LAWN TENNIS

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 156, 27 March 1920, Page 8

LAWN TENNIS

THE ENGLISH VISITORS BEAT NEW ZEALAND ■ REPRESENTATIVES ] Tlio.two members of the British Davis 1 Oup loam, who arc touring Now Zealand , at present, played .-tingles matches witli j New Zealand players! oil the Thormlon ; courts yeslci'da l ' afternoon. 'Die English players were If.aior A. H. Lowe. and . Captain A. E. Beamish, ntid Hie New Zealand players matched with them were Geoffrey Oliivier (New Zealand champion) r and .T. 0. Peacock (ex-champion). Both f of the New Zealand reni'?=eiitatiyS ; were . beaten quite decisively, but neither of 3 them was disgraced. Peacock was . beaten in two straight setf by Lowe, hut (lie second set ran to 3—7. and Oliivier 3 won the middle set from Beamish, G—l. i t Bad Arrangements. ' Only once in half a dozen years or [ more do players of the class if the present visitors come to tlrs country, and 1 to Wellington, and it nii.cbt have t?n expected fjiat some extra efferts would hnvo been made to play their matches under Rood conditions. Til the first nlace there should be some care about the choice of' courts. The Thorndon courts are notoriously slow, yesterday they were very slow—quit's dead in fact. After a few rallies a new hull was. smudged black and sreen. and the bounce v.-as often'irregular. The court prepared we.s not fit for championship tennis. As to the arrangements for the accommodation of the pnnctntors, they ' were very had also. Shortly before the 1 time for .the commencement of play ' sneetntni-s bejran to arrive, only to lind that there was no one on the gate to receive their admittance charge, and they walked through. Charges had lo he ! collected from them at hazard of their houestv after a few hundred people, 1 some of whom had paid their charge,' and some of whom had not, were on the ! ground, and this tiresome and irregular : business had not been done when play ' commenced. There wr-re no raised seats to give spectators a. clear view of tho 1 courts. Very few people could tell anything about the resufl't of a stroke until the umpire called the score. Until tho [ moment that play was about: to commence no arrangements hid been mads for line umpires or for hall hoys. After one match had been played the bnlls were left Ivine about the court, and r.na of the visitors. Beamish, had to gathel them up for himself. The.management was decidedly bad.. Altogether some 500 spectators must have been present, and generally lhey gave all four players engaged a generous measure of npnlnu.se for merit, .1 The Visitors. • The two Englishmen are very sound players. Both of them have this very great ndvautape.over men in this country —they have iieeii accustomed to hard play, and to match against men very nearly as good as .themselves. They • never play .fHow where it is passible to play liardj whereas our men showed that they were apt to slack at times, and tn try -their luck with soft stuff pitfh?d about the service line. The fate of all these balls was disastrous. Tliev re re nil' heavily punished, and if tho, , New Zealand player was not beaten with ' tho return, he was lieanly always played out of position, ready for execution in the following stroke. In pinking up difficult balls, and in judgment of .posi- : lion, our players showed quite as good ' knowledge as tho Englishmen. All that 1 they lacked was speed. It must not bo : assumed that either of our New Zealand representatives, Olivier or Peacock, _ is , incapable of speed. On many occasions they showed that they were, but they failed to sustain it as did the visitors. 1 This characteristic difference betiyeeii the 1 two groups of players was especially noticfnblo in the match between Oliivier ' and Beamish. Oliivier is naturally antl . by experience finite as goad a. player.as Beamish.' but lie lias not learned so thoroughly the trick of punishing all j loose stuff, and of giving none in return, as has the English player. Also he seemed to lack condition. Oliivier j won the second set of the match decisively, and at tho end of the set looked a ' certain winner, but he was beaten in turn by Beamish scarcely lesp decisively , in the final set. Beamish played with ■ unabated vigour ' right through his . match, showing no trace of wear. Lowe, the other visitor, was at a dis- ! advantage in that lie is still suffering from tlfo cffects of his injury in the ; south. He still walks with a limp, and ' he saved his weak leg whenever possible j in li s nlay yesterday. He if. however, a back-line player always, and his lameness troubled him less in consenience, ; Peacock, his opponent, is a player most j deadly if allowed-to got up to the net, butf Lowe is such a. remarkably .-.ccurato driver that Peacock did not dare como ■ lin to the net except, on rare occasions. ; ■\Vlien lie did so ho -scored nearly always, ' but his ventures were few. I,owe has a ] curly, serve, deceptive_in amazing-: ' ly well placed, coming off 'lie turf ' very uncertainly—a very difficult scr- , vice. He served only one double fault, , and his second service was finite good. . Beamish'? service is fast' and straight, \ sometimes very fast. He ?evved a few j double fnnlts. Both the visitors punished unmercifully a, loose service.. _ Beamish j was particularly severe on Oliivier*? over- ; snin service, which the Christchureh man ' affects on occasion. In fact, he uses it alnrost all the time when lie is matched . with New Zpnknd players, 'but against Beamish he. last every time he useel _ it. -| Beamish 'lood un to it. snapped it high ] up, and forced tho ball ,\t a very sharp f angle across tho court. Oliivier had to ( relv on <>• service with sufficient speed i ii> keep Boanv'sli well back in Ihe court. t Peacock was erratic with his service, l When his first went in tho court, it wos | very good, but h,i« second was only mod- i crate, and be lori- points again and again from double faults. I Tho Doubles to Come. i To-day, in addition to the singles, there I will be a doubles match between the f two pairs. It may be. a much bettor ' same than. either of the singles, < Both of tho New Zealand .nan are i quick to get. up to tho net, i , and either of them, especially Peacock, i can kill effectively. Lowe is a back-line J player ftom long experience, ,nd his i ventures, to tho net; yesterday seemed to t show- that he is not at home as 1 'a volleyer at close ranee or at s overhead smashing. Beamish, on the i other hand, is a player who might show •' i pood form at tho net. Anyhow, they ) ! will havo to play a remarkable eame if i they are to beat Oliivier and Peacock ' from tho back-line. The visitors will both probably come in a sreftt deal more t than they did in tho singles play. i Lowe v, Peacock, : The first match yesterday was 1 between Lowe and l'cacock. Peacock took tho service, and lost the first game from_ 30—10, Ixiwe won the next from a similar position, anil led 2—o. l'jacock won on' his next ' service, and the games were 2—l. Lowo won the next game to love, and took the game frr.m Peacock's service following. The sixth game was the first game when ■ deuco was callcd, ami Peacock won—six ' strokes to his opponent's four. Lowo ! f nok the next game from Peacock's ser- ! vice, tho server .failing to score, and 1 Lowe also won ("lie last game easily, win- . ning the set, G—2. Peacock opened the second set wilfy a i double fault, and lost the first game af- 1 Icr having held his opponent to ,30 all. '< Lowo won the next two games, and then t Peacock won a game on l/owe's service. 1 Lowo won tho next, and tho games stood 4—l in his favour. Peacock took tho next game from Lowe's service, and Lowo took the next from Peacock's service, making the {Kimes 5—2. It: seemed now that the end of tho match must ( come in a matter of moments, but just , about this time Peacock began lo nlay ( very much better, and Lowe with a little . less certainly than before. At any rate j Peacock crept up to 5 all.' Lowo wnu a , to me and Peacock equalised, and (lion | Peacock took a love game to make t'lio | scores 7—o in his favour. That was the >j end of his success, however, for Lowe ~ won the next three games, tho set !)—7, , and tho match, 6—2, 9-7. , Beamish v. Oliivier, Oliivier won tho first game from j Beamish, the only point scored in the ■ game by tho Englishman being fronv a J 'double fault by the server. Beamish •

