LAWN TENNIS NOTES

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 114, 12 April 1940, Page 8

LAWN TENNIS NOTES

The season for 1939-40 is practically over, and though a few enthusiasts aro still to be seen on the courts on fine evenings, nothing of any importance remains to be decided. Owing to the bad weather it has been a very unfortunate season, and 6ome time ago the Alanawatu Association wisely decided that, apart from the fact that there was no chance of completing the inter-club competitions, the petrol restrictions made it inadvisable to make journeys for the purpose of playing matches. The Government has asked everyone to be as economical as possible with their petrol, and many people have great difficulty in getting through their necessary business on the amount of petrol allotted to them. Yet there are people who do not seem to recognise the growing seriousness of the situation in which New Zealand in common with the rest ol the British. Empire is fighting for its very existence. The time may come when .wo shall be short of petrol, and if people must play matches which involve travelling they should use the Government Railways. Owing to the fact that only one representative match, that against AA aiI rarapa, has been played—for the match against Hutt Valley could hardly be called representative, only two days notice having been given, and none of the six top ladies being available—it is difficult to judge the strength of the Alanawatu Association. The match against Wairarapa was won "23 to 1. but their team was a very scratch one, and only played because AAairarapa was unwilling to abandon the match which has been played annually for so many years. On the whole the Alanawatu men, in spite of the absence of Dr. Chisholm, were well up to the average, though with no outstanding players. One of the team. Alien Johns, who is still a junior, distinguished himself by getting into all three finals in the Centennial Junior Championships. Ihe ladies were a very moderate lot, though on the whole as good as those of last year. There were two juniors who could hardly have been omitted from the team if they had been available. One of these was Aliss E. Attwood, of the Ohau Club, who showed great form in the Centennial Junior Championships, getting into the final of the singles where she just lost to Aliss R. H odges, the Auckland girl | whose mother was N.Z. champion in 1 1920. On her way to tlie final she beat! Aliss P. Longton, the best of the A\ el- j lington young players, and covered herself with glory by beating the Canterbury representative, Aliss Eisom, who is placed Bth in the N.Z. AA’omen’s Ranking List. This is the first time that any Alanawatu player —except, of course, E. D. Andrews —has beaten a player in the N.Z. Ranking List, and as Alias Attwood will be eligible as a junior for the next two years there is a possibility that Alanawatu may yet produce a lady champion. The other junior who would probably have been included in a Aianawatu representative team was Aliss Cynthia Jacob, the Alaori girl _ who plays in top place for Otaki. Unfortunately she was prevented l>v illness from playing in the Centennial Tournament, but she is a player who, though not very stylish, is bard to beat, and won quite easily when she met Aliss Attwood after the championship meeting. There is not much tennis being played anywhere except in America where play goes on in Florida during the | winter, and the British AA ightman j Cup player, Miss Hardwick, has been very successful, having won two tour-j uaments in which she beat Airs Fabvan (ranked 3rd in America and sth in the world) in the finals. She also beat Aliss Pauline Betz, who had twice beaten Aliss A 7 alerie Scott, another of the British AA’ightman Cup team. It is well-known that Borotra, the Frenchman, is the most popular player in the tennis world, while Alenzel, who formerly represented Czechoslovakia and subsequently Germany, is the most unpopular. It may be remembered that when he was playing in Australia he called the spectators “cannibals.” The following, written by Adrian Quist in Melbourne under date of Bth January to American Lawn Tennis, is rather amusing. Quist writes as follows: “Not so long ago Roderick Alenzel, who has visited our country, made certain drastic statements regarding Australia's entry in the present war. It was really unforgivable as ho had come at our Association’s expense, and I am enclosing copy of an article which appeared in one of our newspapers. I suggest that it would he good reading for tennis players in various parts of the world.” It must t>e explained that Alenzel was one of the political supporters of Germany against Czechoslovakia, and played for Germany alter Czechoslovakia had been annexed by Germany. The article referred to by Quist- is in tlie form of an open letter addressed to “A. Rat, otherwise Herr R. Afenzel, c/o A. Hitler”, and begins; “It does not surprise us in tlie least that you have ratted on your Czech compatriots . . . Akm have sold out to Hitler so completely as to give rise to suspicion that the German claim that the Czechs never wanted to be independent lias something in it. _. . AA’e renieml>er that your idea of being a great big man was to be rude to the crowds who were providing the monev for tout tour, to be rude to your hosts, and to bo utterly insufferable towards the people whose job it was to serve you in the various establishments in which you lived in Australia.” Coombo, who used to play in top place for Alanawatu., and afterwards won the N.Z. Championship, lias again been showing great form at football when playing for the N.Z. Anti-tank Unit against the Aldershot Command, and it looks as though he may some day add the All Black colours to his tennis achievements.