CHRISTMAS TENNIS TOURNAMENT

Rotorua Morning Post, Issue 5288, 28 December 1946, Page 6

CHRISTMAS TENNIS TOURNAMENT

SEMI-FINALS REACHED 'I ! AITKENHEAD-SIMPSON MATCH THRILLING ,1 . With favourable weather throughout the day, most V games were advanced to the semi-finals and spectators were •!( treated to several fine exhi- >:{ bitions. During the morning ''I there was a fresh eross-court 'I wind from ;the west which inter.j fered with good stroking, but '•'j during the afternoon, conditions i'. were ideal. The semi-final of i the men's championship singles ' i between J. Aitkenhead, of Tau1 ranga, and G. Simpson, of Milford, provided the finest exhibition of the day. In the first set, Simpson impressed j with a remarkable coverage of the ; court and thrilled spectators with his E recoveries and consistent base line play, and in spite of Aitkenhead's constant attack and fine overhead ' i work, he took the first set 6 — 3. In i the second set, Aitkenhead took more • control of th'e game, with frequent j excursions to the net and he kept Simpson on the run with perfectly- ' placed volleys. 1 With the score ,6 — 5 in favour of Aitkenhead on his service, Simpson had four match points, but lost the game and set, 5 — 7. Men's Finalists Found After a short spell, play was resumed. Aitkenhead forced' the pace from the outset with a strong attack followed up with excellent net work, keeping" Simpson on the defence at all times. The Milford man may have done better if he had taken full advantage of the openings, but he seemed content to remain on the base line and rely on consistency. Aitkenhead took the final point of the set and match with a nicely judged drop shot, making the score 3—6, 7—5, 6—0. In the other semi-final, K. W. Dyer, of Tauranga, proved superior throughout to L. H. Stever.s, of Auckland, who appeared very tired in the second set, and although still stroking well, was unable to find touch. Dyer took the match 6 — 1, C — 4, making the final this afternoon between Dyer and Aitkenhead, which is to be played at about 3 p.m. Mrs. Jackson beats Mrs. Free In the ladies' championship singles, Mrs. M. E. Jackson, of Rotorua, had a well-earned win over Mrs. N. Free, No. 1 seeded player from the Takapuna Club. Mrs,. Jackson's game showed no weaknesses, her consistency proving too much for Mrs. Free, who was making many errors. Another Rotorua player who showed up well was Miss M. Knight, who took the third seeded player, Miss F. Worthington, the Auckland intermediate champion, to three sets. It was not until the third set that Miss Worthington found that she had been applying pressure to the Rotorua player's strongest quarter, her backhand. The strength of the Aucklander's attack prevailed in the final set with the loss of two games, the score being 6 — 1, 5 — 6, 6 — 2. Kew Zealand's Davis Cup player, A. C. Stedman and his partner, A. M. Gunn, advanced to the semi-final with an easy win over G. W. Murray and G. W. Tucker. Stedman is showing glimpses of his best form, and this pair should reach the final of the men's championship doubles. At the conelusion of the championship finals, this afternoon, the trophies will be presented by the president of the Rotorua Lawn Tennis Club, Mr. D. E. Sheaf. Detailed results are as follow, the handicap events being recorded from the- auarter-finals : — Championship Events Men's singles: K. W. Dyer beat G. W. Penney 6—1, 9—7; L. II. Stevens beat M. Denise 6 — 2, 6 — 2; J. Aitkenhead beat H. Rusbatch 6 — 2, 6 — 3; G. N. Simpson beat I. Wylds 6 — 2, 9 — 7. Semi-finals: Dyer beat Stevens 6 — 1, 6 — 4; Aitkenhead beat Simpson 3 — 6, 7 — 5, 6—0. Ladier.' singles: Mrs. M. E. Jackson beat Mrs. N. Free 6 — 3, 6 — 2; Miss I'. Worthington beat Miss M. Knight 6 — 1, 5 — 6, 6—2; Miss A. Wilson beat Mrs. J. McCaull 6 — 1, 6 — 1; Miss R. Holland beat Miss N. Beverley by default. Men's doubles: Dyer and Aitkenhead beat Wylds and C. N. Gordon 6 — l, 6 — 1 ; M. D. Smith and Penney beat T. Ball and Rusbatch 3 — 6, 6. — 4, 6 — 2 j A. C. Stedman and A. M. Gunn beat G. W. Murray and G. W. Tucker 6 — 0, 6 — 1. ■Ladies' doubles: Mrs. M. Veitch

and Miss M. Knight beat Mrs. R. Le.e and Miss I. Lee 6 — 2, 6 — 1. Mixed doubles: Dyer and Mrs. Free beat G. Vugler and Miss I. Lee 6 — 5, 6 — 3; Stevens and Mrs. McCaull beat G. Gordon and Miss Howatt 6 — 5, 6 — 4. Handicap Events Men's singles: T. Ball (-30 4/6) beat R. Mowbray (-15) 11 — 5; R. Monk (-3/6) beat J. Enwright (-30 3/6) 11 — 7; G. Vugler (-30 5/6) beat S. Mitchell (15 3/6) 11 — 5; J. Aitkenhead (-40 3/6) beat J. Alison (-30) 11 — 7; A. Mowbray (-15 5/6) beat W. G. Solly (-15) 11 — 3; E. Enwright (-30 3/6) beat L. G. Jackson (-30) 11 — 9; F. Thomas (-15 3/6) beat L. C. Palmer (-30) 11 — 10; T. Wilson (-30 4/6) beat I. Wylds (-40 3/6) 11—10. Semi-finals: Ball beat Monk .11 — 7; Mowbray beat E. Enwright 11 — 12. Ladies' singles: Mrs. M. E. Jackson (-15 5/6) beat Miss W. Larsen (-15 2/6) 9 — 5; Mrs. R. Lee (-30 2/6) beat Miss M. Howatt (-15 5/6) 9 — 5; Miss I. Lee (-15 5/6) beat Mrs. J. Davy (-3/6) 9 — 2;, Miss R. Mitchell (-15) beat Miss P. Worthington (-40) 9 — 5. Men's doubles: L. Jackson and T. Wilson (-30 2/6) beat S. Mitchell and M. Denise (-30 2/6) 11—7. Ladies' doubles: Misses Larsen and Dawson (-15) beat Misses Howatt and Knight (-30) 9 — 6; Misses P. and R. Mitchell (-15) beat Mesdames J. McCaull and N. Free (-30 5/6) 9 — 3; Mrs. R. Lee and Miss I. Lee (-30 1/6) beat Misses D. and A. Allison (-15) 9 — 5; Misses P. and N. Worthington (-30 1/6) beat Misses M. McGinley and G. Rogers (3/6) 9—3. Mixed Doubles: Monk and Miss A. Allison beat Mitchell and Miss P. Mitchell (-15 4/6) 11—8; H. Walker and Miss R. Mitchell (-15 2/6) beat Solly and Miss P. Solly (-15) 1 1' — 8; T. Thomas and Miss R. Thomas (-15 2/6) beat Wylds and Miss P. Worthington (-40 4/6) 11—7.