TENNIS

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16571, 2 November 1921, Page 3

TENNIS

Three new clubs have applied for affiliation to the Canterbury Association, namely, St Paul’s (Papanui), Oxford and Prebbleton. The election of Mr W. N. Seay as president of tlie New Zealand Association is a compliment to Canterbury as well as to Mr Seay personally, and in view of the New Zealand championships at the United courts at the end of next month Mr Seay w ill be able to come in contact with plaj’ers from all parts of New Zealand. The Addington Club, which has five hard courts in use, proposes to lay down a sixth on land already belonging to the club. The extra court is to be financed by voluntary subscriptions among the club members, and already £SO is in hand. As the club’s existing courts are in perfect order. and there is also a volley board, the accommodation for tennis in this part if the city is well up to the average, yet the membership of 200. limited lastseason and this season is already too great-. One effect of this is to fill the courts in the very early mornings, as is the case in many other clubs. Learners’ evenings have been instituted at Addington and Tuesdays and Fridays are sut apart for last year’s and this year’s beginners. The practices are directed and controlled by senioi members who can be called on to coach the beginners either from the umpire’s seat or by playing in a set. This polkw promises to bring the early players quickly beyond that useless embryo stage when they are dependent on the charity, one might say, of more experienced players for any practice they may get. One result of encouraging young players was that tlie Labour Day handicap tournament w as won by one of last year’s beginners. Challenges are remarkably keen among club members. The club has dropped three or four of its best players from the A grade competition to give the \ounger men a chance. Cooper, Matthewson, Austin and Potter, tho present team, found the right kind of experience when they went down to the superior Opawa team last week. The largest asphalt club in New Zealand is Opawa, •which lias laid down two extra courts, and now has seven good, courts. The membership here, however, is also far too heavy, though not as bad as Addington. There were twenty-eight players on the courts at six o’clock last Friday morning, and it is reported that there is a big muster every morning, and needless to say every evening. The Labour Day tournament was extremely interesting, and on account of the heavy entries the singles had to be cut out. The ladies’ doubles lias been won by Misses Wilcox and Menzies, who beat Airs Lord and Miss Goodman, 9-2., Tho mixed doubles has reached the final, in which Geoff. Ollivier and ’Miss Saunders will play Patterson and Miss Wilcox. In the * men’s doubles A. I\. Hounsell and Robinson, in the final, will meet the winners of G. Ollivier and P. R. Harman and Hounsell and Tregear. Like other clubs Opawa has not entered in full strength for the A grade competition, and the shield, which has been held by the club since 1913, is likely to change hands this year. Although the opening of the grass court season at United has been greatly delayed by wet weather the courts are st 11 on the soft side. On Saturday they were too qoft for play, but the attendance was very large. The four top courts were not open for play, and at the close of the day all the courts were closed until this morning (Wednesday)- The nor’-westers over the week-end probably hardened th© courts considerably, but they are still too soft lor play, and as the greatest damage is usually done in the first fortnight it is to be hoped that they will not be rushed until they have had time to harden up. The Suburban Competition has attracted ten clubs, whose delegates have met the secretary (Air Wyon Stevens) in connect.on with the commencement of the matches on November 19. Mr J. Mercer, of Halswell, was chairman, and the other delegates present were:—Mes-rs J . Spicer (Paparua), J. K. Nichols, n (Papanui), Kepley (St Paul’s. Papanui), Pearce Woolston), H. Mullins (Riccarton Domain), F. J. O’Brien (Catholic Cathedral), and the Rev H. N. Roberts (Belfast). The other entrants, Prebbleton and Kaiapoi, could not send delegates. It was decided that- matches between four men and four ladies from each club should take place every second Saturday, starting on November 19. This, it was pointed out. would on’y < ntail tlie use of club courts once a month. It was unofficially dec ded to try and arrange B grade matches cm tlie some lines, to help on the younger players, Tlie secretary will arrange the draw, in a day or two. Under the heading, 11 Partnership Dissolved,” an Australian paper -ays:— ‘•'The agreement which provides that New Zetland and Australia shall pfay as one nation in the Davis Cup lawn tennis contests will expire on Apr 1 8, 1922. One of the provisions is that the agreement may bo terminated by either party by giving twelve months’ notice. This was done by New Zealand in April last. While the agreement will not have -expired by the date on wh ch entries will be received for the next contest, Australia and New Zealand will not ploy together again. In later contests, if New Zealand wishes to compete, the consent of two-thirds of the other competing nations will first have to he secured. Tis* however, is New Zealand has had no representation in an Australasian team since the death of Wilding.” Tlie extraordinary way in which tennis writers analyse the’ play in big matches in the United States cannot fail to have its effect not only in stimulating public interest in the game, but also in enabling the players to correct their faults and find out their greatest weaknesses. The operation of this scoring system is interesting in connection with the Davis Cup singles between Tilden and Schimidzu. The Jap. won the first two sets, and almost like Norton, in England, was within a couple of aces of winning the third set and the match, but he lost 5-7, and Tilden took the next two sets 6-2, 6-1. Some idea of Tilden*s remarkable play when he settled down to winning is shown by the stroke analysis with a margin of 46 earned points over Schimidzu, consisting partly of 50 place-

