FORM COUNTS

NZ Truth, Issue 1151, 22 December 1927, Page 12

FORM COUNTS

Tennis Triers Who Might Show It (From "N.Z. Truth's" Special Tennis Correspondent.) In another four days the ping of racquets m Christchurch will tell that the New Zealand championships are under way. CEL.DOM haa there been a championu ship which held a men's singles draw so likely to be destitute of surprises. A glance at the seeding, shows that the eight men starred by the New Zealand Association m making the draw, are certain to constitute the final eight. That is, if Noel Wilson gets past Alec. Wallace, whom he has been unlucky enough to strike m the first round, and Camille Malfroy disposes of the much improved and always dangerous Ken. Walker. In the fiVst Quarter, there are only Jeff. Ollivier and Don. France m the hunt and they will dispute the right to enter the Berni-final. In the second quarter, Wilson and Ivan Seay have an easy passage once they are past Wallace and Angas, who meets Ivan m the second round. The third quarter is certain to see Edgar Bartleet and Malfroy oppose one another and the final quarter is the easiest of things for Len. France and Jimmy Laurenson. Laurenson, it is true, has to meet Jack Pui ker, who is a man likely to spring surprises, but Jack will not have much up ins sleeve this year and is not likely to repeat his epic victory of last championship when he sensationally downed Edward Smyth. Whether or not Jack gets home, matters little for the certainty is that Len. France will make the semi-final. All interest centres m the first quarter, for if Don. France beats Ollivier for the right to make the semi- 1 final it will be Don's championship. Othenvise, the wily Jeff, may score again. The second quarter, from which Wilson and Seay emerge, is more of a problem, for Noel should beat Ivan, but is not playing the ball which he was last year when he put out the .Christchurch man m five sets. In the third quarter, Bartleet will beat Malfroy and contest the semifinal with Len. France. He should beat Len. unless he is a sadly different Bartleet from the one we know. IF— That leaves Bartleet meeting the winner of the Ollivier-Don. France encounter. The verdict is this: If Don. beats Ollivier he will also beat Bartleet and win the New Zealand singles championship for the first time. If Ollivier wins, Bartleet should get home m the final. Bartleet has never yet beaten Ollivier m the New Zealand championship match. But Ollivier has never yet beaten Bartleet m a Wilding Shield match, and they have met three times. The men's doubles are full of pairs which have held the title at some time or other. Peacock-Wilson, GossGreenwood and Knott-Sturt are all past title-holders. This time not one of them will be there at the finish. In the first quarter, BartleetLaurenson will meet Walker-Angas m the final eight and should beat this pair. In the next division, PeacockWilson and OHivier-Seay will dispiite the title to a semi-final game and the Christchurch men will win. Knott-Sturt, the present champions, by dint of an easy draw will reach the semi-final, but there will make a hurried exit before France brothers, who will beat Lampe- Malfroy on the way. This means that the winners of the Bartleet - Laurenson — Ollivier - Seay clash, will meet and beat the Frances m the final. For the Frances will be beaten. Nothing can cover that weakness of Len. m standing too far from the net when the pace is on. At present it looks as if the Christchurch pair, a formidable and pretty combination, will get there. That is if Jeff, doesn't crack up, as he has done so often. In the ladies' singles, there is only May Tracy to oppose the passage of May Spiers to the semi-final and the Christchurch girl will beat May. In the second .section, things are easy for Marjorie Macfarlane to show what she learnt on her English tour. The third section is where the fun will be. Here Arita Adams, the present champion, has to meet the winner of the Myrtle Melody-Mildred Bast match. But unless her play shows sudden improvement, Arita will never get past the hard walloping of the exjunior champion, Dulcie Nicholls. The fourth section gives the winner among Beryl Knight, Myrtle Wake and E. Partridge, the passage to the final four. The three are fairly evenly matched, but the Auckland lass, Miss Knight, should do it. The semi-finals will hold May Spiers, Marjorie Macfarlane, someone unknown and Beryl Knight. The winner of the Macfarlane-Spiers match will be the champion, and on her own court that sounds like Miss Spiers. The ladles' doubles possess nothing to beat Misses Spiers and Partridge unless it is the Misses Macfarlane and Knight. It is impossible to see the best Wellington pair, Mrs. AdamsMiss Tracy, beating either of these combinations. There are only three pairs which suggest themselves aa likely winners of the combineds. and those are the present champions, Don. France-May Spiers, Ken. Walker-M. Wake and Noel Wilson -May Tracy. By no stretch of imagination can one see Don. France and May Spiers failing to get home against these two. Sturt and Marjorie Macfarlane may he well up, but they are not nearly good enough.