TENNIS GEMS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18341, 19 December 1927, Page 12

TENNIS GEMS.

MATCHES AT KOOYONG. i

In the Victorian championships just completed at Kooyong, several matches stood out above the rest (says the Melbourne “Globe”).

The two games that Dr I. D. MTunes played against the Davis Cup candidates, H. Hopman and E. F. Moon, were gems of brilliancy. G. L. Patterson’s fighting recovery against R. Q. Cummings, when he seemed to be beaten, was a splendid example of grim determination and a refusal to acknowledge defeat, and still further stamps .the Australian and Victorian champion as one of the greatest match players in the history of the game. And he further emphasised this by his victory over Crawford in the final. The game between Hopman and MTnnes was full of brilliant and exciting tennis. Hopman played well—very well indeed—and he would have beaten nearly any other player in the tournament, but he was unfortunate in meeting MTnnes on one of the days which, alas! have happened too seldom recently, when perfect strokes flow in a continuous stream from his racquet. Whefi in form, the harder the ball comes to him the more MTnnes likes it, and Hopman found his fastest shots returned like a flash. At one stage the New South Wales colt made a tentative effort to slow tip the game, but MTnnes hit the few slow shots he tried for winners. This shook Hopman’s confidence, and he reverted to the faster game. MTnnes was hitting the ball just a sfiade more quickly and getting a slightly better length, and this just made the difference between them. Hopman lost both the first and second sets on a double fault, and at match point in the third his second serve hit the net .but trickled over for a let.

Freshened by Rest. Against Moon, MTnnes played even better than against Hopman, but he found the opposition stronger, and it seems that he was lucky that the rain came in the third set, when Moon had two sets in hand. When they resumed MTnnes was fresh again, and the heavy balls suited his style of game. He uses practically no spin, and the flatly-hit balls kept low and made tremendous pace off the court. Anyway, it was a splendid performance to beat a player of Moon’s calibre, and on the other hand it was no disgrace to go under to MTnnes playing at his best. Cummings was confident that hr. could beat Patterson, and had he possessed a little more stamina, and been up against a. less determined fighter he might easily have done so. In the first three sets Patterson’s length was short; whereas Cummings was driving well on both hands, and passing the Victorian at the net. The New South Welshman won the first set, slackened a little in the second, and lost it, but took the third.

In the fourth set Cummings went for everything and by good all-round play won the first four games, and later led 5-2 and match point. Here Patterson showed his grit, and, concentrating on every shot, lie kept re-

turning the ball in spite of Cummings’s every effort. The Victorian gradually crept up on his opponent, and eventually took the set to even the score. In the final set, Cummings led 3-1, and was nearly 4-1. A drive deep to Patterson’s backhand at game point had the big man in trouble, but he managed to chop it into the air, where the wind caught it and made it swerve almost the width of the court. Cummings missed the smash, and with that his chance was gone. lie was very tired, and Patterson, realising this, played a series of drop shots to which his opponent, if he did manage to reach them, could make no effective reply.