Whakatane’s Comfortable Win In Dunlop Shield Match Against Opotiki

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 12, Issue 24, 24 February 1948, Page 8

Whakatane’s Comfortable Win In Dunlop Shield Match Against Opotiki

(By Service) On Sunday Whakatane scored, a comfortable victory over the Opotiki Dunlop Shield team by ten matches to six. There were several points of interest that I noted and outstanding among these was the tendency of players to be caught in the halfcourt position. In the men Bryers and Wilson, and particularly the latter, were offenders and the same could be said of all our ladies. By getting right into the net you cut down the possibility of being passed as you force your opponent into playing a more acutely angled return and at the same time you place yourself in the position of being able to hit a winner from the return. It is so much easier to hit a ball to your opponent’s feet if he obligingly stands back from the net for you and the best he can usually do is a weak volley or half-volley with a rising tendency. Another point was the tendency of some players to serve their second ball without due regard as to where or how it was going. A good player tries to make his second service just as difficult to return as he wished his first one to be., It should not be just a means of putting the ball into play. Miss Howat, and to a lesser degree, Wilson, do not try and make their second service an attacking shot. Miss Howat is completely off balance when she serves her rather hasty and nonchalant second service and the result is a “lollipop” effort which just asks to be hit for a winner. Although Wilson’s second serve is fast and severe enough he is inclined to play it without sufficient judgment and consequently quite a crop of double-faults is the result.

It was noticeable that on several occasions Bryers aced his opponent in the top singles match with his second service, and yet served only one double fault in the two sets. Therefore I would say—persist in impressing your service, particularly in pjractice games, and try to make your second service as awkward as you can for your opponent. Most good players use spin for their second sp, r yi ce in order to gain a margin of error. Do not be ‘mSCouraged, if for a while, you ; serve a good many double-faults. Your efforts will pay good dividends in the future. «■

I. Wylds is playing very good tennis at present serving and stroking on either hand with excellent accuracy and severity. His backhand is a particularly beautiful stroke and is one that any ambitious player could well take as a pattern. In court position, too, Wylds knows all the answers and if he has any fault in his play I should say it is his inability to change his game to upset his opponent’s game. ■Foot work plays a most important part in most ball games and particularly in tennis. If you are stroking correctly, the direction of the ball : is governed by the direction in which your shoulders are pointing. Your shoulders, in. turn, are /governed by the placement of your feet. A right-handed player, playing a forehand stroke should have his feet parallel to the side-lines and his left foot nearer to the net. For a backhand he reverses his position and has the right foot nearer the net. Too many players stand with their feet parellel to the net to make their strokes. Miss Howat has a very good forehand stroke, severe and low, but too often her direction is impaired through her not placing her feet correctly. It was noticeable

that most of her errors on Sunday were out over the sidelines and not netted or beyond the back line'. In a combined doubles it is the man’s duty to , dominate the game. The word “poaching” is no longer in the tennis player’s vocabulary and to condemn a man in a mixed doubles for taking more than his half of the game is verging on the archaic. A man’s strokes and particularly his volleying are usually far more severe than a woman’s and nothing is more disturbing in a combined doubles’ match than a man opponent who is persistently cutting off returns and taking practically full charge of the net. Teams should practice combined doubles play with their partners so that a complete understanding is developed in each pair. Lack of space precludes discussion on the forehand drive this week as promised and so I have postponed it for a later issue of the Beacon. In conclusion, today, I would ask that any players singled out for criticism treat these notes purely as constructive advice so that their games may be improved. No attempt is being made to just pick holes in their play.

The B team’s challenge fpr the Morton Cup resulted in an overwhelming victory for Rotorua by 13 matches to 3. Detailed scores of both matches follow (Whakatane players mentioned first in all cases): — Dunlop Shield Women’s Singles: Miss Howat lost to Mrs T. Black 1-6, 4-6; Miss Hall beat Miss R. Baird 6-3, 6-0; Mrs Mole lost to Miss G. Baird 4-6, 6-3, 5- .Mrs Hall beat Miss M. Anderson 3-6, 6-4, 6-2. Men’s Singles: Bryers beat White 6- 6-2; Wylds beat McLaughlin 6-1, 6-3, Wilson lost to Dain 5-6, 4-6; Moore lost to Patterson 4-6, 6-3, J-6. Women’s. Doubles: Miss Howat gnd Mrs Hall beat Mrs Black and Miss R. Baird- 6-5, 6-4; Miss Hall and Mrs Mole beat Misses G. Baird and Anderson 6-4, 5-6, 6-3. Men’s Doubles: Bryers and Wylds beat White and Dain 6-4, 6-4; Wilson and Moore lost to McLaughlin and Patterson 4-6, 3-6. Combined Doubles: Bryers . and Miss Hall beat White and Mrs Black 6-3, 6-3; Wylds and Miss Howat beat Dain and Miss R. Baird 6-1, 6-3; Wilson and Mrs Hall beat McLaughlin and Miss G. Baird 4-6, 6-3, 12-10; Moore and Mrs Mole lost to Patterson and Miss Anderson 3-6, 3-6. Whakatane 10 matches, Opotiki 6. Morton Cup Challenge Men’s Singles: Rutherford lost to Nairn 1-6, 5-6; Gordon beat Palmer 6-1, 6-4; Hansen lost to Solly 6-0, 2-6, 0-6; Carrig lost to Bell 6-4, 3-6, 3 6. Women’s Singles: Miss Carter lost to Mrs Groves 3-6, 0-6; Miss Grant lost to Mrs Wilson 3-6, 1-6; Miss Mahy beat Mrs Langguth 5-6, 6-3, 6-3; Mrs Hancock, lost to Mrs MacDonald 3-6, 0-6. Men’s Doubles: Rutherfprd and Gordon lost to Nairn and Bell 5-6, 6-5, 5-7; Hansen and Carrig lost to Solly and Palmer 6-3, 6-4. Women’s Doubles: Miss Carter and Mrs Hancock lost to Mesdames Groves and Wilson 2-6, 1-6; Misses Mahy and Grant lost to Mesdames Langguth and MacDonald 5-6, 6-4, 1-6.

Combined Doubles: Rutherford and Miss Mahy lost to Nairn and Mrs Groves 1-6, 4-6; Gordon and Miss Carter beat Palmer and Mrs MacDonald 5-6, 6-4, 6-2; Hansen and Miss Grant lost to Solly and Miss Wilson 1-6, 5-6; Carrig and Mrs Hancock lost to Bell and Mrs Langguth 4-6, 2-6. Rotorua 13 matches, Whakatane 3.