Sheppard 4—b, 6 B—6; A. B. Loughnan beat S. D. Denton, 6—3, 6—2; Somerville beat 'Wilkinson, 7—5, B—lo, 6—3. , The positions of players on the Auckland doubles ladder are as follow: —Bartleet and Robson, 1; Griffiths and Brinsden, 2; Johns Bros,, 3; Lamb and Horne, 4; Knot and Sturt, 5; Tonk and Macfarlane, 6; Turner and Hubble. 7; Stedman Bros., 8; Robinson and Williamson, 9; Potter and M'Keown, 10; Hickson and Williams, 11. Both H. A. Parker and G. Ollivier have won the New Zealand Singles Championship six times —Parker in 1895, 1902-3-4-5-7, and Ollivior 1911, 1914-19-22-24-25. Thus, if Ollivier wins the championship tills season, ho will have established a record for New Zealand for this event. Such a record, however, would pale into insignificance bosido Miss K. M. Nunneley ~ 13 consecutive victories in the New Zealand Chamoionship Ladles' Singles, hci wins being 1895-6-7-8-9, 1900-2*3-4-5-6-7, In a match played last week a Wairarapa pair, Swaiuson and Martin, put up an excellent game against Peacock and Wilson, who won 6 —4, 6 5. i’he othei doubles results were as follows:—France and M'Gill beat Hodder and Miller, 6—4, o—s;0 —5; Malfroy nad Goldie beat Welch and Bunny, 6 —2, 6 —4. In the Mixed Doubles Martin and Mrs M’Master beat Peacock and Mrs Adams (formerly Miss Arita Howe), C —4, 6 —4. These scores indicate a very high standard of play in Mas'ter ton. It was a thrilling as well as a gruelling match in which G. L. Patterson defeated J. Crawford in the final of the \ ictorian Championship Singles, the score being 75. g—i. 5—7, I—6,1 —6, 7—5. Crawford s steadiness and determination were quite unshaken by the fact that his formidable opponent bad taken the first two sets, and in the third he faced Patterson with undiminished confidence. After a battle of alternating fortunes he took the set at 7—5, and then went to take the next with the loss of only one game. But Patterson has all the fighting qualities of the Australian, and in the fifth set ot a great match he emerged triumphant at the close of another set which extended over 12 games. • Only a week earlier, in the interstate match, Crawford had defeated both Patterson and Hawkes, but Patterson thrives on match play, am. hence it was not altogether surprising to find the previous result reversed in the championship final. Though he was defeated, the score reveals Crawford as i remarkably fine player, and as he is only 19 years of age, he may be expected fully to redeem his early promise. He readme the final of both championship events at Melbourne last year. In the final oi the Singles he captured the first set from Patterson, and in the Doubles, paired with Willard, he defeated Patterson and Hawkes after a five-set match. It may be mentioned that Patterson has now won the Victorian Singles on eight occasions, the only break in his record since 1919 being in 1925, when Schlesinger captured the title. Crawford has now qualified for selection as a member of the Australian Davis Cup team, and as he appears to be equally efficient in singles and doubles, it may be decided to pair him with Patterson. If their team work proved satisfactory they should make a formidable combination. The other members of the team will be selected from Hawkes. Moon, Kalins, Hopman, Rowe, and Schlesinger, Playing her first match in New Zealand since she came back from her two years’ holiday in England and the Continent, Miss Marjorie Macfarlane recently beat Miss Dulcie Nicholls for the top place on the Remuera Lawn Tennis Club’s ladder. The score was 6 —3, 6—l. Although the match was by no means brilliant (says an Auckland writer), the form shown was good. Miss Macfarlane was by far the steadier of the two, many of Miss Nieholls’s shots going astray. The Kemuera champion ran away with the first set without much trouble, winning mostly on the mistakes of her opponent. Now and again she played a winning shot, comum into the net to finish off a rally with a well-placed volley. All through the match she used a good side-line drive. Mn Nicholls was erratic. She would win couple of strokes with unplayable crosscourt drives, but often spoiled her chance with weak shots, which Miss Macfarlane lost no time in “killing." Both players drove hard on either hand, and some ol the rallies were well up to the best championship standard. At one all in the MCcoml set, Miss Nicholls had to rest for a time, her eyes, an old trouble, bother:ng her. When play started again Miss Nicholls was oven more erratic, and Miss t Macfarlane was content to win points j from mistakes. Only one game in the second net produced really bright tennis, I