BIG TENNIS

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 237, 27 December 1927, Page 15

BIG TENNIS

(Continued from Page 14.) CHAMPION CONTESTS TO-DAY’S RESULTS Press Association. CHRISTCHURCH, To-day. -fho New Zealand Tennis champion.hins were continued in beautiful leather at Wilding Park. Play be- '' a t 9.30 w ith the first round of the men's doubles. The scores were as fo!IoW s: Walker and Angas beat Cratvshaw and .. Somerville. a—o. 6—3. 6—3; Knott and itort beat W. Somerville and R. Tait, 1 4 B—6.8 —6. 6—l; Sheppard and Robinson Penlington and Dawson, 6—l, 6—l, . Greenwood and Goss beat Wood and bv default; Borrows and Wilding heat Fleming and Hilden, 6—2, 6—3, B—4; Kaiae and Coutl beat Renton and Cullman, 6—4, 6 —2, 6—l; Loughnan and r eughnan beat McDougall and Sumpter, ; 1 6—l, UV—S: Peacock and Wilson J«t Smithson and Searle, 6—l, 6—3, *-1. Semi-Pinal Potter and Griffiths beat Nield and Johnston, 6-—4, 6—i 3. Semi-fl nal —Nicholson and Grant beat jjayr and Johns 6—o, 5—6, 7—5. MEN'S SINGLES Fourth Round. Griffiths beat Stallworth}-, 6—4, fi—s ; Johns beat Hardy, 5—6, 6—l, 7—5; Hayr beat R- B Potter, 6—o, 6—o; Nicholson beat Tonhs. 6—2, 6—2. Semi-Final Griffiths beat Johns, 6—5, 6— 2, Nicholson beat Hayr, 6—2, 6—4. WOMEN'S SINGLES Semi-Final Miss A. Johns beat Miss C. Rrvant, fi_s, 6—o;_ M. Potter beat Miss R. Johns, 6— o, 6—3. WOMEN’S DOUBLES First Round.—. Mrs. Adams and Miss Tracy beat Misses Jones and Dallas, b—4, •—l* Knott and Sturt, the present men’s doubles champions, were slow to begin igainst Tait and Somerville, but they finished convincingly. Crisp volleying was a feature of the match. Peacock and Wilson were far superior to Smithson and Earle, two young Dlayers. Semi-final. —Misses Knell and Walker heat Misses Knott and Fletcher o—6, 6—l. ®—l--.—Hilton and Miss Johns heat D. Andrews and Miss Bryant, 6—l, 6-5.

PERFORMANCES REVIEWED

' By Wayfarer; (Special to THE SUN.) * CHRISTCHURCH, To-day. Although the earlier matches of the New Zealand tennis championships have provided a quota of thrills and surprises, there were not many “boilovers.’* Several players got serious 'rights in the first and second rounds of the men’s singles, in which no less than 48 matches were played. If there is one entrant who can justly lay claim to having had the heavy end of the stick in tire d-raw in recent years, it is young R. McL. Ferkina, of Wellington. In each of the past four years he has had the misfortune to bump into Geoff Ollivier in either the first or second round, and i nly a motor-car bumper would be -of much avail against the Canterbury favourite just now. If he onlsr makes up his mind, Ollivier has the record for the number of wins in the men’s singles broken, but will he? Edgar Bartleet, as most of us thought he would, disposed of B. G. dreenwood. Some of ‘the latter’s iriends have had a slight attack of pip” because I ventured to anticipate this. I would hasten to say that the Canterbury man put up a great fight, taking one set 6 —3, despite the fact that because of business ties he is shy” of practice. Certainly the most thrilling and probably the best game of the day was between the two Christchurch lads, Seay and Angas. For the first three seta Seay, while playing well, only played as well as Angas, who was calling the tune, w’ould let him. The younger player, who has not yet the privilege of a vote, lost simply because he lacked court craft. If he had only seen that he was beating the agile Ivan by playing deep, soft stuff to his backhand, varied by an occasional heady drop shot, and avoided the net a* if it had been plague-ridden, he must have won; but a few successes at the net tempted him, and he fell out of the championship. Angas will do great things before long, and if Wellington should survive in the challenge by Auckland for the Anthony Wilding Shield—and they are a hot bunch when augmented by Sima—the Canterbury lads will make them sit up and think in the capital city.

The popular John Peacock is a marvel, lie is at least 50, and to be so fit, at the end of two hot-stuff iives ®t matches, was wonderful. If only bis arm does not give out, Noel Wilson may be able to atone later for his disappointing play to-day. I am sorry he went out, for I had a secret hope that he might reach the final. He’s Sot the stuff, and can and will do better if he will not be disheartened, and worry about what some people say ai *>ut him. Bartleet was too hot for the lithe Alec Wallace, the ever-smiling. The returned Auckland lady. Miss Marjory Maefarlane, has surely improved. She hits a stronger, deeper ball, and uses her head more, but I didn't see anything of the new drop s hot she Is reputed to have achieved, fcne beat her friend, Mrs. Buchanan, *llO used to be known, more familiarly, Molly Cato, with ease, but the latter ‘acks practice. Miss Speirs went well, will go further, but Mrs. K. Adams * ot bustled at times by Miss Sowden, p Ur j iver sity champion, while had Mrs. *niington not been apparently sufferog from a cold she might have given ~ iss ~VY ake, a seeded player, a shock.