TENNIS

Southland Times, Issue 22728, 2 November 1935, Page 14

TENNIS

(By

“Chop.”)

Senior B and Intermediate matches to-day. The Senior B draw is: St. Mary’s v. Georgetown at Georgetown; Rugby Park v. Invercargill at Invercargill; Central v. Winton at Central; Gladstone a bye. The Intermediate draw is: Waihopai v. Bluff at Bluff; Southend v. Tisbury at Southend; Kennington v. Georgetown at Kennington; Invercargill v. St. Mary’s at St. Mary’s; Rugby Park v. Makarewa at Rugby Park. With the Misses R. and J. Wilson both playing in the Gore competition this season Eastern District should fully extend Town in the annual match in December. A visit to Australia by the French professional, Henri Cochet, now seems assured. In reply to the message sent by the New South Wales Lawn Tennis Association, offering Cochet one-third of the gross gate takings at all matches, with no guarantee, Cochet has cabled from Ceby (Philippines) as follows: — “Will cable within 10 days date arrival Sydney. Agree in principle your offer, subiect to final arrangements upon arrival.” Cochet had originally asked for a guarantee of £5OO sterling, plus onehalf the gross gate takings, and hotel and travelling expenses for himself and his wife. Australia has increased the number of its Davis Cup selectors from four to five. Those appointed for the new season are:—Messrs N. E. Brookes, H. Malcolm, J. Clemenger, C. S. Sproule, and T. E. Robinson. The Carnival. Though the Tennis Association’s share of the combined cricket-tennis carnival will be a welcome addition to the funds of the association the amount is disappointing in comparison with that secured by the Cricket Princess supporters and in proportion to the work entailed by the committee. A few clubs and a few players gave enthusiastic support to the carnival, but the majority were numbered among the missing. The appeal for gifts for the produce stall did not secure so much as a spring onion and the sweets stall would have been bare had it not been for the efforts of a handful of whom Miss Rein was outstanding for zeal and generosity. Tennis players more than any other participants in sport seem to wish all responsibility to end with paying a subscription to their club for the privilege of using the courts. Fully 90 per cent, of players shun any administrative responsibility and sidestep any appeal for financial assistance. This is a fact not so much to be regretted as taken for granted. Of the 1200 affiliated players in Southland about 21- per cent, put in an appearance at Victoria Hall or Rugby Park. Consequently the net profit accruing to the association is comparatively small and the association will be able to indulge in none of the extensive coaching schemes and other measures for the advancement of the game which it hoped would be possible, though the sum raised will be helpful in connection with guaranteeing the visits of overseas players. The Winton Tourney.

Winton had a very successful tournament on Labour Day, with, many of the leading Southland players participating. Honours were well distributed and many exciting games were witnessed. The back-markers were more successful than the players on good handicaps, practically all finals and semifinals being contested by seniors. The men’s doubles was a strong field, with the Southend pair, Gray and McCallum, beating G. and F. Lindsay 9 —7 in the final. Cockerill and Strang went out rather surprisingly in the first round. Sharp and McLeod succumbed In a brilliant match against the Lindsays. George Lindsay is still the general and has a fine partner in his son. The pair will not suffer many defeats in the senior B competition. McCallum and Gray are developing into an excellent pair. McCallum provides the fireworks and the kills, while Gray makes many astute openings, his tossing being particularly good. That popular St. Mary’s pair, Misses Mahoney and Fitzgerald, won the women’s doubles after a good match with Miss Henry and Mrs Croad of the Georgetown club. The mixed doubles produced much good tennis, but the final was taken rather lightheartedly. Strang and Miss J. Wilson were opposed to Cockerill and Miss R. Wilson and neither pair seemed to worry much who won. There were some very attractive shots and some queer ones. Cockerill and Miss R. Wilson won 9—5. The Western Tourney. The Labour Day tournament conducted by the Western District SubAssociation is always so popular that difficulty is experienced in reaching finality. In an attempt to avoid this the committee this year used both the Otautau Club courts and the school courts, but even this did not overcome the trouble, largely owing to the late arrival of some of the contestants. Nevertheless it was a highly successful day in which considerable promise was shown by some of the younger competitors. • Western are to play Northern at Otautau on Wednesday, November 20. Doubles Ladders. The doubles ladders stood as follows yesterday:— Men. 1. Barnes and Breen. 2. Shand and Jones. 3. McCallum and Gray. 4. Strang and Cockerill. 5. Padget and Graham. 6. Baird and Clarkson. 7. Fortune and Raines. 8. Mcßobie and Gordon. 9. Hughes and Richardson. 10. Twemlow and O’Kane. 11. Deaker and Hanan. 12. Wood and Hodgson. Women. 1. Misses Mahoney and Hallamore. 2. Misses Murdoch and Cutt. 3. Miss Rein and Mrs Hanan. 4. Misses Shand and Basstian. 5. Miss Shepherd and Mrs Prendergast. 6. Misses Fitzgerald. 7. Mesdames Clarkson and Salisbury. 8. Misses Mehaffey and Kelly. Men’s challenges resulted: Barnes and Breen beat Jones and Shand, 4/6, 6/4, 6/4; Strang and Cockerill beat Padget and Graham 6/2, 9/7; McCallum and Gray beat Strang and Cockerill, 6/1, 9/7; Deaker and Hanan beat Wood and Hodgson, 6/2, 6/3; Fortune and Raines beat Mcßobie and Gordon, 6/1, 6/2. In 1 the women’s section the results were: Misses Mahoney and Hallamore beat Misses Murdoch and Cutt, 4/6, 6/4, 6/4; Miss Rein and Mrs Hanan beat Misses Shand and Basstian, 6/1, 6/0 and beat Miss Shepherd and Mrs Prendergast, 6/1, 6/0. Women’s Team in Australia. The six women players chosen by the New Zealand Lawn Tennis Association to compete in the New South Wales championships left for Sydney last week. They are Miss D. Nicholls (Wellington), Miss N. Beverley (Waikato), Miss D. Miller (North Otago), Miss T. Poole (Canterbury), Miss I. Poole (Canterbury), and Miss E. Rudkin (Canterbury). The New Zealand Association chose the players not so much from their position on’ the ranking list as from the value of the experience that will accrue to younger players. By the time these notes appear the New Zealanders will have commenced their match against New South Wales. On November 5 and 7 they oppose Sydney teams and from November 9 to 16 will

