New Zealand Team Begins Davis Cup Match Today

Press, Volume C, Issue 29498, 27 April 1961, Page 13

New Zealand Team Begins Davis Cup Match Today

NEW ZEALAND lawn, tennis players are finding a second round win. in the Davis Cup competition, a most elusive quest. This year they will make another attempt, beginning with the first round tie against Israel today, tomorrow and Saturday at Tel Aviv.

The New Zealand team of Lew Gerrard, of Canterbury, Mark Otway, formerly of Auckland but now living in Britain, and lan Crookenden, of Waikato, should have little trouble in beating Israel this week but again the second round may prove too difficult. Israel has had the same Davis Cup pair for the last two years—Arieh Avidan and Elezar Da vidman. In 1959 they were beaten by Switzerland by 3 matches to 2 and last year Chile beat Israel by 4 matches to 1. Luis Ayala beat Avidan, 6-1, 6-1, 6-2, but Davidman beat the second Chilean player, P. Rodriguez, 9-7, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. Then Ayala and E. Aguirre beat Avidan and Davidman, 6-2, 6-1, 6-0, in doubles, Rodriguez beat Avidan. 2-6, 7-5, 6-0, 7-5, and Ayala beat Davidman, 6-2, 6-1, 6-1. First Two Presumably Gerrard and Otway will play the first two singles and the doubles for New Zealand and if the contest has been decided by the third day, Crookenden may be given a match. If New Zealand beats Israel it will embark on a second round tie and a win in this has not been accomplished since New Zealand entered as a separate nation for the first time in 1924. New Zealand’s opponent would be either Spain or Jugoslavia, but most likely Spain. Although Spain has lost its top player, Andres Gimeno, to the professional ranks since the 1960 Davis Cup competition, it still has Manuel Santana, with a stated determination to make his country European zone winner, Jose Luis Arilla, a player of great experience, Juan Manuel Couder, also experienced in Davis Cup play, and Juan Gisbert. Last year’s Spanish team of Gimeno and Santana in the singles and Gimeno and Arilla in the doubles was beaten by 3 matches to 2 by Sweden in the second round, after having a bye in the first round. But the year before. Spain was a European zone finalist, losing

1-4 to Italy. Gimeno and Couder were the members of that team. A victory over Spain would bring New Zealand against Sweden or Denmark and another most difficult match. Sweden was a zone finalist last year and Denmark won first and second round matches, before losing to France, Before 1924. New Zealanders. especially the great Anthony Wilding, had been members of Australasian Davis Cup teams, but that year brought the first separate entry by New Zealand. The team of J. C. Peacock and F. M. B. Fisher lost to Czechoslovakia. 1-4. An entry was made again the next year but when New Zealand was drawn against Canada it withdrew because of the high costs. New Zealand’s first success as a challenging nation was in 1928 when it beat Portugal, 4-1. The team was Peacock, R. R. T. Young and E. D. Andrews. However, the second round, against Czechoslovakia, was forfeited. Andrews and A. C. Stedman comprised the 1934 team which lost, 1-4, to Czechoslovakia, and the same team in 1935 lost 0-5 to the Australians, J. B. Crawford, V. B. McGrath, and A. D. Quist. In 1937 the New Zealand team of Andrews, Stedman, D. C. Coombe and C. E. Malfroy beat China, 3-2, but lost 1-4 to South Africa in the second round with Stedman gaining New Zealand’s only victory. The 1939 team of Malfroy and A. D. Brown, singles, and Malfroy and Coombe, doubles, lost 2-3 to Britain after Malfroy had won a singles, and the doubles had been won. New Zealand’s first entry after World War II was in 1947 when J. E. Robson, R. S. McKenzie, and J. A. Barry beat Norway, 3-2, in the first

round but again found Czechoslovakia the stumbling block to the second round win. J. Drobny and V. Cernik made a very strong team which won. 5-0. New Zealand’s next entry was not until 1954 when Robson. Barry and M. Otway drew Hungary in the first round and lost 2-3. Then, in 1957, Robson, C. Parker and Gerrard easily disposed of Lebanon in the first round, 5-0, but then played Britain and lost all matches. An entry made in 1958 was not accepted, but in 1959 Gerrard. Otway and B. E. Woolf beat Ireland 5-0 in the first round before losing to Rumania, 2-3. at Bucharest, where they claimed they had to play against linesmen as well. Last year Gerrard and Otway made up the New Zealand team entered for the first time in the American zone because the European zone entry was again refused. That looked to be the big chanr? to break the tradition of sec-ond-round defeats but after' beating the West Indies, 5-Oj New Zealand lost to Venezuela. 2-3.

Back in the European zone this year, New Zealand will make another attempt, but although there can be plenty of confidence in the outcome of this week's first round tie, there is little reason for optimism about the second round.