LAWN TENNIS

Otago Witness, Issue 3829, 2 August 1927, Page 54

LAWN TENNIS

By SMASH. Apart from Anthony Wilding, New Zealand has produced no finer lawn tennis player than H. A. Parker, now a resident of Sydney. Born at Christchurch on May 6. 1873, he first made acquaintance with the game at Wanganui College, and, benefiting by the skilful coaching of the late Rev. J. Al. Marshall (an ex-New Zealand champion), he won the college championship in 1891. In the years that followed he amply fulfilled his early promise. Between 1895 and 1907 he won the New Zealand singles championship six times, the doubles championship five times, and the mixed doubles championship three times. In 1896 he was a mdtnber of the New Zealand team that beat New South Wales, and eight years later he captained another New Zealand team that was successful against New South Wales. Between 1904 and 1911 he won the singles championship of every State in Australia with the exception of Western Australia, and during a visit to England in 1901 and 1902 he won several provincial titles, and reached the final of the doubles championship at Wimbledon. In 1905 he was a member of the Australasian Davis Cup team, and in 1910 he placed the coping-stone on a remarkable career by defeating Norman Brookes in an inter-State match. As a stylist Parker has had few equals in the Dominion, and his beautifully produced forehand drive is still spoken of with enthusiasm by many of his contemporaries who still speak in terms of high praise of his prowess on the courts and his unfailing sportsmanship. The European Zone final of the Davis Cup competition was played between I’rance and Denmark, and the Frenchmen, fulfilling the general expectation, won the match. Ulrich and Petersen. however, put up an excellent fight, and showed that they were no great distance behind the French players. Ulrich, who has made a notable advance during the past couple of seasons, ran Cochet, the Wimbledon championship, to 9—7 in each of the first two sets, and only lost the third at 6—4. Petersen began well against Borotra, and won the first set, but after that he collapsed, and won only three games. In the doubles the French pair, Borotra and Brugnon. scored comfortably in three sets. The first match in the American zone resulted in an easy victory for Canada over Cuba by three matches to none thus reversing the result of .last year’s meeting between these two nations. Tim 19°6 contest was played at Havana on July a *m 18, and Cuba gained an unexpected victory by three matches to two. X lie neat was tropical, sometimes ranging as high as 90 degrees, and it not only seriously affected the visitors but was inimical to the standard of the home players as well. After the doubles game Crocker had to be carried off the court, and he is stated to have been unconscious for half an hour. This year the match was played at Toronto, and the Canadians amply demonstrated their superiority over the Cubans. Twelve months ago 2 r ° C ', ker . was . ea( »’y defeated by Paris in the decisive singles match.- the Cuban winning many games to love; but on the predTfL? C i aS1 ° n Cana,l >an avenged that defeat by a victory in straight sets, and also offset last year’s doubles defeat bv an even easier win over Paris and Chacon ] n^' r ”p , Lawn .’ Tennis Almanack for ivoal’th f S JUS J t - to J ,and » .contains a wealth of information from all parts of d and dealin K wit h all the printMr l Ou^ a ?’P nt . gatherings. The editor A Wallis Myers), in his appraisement of the performances of the leading Players of the world. Maces the “first ten” m the following order:— 1- R- Lacoste (France). 2. J. Borotra (France). 3. H. Cochet (France). 4. W. M. Johnstone (U SA ) 5. AV. T. Tilden (LLS.AI). 6. V. Richards (U.S.A.). 7. T. Harada (Japan). 8. M. Alonso (Spain).

