BRILLIANT SUN FOR BIG TENNIS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17729, 26 December 1925, Page 7

BRILLIANT SUN FOR BIG TENNIS.

BRIGHT SCENES ON GRASS COURTS AT UNITED CLUB.

Rain on Christmas Day merely crisped the grass and flowers at the beautiful United Courts, on which the New Zealand tennis championships were commenced at 9.30 a.m. to-day. The courts rolled out hard and true, and visitors from all parts, and particularly Auckland, were agreeably surprised at the condition of the courts, fifteen of which were in use. The principal absentees from the tournament were Dr Laurenson and A. W. Sims, both previous champions, H. L. Robson, and E. D. Andrews. Mrs Melody, holder of the ladies’ singles title, was also an absentee.

Play opened with the first round of the men’s singles, and in actual results there were few surprises, and few matches that went beyond three sets. One of the exceptions was Aitken’s defeat of Page on the top court, a fine driving match. Men’s Championship Singles. First Round. E. 15. TV. Smith beat E. J. Hill 6-1, 6-0, 6-0. T. .A. Seay beat F. O. Schmidt, 6-1, 6-1, 6-2. T. W. Patterson beat E. H. Orbell, 6-0, 6-2,.6-4. J. C. Peacock b».at C. Angas, 6-2, 6-3, 6-1. O. G. France beat D. C. Johnston, 7-5, 6-4. 6-0. F. S. Wilding beat A. K. Turner, 6-3, 6-0. 6-4. X. R. C. Wilson beat E. G. Burn, 7-5, 6-1, 6-2. .J. X'. Lowry beat A. B. Loughnan, 6-2, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4. A. Wheeler beat A. L. Wood, 6-2, 6-4, 6-3. E. Griffiths beat S. W. Field, 6-3, S-C, 6-4. G. G. Aitkcn beat V. E. Page. 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5. Warne Pearse beat A. H. M’Donald, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4. T. X. Johnston beat R. T. Colthart, 6-2, 6-2, 6-4. E. L. Bartleet beat R. H. Tawhiri, jun., 6-1. 6-2, 6-2. R. M’L. Ferklns beat J. G. Fenniston, 6-1, 6-1, 6-2. •T. B. Parker beat It. Browning, 6-2, \V. S.’Somerville beat E. F. Gore, 6-2, 6-2, 6-0. K. J. Walker beat S. Lamb, 6-0, 5-7, 6-3, 6-1. P. Haege beat W. A. Scott, 6-3, 5-7, 6-1. Scott retired. R. 11. Donovan beat Moore, 6-1, S-6. 6-4. L. G. Knott beat R. A. Row, 9-7, 6-0. 6-2. S. E. Jackson beat N. Matson, 6-2, 6-2. 6-2. P. G. Greenwood beat Nixon 3-6, 6-3, G-». 6-2. B. R. Louglinan beat V, X. Hubble 6-4. 4-6, 2-6. 6-1. 6-1. A. <\ .Johns beat S. F. Fenton 6-4, 1-G, 6- 6-4. C. J. Dickie beat J. C. Cullman 6-0, 7- 6-1. A. L. France beat R. H. Tait 6-3, 6-3, 6-2. M. L. Lampo beat H. Ford 6-2, 6-1, Second Round. W. Sheppard beat F. F. Cotterill by default. J. R. Parker beat Iv. J. Walker, G-2, 7-5, 6-0. T. A. Seay beat T. W. Patterson, 6-1, E. F. Bartleet beat TV. S. Somerville, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2. A. Wheeler beat F. S. Wilding. G-4, 6-4. 6-1. G. Ollivicr beat F. G. Knott, 6-0, 6-4, G-2. G. G. Aitkcn beat Warne Pearse, 6-3. 6-3, 6-3. R. M’F. Ferkins beat S. E. Jackson, T- 5, 6-2, 6-3. Ladies’ Championship Singles. First Round. Miss M. Speirs beat Miss T. Romans, 6-1, 6-0. Miss Wake beat Miss Marion MacFarlane, 6-3. 4-6. 6-2. Miss E. Travers beat Miss M. Smee 6-1, 6-1. Miss M. Ward beat Miss D. Nicholls 2-6, 3-1. Miss Nicholls retired. Miss E. M. Ballantyne beat Miss B. Cc-tterill 6-1, 6-4. Miss J. E. Ramsay boat Miss M. Gibson 5-7, 6-1, 6-2. c Miss M. Tracy beat Mrs Sharpe 6-1, Miss A. G. X. Reed beat Miss M. Cato S-6, 4-6, 6-1. Ladies’ Championship Doubles. First Round. Misses R. Knight and I>. Xie.holls beat Misses 11. Turner and H. Macdonald, 6-0,

NOTES ON THE PLAY.

