TENNIS TEST TOMORROW

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 902, 20 February 1930, Page 1

TENNIS TEST TOMORROW

Auckland Plays Australians RECORDS OF BRILLIANT PLAYERS THE Australian tennis team, which opens its tour tomorrow and Saturday with matches against an Auckland provincial side, is one of the strongest overseas teams which has visited the DominioAfor several years. The AustraliaiJPwill be well tested at Stanley Street. The Auckland four, Bartleet, Sturt, Laurenson and Stedman, is as strong a provincial quartet as could be found ir. any part of New Zealand. Three out of the four are past holders of All-New Zealand titles.

The Australians have already Indicated by their form in practice games that they are a brilliant lot and tennis enthusiasts can rely on witnessing some excellent tennis during their stay. Kalms and Sproule were both selected to play in the recent Davis Cup trials and had Kalms been available for the trip he would have had a great chance of securing a place in the team. Sproule did very well in the trials and just missed fourth place in the Davis Cup team. All the visitors have good performances to their credit and some idea of the strength of the players and of the formidable opposition which the local men will be up against may be gained from the records of the individual performances of the members of the Australian team. EX-DAVIS CUP MAN

the play-off of the inter-Svate tournament he defeated O’Hara Wood. Playing against Queensland, he took a set oft' Moon and had match point against Cummings. Mr. Teague is acting as manager of the team. He will play with Kalms in the doubles. A DOUBLES STAR C. J. Donohoe has represented Nev.South Wales for the past three year and has beaten all the leading players excepting Crawford and Hopman. Ho pressed Cummings in the third round of the New South Wales championship this year. It was one of the har destfought matches of the tournament and lasted over three hours, the final scores being 3—6, 7—5, 7 —5, 6—2 in favour of Cummings, the ultimate winner of the championship, lie has an exceptionally good record as a doubles player. Partnered by Dunlop they defeated Moore and Cummings in the inter-State match against Queensland. They also defeated Crawford and Hopman in the quarter final of tlio New South Wales championship. They are the present holders of Sydney club doubles championship. Last year he defeated J. Willard, one of this year’s Davis Cup team, in three straight sets in the city of Sydney championship. FEATURES OF VISITORS* PLAY One cannot help but be impressed with the crisp hard hitting of the visiting players. Kalms is very spectacular, his service and smashing approaching the severity of Patterson's. He prefers a high bouncing ball. a.-, he plays a great deal on hard courts, lie lias what is commonly called the Australian backhand. Sproule uses a good length drop shot a great deal in singles, but als » has a very fast top-spin drive which he uses chiefly in doubles play. Teague and Donohoe have no appar ent weaknesses in their game and like their team mates are great volley ers. PLAY ON GRASS ALL THE YEAR ROUND According to the visitors the New South Wales. Association’s courts ai White City, Sydney, are open for play all the year round. They say there may he one or two week-ends when the courts are too wet for play. There are 36 grass courts all as level as a billiard table. The playing surface is perfect and is completely covered with couch grass. This grass seems to withstand the wear and teat and does not. wear away like the English grasses used in the local lawns. DOMINION PLAYERS’ DISADVANTAGES

F. E. Kalms, who will be playing as first man for the visitors, has been in the top flight in Australian tennis for several years and has played against most of the world’s leading players. He was a member of the 1924 Davis Cup team along with Patterson, O’Hara Wood and Schlesinger. He won the New South Wales championship in 1926, defeating E. D. Anderson in the final 6—2, 6—l, 6—B, 6—4. The same year, partnered by J. O. Anderson, he reached the final of the Australian doubles championship, being beaten by O’Hara Wood and Patterson after a very close match. He won both the grass and hard court championships of New South Wales in 1928 and held the country championship of that State in 1925, 1926, 1928 and 1929. Playing as third man in the New South Wales team against Victoria in the recent inter-State match, he won all five matches, two singles and three doubles, partnered by J. Willand. He has beaten Willand, one of this year’s Davis Cup representatives, on the last three occasions they have met in matches. He defeated Gregory, the well-known British player, at Hobart last year. C. Sproules is ranked fourth in New South. Wales. He defeated R. O. Cummings in the Davis Cup trials. Cummings subsequently beat Moon, the Australian champion, in the final of the New South Wales championship. He beat O’Hara Wood and Teague in straight sets in the inter-State match against Victoria. Playing first man for New South Wales against Queensland, he ran both Moon and Cummings to all advantage sets. He put up a great fight against Crawford in the Victorian championships and lost the

It seems only natural that we can - not ever expect our players to attain the same high standard as the leading Australian players under the present conditions. The tennis season in New Zealand as far as grass court play is concerned lasts about five months. Weather conditions in the winter are so unsettled that many of the leading players change over to golf. The leading players are so far apart that they compete against one another only once or twice in a season. The major tournaments are confined to about one month in the year and thereafter players arc> apt to lose interest and become slack in their play. In Australia the leading players play tennis hard all the year round. They have a long programme of open tournaments and inter-State matches extend ing from September to March, six months of the year. The leading players take part in nearly all these tournaments. From what one hears to remain in first-class tennis almost means that a player must have independent means or throw in his lot with a sporting house in order to have sufficient time to devote to hard practice and tournament play. A great number of Australia’s leading players are representatives of sports firms. OPPORTUNITY FOR YOUNG PLAYERS Although only four local players will have the good fortune of actually playing against the visitors yet there is a great deal to learn by close observation of their play and tactics. Young players should not simply watch the flight of the ball. They should study the players' methods in production of shots, position in the court, both in singles and doubles play, footwork, and the variety of strokes used as the occasion requires. In other words, if an aspiring champion studies the cause and does not watch merely the effect of a snot he should learn a great deal from watching the Australians in action and will be well repaid for giving up his own afternoon’s play.

match in the,fifth set. He reached the final of the Christmas tournament at Sydney, being beaten by Hopman, the Davis Cup representative, in the final set B—6. He is regarded as one of the recent “finds” in Australian tennis. W. E. Teague, Victoria, has been playing in first-class tennis for several years and has represented Victoria on several occasions. He beat the South Australian champion Rowe in three straight sets in the inter-State tournament last year. He was undefeated in the pennant matches, beating Clemenger and the other leading players. In