Lawn Tennis

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 59, 2 December 1937, Page 10

Lawn Tennis

"Volleyer.'D

INTER-CLUB MATCH Lowry Still No. 1 Player REVIEW OF FORM

(By

This season there is a -welcOm* increase in the amount of competitive tennis throughout the district. In the new B grado competition among the Napier clubs, in the rejuvenated club championships, and also in the proposed junior tournaments, there will be players to whom an nmpire is a new experience. With this in mind, I propose to montion one or two minor hreaches of etiquette which are often noticed on the courts. Quite a number of players who would never question adverse decisions will frequently dispute what they think to be mistakes mado by the umpire In their own.favour. This ultra-sportiug attitude is quit© wrong; it is discourf,eous to the umpire, who after all may be right, and upsetting to an opponent. If the umpire calls the scoro wrongly, as you think, in your own favour, then ask quietly if a mistake has been made, but this is the only occasion.on which an umpire's ruling may be questioned. If he calls one of your shots . good when you think it was out, say nothing. It is quite likely that ydli yourself were mistaken, and in any case the next mistake may be against you. As 6pace is limited, other points in connection with the etiquette of match play will be deferred until next week. Hawke's Bay v. Hastings." : Th© A grade Hawke's Bay-Hastings match played at Hastings last Saturday was marred by the fact that insufficient courts wero reserved for the contest. Once -in every second season th© leading Napier players visit the Hastings club; on tfiese rare occasions enough .courts should be provided to allow three-set matebes in both singles and doubles. The men's singles were so arranged that two ranking matches could be eombined with the inter-club event. In the first of thoso Lowry defeated Milburn with th© greatest ease. As the latter rarely attempts to win a single his high position on th© ranking list is scarcely warranted, but he sometimes plays a very good double. Aithough Lowry relies on » limited number of strokes fie usually has them v well under eontrol, and on his display last Saturday hs is still No. 1 in Hawke's Bay. In th© second ranking single Best, of Napier, registered his best win since Teaching this province by defeating H. Elliot. There are not many 'players in Hawke's Bay who have ever beaten Elliot in a single, but on this occasion he met an opponent even steadier than himself. In another lengthy three-set encounter Sharpe finally d.efeated Forbes. When the latter 's .ground strokes went in they iwere most effective, but inconsistency lost the match for Forbes. As the Napier man uses a flat drive on either wing, he hai less margin of error than those who emplej; top-spin, Women's Matches. Tbe best .tennis of the day was played by Mrs Milburn in, her single against •Miss Glenny. The fact that the latter, who in other years has won tho open championships in both Napier and Hastings, was able to win only two games in two gets was a striking Tribute to the exeellence of the tennis played by the Napier lady. Her ground strokes were on this occasion supported by a most accurate overhead. In the absence of Mrs Ootterill and Mrs Lambe Miss Fryer was promoted to the second position in the Hastings team# Her "singles victory over Mrs Mawson was the most meritorious performance in th© match. As indicated jn last week'g notes, Miss Fryer's strokes are go correct in cxecutloji that her play gives that impression of eertainty whieh is rarely seen in Hawke's Bay tennis, If ghe could compete in a few tournaments her ghpts would spon acquir© the "edge" which would make her a future lady champion of the province. The curtailmenfc of the doubles' meant that these matches lost most bf their interest, for "9 up" is never a satisfactory test. Most of the doubles were uneventful, but it is worthy of note that Miss Glenny, aithough defeated by Mrs Millburn in the single, was able to finish ahead of her opponent in both tho_ other events. This would seem to justify the doubles ranking in tho list prepared by this writer last autumn. | B Grade Match. Aithough the A graae match was easiiy won by Hastings, the B grade fixture in Napier had a different regqlt. Most of the Hastings men were. players oi ability and experienee, and they won six oi their nine matches, but.in the ladies' section Hastings lost five- of six singles played. The absence of several of the usual A grade Hastings women was a contributory factor to this result, but Napier's win in the B grade match is a wejcome indication that the standard of play there is improving.