participate in the New South Wales championships. Miss Nicholls intends to compete in the Queensland and Victorian championships, but the rest of the team will probably return to the Dominion late in November. FOOT-FAULTS. Foot-faulting is far too common even among A grade players, and it is surprising how much ignorance there is about the foot-fault rules. Umpires should not hesitate to call fault when a breach occurs, for it is just as much a transgression of the rules as touching the net with the racket, which would cause no hesitation on the part of the man on the seat. Why there should be so much diffidence about foot-faulting players is not easy to understand, unless it be that there exists an unwritten law that it is unsporting to penalize in this way. Here are the rules which cover serving:— Immediately before commencing to serve, the Server shall stand with both feet at rest behind (i.e., farther from the net than) the base-line, and within the imaginary continuation of the centre mark and side-line, and thereafter until the service has been delivered the Server shall: (a) Not change his position by walking or running; (b) maintain contact with the ground; (c) keep both his feet behind the base-line. The service shall be delivered in the following manner:—The Server shall project the ball by hand into the air and then strike it with his racket, but a player with the use of only one arm may utilize his racket for such projection. The service shall be deemed to have been delivered at the moment of the impact of the racket and the ball. 'The service shalUbe delivered alternately from behind the right and left halves of the court, beginning from the right in every game. The ball served shall pass over the net and hit the ground within the Service-Court which is diagonally opposite, or upon any line bounding such Court, before the Receiver returns it.

The service is a fault: (a) If the Server commit any breach of Rules 6, 7, or 8; (b) if he miss the ball in attempting to strike it; (c) if the ball served touch a permanent fixture (other than the net, strap, or band) before it hits the ground. After a fault (if it be the first fault) the Server shall serve again from behind the same half of the Court from which he served that fault, unless it was a fault because he served from behind the wrong half, when he shall be entitled to deliver one service from behind the other half. A fault may not be claimed after the next service has been delivered. The Server shall not serve until the Receiver is ready. If the latter attempt to return the service, he shall be deemed ready. If, however, the Receiver signify that he is not ready, he may not claim a fault because the ball does not hit the ground within the limits fixed for the service.

The service is a let: (a) If the ball served touch the net, strap or band, provided the same be otherwise good; (b) if a service or fault be delivered when the Receiver is not ready (see Rule 11). In case of a let, the service counts for nothing, and the Server shall serve again, but a let does not annul a previous fault. NEW TENNIS BALL FOR 1936. A startling improvement has been made in the life of the modern tennis ball. A new close and tough untrimmed nap gives double efficient playing life. The only ball made with this new process is the 1936 Dunlop Fort Tennis Ball—adopted by the N.Z. Lawn Tennis Association for all its matches under its auspices for the 1935-36 season. Ask your sports dealer to show you the wonderful Dunlop Fort.—Advt.