Johnston Wins Squash Rackets Championships

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31120, 25 July 1966, Page 11

Johnston Wins Squash Rackets Championships

The 1966 New Zealand squash rackets championships ended at Timaru in triumph for the Palmerston North lefthander, T. C. Johnston.

After an 86-minute marathon in which his physical resources were cruelly tested, Johnston recovered from a deficit of two games to one, to beat his club-mate, D. Burmeister, 9-7, 3-9, 1-9, 9-2, 9-1.

No-one could possibly begrudge Johnston his rise to the top of the game in New Zealand, for he overcame G. L. Bird, the only player in the field able to match him in shots, and then made all the play throughout the final. He had to overcome the psychological disadvantage of knowing that he had gone down to Burmeister in every tournament in which they had met this season, as well as the knowledge that his opponent had trained to a state of fitness that should enable him to last the longer, if endurance became the deciding factor.

Johnston, far better equipped with winning shot®, knew that he had to play them to have any chance. He did so throughout, and the fit sitroke-maker

triumphed over the itiperbly conditioned runner. It vu no more than juotice. The final, which opened with a remarkable and exhausting first game of 33 minutes, never approached in standard the brilliant exhibition of Johnston and Bird of th* night before, for Burmeister as expected, seldom took a chance, leaving all that to bis opponent. His plan was based on a minimum of errors and tight control, and he had good reason to believe that he would succeed once more against Johnston, without any change in what had proved to be a winning game. Convincing Success

Had Johnston not taken the one-minute rest with the first game his, it is difficult to imagine bls ultimate success. As it was he seemed done when trailing at the end of the third. His recovery—and in the end convincing success—and hie often fine control of the short game, provided the real excite ment of the match.

More risks produce more mistake* and the match analysis shows that Johnston Mt more than twice the winners, and made nearly twice the errors of his opponent. Burmeister confined his needless mistakes to only 16 over five games and 86 nv.nutee. Had he attempted a more constructive approach he may well have won, but while Johnston often hided Ms time he seemed always to have the drop to the nick or the wrong-footing drive in mind. Full Credit Du*

In the long first game with a one game lead so obviously vital

particularly to Johnston, on* rally wee counted to 77 strokes. There were probably several others as long, and 30 or 40 shot, were almost commonplace. After eight minutes of play In the second game the score stood at 1-0: an Incredible situatton. Full credit to Johnston that he survived all this, and in the final game with everything at stake placed four winners when in band, right into the nick.

Johnston at the end spent some moments on hie knees on the court floor. Yet possibly Burmeister was aimoet as spent, for there 1* Mt He else to account for his hitting down four drops to give Johnston four points while attempting some touch play for virtually the flrat and only time. Mln P. Mills (Hamilton) was too strong all round in the women's final, beating Miss C. Fleming (Auckland) in four game* of good standard. Miss MKils often displayed a fine backhand drop to the nick across court, and both hit the ball crisply. J. N. Isaacs (Hutt Valley) earned a national Mazer with a straight game win over J. S. Walker (Hamilton) in the final of the classic plate, a key match marred by much mutual crowding and numerous lets. B. Tietjens (Auckland) easily won his third successive national junior title, equalling the performance of G. L. Bird In 1959-61.

Smith Transfer*.—The AH Black three-quarters, I. S. T. Smith, who has played in North Otago for the fast two years, has been transferred to Wyndham, and will play for Southland. .