OVER THE NET

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 878, 23 January 1930, Page 13

OVER THE NET

By I

“DEUCE"!

Draw for N.Z. Championships Next week interest in the tennis world will be centred in the Dominion championships which commence at Wellington on Monday. Most of the leading players have been taking part in the various tournaments held since the New Year and they should be in excellent form for the meeting. Men’s Singles There are 35 entries for the men’s singles event, which is decided on the best of five advantage sets. The selected players on the top half of the draw are Don France, Stedman, fc>eay and Len France, and on the bottomhalf are Malfroy, Sturt, Angas and Wilson. Stedman is fortunate to bo selected in preference to Charters, as the latter beat him at Wanganui and won the Taranaki Championship, f° r which Stedman was a competitor. There will have to be a surprise win if ail the selected players, except Sturt, do not reach the last eight. Sturt will no doubt meet Charters in the third round, and will have a hard light to decide who will have the privilege of playing Malfroy, who is in the same quarter of the draw.

Don France should have no difficulty in reaching the semi-final in the top half, his only dangerous opponent being Stedman. The latter, however, has not been playing at all well lately, and it is not anticipated that he will be able to offer serious opposition. Seay and Len France are almost certain to play off for the right to meet Don France in the semi-final. Seay will find Len France hard to beat on his home ground, especially as Seay has not been playing in firstclass tennis for some time. Whether Seay or Len France meets Don France in the semi-final, the latter on his recent performances must have more than a good chance of reaching the final. In the lower half Malfroy will have to beat Lampe on his way to the last eight and will then meet the winner of Sturt and Charters. He will have to be on his mettle to enter the semi-final. Angas is in the last quarter of the draw. His only serious opposition on the way to the semifinal will be Wilson, whom he beat rather easily at Wanganui. Wilson, however, can be very brilliant on his day, and. lie is capable of bringing off a surprise. The chances are, however, that Malfroy and Angas will meet in the semi-final in the lower half. This should prove one of the most interesting and spectacular matches of the tournament. Angas has the moral supremacy in that he beat Malfroy at Wanganui, but it was a very close match, and Malfroy may be able to avenge his defeat. Angas is the fitter and more virile of the two, and this may be the deciding factor in his favour. On recent performances, Don France and Angas should meet in the final. It is generally recognised that these two and Malfroy are the three outstanding players in the tournament, and seeing France and Angas have both beaten Malfroy after very close struggles, a final between them should prove a very thrilling game to watch. * * * Women’s Singles There are 27 entries for the women’s singles events. Miss Macfarlane, the present holder of the.title, is on the top half. She will meet Miss Gibson in the second round, and should be able to reach the final by beating Mrs. Thomson (nee Tracey) in the third round and the winner of Mrs. Melody-Miss Wake in the semi-final. Miss Knight and Miss Nicholls are in the same quarter on the lower half of the draw, and are almost certain to meet in the third round. This should be one of the best matches of the tournament, as both play very sparkling tennis. The winner will meet either Mrs. Adams or Miss Myers in the semi-final and should reach the final. Miss Macfarlane, in spite of her recent defeat at the hands of Miss Knight should have a very good chance of retaining her title. • • • Men's Doubles Malfroy and Don France, Sturt and Angas, Wilson and Stedman, Lampe and Len France are easily the most outstanding doubles combinations in an entry of 16 pairs. Malfroy and France will start strong favourites for the event, and should have no trouble in reaching the final, their strongest opposition being Lampe and Len France. Angas and Sturt are almost certain to meet Wilson and Stedman in the semi-final on the other side of the draw, and the odds are in favour of Angas and Sturt winning through to meet France and Malfroy in the final.

Wellington’s Strong Field On paper it looks as if Wellington players have a good chance of carrying everything before them. With France and Malfroy, Miss Nicholls, Mrs. Adams and Mrs. Melody they have a very strong lot and Wellington Association’s chance of securing the greatest number of points could not be better. Auckland has but a remote chance of retaining the Anthony Wilding Memorial Cup. The game, however, has its glorious uncertainties and the small band of Aucklanders, which has the good wishes of all local players, may yet bring off a surprise and carry the cup all the way back again.

