ROUSSELL’S MATCH

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 104, 26 January 1935, Page 9

ROUSSELL’S MATCH

Australian Defeated In Tennis Tourney SURPRISES OF DAY Mrs. Melody Puts Out Miss J. E. Ramsay SEAY DOWN TO F. J. PERRY (By Telegraph.—From “Forehand.”) Auckland, January 25. The standard of tennis to-day in the New Zealand championship tournament was of a very high order, the weak players having been weeded out on the first two days. Rain last night made the conditions to-day perfect, except for the cross-court wind, which was again in evidence. Due no doubt to the fact that F. J. Perry (England) was to meet I. A. Seay (Canterbury), the crowd of spectators was larger than on the first two days. The surprises of the day were E. A. Roussell’s victory over R. W. Ewin, of Australia, and Mrs. W. J. Melody’s Straight sets victory over Miss J. Ramsay, .who played a marathon match against Miss Thelma Poole yesterday. Misses D. Nicholls and N. Beverley were exceedingly lucky to beat Misses I. and T. Poole. Indeed, the Canterbury pair ought to ' have won in straight sets. The fact that Ewin is by no means up to the standard of other players who bad come over from Australia must in no way be held to detract from the merit of Roussell’s win. He played easily his best game this season and won on his merits, in the first set it appeared as though the Wellington player was going to be outclassed, Ewin volleying and smashing for aces. His plan was to drive deep and then go in. After that Roussell, handling Ewin’s terrific first service with the greatest confidence and consistency, played a- heady game. He purposely slowed up the game. He kept Ewin from the net with perfect lobbing until the Australian was afraid to come in. and having done so he played carefully to maintain the rally and then, after three or four strokes, would make post-haste for the net. This seemed to put Ewin out of his stride. As he saw Roussell coming in he would seem to stiffen and then drive as hard as he could. Sometimes he won points, Roussell scarcely seeing the ball fly by. More often he netted or outed. Roussell never altered his game and never faltered. Ewin’s nerve began to fail him, and he then began to net the easiest of balls. Except that Ewin’s service was much faster than Roussell’s, the Wellington player was the Australian’s master on the day in all departments. He played with his head and his tactics were perfect, Auckland Champion Wins. Edgar Bartlcer. the Auckland champion, did not have much trouble with George Pearce, of'Otago, despite the fact that Pearce, who is a left-hander, has a fast, hard-kicking, high-bounding service. Bartleet played through unruffled, for he knew the match was his from the beginning. Pearce could not find a counter to Bartleet’s continually rushing the net behind his own service. He nearly always drove out over the sidelines. If he lobbed, Bartleet usually won the point with a well-placed smash, rather than a a severe one. Nor did Bartieet have any trouble with Pearce’s service. For the little he has played this season Bartleet is in surprisingly good form, stroking easily and accurately. How he will last in a bard-fought match remains to be seen. To-morrow will tell, for he meets Fred Perry. Another player who, Without practice this season, has yet played well in this tournament is Ivan Seay. But he was no match, of epurse, for Perry, who did with him almost as he liked. Perry served with speed, and his drives were always to within inches of the backlines. He did not exert himself to the extent of following to the net, but was content to remain on the backline. That Perry was able to show the spectators many brilliant shots was due to the fact that Seay was playing well. There is a tendency cn the part of Aucklanders to greatly underrate the game of R. Ferkins. And yet Ferkins wins matches. He continued his run to-day when he beat A. It. Cant, of Canterbury, after a long five-set match. At the commencement it looked as if Cant must win. By careful stroking, with which he kept a good length, he maintained the rally until such time as he could go to the net from where bo volleyed out of Perkins’s reach. But the effort cost him too much. He could not maintain the pace. Perkins’s fast dipping forehand drive was getting him under his wings, time and again, with the result that points, and finally games, began to come Ferkins’s way. Ferkins Chases Everything. Then as Cant commenced to tire Ferkins took his turn at the net from where he was as superior as Cant had been earlier. What was unusual with Ferkins was to drop sets after having a commanding lead in both. He led 5-2 in the first set and again the third set and lost both. But reverses like that do not worry Ferkins. lie keeps playing along chasing everything, making remarkable returns and frequently getting his opponent rattled. Opponents finding their best shots coming back lose patiem'e and try to force the pace beyond their ability in order to drive Ferkins off the court. That results in errors. Also Ferkins, as Cant found to his cost, is not only fit enough to last all day, but places to the sidelines to give the opposition the maximum of running. Ferkins was master of the situation in the fourth and fifth sets. The match was a long one, with long rallies. The play of Denis Coombe throughout the tournament has been the subject of much approving comment. He is proving himself one of the hard nuts to crack and is playing with bis head as well as his racket. He is exercising great patience, keeping the rally going until the right ball to hit domes along. Then he seldom makes a mistake. Not only does he play to the sidelines to keep his opponent moving, but his lobs have been eo accurate that opponents have, hesitated to set up a neck attack against him. Then, too, he has left them standing with brilliant cross court drives as they came in. His service and smashing have both been severe. It was not surprising, therefore, that L. G. Knott, now living in Australia, but once of Auckland, should find him too tough a proposition. Knott is a bustling, bard-hitting player, who likes to be always on the attack. Coombe’s game was too accurate for a man to win on sustained attack where mistakes follow in proportion to the risks taken. Knott had a good chance in the fourth set when. he wanted one point to win it,. but his impetuosity made him overhit. One of Coombe’s strong points is that he allows nothing to disturb him. He has the ideal temperament, and meets N. G. Sturt, of Auckland, to-morrow Sturt has had an caA run so far. In the past he has alwavg beaten Coombe, but usually only after a hard and close fight. A. A. Kay, of Australia, and D. G.