ments and 20 service aces. His record in the latter respect was marred by 10 double faults. In error making Tilden almost doubled the Japanese player’s figures in outs, but had eleven less nets. The following table shows how tlie American notation works. In stroke analysis the letters stand for : Nets, placements, outs, double faults, service aces, errors and earned points : FIRST SET, POINT SCORE. Tilden . . 6 9 4 1 3 7 4 4 0 0 1 0—33 5 Shimidzu . 47146911444 4—48 7 STROKE ANALYSIS. N. P. O. JJF. SA. E. Earned Tilden .12 9 ‘24 3 6 38 14 Snimidzu . 14 9 1 0 25 9 SECOND SET, POINT SCORE. Tilden . . .522412442 4—30 4 Shinn dzu . . 344244004 6—31 6 STROKE ANALYSIS. N. P. O. DF. SA. E. Earned Tilden 8 9 13 4 2 27 11 Shimidzu 9 4 10 0 0 19 4 THIRD SET, POINT SCORE. Tilden . . 51544453056 4—46 7 Schimidzu . 74311275434 1—42 0 STROKE ANALYSIS. N. P. O. DF. SA. E. Earned Tilden 34 15 17 2 1 33 10 Shimdizu IS 9 11 1 0 30 9 FOURTH SET, POINT SCORE. Tilden . . .424 2 6 4 4 4—SO 6 Shi mi dzu . . .1 4 2 4 4 1 0 2—lß 2 STROKE ANALYSIS. N. P. O. DF. SA. E. Earned Tilden . 7 11 8 14 16 15 Shi mi dzu 7 2 10 0 0 15 2 FIFTH SET, POINT SCORE. Tilden . . . .4 1 4 5 4 4 4—26 6 Shimidzu . . .0 423 1 2 o— l2 l STROKE ANALYSIS. N. P- O. DF. SA. E. Earned Tilden 2 6 S 0 8 10 14 Shimidzu 3 2 4 9 0 12 2 A blind draw in tennis is all very well, writes W. T. Tilden in the “ New York Herald,” but it is not always certain to bring the best players into the finals in an important national championship event. There is always the chance of a top heavy result with all or most of the ranking players in one half or the other. Such an outcome paves the way for startling upsets in that tlie men most likely to come through either kill each other off or are burned up in the bitter struggle** forced upon them on their way to the finals. A better arrangement, is to balance the talent. For example, could well be planned so that the No. 1 player of the previous season would he in the upper half and No. 2 in the lower. And the same policy should hold for at least the ten strongest entries. In short, each season would be a sort of qualifying round for the next. In that way the balance in play would be maintained and we would be fairly sure of having the two best players of the tournament meeting in the finals with something like an even amount of play to their credit. A fair deal i» tins, far better than leaving it all to luck. But tlie present plan makes it impossible to avoid serious conflicts. What better proof than the result of a like draw at the British Women’s Open Golf Championship at Tnrnberry, Scotland, when our own champion. Miss Alexa W. Stirling, was thus thrown into the lists against. Miss Cecil the British champion, in the first round. A similar situation brought Mrs Molla Mallory against Mdlle. Suzanne Lenglen in our recent women’s tennis championship. Matches of this kind, heralded for an entire season, bringing together the two greatest stars of two nations, are climatic and should come at that period of a tournament. Thev are not cur-tain-raisers. What is to nrevent Billy Johnston and myself meeting in the first round and the winner facing the victor in the next bracket, where R. Vorris Williams would he pitted against Vincent if luck is always to determine the arrangements? The point is that no haphazard scheme making such drawn, possible should he tho rule. I hope such a plan wilt go the wav of the almost obsolete challenge round. Everyone is agreed that B. I. C. Norton, tlie young South African, is the most improved player in lawn tennis and that on the season’s records he stands first in this’country (writes the London correspondent of the “Star” under date September 22). But he is a rather mystifying player. Ho ought to have beaten Tilden in the champion- ! ship at Wimbledon, but having gained i a complete mastery he faded away and I let the American an*tel 1 a win- In tho ! last of the year’s tournaments, namely ; that at Eastbourne, where the South of England championships are decided, ho seemed to have the easiest of tasks to make this title his own. He galloped through to the final and in the deciding match he was opposed by the veteran Indian Davis Cup player, M. Sleem. We thought Norton would hit his opponent off the court, as the saying goes, and that it would be a straight, set victory for him. Sleem is a baseline pkaver with a rather soft return and all that Norton would have to do would _be to go to the net and •‘kill.” Judge the surprise wren Norton lost the first set without winning n single game. Not only did he not go up to yolley in his usual style, but his ground shots became even more flabby than those of his opponent. Perhaps Norton sot cut with the intention of snowing that he could play the Indian’s patient, slow game and still win. If this were so it was a grave error in tactics as the result of the opening set proved. He managed to take set number two, but Sleem wont ahead in tho third. Up to this point the tennis was of the dullest description. The men were doing little more than pat the ball over the net from the back of the court. Norton took the last two sets and the championship, but as tho vounger man he stayed the distance the better and it was this advantage which chiefly enabled him to win. Whilst Norton was a very unenterprising opponent. Sleem was entitled to credit for bis performance, for there was no doubt that he compelled the South African (o adopt methods which did not suit his style. Indeed, having started in the wrong way it was clear that Norton rouhfnot change the order of play, and in these circumstances lie perhaps did as well as he was able to do. Just ns Norton stands out as the leading player among the men Miss Ryan is supreme amongst the women. She won the Eastbourne final with the loss of only three games in the two sets to Mrs Peacock, and the solitary defeat k,bo has sustained this season was against Mile. Lenglen at Wimbledon. In the chamoionship Miss Ryan made the poorest of fights. Indeed, it is not too much to sav that she was so highly impressed by the t dents of the French <r irl that she was* beaten before she wont into the cmuM.