BRILLIANT TENNIS

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 33, 9 February 1933, Page 20

BRILLIANT TENNIS

AMERICAN .VICTORY.

TEST MATCH AT MIRAMAR

DOUBLES PAIR BEATEN

Ifew-Zealand aud the United States played""their first tennis match in the history of the game yesterday, and the American visitors won by five matches to one. The Dominion team's only success was in the second double, Andrews and Angas. combining with unexpected success to defeat Allison and van Ryn, the Wimbledon doubles champions and American title holders of a season ago, who were, considered by their countrymen to have Been tlie best pair in the world. In his. singles match against Keith Gledhill,. the No. 4 in the American .team, Angas was three times within two points of victory. He lost through an error in tactics rather thn anything else, so the Canterbury mau may fairly be said to have.."been tlie hero of the day. The weather, which had begun unpromisingly, became brilliantly fine during the afternoon, and the courts improved as play progressed. There was a crowd of over 2000 present. DETAILED RESULTS. Detailed results follow: United States players being mentioned first:— Singles. _H. E. Vines. beat E. D. Andrews, 6-4, 7-.*5. W.. L. Allison beat C. E. Malfroy, 10-8, 6-4. •I. van. Ryn beat D. G. France, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1. _ . K. Gledhill beat C. Angas, 5-7, 7-5, 8-6. Doubles. Vines and Gledhill beat Malfroy and France, 6-4,. 6-4. Allison and van Ryn lost to Andrews and Angas, 4-6, 8-6, 3-6. VINES THE CHAMPION. The ..event of the day for New Zealanders "was the appearance of Ellsworth Vines,. the "champion of the world," as his. captain, Wilmer Allison, called him recently. . And after witnessing Vines in action it is easy to understand why the Americans have hailed him as a successor, to Tilden. Vines's success at Wimbledon and in the two national singles championships of his own country last year have heen no triumph of training, cqnrage, and resource alone. They have been the wins of a super-player, a man magnificently equipped in almost every phase of the game.' Vines is a real champion. .He has a terrific service which he husbands for needed points, but which seems to improve as the match wears on. He has a forehand which is low, deep, and struck with such perfect timing that the deadly shot seems to be hit almost with a caress. His backhand, taken low and easily, is the pattern of grace. But if the marks of Tiis groundshots .are rhythm and style, his volleys and smashes are deadly. He braces himself' for a smash like some animal about to spring, and his volleys, flashing and deep, are struck with machine-like accuracy. His game is varied in pace, he touches little drop shots over the net with the art and command of the master, and he varies them, without warning, with shots of terrific power. Not one of his team-mates is in the same class with him.- Allison, a sternly-trying, fine vollgyer with rare vim at the net, with a great forehand and backhand straight down the line; van Ryn, with his carefully schooled ground shots, fierce backhand chop,_ and deadly overhead strokes; Gledhill with his splendid service and magnificent angling at the net—besides Vines they aire merely adequate. A GREAT BURST. Vines is of the real line of champions. He showed that in one game. At 3-2 in the "second set, Andrews had him down 0-40 on service. Vines took the net behind his service ball and touched the return, away at a wide . angle for a winner. He scored another ace off Andrews's next service return, smashed, a .lob with.deadly purpose to make it deuce, volleyed " beautifully to Andrews's backhand, and then, taking a return below the height of the net, played a perfect stop volley—five clean placements in a row to take the game. Against such a man Andrews was helpless. When he held a momentary lead of 2-0 in the first set it was obvious that Vines, whenever he chose, would wipe it out. He wiped it out despite a double-fault which put the New Zealander within a point of taking the fourth game. And,after that Vines, graceful, but terrific in power and magnificent- in length, was always the master. There was a dramatic duel in the third game of the second set when Andrews won his adversary's service after nine deuces and- after nine game points, but otherwise the tale of both sets was the same. Andrews held his • own up to 3-all in the first set, he was down. 2-4 jn the second, Jand though he pulled up to _11 and 5-all it was merely evading a fate which was certain from the, beginning. Champions are not beaten; they merely lose, and Vines was not in the mood to lose yeaterday. MIGHT HAVE WON. Against Allison, C. E. Malfroy might easily have won. More certainly he might have taken the match to five sets, for he pressed Allison throughout, had him scratching for service, and held the luck of serving in the odd game. But Malfroy, when he had Allison beaten ih the first set, failed to take his chance, ,and it did not come again. The American was_ playing with greater vim than any of his team-mates, he was employ, ing a deadly, low, piercing forehand, and at the net was activity itself. And Malfroy, after a somewhat shaky opening which cost him three of the first four games, .won four games while Allison took two and evened the score at 5-all. At this stage Malfroy was playing like a winner; he led 6-5, 7-6, and 8-7, and at one stage Allison made three remarkable recoveries in one rally to save the set. But at 7-8 Allison slumped on service and was down 0-40. It was the best of chances for Malfroy, who fell down on it, outed; and then saw Allison ace a volley. Finally Malfroy was not set for a return and made a weak half-volley from the base-line which never looked like passing the net. Allison revealed appreciation of the escape. He aced his next two services and was out of danger. Malfroy was 15-30 in the next service and was double-faulted on a ball which looked a winner. Allison outed the next shot, a_ backhand cross-court drive, but was quick to seize the chance his adversary gave him by leaving the right-hand Mdebne open next point and passed MalIroy to take the game and lead 9-8. The position was reversed. now. and Allison made no mistake. He ran ahead 40-15 and finished the set with a service ace. THE BREAK. Allison's strong service took him through the hard-fought second set, in which Maiiroy was always ahead up to 4-all. There the awaited service break came when Malfroy (30-40 after a double fault caused largely through waiting for a ballboy to remove the first ball from the court) gave Allison his opening. Malfroy.atoned for his error with a service ace, but outed a drive after forcing his opponent clean off the course with a beautiful service ball, and then netted, leaving the American. 5-4 with his delivery to follow. Allison ran to 40-15 on this, and there was no letting up on his part. He rushed the net, forced errors, and took the match. D. G. France took a whole set to find his feet against the spectacular and cheerfully inconsequent van Ryn, and a set was too much. After the loss of that set France settled down to his old game, stopped trying to force his service, and gave, a brilliant exhibition of volleying, leading all the way up to 4-3, when van Syn,failed to hold service. The visitor had been 40-15 in this game when France lorced him into mistakes and raised a deuce call then passed him cleanly with a perfect drive and finally dislodged him from the net with a fine lob and beat him tor the lead, 5-3. France was trailing 15-30 in the next game, van Ryu taking the net and volleying with great effect, but the Aew Zealander moved ahead 40-30 when the American outed a-service Teturn, and clinched the set after returning a net-cord shot with a pretty half-volley. Had France continued to show this form in, the third set He would have taken' the 'match, but van Ryn was quickly ahead after. _ar long struggle on the .Wellington

