LAWN TENNIS

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 88, 8 January 1935, Page 6

LAWN TENNIS

East Harbour Tourney PLAYERS REVIEWED Form Commendably High / (By “Forehand.”) Great credit is due to the management or the east harbour tournament tor the maimer in which the annual fixture was lun ou the Muritai club courts at Eastbourne. Through the Kindness of Mr. xt. D Smith an additional court was provided by the use of his own private court. Nothing was left undone that would add to the comfort of the players, and the conditions and surroundings and general spirit of goodwill were such as to encourage contestants to enter again next . year. For the' most, part weather conditions were ideal except that for part of two days rain held up play. For the most part also the standard ot play was commendably high. The final of the men’s singles rests with Max Perkins and N. Bedford. On the season s performances Bedford should win. He shows a greater variety of strokes than Perkins and he has an instinct for the. game that Ferkins cannot equal. Against that, however,, must be placed the facte that Ferkins is not temperamental, that be is one of the hardest triers and most remarkable retrievers in New Zealand, that he is a left-hander with an awkward style and a heavy top spin drive that disconcerts many people. The match will probably resolve itself into Ferkins’?' “loop the loop” drives and Bedford’s fast drives and angled volleys. It must also be said that, while Ferkins can lob accurately, Bedford can .be severe and accurate overhead if he is on his game. D. Purvis showed consistent form and has the rare distinction of- having taken a love set off Bedford. Occasionally Purvis goes to, the net to volley, but in the main, if not almost entirely, he is a baseline player. His forehand drive, played with top epih, is, very accurate, maintaining a good length, and hie retrieving powers are outstanding. He is not so good in volleying or smashing.

Jarman in Form. N. Morrison has developed into a fine volleyer, but his angled stop-volleys are much more effective on grass than on hard court, where they bounce high enough to give an active opponent a chance to get to them. Unfortunately for him he met in Jarman a player wao had just that activity, and also combined with it a greater accuracy >n ground strokes. Jarman also won valu-able-points by fine deep lobbing as Morrison went in to volley. Morrison was not consistent in his smashing. With plenty of play against a higher standard of tenmis than he is accustomed to, Jarman would improve considerably and would be a hard man to beat. Willis was one of the steadiest players in the tournament He kept a good length and he was not afraid to take the net, from where he volleyed soundly. F. Pears also played a steady game, but he was outplaced by AVillis when the two met, in the championship singles. His greatest defect was that his length was too short, allowing Willis opportunities •to place to the corners, thereby compelling Pears to scramble to get at the ball and ‘so make a weaker return. Nor, when he went to the net, was Pears decisive enough, Willis many times scoring off the. return.

A. D. Long played probably his best game of the season against N. Bedford. Although beaten, he scored many points with excellent backhand cross-court shots, beating Bedford clean as he came in to the net. His low volleying also was good, but his driving resulted in too many nets. Heenan is a better singles player, than he is a doubles player. He has a. very good forehand, but is inclined to. hit the ball too soon. He would do better to let it come up to the top of its bound. He also hits cleanly on the backhand. An Unequal Player. A. Smith has the shots, but he has them, in unequal degree. That is to say, ■he is not consistent in the use of his strokes. One of his greatest weaknesses is that he keeps too far from the net, and so has.to volley up. That he can avoid this he showed when he took the net to beat Tosswill in the championship singles. His trouble is that'he is in too great a hurry to win the point, and he does not judge well his time to go to the net. If he cultivates deep driving to the corners, and then goes right in to the net, not merely half-way,,he should improve considerably, for there is no hesitation about his . shots. He has height, reach, and free, easy stroking, that are essential to the best tennis. B. McCarthy played a hard-hitting game with not quite the same success as in the Wellington championships on grass. While there may not be much variety about his game, his standard is quite good within its strict limits. That he can volley and smash he proved in the doubles. A Good Performance.‘ ’

One o£ the best performances of the tournament was the victory of B. Jenkinson over K. Dyer. Jenkinson then showed that he is a player who is worthy of all encouragement by the association. His victory was one of merit. He was d'riving beautifully and also making winners from the net. Dyer was netting more than- usual, but that was contributed to in a measure by the accuracy and pace of Jenkinson’s drives to the corners. He showed cleverness, too, in varying liis length and his pace. He always had Dyer guessing. , , , , Dyer on the other hand, lacked variety. He went on driving from first to last, and although he c?me to the net behind good drives, he netted too frequently. His volleying was not decisive enough, and his smashing was below standard.

Steadiness Wins. .Miss Vera Burns won the women's championship mainly on a steadiness that none of the others could pretend to, and on the maintenance of a good, length in her driving and the keeping of a .sound court position. Miss M. Macassey drove steadily on; loth wingS, but not always with good length—certainly not the length and pace that justified her in taking the net as she so often did. For this reason many of her volleying returns were flukey ones, and fortunately for her some of her opponents were not quick enough to avail themselves of their chances of making a winning hit, for Miss Jlacassey was jo often out of .position. Miss M. Howe against Miss Burns did not play as well as she did when she won the event two years ago, driving Miss Macassey off the court in the final. Of late Miss Howe appears to have lost the confidence which makes her forehand drive n match-winner. She is inclined to play too safe, but without getting the length to prevent the opponent from forcing the game. Probably Miss Howe was driven to play safe by the fact that her drive when she did play it went ever the baseline by inches. Miss Howe nt times attacked from the net after driving to Miss Burns’s backhand, witn great profit, to herself. But she could tot maintain the attack with consistency. A strong and steady, player from the baseline was Miss Bayfield, who, with Miss Sinclair, made a formidable combination' in the doubles. These two never looked like breaking down at any stage in their driving. They were not afraid to hit hard.

A Good Forehand. Apart from Mis» M. Howe, the woman player with the finest forehand drive was Jlisn Audrey Kean. Her backhand, however, was comparatively weak. There is no reason why. hitting the ball at almoat tlie same height as' for the forehand. and hitting as hard and following through as cleanly, she should not make her backhand an strong. But she must turn further round from the net to do it.

At present plays the backhand too Sq S K. Pea“s e play«l her usual steady and hard fighting game and went undeb not to better strokes or supeuor fighting powers, but to opponents who had stronger and heavier physical resources. She a very reliable partner to have in doubles. Miss D. Maslin has still the failing of waiting for the ball to drop too low beforp she hits it. Nor is she putting bul weight into the shot. She wili not improve unless she concentrates on being up tn the ball and hitting it at the top ot t° s bolllid. Her backhand also suffers because she hits the ball too late. Over head also she lets the ball {,rol Attention to these matters, would B icatlv improve her game.

A Fine Performance. One of' the most refreshing things jit the tournament was the way in whien Miss Burch supported N. Bedford m the mixed doubles. She was called upon a extricate her. .side from some awkwaid positions, but she never flinched. Although some of her lobs were short and were severely dealt with by Morrison, many fell just inside the baseline for winners, while others Morrison outed or dealt with defensively, giving Bedford the chance to make the kill. Once or twice she passed Morrison clean down the sideline, and at others she caug.lt 1-im with short dipping drives as he came to the net. She showed excellent judgment also in avoiding the player at the net She handled Morrison s- fast service well, and was equally safe on the backhand and on the forehand. It has inore than once been stated that she is rot a net player. It is a great pity hit more girls who make flagrant displays °t the net do not recognise their limit.iI'ions and go back to the baseline, where thev would do much better. In mixed doubles a woman who can hold the baseline and make openings for her partner nt the net is of tremendous value. 1. was in that’department that Miss Buren shone. Had she gone to the net. Bedford and she would not have won.