Important Regulation Relating to Rests by Players * Regulation 5 of the New Zealand championship regulations and conditions provides as follows: —“Play shall bo continuous from the first service until the match be concluded; provided that, after the third set, or when women and juniors take part, the second set. a player is entitled to a rest, which shall not exceed 10 minutes. These provisions rsliall be strictly construed, and play shall never be suspended for the purpose of allowing a player to recover his strength or wind. The umpire shall, be the sole judge of intentional delay, and after giving dire warning he may disqualify the offender.” Although this regulation exists it is doubtful whether it has ever been enforced. There have been many occasions when at least the umpire should have issued a warning to players offending against this regulation, but owing either to liis ignorance of the existence of the regulation or his reluctance to appear what might be considered officious, no steps have been taken by him to enforce its observance. It must be obvious that it is most unfair and unsportsmanlike for a player to keep on holding up the game as, outside of all other considerations. this very often has the effect of putting the other player completely off his game. This being so, umpires should be clearly instructed

to enforce, strict observance of this regulation. Manawatu Championship After winning the singles championship for two years in succession Malfroy lost the title this year to Don France, who beat him after a close three-set match. France has been beating Malfroy consistently this season, and this is Malfroy’s best performance against him to date. Whether Maflroy will be able to go one better and turn the tables in the New Zealand championship is a matter on which many enthusiasts are speculating. Miss Nicholls proved that her win at Wanganui was no mere flash in the pan by winning the singles against a strong field without the loss of a set.

Although he has had a bad run to date, Stedman is persevering with his game. Some players would have returned to Auckland in disgust, and one cannot help admiring the way ho is sticking to the task of trying to recover .his form. Aucklanders will wish him better luck at the New Zealand meeting, and hope he may strike conditions more to his liking.

SUBURBAN MATCHES NOTES ON INTER-CLUB PLAY Ideal playing conditions prevailed on Saturday for the fifth round of the outer suburban tennis inter-club ma tches. In the A grade, the Papakura representatives had no trouble in maintaining their supremacy by defeating Valley by 10 matches to three. As usua4 the men members upheld their record, and won all of their matches. The three games won by Valley were in the women’s sections. Playing at Manurewa, Papatoetoe easily accounted for the home team. The final score was 11 to two. The women members of this club can always be relied upon to clinch matters for the club, and this was the case on Saturday. They won all of their matches. The two won by Manurewa were among the men. All of the games were won in two straight sets, and the final result was never in doubt. At Clevedon, the home team accounted for East Tamaki by eight matches to five. Play throughout was very even, several of the matches going to three sets, but the visiting players lack the staying powers of their more seasoned opponents. B GRADE Clevedon, the leading club in the B grade, easily accounted for East Tamaki, on the latter's ground. The visitors won all of the matches played, the only ones going to the credit of the home team were two defaulted owing to the non-appearance of one of the visitors. Papatoetoe, which is running level with Papakura for second honours, accounted for Manurewa by the substantial margin of 12 matches to two. Miss K. Waters and C. French were the only members of the home team to taste defeat. Papakura met and defeated Valley, on the latter’s ground, by 10 matches to four. Substantial margins separated the players, and the visitors were never in danger. After a very even contest, tne Mangere East Club beat Howick, at Mangere, by eight matches to six. The Howick team had to default two matches, so it is hard to say how the honours would have gone if it bad fielded a full team. From present indications it appears as though Papakura will again claim the A grade competition. In the B grade, conditions are more indefinite. The leader, Clevedon, has still to meet Mangere East and Valley. The former is a very uncertain proposition, and playing at home it may cause the leader some thought. Valley is more likely to upset the present situation. Papakura and Papatoetoe cross rackets in the next round. The match will be played at Papakura. LYNNDALE TENNIS CLUB The annual meeting of the Lynndale Tennis Club will take place at the club’s courts next Saturday.