9. H. Kinsey (U.S.A.). 10. J.'Brugnon (France). R. Lacoste, he states, by his record in the two American championships, is entitled to first place. J. Borotra, more brilliant in attack, and on occasion rising to greater heights, is a good second. Henri Cochet has fully earned his place at No. 3; indeed, it may be doubted whether his inherent genius has not shone with more lustre than that of any Frenchman. He, like Lacoste, was beaten by Harada in the French match against Japan; but, like Lacoste, he discounted this loss by his fine play in the American championships. It was at Forest Hills that he unhorsed Tilden, who had ridden through all opponents for six years, and he was unlucky not to beat Lacoste in the final. The ladies’ “first ten” is headed by Mlle Lenglen for the last time. The list is as follows:— 1. Mlle Lenglen (France). 2. Mrs Godfree (England). *“ 3. Allie d'Alvarez (Spain). 4. Mrs Mallory (U.S.A.). 5. Miss Ryan (U.S.A.). 6. Miss Browne (U.S.A.). 7. Miss Fry (England). S. Mrs Watson (England). 9. Mrs Jessup (U.S.A.). 10. Mlle A’lasto (France). The women’s list, says Mr Divers nrnv be cnanged materially in th e near future, for the development of the game on the feminine side proceeds apace. New plavers knocking at the doors of fame, facilities for travel are increasing, ambition lll r every country is hardening. The salient fact about lawn tennis as a game is not its age, but its vouth, remarked the author of the AVimbledon jubilee souvenir. “Compared with the veteran of cricket or the patriarch of golf, lawn tennis is a mere stripling. No legends of its precocious infancy are chronicled; no daily newspapers championed its future. Many people, indeed derided the game; none of its early disciples trained to excel at it; its introduction was an accident in the social life of placid Victorianism, and but for the faith and fortitude of a few zealots, who nursed the weakling lawn tennis, might have enjoyed no greater fame or fashion than linking Its pioneers were mariners sailing uncharted seas; their Eldorado was nothing more dazzling than a desire to bestow permanence on a pastime the potemalities of which had only been vaguely yisualised. Though it was invented before 18/7, the first Wimbledon, founded in that year, gave the new game a stvle ana status of its own. Wimbledon was the nursery of the game; it bred the giants of the past, men who, by the exercise of their art, the vigour of their physique, and the force of their personality, inspired countries beyond to accept and pursue the cult of lawn tennis. As this oversea talent ripened AVimbledon became the clearing-house of the world’s skill, the final assessor of form, the standard by winch championship mettle was measured.” Apparently it is impossible to delve deeper than this into the annals of a game that in little more than 50 years has become the most truly international of all games. Criticism of the New Zealand Lawn Tennis Association’s ruling that finals of singles and doubles championships should be of five advantage sets instead of three, as in the preliminary rounds, was voiced at the meeting of the Canterbury Association last week. The Secretary (Mr R. Browning) stated that the five-set finals had been tried it Wellington, where the tournament was merely local. It had been no hardship on the players to have the meeting occupy two Saturdays. In the championships in Canterbury competitors had come from South Canterbury and even further afield. Some of these were in the finals, and as the tournament could not be finished on Easter Tuesday the association had considerable trouble in arranging for the finals to be decided in Ashburton. The Chairman (Mr AV. N. Seay) said that it was a very important matter. If three sets were played in the early rounds such should be the length of the finals, at which stage of the championships players would be less able to May five sets than three. The subject was introduced by a letter from the New Zealand Association in reply to. Canterbury’s protest against the five-set rule for finals. The parent bodv stated that it would not alter its decision, but that if any trouble were experienced the matter could be reconsidered.

BURKE BEATS KINSEY. PARIS, July 25. In the professional championship at Trouville A. Burke beat H. Kinsey, 6—l, 6—4, 7—5. BOROTRA TO VISIT AUSTRALIA. PARIS. July 27. After the Davis Cup Borotra hopes to pay a business visit to Australia extending from October to February next. His friends are amused by his remark that he does not know whether he will take a racket, as nobody can imagine the Basque going anywhere minus a racket. DAVIS CUP MATCHES. NEW YORK, July 29. At St. Louis, Yoshera Osta, of Japan, won the singles event in the Davis Cup contest, beating Robert Kinsey (Mexico), 2——6, I—G, 6 —4, G —l, G—2. MATCH IN AMERICA. NEW YORK, July 50. At St. Louis yesterday, Harada (Japan) defeated Alfonso Unda (Mexico), 6—2, 6—3, 6—3. DAVIS CUP DOUBLES. NEW YORK, July 30. At St. Louis, Kinsey and Butlin (Mexico) beat Harada and Shimizu (Janan) in the Davis Cun doubles, 7—5, 6—2, 2—G. 3—G, and G—3.