man's service, -which meant 1-all or 0-2. IVance had led 30-0 and 40-30 in this game, and then entered upon a bitter fight •to save the game, retrieving three game points, but losing the fourth. The visitor continued his march to lead 4-0 and 5-1, and it was all over. France was never as sure and active as usual, and yan Ryn was too brilliant at the net and too clever in covering his weaknesses. ANGAS'S ERROR. The Angas-Gledhill match was marked by Angas s fine fight, his constant attack whenever the chance came his way, and ™ __. " hMI error in judgment in taking l__iil rather easily in the penultimate game. Angas played a little too confidently, or else he misjudged the pace of the court when he played a drop shot that proved to be Gledhill- chance of winning the unlucky thirteenth game in' the final set. There was little between the players, and despite Gledhill's undoubtedly greater brilliance in serving and volleying, Angas played the more consistently and deserved to win. It was an example of what momentary miscalculation may mean in tennis. The doubles were marked by the unexpected win of Andrews and Angas over the United States Davis Cup pair, Allison and van Ryn. It would be too much to say that Allison and van Ryn played m the manner that won them their victories in the Wimbledon and American championships, but they certainly did not throw the match away, and were the victims of superior rac'quetwork. Angas had to suffer an almost incessant pounding, and appeared to relish it, and Andrews, despite the tactics of the Americans, refused to be frozen out and occasionally dominated the game. Van Ryn was breaking down on ground-strokes, particularly on the backhand, and both the visitors were missing far too many in the air. Angas kept on hitting them back, showing wonderful fighting spirit, and Andrews interpolated fine kills. After a brief moment in the first set, during which the Americans seemed about to sweep everything before them, the New Zealand pair had the better-.of-the exchanges. ALLISON UNSAFE. Allison was very unsafe on services-he lost three of his first four service games and then van Eyn lost one as well, while Andrews was serving well and Angas, though living dangerously when making his delivery into the wind, was triumphing as the result of fine judgment, inces-j sant volleying which the Americans were unable to kill, and the power of Andrews's shots. Angas was lobbing weakly at critical_ moments, and van Ryn seemed to' relish these tosses, missing scarcely one of them, but Andrews was always ready to close the gap in the score. In the other double Prance did not show up in his usual fashion, and Malfroy fought hard for service because of his own errors and those of his partner. Thus, while the New Zealanders led 3-0 in the first set, Malfroy, who double-faulted to be 'vantage receiver, dropped the game md the chance of a long lead. The Americans _ equalised, and with a set ittaek which never lacked punch, they bad tbe losers defending almost throughrat. The position of the New Zealand pair on Malfroy's service was most insecure—he double-faulted twice in his second delivery, first to be 15-30, then to be 'vantage receiver; he was down 15-40 thei third time he served, and won the ;ame only on a lucky net-cord and was 3-30 on his fourth service. France was missing them at the net, and Gledhill, tvith his nice interceptions, and Vines, with a cunningly mixed game, had the Wellington pair in trouble. Vines e_perimced no difficulty in winning the first set after Malfroy had lost service to be t-5. The American was ahead 30-0 and 10-15, the only point dropped being a iouble-fault. The New Zealanders managed to reach Vantage receiver, but Vines speedily won that point and after that two bad service returns gave the visitors the set. In the second set it was a servers' battle ip to 4-all, after which France (who on bis previous service had aced Vines and Grledhill in succession) lost his only service game of the match to love. He iouble-faulted to be 0-30, and netted to be down 0-40, possibly put..off by the sharp call of Gledhill to Vines to let the preceding shot go. The Wellington man netted again, and the Americans had the essential lead again with G-ledhill's service bo follow. For once the Santa Barbara player wag in difficulties, and the local pair had a chance to even the score. But I they.failed to take the point and it was too late. Two points later it was all over, tad Vines and Gledhill, one of the prettiest teams ever seen ia action, had svon in two sets straight.