ENGLAND SHOWS US HOW TO PLAY TENNIS

NZ Truth, Issue 1197, 8 November 1928, Page 16

ENGLAND SHOWS US HOW TO PLAY TENNIS

GREGOR V AND AUSTIN THRILL

New Zealand Wett Beaten In Tests With __^ I. '„'■-. ...V' 1 ...-:...■ • . ■ „ •. . . . ■ ■ The Visiting Players

'■•(From "N.Z. Truth's" Special Aucklandßepx-esentative.) .. ' . j \ . ...■■' ■ ■■ ■ ■ ■ > One fact that was apparent'to the large number of tennis fans which gathered at the Stanley Street courts to see the pick of New Zealand try out Britain's brightest and best on theiirst (jlay of the test last week was the ability of the players from overseas to step out and/ta^k€i the^rpajority of the games just when, the spectators' hopes ran highi And they^pnieide^ rio mistake about it either right through the series.

. > .'■'■■ i. .' V .' ' . ' ■'■.'' ■ ■ ' ■"• • r THIS happened m all but;the gamevin I 'which. t)bn; France -met - Higgs '-■-; . : . . and then ,'the ', match ran into 'twenty-two games, with the New Zealander giving an exhibition that charmed- the hearts of all present. It was certainly Dbn.'s jday. out, and ;he gave the faiis all they -wanted m the way of thrills. , - The Britishers held the crowd spellbound, for when things were going to their liking and the victory not hard to si\atch at any moment, the visitors did not let up.. ..- :•>• v ■ ... ' The idols of the crowd, "Bunny" Austin and Skipper Gregory, although they were hot extended at any time on the first .day, gave an exhibition' that was a delight to see, and the gallery applauded their every effort. The .entire team took the^ public by storm and, the gallery . smiled* with them at their, few mistakes and applauded hard their best efforts. New Zealand had the visiting' team thinking at the outset, but once the Britishers found the length ,-.- of the court they soon .washed out hope of victory, foiuthey settled do\vn to smash their opponents' attacks into defence,, and drove everything with surprising force. '. ■ . •'•:.. „■•■.:••'■ :-.■■:■■'■ V' 1 ' ■ '■' There^was little^ lofjbing done by the} visitors, >and forfehand i.arid backhand drives were the oi-tfer of the. day. ' The greatest amount of lobbing ''was done, by ; Ollivier and France ' m the finalmatch of the .day against Higgs and Collins, and then the two New Zealanders showed to what advantage the high lob could be put. ; ■ France put m some, high shots/with excellent judgment that puzzled the .opposing couple and were largely responsible for the match going to three sets. , Ollivier- was disappointing, especially m view of his exhibition against Gregory, at-: Christchurch. The visiting captain had the southerner* beaten from the start, -and try as he would, Ollivier could not find his. opponent out of place.

Length Lacking

He played with his usual coolness and grace, and al.though not at the top of his form, he was fairly well on his game, but he left Gregory untroubled.

His chief fault early m the first set was the chop he used^on ;his backhand, the ball falling feet short of the net when he played the stroke. He had difficulty m dealing with his opponent's fast' drives down the side-line. \

Partnered-. by France against Higgs and Collins later-. in. the day, iioweveiy Ollivier had ; the pleasure of getting some of his own back, and the two New Zealanders took the first set after a brilliant struggle. As was the case m the majority of the games, however, the Britishers did not. let them get far before dashing their hopes, and the New Zealanders secured only three games m the next two sets. ■.

-.The .-match was all over bar the cheering at. the commencement of the second set, for like the remainder of the team', the Britishers; had only to find length to do what they liked with the game. , „ <

Wilson was a big disappointment m the match with Bartleet against Austin and Gregory, after his excellent display ; against Collins .a short time before. ' ;

Wilson and Collins, staged a very exciting snatch, and m the first set the New Zealanders chances were indeed bright. But again the marked, determination and "stamina of trie .visitors was soon; apparent, for the last two sets were taken by Collins m: a fine manner, , = : -■■ '■■■■':'■ _•- .-. ■■... .

