Tennis LEN. FRANCE STRIKES SNAG

NZ Truth, Issue 1261, 30 January 1930, Page 13

Tennis LEN. FRANCE STRIKES SNAG

Howell Drives Him To The Limit In Opening Sets On First Day

MISS NICHOLLS HAS BAPTISM OF FIRE

(By "N.Z. Truth 's"' Special Tennis Writer). Opening days of the New Zealand lawn tennis championships saw surprises abound. First came the manner m which Len France was driven to the limit by the brother of the Maori champion, Phil. Howell, a steady, all-court player,, who was making his debut at the national meeting, and was somewhat nervous about it. <\ .... France just scrambled home m the two opening sets, and lost the third and fourth to an imperturbable opponent, who solved the mystery of France's spin. It was only.' m the fifth set that France was definitely superior. • '

JT ia the first time he has ever had to 1 work hard to. win riis opening match ih the N.Z. Singles. Following that came the way m which the two top Canterbury girls, MelvaWake ' and May Andrew went down before a pair of Wellington's young players, Margaret Whyte : and Eileen Brady. Miss Wsfcke was not her reliable self and fell into patcries of errors against the hard, consistent hitting of Miss Whyte, tuned up by a string, of hard matches. May Andrew, treble title holder m Can-, ter bury, never looked like winning' against the. battering of Eileen Brady. Miss Brady, a girl who has been figuring In Wellington's representative tearii trials fpr years, hit harder and placed better. She showed a definite advance from her form of past seasons, which' has been more defensive than any- x thing else, though marked by great steadiness. , Then came the shattering attack launched on Auckland's top pair, the Maofarlane sisters, by these two defeat r ed Canterbury girls. Coming from a struggle which ended In a set of 28 games, Marlon Macfarlane was definitely below herself and. her fall from form reacted on her slstei*, the present national singles champion. But dominant on the court from first to last was , Miss Wake. Entering the match with a spirit of rare determination she unleached a series of powerful shots which went sizzling away for aces and had the Auckland ers wondering where to turn. Her form was that of a giant and. she touched a peak which she may riot reach again m years. Backed by Miss Andrew's solid service ball, Miss Wake played havoc on the other side of the/ net and it was not until set down and 0-3 that the Macfarlanes managed to steaidy themselves and fight this impending disaster. It was too late "then for though they struck form they could not do more than share the games. Played on an out of the way court it was the match of the first day. Dulcle Nicholls, singles favorite, had her baptism of fire In a long and nerve-racking match against the past doubles champion, Mrs; Scott. In the first act It was the old, confident Dulcle, cracklrtg them at all angles and watching the ball shoot, out of her opponent's reach. A batch of errors left her down 0-3 m the second set, and though she pulled up to a 3-all call by the soundest of play her nerve was wrecked and she abandoned her hitting tactics to play Mrs. Scott's steady, patient- game. It was a bad move, for she could not

hope to outlast such a sticker and the next: three games went away from her m a row. Final set exchanges saw the young North Island champion still anxious and careful and she just edged but m that game after a treble deuce. With the lead again she became her old self and' from that moment began to rain the familiar, solid shots on the opposite court. She took the next five games m succession, the first four saw a tiring Mrs. Scott gain only four points and the last Dulcie Nicholls won from 0-40 against the wind. Another lucky escape came to "Dulcle Nicholls when, partnering borls Howe, she disposed of Auckland's only other hope for the.doubles championship, Beryl Knight. Playing with the Dunedlnite, Miss N. Fleming, Miss Knight's tactics were those of the old, powerful player, her volleys and smashes being hit with great power. Solid driving by Dulcie Nicholls and the doubles '1 cunning of her partner, who mingled lobs and volleys, took the first set easily.

Miss Knight won the second set by sheer class, and had a lead of ,4-1 m the third which went before the patience and unremitting attack of the Wellington youngsters. In \the doubles another formidable pair collapsed after being m a winning position. Partnering Mrs. C. Smith, whose match against Marion Macfarlane lasted two hours, but who left the court as dainty and unperturbed as ever, Miss M. Myers, fourth-ranked player m the Dominion, opened her match against Mrs. Sturman-Miss Lloyd with powerful net play which wrote finished to every- . thing that came near her. She letf 5-2 before her opponents dug In their toes, but steadiness, careful position play and the sound

tactics of Miss Lloyd, who was not an N.S.W. representative for notn- . ing, took the set and the next one. It was Mrs. Sturman's first match since, as Nancy Curtis, she retired from championship play eight years ago. , At the net' she slaughtered the loose ones m the old Curtis way. Margaret Whyte's powerful smashing and volleying made her star performer of the second day, for she lowered- the colors of the redoubtable Mrs. C. Smith, conqueror of Mrs. Adams, Miss Myers and Miss Marion Macfarlane all within the last few weeks. Miss Whyte's dashing -tactics deserved the result they brought, though she tossaway one opportunity when match point came her way m a manner perilous to her chances. • . ' That error, failure to volley a simple ball into a court three-quarters empty, cost her the second set and Mrs. Smiths heartbreaking steadiness had her m trouble, for she trailed 0-3 m the third set and only came back by determining- to go out m a blaze of hitting and recapturing, the form which had given her the first set with ease.. ■ • Noel Wilson had the hardest passage Into the fourth round of the men's singles and . the manner In which he dealt with Glanvllle, Canterbury's number four showed that those who think that Angaswlll make short work of him before the semifinal may be counting their chickens before they "cheep." A lucky win m the ladies' doubles came to Mrs. Sturman-Mlss Lloyd, who for the second time trailed- in the opening stages of the match and got there only because the youthful Misses Whyte and M. Gibson could not last the pace. Miss Lloyd took a set to find her feet and the opposing pair rained shots on an uncovered court from commanding . net positions. Thereafter it was a matter of coolness and experience beating youth and energy. The crop of errors with which the match closed was profitable to Mrs. Sturman and Miss Lloyd. Anotherv . lucky pair was Mrs. Melody and Mrs. Scott, who dropped the first set against the HoweNicholls combination and then fought their way through to match point by play i which was much below their best. ' Mrs. Scott was below form and Mrs. Melody, through keenness to win, was mistiming. It was an effort not to in r splre any. confidence m their future unless they materially Improve. { As this /edition goes . to press rain, Iwhich seems likely to remain about, i makes upsets ki all events possible.