BRILLIANT TENNIS

Taranaki Daily News, 12 November 1934, Page 7

BRILLIANT TENNIS

HUGHES DEFEATS PERRY EXCITING PLAY IN DOUBLES. ANGAS AND FRANCE PLAY WELL. THE ENGLISHMEN EXTENDED. By Telegraph—Press Association. Christchurch, Last Night. Even more brilliant in many respects than that of the first day, the tennis produced by the visiting English team, F. J. Perry, G. P. Hughes, Misses Round, Lyle and Dearman, at Wilding Park on Saturday afternoon aroused a large gallery of nearly 2000 Spectators to a high pitch of excitement and enthusiasm. To this feast of first-class play the New Zealand players who took part in the matches, D. G. France, C. Angas, Miss T. Poole and Miss E. Rudkin, made a worthy contribution. The men’s doubles match between Perry and Hughes and Angas and France that concluded the afternoon was one of the most brilliant exhibitions ever seen at Christchurch and invited comparison with the match at Wilding Park last year in which Perry and F. H. D. Wilde met the Australian Davis Cup pair Quist and Turnbull. The gallery saw Hughes gain his third successive victory over Perry in one of the finest singles ever seen at Christchurch. Miss Dearman beat Miss Rudkin in a game in which the local player offered stout resistance to her formidable opponent, and in a women’s doubles the combination of the young English Wightman Cup pair, Misses Lyle and Dearman, triumphed over an occasionally brilliant but ill-balanced team consisting of Misses Round and Poole. The scores were:— G. P. Hughes (England) beat F. J. Perry (England), 6—4, 3—6,. 6 —3. Miss E. M. Dearman (England) beat Miss T. Poole (Canterbury), 6—2, 6—l. F. J. Perry and G. P. Hughes beat C. Angas (Canterbury) and D. G. France (Wellington), 6—2, B—6, 6—4. Misses N. M. Lyle and E. M. Dearman(England) beat Miss D. E. Round (England) and Miss T. Poole (Canterbury), 6—3, 6-2. ■HUGHES’ MASTERLY DISPLAY. The most keenly anticipated match was the singles between Perry and Hughes, and it . more than justified expectations. Showing wonderful ball control, even when dealing with Perry’s most telling shots, Hughes directed the course of play for the greater part of the three sets. Undoubtedly he was helped by Perry’s errors. The Wimbledon champion certainly did not Show the machine-like accuracy and steadiness which is said to mark his play in championship events, but Hughes display nevertheless was masterly. His welldirected ground shots carried an infinite variety of spin, and with the greatest skill he limited Perry’s exploitation of his famous forehand drive to a minimum. Against a less active player than Perry Hughes’ ground strokes must have opened up the court for frequent easy volleys, but so quickly did Perry get into position for his returns that Hughes seldom had an easy- ball to deal with in the short court. He volleyed, however, with an accuracy and touch that delighted the gallery and frequently outclassed his team-mate in these sparkling duels. Hughes’ replies to Perry’s advances to the net also were effective, his returns, dipping quickly under he influence of heavy top spin, or floating deceptively with heavy cut or slice, were never easy to volley, and he frequently drove Perry back with well-tossed lobs. Perry’s brilliance showed in flashes. His beautifully produced ground strokes, with the forehand frequently played so close to the bounce of the ball that the stroke was more a half-volley than a drive, were seen to advantage in many long baseline rallies. Again the spectators revelled in the Englishman’s energy and speed of foot, but on Saturday he was opposed by a player no less agile than himself, and one who made fewer mistakes. It was not on Perry’s mistakes alone, however, that Hughes won, for the balance of “earned” points was in his favour, and his service, particularly in crucial games, was the more effective. NEW ZEALANDERS’ OPPOSITION. The women’s singles match between Miss Dearman and Miss Rudkin was, as could only be expected, one-sided, but the local player never relaxed her efforts in the battle against superior strokes and tactical ability. The tall English player used a telling forehand drive to good effect and supported her forceful backline play by decisive volleying. The women’s doubles match was not a very satisfactory event, although it produced much sparkling tennis. Misses Lyle and Dearman are England’s best doubles pair, and they brought to the game a combination and an understanding that could not have been possible between Miss Round and Miss Poole. In volleying and smashing Miss Poole was little inferior to the other three, but her ground strokes were very inaccurate. The New Zealand pair opposed to Perry and Hughes in the concluding match of the day, Angas and France, lifted their play to great heights to provide one of the most brilliant contests ever seen at Wilding Park. Perry, as Hughes stated in a later interview, played his best doubles match for a year, and in the service, the clever direction of his ground strokes and in the crispness of his volleying his partner was no whit inferior. Yet Angas and France were never outclassed and, as the scores indicate, 6—2, ’ B—6, 6—4, they offered splendid resistance to the English Davis Cup pair. It was a match of scintillating rallies, great recoveries and spectacular and sometimes amazing shots. Perry was here, there and everywhere. He was punching his service harder than in any previous match at Wilding Park, and if there was the least weakness in the New Zealanders’ returns he pounced on them with devastating smashes and hard-hit volleys. At times he took outrageous liberties in covering the full length of the net, and then Hughes frequently was called on to cover up the opening should Perry’s coup not immediately be successful. Hughes himself worked for position with less force but more subtlety, and having gained it was no less decisive in the kill. The New Zealanders disputed commanding position at the net throughout the three sets, driving the Englishmen back with thrustful drives and volleys and in turn forcing the Englishmen to put up weak shots that could be smashed or angle-volleyed for winners. They lacked the finish of their opponents, however, and indecisiveness in their smashing lost them a commanding lead in the second set.