Tennis Internationals In Wilding Park Tournament

Press, Volume CV, Issue 30980, 9 February 1966, Page 11

Tennis Internationals In Wilding Park Tournament

QINCE the Auckland international invitation tennis tournament was instituted many noted overseas tennis players have visited New Zealand. After the tournament some of them have usually been available for further matches in other centres.

Christchurch has benefited from this several times and will again next week. Although the leading Australians, R. Emerson, F. Stolle and Miss Margaret Smith, are not available, there are players who have not been seen in Christchurch before who have considerable interest.

Those who recall seeing the Darmons. the two English lads, G. Stilwell and K. Wooldridge, the German, Miss H. Schildknecht, and, of course, Miss R. Bentley, of England, who has been in New Zealand for some time, at a similar time last year, may realise the refreshing atmosphere such visitors bring to such a tournament. After the Wills international at Auckland, the Gold Leaf tournament will be held at Wilding Park from tomorrow until Sunday with R. Taylor, of England, P. Roderiguez, of Chile, and Jose Gisbert, of Spain, the overseas visitors among the men, Miss Anne Jenkins, of the Australian Universities side, Mrs M. Roderiguez, formerly Miss Michele Boulle, of France, and Miss Marilyn Greenwood, of England, among the women. The 26-year-old lefthander, Taylor, has already stolen the imagination with his defeat of Stolle in Auckland. Although he has visited New Zealand several times before he has not played in Christchurch. When he was here in 1963 with a young English team, their Christchurch fixture was abandoned because of rain. At that stage he was ranked only ninth in England but since he has risen to second or third behind M. Sangster, and he took the second singles berth in the Davis Cup team. Noted for his strong service and penchant for hitting the ball hard, Taylor

has been a world tennis tourist for a number of years. He has reached the last 16 at Wimbledon, in the 1964 United States championships he had a 3-6, 7-5, 6-4, 7-9, 6-4 victory over the Spaniard, M. Santana, now regarded as the world’s top amateur. Taylor and New Zealand’s leading player, L. A. Gerrard, paired in doubles in Australian tournaments this season and Taylor was later runner-up to K. Fletcher (Australia) for the New Zealand singles title. The top Chilean, Roderiguez, at 24, has threatened the reputations of some of the world’s leading players. He played a great deal on the Continent in 1965 reaching finals and semi-finals, with players like Darmon. He won the Swiss international championship at Gstaad

in a field which included the Australians, N. Fraser and J. Newcombe, N. Pietrangeli (Italy), W. Bungert (Germany) and T. Koch, of Brazil, whom he beat in the final. He also beat the Australians Fraser and A. Roche in an international tournament at Hamburg. The leading Spanish junior, Gisbert, aged 19, is a brother of the Spanish Davis Cup player. Juan Gisbert, and is expected to find his own place in that team soon. Making up the men’s field of 20 are the leading New Zealanders. Gerrard, unfortunate enough to suffer cramp when he appeared to have the measure of Roderiguez at Auckland, and with some good wins to his credit overseas this year, the Wellington trio of J. B. Souter (the present Canterbury champion), R. N. Hawkes and R. G. Clarke, the Auck-

landers. J. H. Lockington and P. Becroft, and Canterbury men. New Zealand's leading junior, B. E. Fairlie. will appear at Wilding Park for the first time and his successes have been so great in Australia that his attraction may rival that of the more senior players. With him in the field will be his colleague of the New Zealand Wilson Cup team. J. Mitchell, of Canterbury, who had a fine record in the inter-state contest. Miss Jenkins, top woman of the Australian Universities team has already created a fine impression in the Dominion this season. She beat a number of New Zealand ranked players, including Mrs E. Stephan, of Auckland, the third seed for tomorrow’s tournament, in the national championships. Married to Rodriguez in Sydney only a few days before they arrived in New Zealand, Mrs Roderiguez, aged 18, has represented France in international team contests and has been a frequent semi-finalist and occasionally a finalist in Continental tournaments. She is at present fifth in her country. An interesting member of the field is 19-year-old Miss Greenwood, junior champion of Britain in 1963-64, she is now living in Wellington. Mrs Stephan and Miss S. Clement; of Auckland, are also visitors for the tournament.