LAWN TENNIS.

Wairarapa Age, 7 January 1926, Page 6

LAWN TENNIS.

THE PAHIATUA FINALS. MASTERtCn /LAYERS’ FORM. Describing the finals of the New Year tennis tournament at Pahiatua, the 11 Herald” says the sympathies of the crowd were with Swainson in the men’s singles final. B. P. Welch (Masterton) started strongly and with comparative easts took the first three games, but Swainson livened and took the fourth. He lost .the next on his own service to love and Welch pulled tjic next out nicely making the scores s—l in the Mastertonian’s favour. The local man got the next two but lost his service and the set in the ninth game. Welch was playing tne better tennis. For the most part he kqpt to the back line, putting more siting into his drives than Swainson whose volleying wns very indifferent. Welch opened the ball-in the second set hut lost his service after fleuce. Hewver, he took the next two games mainly on the other man’s errors. The fourth game went to deuee before Swainson took it—2 —2. Welch took the his service but the local man was equally effective with his and the games stood at three all. Swainson broke through Welch 7 ® service but Welch returned the compliment in the next game and still they wore level. There was keen, excitement at this stage and applause when Swainson took the ninth game,, won the next off his service, and the set The deciding set took on a different aspect. Whereas in the first two sets Swainson had indulged in lengthy rallies without much endeavour to impart punch to his shots, he now speeded up in fine fashion and had Welch almost continually on the run. He outdrove the Masterton man, and his accuracy to the corners was deadly. Game after game fell to his credit and with the scores s—o5 —0 in his favour fhe position was pretty hopeless for Welch. However, the latter livened and with a splendid effort took two games before the local man .ran out, fi—2.\ Miss Rua Gardner, of Wellington, annexed the ladies 7 singles, after a stern tussle with Mrs N. W. Groves (Masterton). In the sqmi-finals she prevailed over Mrs B. Booth (Cartertan) 9—i. Mrs Groves defeated Mrs Ray Potter (her sister) 9—5, and to put it in her own words—for the first time in her life. She followed this up with the defeat.of Mrs B. F. Smith (Pfiliherston North) 9 —6. Both play a very similar game and some very long rallies were witnessed. In the deciding set Miss Gardner was tne fresher of the two, and owed her victory to her ability to toss back everything that came her way. She had practically no match-winning stroke to rely on, but, remaining as qool as the proverbial cucumber, she sent back the returns till her opponent fell into the errors. She took an early lead of 4—2, but Mrs Groves pulled up to fbur all, then five all,, but from there the Wellington girl went steadily through.