took the next four games, however, the last three "being: deuce games, and the score stood -1-1 in his, favour. Ollivier todk the game on Beamish's service, and then the next on 'his own, making the score Beamish 4, Ollivier 3. This was tho Ijcst position the Now Zealandor obtained in tho set, for Beamish took the next two games without mishap. Ollivier began well in the second set,, taking the first two games. Beamish, won the third, and tho score was 2—l in favour of New Zealand. OllmcV won the next game from 40 —15, the next from deuce, and the next two from JO— 30, talcing the set, 6-1. It was a very decisive victory, for at this stage of tho play the Christchurc'h man was playing tho loiter tennis. In the final set Ollivier won tho first jfiimo on his service, but Beamish equalised from his own service. Ho took also the next three games and led, -I—l. _ Ollivier took tine next game from Beamish's service, but Beamish retorted by winning from Ollivier's service, and tho score beins 5—2 tho Englishman -liad tho match well in hand. He won the last game from deuce, and won the set, 6—2, and the match, 6-3, 1-6, C-2. ' In tho match between Lowe and Peacock, Lowo won 15 games and Peacock ninoj Lowe won S3 strokes and Peacock 08. Beamish won 13 games and Ollivier 11; Beamish won 88 strokes,, and Ollivier 85. Play starts to-day at 1.30 p.m. DAVJTCUP UNITED STATES-SOUTH AFRICA TIE . (Roc. March 20, 7.30 phii.) New York, March 25. It is understood that tho United States Lawn 'Tennis Association has < aided to South Africa requesting that Hie United Slates-South Africa tie be played in, England on July 8, 9, and 10. It is bslicved tho winner of the tie will meet the winner of \ tho England-Holland match al Wimbledon. The United States Davis Cup Committea announces that i( will not advise the sending of an American team to the Olympic Games— Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn. THE LATE CHALLENGES. (Hoc. Maeh 20, 10.15 p.m.) Sydney, March 20. The secretary of tho Tennis Association, referriiiK to the London "Times" leader rcgardim? the rjulraw of the Davis Can. pointed out that the reeiilations defmilely stipulated that challenges must be received not later than the first Monday in Jlarch. In both the cases .<< belated entries from France and Canada tV>e committeo was powerless to accept. The ease of South Africa last .year was ■'■uile exceptional, and it was emphatically stated at tho time it must not U deemed a preceilent.—Press Assn. London, Mtirch 25. . The Lawn Tennis Association bis cabled to Australia suggesting that Canada and France be allowed to compote in the Davis Gup Matches.—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn.