AUSTRALIAN TENNIS PAIR BEATEN

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 83, Issue 4, 6 January 1939, Page 9

AUSTRALIAN TENNIS PAIR BEATEN

A SURPRISE RESULT WIN FOR THE POOLE SISTERS THE DOMINION TOURNAMENT [ Per Press Association.] CHRISTCHURCH, Jan. 5. The New Zealand lawn tennis championships have produced their daily surprise, but to-day came the biggest upset so far, Misses M. Hardcastle and T. I. Rice, the visiting Australian players, who were expected to dominate all events in which they competed, were defeated in the semifinal of the women’s doubles by Misses I. and T. Poole, of Canterbury, in one of the best matches of the tournament. It was a hard-fought match in which the home players proved just as sound as the visitors in all-round play, and rather more enterprising in their work at the net. To-day was the first of two days which are to be given up to semi-final matches. Only one singles semi-final was played, Miss D. D. Miller, of North dtago, playing splendidly to extend Miss Hardcastle in a fine game. For a match so keenly fought, the women's doubles semi-final, between the Poole sisters and the Australians, was played in an almost happy-go-lucky spirit. The visitors have proved themselves fine sportswomen and they were generous in their praise of the excellent play which put them out of the championship. It was an exhibition of splendid doubles play. The shots of all four players were so good that, for considerable periods, net play was in the discard and the game settled down into hard-hitting rallies between the two back-court players with the partners at the net anxiously waiting for a chance to intercept. In this opportunist game the Poole sisters finally proved superior. Once they had the opportunity they volleyed or smashed with more decisiveness than the Australians. Great Credit to the Two Sisters Great credit must go to the Poole sisters for the steadiness with which they met Miss Hardcastle’s severe driving. Miss I. Poole, in the backhand court, was particularly sure in her returns and she stood up to a concentrated attack, at a critical stage of the third set, splendidly. The Australians did not appear to realise that her backhand is stronger than her forehand, but, in any case, on this occasion she was equally sure on either hand. Miss T. Poole was more erratic than her sister, but she, also, played some grand shots and lobbed with great judgment in the third set. In the closing games, too, she made some brilliant interceptions at the net. The Misses Poole, who won the championship two years ago, will have as their opponents in the final, Misses D. Miller (North Otago) and Miss R. J. Wilson (Southland), who gained a decisive, but not altogether expected, win over Misses P. Cooke and B. L. Bishop (Auckland). The winners had little of subtlety in their game, but their methods were effective. Miss Miller drove very hard on either hand, and made scarcely a single mistake with her ground shots, and Miss Wilson was extremely accurate in finding openings with her own drives. At the net, Miss Wilson supported her partner splendidly, volleying surely for winners every weak reply which her partner’s strong ground shots forced from their opponents. i Miss Cooke and Miss Bishop drove and volleyed well, and there were some excellent rallies, but it was usually the Auckland pair who made the mistakes. A Hard Driving Match Miss Miller, after the retirement of Miss Beverley, New Zealand’s strongest player in the singles, put up a great fight against Miss Hardcastle. It was a match of hard driving rallies in which both players produced brilliant strokes. The strength of Miss Miller’s game is her quick-footedness, and her certainty in returning the hardest of shots. She was on the defensive almost throughout, but her defence was so strong that it almost constituted an attack. Miss Hardcastle swept beautiful drives from the backhand corner to the forehand corner, and still the ball went back, often just as fast as it had come. The game lacked variety, but it was a superb exhibition of hard driving. Both were too sure in their ground shots for either to venture with safety into the forecourt. Miss Hardcastle, however, was more skilful in changing the length, pace and direction of her shots, and occasionally she scored with drop shots which had Miss Miller scampering vainly from the back line. Men’s Doubles Disappointing.

The men’s doubles matches to-day were a little disappointing, because the standard of play in both semifinals was so variable. R. McL. Ferkins and E. A. Roussell, defending their title for the third year, reached the final by beating H. A. Barnett and A. R. Cant, and they will there meet J. W. Gunn and N. F. N. Bedford, an unseeded pair, who, to-day, beat A. D. Brown and C. Angus in a five-set match. Ferkins and Roussell were in trouble in the early stages of the game, for Barnett and Cant, with good smashing and sound volleying, took the first set and led 4-2 in the second. It was at this stage that the Wellington men revealed their wellknown persistency and great fighting qualities. They kept on returning the best of their opponents’ shots, broke up their opponents’ net game with an amazingly accurate lobbing defence and finafi" won* a. enmmanduict

position themselves and volleyed and smashed their way to victory in four sets. Barnett and Cant lost their early severity under this barrage of lobs and their opponents were content to wait for the inevitable loose return which could be put away safely at the net. In the other semi-final all four players had periods of poor form, in the end, Gunn and Bedford won because they were more determined in their efforts to get to the net. Brown made the mistake of remaining on the back line instead of following in on his fast drives, and Angas, hanging back from the net too often, had to volley upwards. Bedford was the most consistent low volleyer of the four, but his overhead work was erratic. However, in many closequarter duels his deft volleying was often too fast for his opponents. From the backhand court, too, he used a slow-angled return of service with great effect. Gunn was very consistent in all his strokes. Brown did many things brilliantly and almost as often failed on easy shots. Both he and Angas made some splendid recoveries, but the latter frequently tried to cover too much court, and, in doing so, left openings for his opponents to shoot at. Results:— Women’s Singles Semi-final. - Miss M. Hardcastle (Australia) beat Miss D. Miller (North Otago), 6-2, 8-6. Men’s Doubles Semi-finals.—E. A. Roussell and R. McL. Ferkins (Wellington) beat H. A. Barnett and A. R. Cant (Canterbury) 5- 6-4, 7-9, 6-3, 6-3; J. W. Gunn and N. F. N. Bedford (Auckland) beat A. D. Brown and C. Angas (Canterbury) 6- 2-6, 6-1, 2-6, 6-2. Women’s Doubles Semi-finals. Misses D. Miller (North Otago) and R. J. Wilson (Southland' beat Misses P. Cooke and E. L. Bishop (Auckland), 6-4, 6-1; Misses I. and T. Poole (Canterbury) beat Misses M. Hardcastle and T. Rice (Australia), 2-6, 6-2, 7-5. V oi en's Plate Semi-finals.—Miss P. Cooke (Auckland) beat Mrs. C. B. Beatson (Nelson). 8-6, 6-8, 7-5; Miss N. Beverlev (Waikato) beat Miss J. Douthett (Wellington), 6-4, 6-3.