The fact that Wilson had a strenuous tussle m the singles. 'no doubt had a goo.d\deal: to do with his falling down when he partnered Bartleet— for fall down he did. ', ,

Ati times he hit wildly to the base line, and his outstanding: fault was the dropping of shots just over ... the net. .It meant death to any ball to fair short , near either Austin .or . Gregory, for they were seldom caught napping when it came to - overhead • work. Gregory was particularly strong m this department. ' The crowd waited .with bated breath when Gregory raised his racket above his head, and there was a gasp, when he killed the ball with a beautiful smash. • Bartleet's performance m the doubles reached -test standard on only few occasions, but Wilson's play did not allow him to shine, and there was practically no team work between the two. , In his single with Austin, Bartleet played steadily, and he deserved -to' obtain his four games m the first set. He shone at the base line early m the game, but' his service was weak and grew worse as the. game progressed. He made up for his shocking service by excellent ground shots, but he was seldom m the picture once Austin really tried him out. v

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Austin was no doubt the coolest player on the courts. He was ready and waiting for everything Ahat came his way, and after making short work of the match against the New Zealand captain he was a great assistance to Gregory m the quick dispatch of Bartleet and Wilson. .

•* His play delighted the onlookers and he won their admiration by his fine 1 display of stamina. He was' never bustled, but moved' across the court to take difficult ground shots' m fine style. He was deadly within the service line, and whether flying at an overhead smash or lifting a, difficult ball from the ground, he played with his eye on the next stroke, and his . placement was exceedingly fine. ':

Recognized as the stylist of the team, his disiilay was a pleasure that is too seldom granted., to New Zealand tennis enthusiasts^ and the spectators could' not see enough of him.

His every, action must have delighted those who endeavor to play fr-om the )jand-book. Tennis style it certainly was, but it was the unaffected style of a master of the game! The best all-round player on the day was the British captain, J. C. Gregory. His reputation as a hard hitter led the public, to expect a brilliant display from him and they were not disappointed. All eyes followed this tliick-set, quick-footed j)layer as he bounced across the court. At times his movements were those of an acrobat, and he was never caught out of place. Always on his toes, he was prepared for every ball, and was exceedingly fast m covering the court. He played with care-free dash and abandon, hitting everything on the forehand with a mighty stroke. He was fast to follow the ball to the net, and was a dangerous smashing opponent. Fast spinning drives straight a.t his body or. high difficult shots all met the same late with a strong forehand smash. Higgs, the hard-hitting Britisher, found a strong opponent m Don. France, and. was beaten by the .New Zealander m - two sets. As •. the scores of 6-4 and 7t5 show, the. game was close throughout, and although it was m doubt right to the last, France played the game of his life and 1 thoroughly deserved his victory. He played the visitor all over the court and was strong m every department. Both players. were fully extended, but it was, better; judgment that won the game for New Zealand. Higgs, keen on gaining an ace with every /stroke, made several mistakes, while France, also playing with plenty of strength, was a shade more careful' and had Higgs on the run. ... , Playing with Collins against Ollivier and France, Higgs showed his true strength, and 1 the two Britishers* did not leave the result m doubt after the first set, which went to the New Zealand pair. ' \

Showed Finesse

The combination . shown by these two visitors was characteristic of the whole team. They understood 'each others-p lay to the finest point and, Avhen coupled,' worked like perfected pie.ces of machinery.

At the conclusion of the test on Monday, Gregory had some complimentary words to say about the New Zealand captaiilj Bartleet. "He has the best strokes of .any man m New Zealand and his service is easily the strongest," said the skipper of the British team. ■ / "Ollivier or France might beat him. <of course, . but nevertheless your captain surprised me with • some of his strokes. He was not at his oest for the test because he had not had much practice."

When asked by "Truth's!" representative what he thought of Ollivier's general play, Gregory replied "that lie had put up a fine showing at Christchurch. "I tried to drive him off the court, which, of course, was a silly thing to tdo. "Trte trouble with Ollivier is that he is not used to meeting better players, . and he does not try for surprising shots that come back to ' him. Wilson is a fine young player with a lot of good shots." "What was yoiir impression of the South Island team?" asked "Truth." "Well now," replied the visiting captain, "m young Angas you have the most active player m New Zealand.. He played, jolly well m Christchurch."

Speaking on the form of his own team, Gregory said Austin really did not play any hard stuff, but his length was very fine and it was by his placement at the back of the court that he Avon his games.