LAWN TENNIS

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIII, Issue 20894, 25 November 1937, Page 8

LAWN TENNIS

SENIOR GRADE GAMES COMMENTS ON FORM In the match Wai-iti v. Highfield, Miss D. Vesty (Wai-iti) and Miss D Shirtcliff contested a dopr singles. Displaying good ground strokes Miss Vesty was nevertheless inferior to her opponent who should have finished a few games ahead. Miss Vesty is a vastly improved player and considering that Miss Shirtcliff is ranked firstin South Canterbury, it speaks volumes for her standard of tennis that she was beaten only by the odd game. If the Wai-iti player had remained on the base line the game might easily have gone her way as her excursions to the net were very unprofitable, A general indecisiveness in her volleying and smashing was not due to

any fundamental weakness in her strokes but rather to lack of development in that part of her game. Miss Shirtcliff’s performance was characterised by steadiness and she promises to maintain her position at the top of the ranking list. Although Miss McFarlane (Highfield) covered the court well and hit quite a number of winners she was unable to maintain a degree cf consistency sufficient to cope with the heavily sliced and cut strokes of Miss E. Fraser. Playing with much verve and abandon Miss McFarlane displayed good ground strokes, but lacked the knowledge to employ them properly. Erratic play lost as many points for this player as those that were scored against her by her opponent. If • —ipctent coaching could bo obtained. Miss McFarlane would develop into a sound A grade player. Miss Fraser possesses a style that imposes its own limitation, but she is nevertheless a difficult player to defeat. Lack of speed is the natural consequence of a sliced game and although upsetting to the average player this type of play is made short work of by class performers. In South Canterbury, however, Miss Fraser has few peers. Opposed to Mrs Guy (Wai-iti), whose steadiness in her forte, Mi-s Raymond exhibited an attractively free style and much speed. However, her service was more a liability than an asset as she gave away many points by serving double faults. Little attempt was made by this player to effect good placements. With much more experience Mrs Guy had an effective counter for the haphazard type of game played by her opponent, and ran out a worthy winner 7-2. Like her team mate, Miss McFarlane, good coaching would quickly mould Miss Raymond into a really attractive player. Miss M. Vesty (Wai-iti) has a reliable service and a game that would benefit greatly from a little more speed. It is no doubt a good plan to develop length and placement first, as these are the main essentials to a good game, and acquire speed afterwards.

Miss J. Johnston can lay claim to steadiness, but lack of a good length allowed Miss Vesty t' exercise better control and annex the match 7-1. With the exception of Miss D. Shirtcliff the Highfield ladies were substantially beaten by Wai-iti, “ut nevertheless they gave the impression that if they practised methodically and were coached efficiently they could be welded into a strong combination capable of testing the best. Men’s Singles T. Morrison (Wai-iti) was too solid for D. Unwin, whom he defeated 9-4. Although at times Unwin unleashed some unreturnable services, at the same time he was too inconsistent and slow moving for his better equipped and more mobile opponent. A tendency to slice every shot militated against the necessary speed to make winners of a number of shots. If Unwin could correct this fault his game would improve to the point where he would be able to extend most players. Lack of effective ground strokes made Robertson (Highfield) an easy victim for S. Blanchard. A tendency to advance to close quarters after a shot of poor length is a common fault of the Highfield player. Against an opponent with accurate passing shots this is a suicidal policy. The first requisite to net play is the necessary ground strokes to enable the position to be gained before smashing and volleying can be practised. If Robertsc- devoted his energies to acquiring good ground strokes he would then be in a position to make most use of the forecourt game. Exaggerated top spin on his forearm drive makes G. McFarlane (Highfield) very liable to error when negotiating a fast return. It must be remembered that the more spin that Is imparted to a ball the more vertical—ir relation to the line of flight—is the shot made. In other words, the tting surface is reduced by the angle at which the ball Is hit. Instead of the racket travelling towards the ball in the line of the ball’s flight !‘ Is brought up or down across the line of flight to impart spin. It is obvious then than the hitting surface when giving spin to the ball, is reduced to a fraction of that used in striking a straight ball. Spin has its uses in

tennis, but any tendency to exaggerate this type of game is a course that is fraught with the dangers of inconsistency.

W. Lewis is a player who has improved considerably. In his game against McFarlane he maintained good control and exhibited a usefu' knowledge of positional play. More crispness in his volleys would be an invaluable asset to his type of play. Wai-iti are fortunate in gaining a player ot his calibre as he will prove a decided acquisition. A marathon 9-8 game which went to the Highfield player, A. NW. revealed that there was Utt! between B. Kerr and his opponent. In making his strokes Kerr gets too close to the ball with a result that he has developed a cramped style. Half of the mistakes made in tennis are due to faulty footwork. When making a stroke a player should have his feet firmly planted so that the body is turned at a right angle to the net. If this is not done a player is forced to make the stroke into his body with a result that there is lack of freedom in stroking and, furthermore, the shot cannot be played correctly. If this suggestion was practised by Kerr on the volley board he would then acquire the fundamental for improving his stroke making.

In spite of his lack of reach Nicoil managed to execute some really fine volleys. Generally speaking his game lacks punch and a coach is needed to supervise the building of his game.