France, Wellington, will also meet tomorrovv.

Miss Rudkin Never In Hunt,

Miss Edna Rudkin, of Canterbury, played just the right type of game to suit Miss Dulcie Nicholls. She never swerved from her mistaken tactics of bitting deep to the backhand, and more often to the forehand, corner. Miss Nicholls thrives on that type of game, so that Miss Rudkin was never in the hunt. What little rallying there was was usually ended by Miss Nicholls driving hard into the corner, leaving Miss Rudkin an almost impossible task to make a return, even if she could reach the ball. Miss Nicholls also many times belted aces off Miss Rudkin’s service. . Miss Irene Poole ran fast and joyously against Miss N. Beverley, and hit with abandon, but she was no match for the Waikato star. Miss Beverley is without any weakness, and her driwng, serving, volleying and smashing left Miss Poole completely outclassed, but not down-hearted. When Miss J. E. Ramsay, of Auckland, and Mrs. W. J. Melody, of Auckland, met two players who employ nothing else but spin, unless one excepts Mrs. Melody’s somewhat weak backhand and her plain hit service. Miss. Ramsay is the supreme chop stroke artist, both on the backhand and forehand. Mrs. Melody ■was more able to deal with Miss Ramsay s shots than Miss Ramsay was able to dyal with Mrs. Melody’s. Also Mrs. Melody did not waste her energy in running fir balls that she knew she could not reach, or if she did get there would eud in a weak return. But when she got properly into position she made the best use ot her chances, making Miss Ramsay run hard to the sidelines. Miss Ramsay made most of her mistakes in the net, and Mrs. Melody roost of hers over the sidelines. Miss Marjorie Macfarlane Wins Again. Again it was only Miss Marjorie Maefarlane’s pertinacity and hard running along the backline and hitting hard on both wiugs that enabled her to defeat Miss Ruth Taylor. Miss Taylor led 4 1 in the fourth set, but could not maintaiu the pace. Nor did she try to vary her length to bring Miss Macfarlane away from the baseline. Having iost the first set she did not fight as hard iu the second set, which Miss Macfarlane won with comparative case. In the second set Miss Macfarlane hardly made a mistake with hard forehand and backhand drives down the sidelines. In the men’s doubles Erance and Perry had an.easy match against Neale and G. L. Brown. In the D. Coombe and E. Pearce combination against Kay and Ewin, Pearce was again the weak link, although he had patches of good play. Coombe played well, but the smashing of Kay and Ewin, the terrific service of the latter, and the combined work of the Australians, was too good. After the first set there was only one side in it, and that was not Coombe and Pearce. Misses D. Nicholls and N. Beverley did not so much beat Misses Thelma and Irene Poole as that the latter lost the match. In the first set the crack Canterbury pair played all over their opponents, dancing about the court in a manner which earned for them the title of

"the ballet girls.” Their game is well balanced, but lacks discretion, and it was this latter failing that lost them the match when they practically had it in their hands. As it was it was only the heady play of Miss Beverley and her wonderfully accurate lobbing that gave Miss Nicholls and Miss Beverley the victory. Miss Nicholls played well below form and lacked confidence in almost all her shots. $ Miss Thelma Poole, who takes the forehand court, has a fine forehand drive, and her sister has an equally fine backhand dri;* Also they understand each other’s .play thoroughly. They volleyed well in the first set, and made brilliant interceptions and smashes. After the first set they lost their accuracy, netting or outing easy smashes. Miss Beverley’s lobbing, too, had Miss Irene Poole many times in difficulties up against the fence, so high and long was the ball bouncing. When the Misses Poole learn to play with more discretion and yet not lose their free hitting, they ought to win a New Zealand doubles title. High-Lights of Other Matches. Mrs. R. P. Adams and Miss B. Knight coriibined well to beat Misses Marjorie and Marion Macfarlane, who, despite the years they have played together, are not an ideal combination. Mrs. Adams made openings for Miss Knight to kill at the net. Also, she herself made many winning volleys. Mrs. Melody and Miss Whittaker combined perfectly to beat Misses Gould and Rudkin, who were making far too many mistakes. The winning pair were superior at the net. D. G. France and Mrs. France did well to beat Clive Johns and Miss Ruth Taylor, who play a good combined game. France was endeavouring by interceptions at the net to cover his partner, who has played very little this season. He succeeded to a large extent, but Johns and Miss Taylor won points and games by taking advantage of France being out of posTtipn. It was Mrs. France’s steadiness from the backline and France’s volleying and smashing that won the day in the end, Miss Taylor just netting at critical stages. Knott and Miss Knight gained a splendid win oyer Kay and Miss Wake in a match that was full of interest. Miss Knight and Knott were too strong at the net, and found openings between Miss Wake, who remained on the backline, and Kay at the net. Both Miss Knight and Knott smashed brilliantly at times, and Kay did all that could be expected. Miss J. Burns and Miss P. Cooke had a long baseline tussle, of sound driving, with good length. Miss Cooke won because "she was more cousistent than Miss Burns.. The only variation in the game was introduced by Miss Burns, who occasionally volleyed. Noel Bedford had an easy win in the intermediate men’s singles.