Cramp Nearly Robbed Fletcher Of Singles

Press, Volume CV, Issue 30960, 17 January 1966, Page 3

Cramp Nearly Robbed Fletcher Of Singles

(Neto Zealand Press Association) AUCKLAND. The former No. 2 ranked Australian player K. Fletcher, now of Hong Kong, fought off cramp during the last three points of his final against the Englishman, R. Taylor, before winning the New Zealand lawn tennis singles championship at the Stanley street courts yesterday.

Fletcher, who won the title, 6-4, 5-7, 4-6, 6-0, 9-7, after a two and a half hour struggle, said after the game he had suffered cramp throughout the fifth set.

He pulled up sharply. straightening his left leg in agony as a spasm of cramp hit him during the last game and had to work on his leg to keep on his feet.

Tn between the last three points, when he led 0-40 on Taylor’s service, Fletcher worked frantically on his lee as he tried to hit a winner to gain the match. The Australian received his chance on the sixth point of game at 30-40 when he hit a return service for a clean winner which Taylor had no Jhow of reaching. The final lacked tenseness until after the third set. It had been expected that the top-seeded Fletcher would retord a fairly comfortable victory over the third-seeded Taylor, but Taylor surprised by plodding steadily along and gaining a two set to one advantage.

Fletcher took the first of these three sets with his superior serving, much as expected, and then advanced to first a 4-0 and then a 5-2 lead in the second set.

Taylor’s perserverance paid dividends at this stage and with a marked improvement in his service he allowed Fletcher to win only eight points in taking the next five games for the set. Fletcher also let the third set slip from his grasp leading 4-3 and holding game point for a 5-3 lead. He lost this game and won only one point in the next game on his own service to 4-5 and then to lose the set, 6-4. After the spell Fletcher came back with a vengeance and he did not lose a service in the remaining 22 games. The Australian served with

more power to win six successive games in the fourth set which took only 10 minutes, and the fifth set went with services until Fletcher gained the break-through in the 16th game. Few N.Z. Finalists The finals were noticeable for the lack of New Zealanders. In the men’s singles it was the first time since 1940, when J. Bromwich and J. Crawford, both Australians, clashed that a New Zealander had not featured in the final event. The men’s doubles was an all-New Zealand final between A. S. Burns and J. E. Robson and the promising B. E. Fairlie and L. A. Gerrard, but apart from this final only Miss Elizabeth Terry (Waikato) in the women’s singles and R. N. Hawkes (Wellington) in the mixed doubles were New Zealanders.

Hawkes, partnered by the Australian university player Miss Kerry Melville, was the only New Zealander to register a victory over an overseas player in the finals. Hawkes and Miss Melville defeated Taylor and Miss Margaret Kynaston (Australia), 5- 6-2, 6-4, in an interesting tussle in which both women played some good returns from the powerful serving of both men. Won Three Titles Miss Melville was the star of the women. She won three titles, the singles, mixed doubles and the women’s doubles with Miss Kynaston. Miss Melville was too steady for Miss Terry, winning 6-2, 6-

The Australian matched pace with pace when Miss Terry did keep the rallies

going but the Waikato girl overhit too many shots. Miss Melville’s smooth stroking produced plenty of power and she took less than 45 minutes to earn victory. In the semi-finals on Saturday Fletcher beat J. E. Robson (Auckland), in three sets and Taylor eliminated New Zealand’s best hope in the singles, L. A. Gerrard (Auckland) after a thrilling fiveset contest.

Gerrard fought hard to gain a place in the final but although he led two sets to one he failed to last the distance, losing 7-5 in the fifth. This match could have gone either way and was the best singles of the week-end. Found A Partner In the men’s doubles Gerrard and Fairlie took the title with a four-set victory over the well established combination of Burns and Robson. Fairlie, the only junior to reach a final of the senior events, more than held his own in this match and hit the last point away for a winner. Gerrard, who has had some indifferent showings in doubles matches during his

senior reign, may have at last found himself a partner who could earn him further major titles.

Fairlie, although only 17, showed that he had learnt well from his recent jaunt to Australia, and that he could be a force to be reckoned with in senior events next season.