TENNIS.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20539, 14 February 1935, Page 15

TENNIS.

How to Serve the CannonBall. NOTES BY “BASELINE." Ewin showed us the value of a cannon-ball serve. Kay could not handle it any better than Dymond. There was little in Ewin’s game apart from his serve. If there is one stroke more than another that requires cultivating in Canterbury, it is the serve. This is how Ewin does it: First of all, he has height and uses it. It would be no use Barnett or Patterson attempting a cannon-ball service. Ewin started to play tennis when he was eight years old, and it is to this that he owes his lithesomeness. There can be no revolution in style for older players, but our juniors can learn. Ewin gets his pace in two ways- Once he has started his racquet moving there is no pause. He brings it up, starting slowly and gradually inceasing the pace. The stroke has a rhythmic acceleration, and after the ball is hit the racquet continues at arm’s length down to near the ground, and follows upward again to near where the stroke w r as started. The racquet appears to be held fairly loosely, and there is no check in the finish. As the ball is hit, Ewin throws his hips into the shot after the same manner as a golfer gets length into his drive. With Dymond, and with most players, the racquet is brought up, there is a pause, and then the ball is struck. With Ewin there was no pause. With our tennis players the racquet finishes quickly, but that is not the case with Ewin. Kay is a graceful player. His footwork was a delight to watch. He is a boxing champion as well as a tennis star. To see him retrieve a lob was a lesson in technique. He did not chase it. He merely turned quickly and, in two strides, was there. Facing the ball and with his back to the net, he hit up and backwards. Back the ball came high and deep. Kay’s favourite method of point-winning was to bring his opponent in with a short-angled ball and then whip a good length one to the corner. He could do this on either hand. He showed Angas points in volleying. Kay put all his volleys on the backline. ♦.* Angas is a great player. We can always rely on him to put up a good game against any visitor, po matter of what calibre. He may lose, but he never lets us down. Dymond was unfortunate. Ewin’s service was playable, and Dymond put many important balls a couple of inches oyer the back line. Miss Berry won the handicap singles at the Avonside Club. She was on “owe 15,” and Mrs Sharpe, the other finalist, was on “owe 40.” It was a good game. Miss Berry won 9-7. Little progress has been made recently with the handicap events at Linwood. In the semi-final of the junior championships V. Cowper beat R. Green 6-4, 6-4. Cowper meets V. Hammond in the final. Entries are being called for the club championships at Edgeware. The present ladder positions are:—Men; J. N. Griffiths 1. K. M'Keague 2, A. J. Bennetts 3, R. W. Joyce 4, W. Clothier 5, A. R. Petersen 6. Women: Miss M. Armstrong 1. Miss M. Legg 2, Miss A. Douglas 3, Miss M. Richardson 4, Miss S. W. W Igmore 5, Mrs R. W. Forgie 6. At Wilding Park the Saturday before the visit of the Victorian players practically all the comment on the proposed match was hostile. The players objected to the competition matches being postponed, and there is no doubt that b een played there would have been little difference to last Saturday s gate. How many senior players were there Were there twenty of the 200 A grade players present? The Victorians, good as they were, did not justify the competition matches being put off—at least, that is what the players apparently thought. 55 M In a ranking match for twentieth place on the Canterbury ranking list, D. Martin beat N. Franklin, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3. The Auckland Association has accepted March 16 and 17 as the dates for the Wilding Shield^jnatch. The New Zealand Association has picked E. D. Andrews and C. Malfro.v to represent the Dominion in the Davis Cup matches. Angas and France evidently are not eligible because they live here. Mr J. .Squire, secretary of the Competitions . Committee, was wrongly* credited in last week's notes with stating that a team could not be filled with

players from a lower grade. The position is that a team in a particular grade cannot be filled with players wno liave played three matches in another section of that grade. On the eve of the section final Mr X. Franklin, secretary of the Tennis Club, received an anonymous letter criticising the positions of the men in the team and inferring that they were not placed in tlie order of the ladder. Mr Franklin states that the Opawa team plays in the order of the club ranking list, and that the club is one of the exceptions in the competition, in that tne same eight players nave played in every match. :: To-night at United R. Bell plays C. F. Remold in the final of the singles handicap. Recently Miss LX Dickey reached the semi-final of the women s singles. Miss Dickey (owe 15 2-6) beat Miss Edmonds (owe 4-6) 7-5, 6-2. The others still in are Misses Pyne and Seymour and the winner of the m a tell between Misses Senior and Sherris. In the championships C. F. Penfold beat R. Browning, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 (Browning retired); W. it. Robinson beat C. it. Ugier, 1-6, b-0, 6-3, 6-2. In the doubles M. G. Somerville and Young beat Bain and Hamilton, 6-1, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2; A'Court and Robinson beat Armstrong and Treeby, 7-5, 12-10, 1-6, 10-8; Arnold and Mercer beat Donovan and Williams, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, 4-6, 6-1. In the women’s singles Miss Rudkin beat Miss Cannon, 6-1, 6-1; Miss Gould beat Mrs Peppier, 6-1, 4-6, 6-1. In the combined doubles Arnold and Miss I. Poole beat Loughnan and Miss Cannon, 4-6, 6-1, 6-1; Ogier and Miss Dickey beat M. Somerville and Miss Flood, 6-3, 6-1. The position to date of the inter-club matches is as follows:—Next Saturday Cathedral I. meet Opawa I. in Section i. and Edgeware I. meet. Waimairi on Section 11. This will decide the section winners. In Section 111. Opawa 11. meet Spreydon. Opawa have five wins to Spreydon’s four, and if Spreydon should win the Competitions Committee will “ make for the bush,” because the win will bring three teams level, in Section IV. there may be trouble, too. Woolston 11. lead by one match and play Oxford Terrace. If Oxford Terrace win three teams will be together. If Opawa 11. and Woolston 11. win the section semifinals will be played on Saturday week. In the B grade Shirley, in Section 1., lead from Linwood. Shirley have yet to play a hard match against Cathedral. The draw gives three more rounds. In Section 11. Barrington lead from VVaimairi and Elmwood. Barrington have not played Waimairi. Three more rounds are to be played. In the C grade St Mary’s have a clear lead of two matches from Riccarton in Section 1., and St Mary’s have only to meet the rather weak Spreydon team. In Section 11. Heathcote have a good lead over Sumner. Heathcote have not much opposition in their last match. In the D grade North Linwood, in Section T., are one point ahead of Mount Pleasant. In the last round North Linwood meet Avonside Church and should win. In Section IT. Yaldhurst lead with Linwood and Linwood ,i?, odist close up. In the last round Yaldhurst meet Linwood Methodist.