LAWN TENNIS

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 75, 19 November 1931, Page 6

LAWN TENNIS

NOTES BY "FOREHAND." Two Basic Shots. The two basic shots of tennis are the forehand and the backhand drive, and, as stated before, the beginner should practise both as far as possible to an equal degree. There are four points which a beginner should watch. The first is the position of the feet. For the forehand drive the left foot should be in front of the right, and' for the backhand the right in front of the left. The body will then almost automatically assume a correct position, while such a thing as a fall will be almost impossible. The second point is when to hit the ball. Every effort should be made to hit the ball before it has reached or at the top of its bounce. There are two reasons for this — the first that by hit-

ting the ball early in its bounce you I return it sooner to your opponent; the second that you are more likely to return the ball with a low trajectory. A drive which is returned at a fam height above the net is simply "meat" to an opposing net player. Thirdly, it should be the aim of every player to return the hall with a good length — that is, as near the opponent's baseline as possible. The last point is that in making a drive the body should be parallel to the line the ball will take in its flight. This last principle, however, ;\is not a very hard-and-fast one, as many good players manage, when making forehand or backhand drives,to remain square on the net. In most cases, however, if the feet are in the correct position the body will assume its most natural position, which usually is parrallel to the line of the ball. South Island Champiohships. The South Island lawn tennis cham- | pionships w;ll be decided at Timaru on January 1, 2, and 4, at the South Canterbury Association's new courts at Maori Park. The Timaru Association's usual New Year tournament v/ill be held in conjunction with the South Island championships, and entries close on December 26. N.S.W. Ladies. New Zealand is to have a visit from a New South Wales lad:es' team. The team will be Mrs. Molesworth, Miss Valkenberg, Miss Hartigan, and Miss Hall, with Miss Lloyd as nonplaying captain. The team is due to arrive in New Zealand in January, and there is reason to believe that it will be seen in action in Dunedin. The calibre of the team can he judged from the fact that Mrs. Molesworth is one of the finest players in the whole of Australia. Mrs. Molesworth, with Miss Hood, is the present ladies' double champion of Australia, and was Australian singles champion in 1923. Borotra's Career. The near-forgotten name of Manuel Alonso, the once-spectacular Spaniard, comes up in Borotra's Irstory, for it was against Alonso that he gained his first notable wins. That was ten years ago and then he beat the giant Gobert, and moved on to Davis Cup ranlc the following year. He was emergency in the team that G. L. Patterson and P. O'Hara Wood defeated at Boston in 1922, Gobert and Cochet doing the work. But the following year Borotra began to find himself and after two fine seasons 1924 saw him singles champion of France and holder of the Wimbledon singles. In 1925, he beat both Patterson and Anderson in the Davis Cup and piloted his country to the final round of the Cup for the first time. In 1926 he was again Wimbledon champion and reached the final of the United States singles, beating Johnston and Richards on suceessive days, but losing the title to his countryman, Rene Lacoste who had beaten Tilden. France's star was high in these years, for in 1927 she took the Davis Cup, Borotra and Brugnon forming the doubles pair and Lacoste and Cochet performing the extraordinary feat of winning three singles in four from Tilden and Johnston. In 1927, Borotra was again in the Wimbleton final, in 1928 he was doubles champion of France, in 1929 doubles champion once more, and in the final of the French singles and the Wimbledon singles. He has always been a great player on eovered courts where the ideal conditions suit his net game and to list the number of national titles he has won in eovered court championships would require much space. Borotra, indeed, has been a wonder player. For the past few years he has been shaded by Cochet or Lacoste, but always he has been there when the final rounds came. Losing to one or other of his countrymen, he has been more consistent than either and it was his detex-mined opposition that made Cochet the player he is to-day. Davis Cup Team. Private advice received in Auckland states that there is a possibility of the Australian Davis Cup team, with Mr. N. E. Brookes as manager, passing through Auckland early in March. If this happens it is likely that a match will be arranged with an Auckland team. No likely names of the Australian team are mentioned, as it has, of course, not yet been selected, but Ilopman and Crawford should be certain of inclusion. Many Australians are optimistic of their chances in the Cup, provided the best team is available, and in some quarters it is considered that the team has a good chance of giving a fine account of itself in the matches for the trophy.