SMYTH CLEANS UP HILL. Smyth, whose prospects in the tournament are considered very bright, easily accounted for J,. J. Mill, of New South Wales, and formerly third man for Oxford University. Ilill made a

few good rallies, but Smvth only lost one game. He entered from Wellington, though for the last five years he has been at Otago Universitv. SEAY NOT EXTENDED. Seay was not extended to beat F. O. Schmidt, of Riccarton Domain, in three straight sets. Schmidt, who is not a grass court player, played well, with a good length, and his backhand strokes were an asset, but Seay’s s\jperiority was manifest right through. WILDING IMPROVES. The play of Wilding in his match against Turner, the young Auckland player, is regarded as an improvement on his recent form, and he won in three straight sets. He was driving too strongly and served well, getting in a number of aces. Turner volleyed pretty well, particularly in the first set, but as the game wore on he made more mistakes, and he did not go in so often. GOOD DRIVING. Playing against A. B. Loughnan, wlioin he defeated after four sets, J. N. Lowry depended on his rather severe forehand drive to Loughnan's backhand. When Loughnan forced the game he seemed to do better, but when he steadied down Lowry came at him straight away. Generally it was a very even game. ST£ADIN“ESS WINS. Some surprise was caused when E. G. Burn, of the United Club, in a match against N. R. C. Wilson (Wellington) carried the first set to 5-7, but after this he seemed to lose con-

fidence. Wilson had the better style, and he kept a good length all through,

while Bum put up a lot of short stuff. Wilson had no difficulty in winning the second and third sets. LONG FIRST SET. Both Wallace and Hale seemed to be off form at the start of their match, which was eventually won by Wallace. Both occasionally got brilliant shots, and at other times missed easy ones. The first set was a very long one, the first game going to deuce seven times before being won by Wallace, who eventually took the set 10-8. As the game proceeded his play improved, and the second and third sets went to him easilv. BASELINE GAME. Driving from the baseline was a characteristic of the match between Aitkcn and Page (Otago). Page seemed to be troubled by the bounce of the ball, but got some splendid drives and brilliant backhand shots. Aitken, who showed better timing, made some great recoveries, and repeatedly found the line with a tremendous forehand drive which pulled him through. YOUNG PLAYERS. One of the most promising boys in Canterbury, Angas, was up against the veteran, J. C. Peacock, of Wellington, and although he got in some good shots he was outplayed. Another case in which experience won over vouth was the Green woodNixon match, although in this case Nixon took the first set off the elder player. R. IT. Tawhiri, jun., who met Bartleet, has the makings of a good player, but of course he was not equal to the play of the Auckland man. Tawhiri has some nice strokes, but might have kept better length. He made some good returns. VARIED GAME. There was a good bright game between Walker and Lamb, of Auckland. The first set Walker took easily, but Lamb struck better form in the second and both . men drove and volleyed well. Walker won by clean driving and crisp volleying. COMPETITOR RETIRES. The Victorian, P. Haege, won from Scott, of Timaru, who retired after the third set. The features of the winner’s play were his forehand driving and smashing. Scott won the second set 7-5. but lost the third 6-1, and then withdrew as he had been suffering from an injtfred shoulder. Mrs Scott who is also playing in the tournament is better known as Miss Jean M'Laren. HARD HITTING. France and D. C. Johnston gave an exhibition of hard driving and hitting. The first two sets were very evenly contested. France showing a little more finish. The third set saw France placing well and he went out the winner in three straight sets, winning the third to love. KEEN CONTEST. Knott, who beat R. A. Row in three sets is a member of the Auckland team. Row played very well, and in the third set was leading 6-5, b\it Knott took the next three games. He drove very hard throughout the game. The first set which went to 9-7 was a really good go. OLLIVIER A STARTER. The holder of the singles title, G. Ollivier, announced to-day that although he was not feeling too fit he would be a starter. He plays in the second round when he meets Knott, of Auckland. NORTHERNERS’ WIN. In his match against A. L. France, R. 11. Tait, of United, played excellently at times, getting in some nice forehand drives. France was off form a bit at the start: after he made a recovery he dominated most of the play. Wheeler’s steadiness was his ace card in his match against Wood. The latter, although he played brilliantly at times, was very erratic. Wheeler is from the Wanganui Centre. Griffiths (Auckland) and Field fought out a base line duel, neither showing any outstanding feature. EXPERIENCED LADY PLAYER. The Wellington player Miss Travers had no trouble in defeating Miss Smee, losing only two games. Her all-round experience, coupled with good shots, proved too much for her younger opponent. However, Miss Smee played well, and produced steady forehand shots. MISS WAKE WINS. Miss Wake, Canterbury’s third lady, had a very solid game against Miss Marion Macfarlane, it being marked by

