LAWN TENNIS

Evening Star, Issue 19793, 17 February 1928, Page 12

LAWN TENNIS

[By Recoebss.]

Honors list this week:—

1. Miss Hill (Anderson’s Bay). Won her three matches against Cosy Dell, 6-5, 6-4, 9-4. 2. Miss Smith (St. Kilda), Won all her matches against St. Andrew’s I. 3. Wilson (St. Clair). Won his matches against St. Andrew’s 11., 9-6, 9-4, 9-1. 4. Crimp (Kaituna). Won his three games against Valley, 9-6, 9-8, 9-5. C. Miss Hill (Anderson’s Bay). Defeated Miss Fleming (Cosy Dell), the New Zealand, champion. 6-3. Others who won all their matches include Wilkinson (Balmacewen), Smith (St. Andrews 11.), C. Deaker, Misses Millar and Smith (St. Kilda), Mollison, Bonntag, and Mrs Webling (Roslyn), Balk (Cosy Dell), Miss Flett (Valley), Gibson (Cavershamf. By defeating Anderson’s Bay by 9 sets to 7, Cosy Dell have improved their chances for the B grade banner. The Bay Club was without the seiwices of Miss Grove, its first lady, but nevertheless had a sound team, and Cosy Dell did well to come out the winners. Pearce played some excellent tennis against Oliver, but found the Cosy Dell man sticking to him all the way. Pearce only winning 9-7. The winner had the better shots, but is careless, and does not pick the right ball to hit. _ Many times on Saturday he overhit the heavily chopped balls ho was getting from his opponent, but this did not seem to deter him. If a player is failing on a particular shot in a match, he can try to play himself into it in a five-set encounter, but it must be at once abandoned in a 9-up match after one or two failurees. Balk has been playing improved tennis lately, and won all his matches in good style. He recently defeated Jensen in a club match, and should bo playing A grade next season if he can keep up this game. Miss Hill is to be congratulated on her performance in defeating Miss Fleming, 6-3. The New Zealand junior champion was very erratic, serving double faults and overhitting easy balls; nevertheless, many of her errors were due to good placements from Miss Hill. Miss Fleming played an improved game in her double, she and Miss Smellie defeating Misses Read and Hill, 6-1. Balmacewen played a close match with Valley 11., winning by 9 sets to 7. Wilkinson was the outstanding player for the winners, being the only player in either team with three victories. Connors (Valley) had an exciting match with Buchler, the game going to 8 all and deuce before the Valley man won. James (Valley) won two of his matches, but lost his double, 9-7. Curiously enough, all the Balmacewen ladies won their singles, but lost both doubles and also two mixed doubles. Another close match saw St. Clair defeat St. Andrews 11., 9 sets to 7. Wilson was the outstanding player for St. Clair. Miss Crawshaw played well in her single, but lost her double and mixed double—an unusual performance for this promising young player. Smith (St. Andrew’s) won his three matches in convincing style, and had the best results for the losers.

C. Deaker, who has not been playing a great deal lately, turned out for St. Hilda I. and helped his club to defeat St. Andrew’s 1., 10 sets to 6, Deaker won his three matches, but had to play well against Grimsdale in his double and mixed double to win, each of these fames going to 9-7. Deaker, who has een coached by Tregear, should go a long way in the game if he can stand up to serious tennis. He has all the shots, and would soon speed up his game if ho plauyed in senior grade and in tournaments. He is a brother of A. Deaker, the Southland representative. Misses Archer and Stone played well for St. Andrew’s, winning two matches each.

Kaituna was a shade lucky to defeat North-east Valley by 9 sets to 7, three sets won by the odd game giving Kaituna a win in sets, though nine games behind. Kaituna won both men’s doubles after 8 all had been called, while the first ladies’ double also went to that club by the odd game. Cartwright Elayed a sound game for the winners, e and Crimp being largely responsible for their club’s victory. Miss Flett got the best results for the losers, winning her single and doubles 6-2, 6-5, and ending up the day with a 9-0 win in the mixed doubles.

Caversham and Opoho provided the fifth match for the day, in which a victory by 9 sets to 7 was seen, the south end club prevailing. The events were evenly divided right through,_ Caversham gaining the lead by annexing both men’s doubles. Gibson (Caversham) was the only player of either side with three wins. Mrs Wilson played well for the losers.

The recent Australian championships , and series of international contests are interesting in that they showed that Hopman and Crawford, _ the two Australian colts, are right in the class of the Frenchmen. Borotra certainly defeated both, Hopman 6-4, 7-5, 6-4, and Crawford in the fifth set, but these scores against one of the world’s leading players are highly gratifying. Later Crawford defeated Borotra 6-1, 6-4, but not much notice need be taken of three set matches, though this win will give the colt confidence. More disquieting was the ease with which the Frenchmen won the doubles. The Australians have generally been considered superior in this branch, but no combination succeeded in the colors of the French doubles pair. Crawford and Hopman led Boussus and Brugnon 4-1 in the first set of a three-set match, and thereafter scored but one more game in the match. These matches should he invaluable in trying out the various combinations against the visitors, and on present results it looks as if Patterson and Hopman are the best pair. V, E. Page, now of Tasmania, was nominated by that State for the Australian championships, and played quite well. He got through two rounds, and then met Hopman, the Davis Cup colt winning S-7, 6-1, 6-2, 4-G, 6-3. As Crawford only defeated Page 6-2, 8-G, 2-6, 6-4 in the Victorian championships at the end of last year, it will be seen that the ex-Otago champion is right in the first flight. Crawford, before being defeated by Borotra at the Australian championships, eliminated Hawkes 6-2, S-6, 6-3. Critics consider that any chance that Hawkes may have had of getting into the Davis Cup team this year disappeared as the result of this match. One would have thought that Crawford was a certainty for the Australian junior title, hut lie had to go all out in the final this month against a young j player by the name of Turnbull. Crawforil only winning 10-8, 6-4. Australia evidently possesses some very promising material if comparatively unknown players can extend her Davis Cup representatives in this fashion. Canterbury plays Wellington for the Wilding Shield to-morrow week, and should go close to winning. The Cart* terbuVy team is Ollivier, Seay, and Walker; while France brothers, Wilson, and Malfroy represent Wellington. A proposal to add junior double events at the New Zealand championships is to come before the New Zea- Iland Asosciation shortly. The idea is a good one, and more young players may be induced to travel to the tournament when they can enter for two events.