Top Seeds Beaten In Men’s Doubles

Press, Volume CV, Issue 30958, 14 January 1966, Page 11

Top Seeds Beaten In Men’s Doubles

•Veio Zealand Press Association!

, AUCKLAND. lhe mens doubles provided the upsets and the vomen s singles contest between Miss Sue Clement and ? S ve rley Vercoe produced the tension and the longest battle of the day m the New Zealand lawn tennis championships at Auckland yesterday.

The top-seeded pair, R. G. Clarke and J. B. Souter, of Wellington, were beaten in the biggest upset of the tournament, and J. E. Kobson and A. S. Burns, the second seeds, had a shaky start against J. H. Lockington and R. N. Hawkes before winning in five sets.

The stockily-built B. E. Woolf, who has featured in many doubles surprises in major tournaments, partnered by the former Auckland champion, K. H. Long, defeated Clarke and Souter. 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, 9-7. Woolf and Long played superbly after losing the first set. and although Clarke and Souter led 6-5 and 40-0 on Long’s service in the fourth set, the Aucklanders won the next five points to level the score. On the adjoining court the finalists in the Auckland men's doubles championship, Lockington and Hawkes, led two sets to one in their match against Robson and Burns. Lost Their Form Lockington and Hawkes looked as though they would cause the second upset at this stage but they did not produce the same form in the last two sets. Robson and Burns made more use of the net andi although much older than their two opponents, looked the fitter pair at the finish. i Despite some double I faults by Burns, the veteran! combination lived up to their second seeding and won, 2-6. j 8-6. 7-9. 6-1, 6-2. In the Vercoe-Clement I battle such was the tension] that Miss Vercoe picked upi the balls and served the last] point of one game on Miss Clement’s serve. Wrong Service Few of the spectators, the umpire and neither of the two players noticed this mistake, but it made little differ-

ence to the match as Miss Clement won the point, to trail 2-5. Miss Clement has earned herself a mighty reputation for fighting back from behind but her effort yesterday must be her greatest. She trailed, 0-5, in the second set when one set down, crept up to 5-5, and even when down 5-6, and with a match point against her, she still managed to come out on top. Miss Clement took the last three games of this set for an 8-6 victory after Miss Vercoe had dropped her service to love. Fought Back Again Down 1-3 and 2-5, Miss Clement had to start her uphill battle all over again in the third and final set. During the fifth game of this set Miss Clement was sick on the court and was obviously in distress for the remainder of the set. She won four successive games to forge ahead, 6-5, but Miss Vercoe held her serve to level, 6-6, and then Miss

Clement served out a love game and took Miss Vercoe’s service for the match, 2-6, 8-6, 8-6. Miss Clement will meet the top seed and leading Australian junior, Miss Kerry Melville, in the semi-finals. Third Tussle

Souter and Robson featured in another grand tussle in the men’s singles, their third encounter in major tournaments this season. Robson had won the Auckland championship contest, Souter was the victor at the North Island championships, and it was Robson who won yesterday’s titanic affair. Leading two sets to one, it looked as if Robson would earn himself a comfortable four-set victory, but Souter came back after the rest to produce one of his “late runs.”

Souter did everything right to win the fourth set, 6-1, but Robson completely reversed the role in the fifth set when he allowed Souter to win only two points in the last three games.