long driving. Miss Wake won the first set 6-3, and at 4 all in the second was leading 40-love. Miss Macfarlane got

to deuce with some lucky shots, and after deuce had been called four times Miss Wake drove out. This reverse seemed to shake her a bit, aifd she lost the set, but in the next set she played a wonderfully steady game, waiting for the shot to drive to Miss Macfarlane's backhand. She really made fewer errors than her opponent in the long driving rallies. MISS SPEIRS IN FORM. Miss Speirs, in winning 6-1, 6-0. beat a lady who has proved a very stead3' player in ’Varsity tournaments, Miss Romans, but Miss Speirs gave her no chance, volleying, smashing and driving to her backhand—a very sparkling exhibition which suggested that Miss Speirs is right on her game. LADIES’ TUSSLE. A great fight was put up by Miss Ferrier against Mrs Scott, the latter eventually winning 7-5, 8-6. Generally* Mrs Scott held a slight advantage in the score, but many times when she got within striking distance of finishing off Miss Ferrier would even up. Mrs

Scott owed her win to the fact that she put more pace in her shots. Mrs Scott was runner-up for the New Zealand singles championship last year. A FIVE-SET GO. B. B. Loughnan, Canterbury, and Hubble, Birkenhead-Northcote, were engaged in a very even struggle with plenty of incident throughout. Both were driving well, Loughnan proving superior. The game had run to live sets, the first of the tourney to do so. PROLONGED STRUGGLE. Johns, Eden and Epsom, and Denton. Canterbury, fought out a hard struggle from the base lines, with occasional volleying duels at the net, in which Johns was superior. Denton cracked up after a long fight in the eighth game of the fourth set, which he was leading 4-3. A CLOSE CONTEST. There was an interesting match between Miss Ramsay and Miss Gibson. Though Miss Ramsay won, it was not by any means a very decisive victory, 7-5, 1-6, 6-2. Miss Gibson has a beautiful forehand drive, which she used to advantage in the second set, winning easily. In the third set she appeared to be cautious. SECOND ROUND RALLIES. A fine exhibition was provided between Parker and Walker in the second round; at times both men played brilliantly. In the long run Parker proved the steadier: his placing was better and he scored with splendid drives down the line. Walker made a good show in the second set, but went down badly in the third. Wilding was defeated by Wheeler (Wanganui) in three sets. The match provided some good rallies, but a number of games went to Wheeler rather easily. He scored with passing shots and “kept a good length. Ilis service was good, and he also gained points by going into the net. G. G. Aitken, Canterbury, fought a steady baseline contest with Pearse, Temuka, winning on his superior placing. SMYTH AGAIN. Further evidence of Smyth's standard as a player was seen in his defeat of Wilson, Wellington’s first man. He was the steadier and played more brilliantly. He lobbed A ery judiciously on occasions when Wilson came in. Both men played good tennis. In the second set Smyth went off and lost, but he won the third and fourth 6-1, 6-1. SEAY AND PATTERSON. Seay accounted for Patterson, 6-1, 6-3, 7-5. At first Patterson was right off, but he improved in the second set. and. was brilliant in the third. Seay just managed to win the third. Entries for the Wanganui tournament on January 1,2 and 4 are being received up till Wednesday evening by Mr M. L. Lampo, who is plajring at the New Zealand championships.