LAWN TENNIS.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 9029, 16 January 1908, Page 7

LAWN TENNIS.

THE CHAMPIONSHIP MEETING. * ' -■■ Uy H. A. Parker in the "Taranaki Herald." (Concluded.) From what I have said in the foregoing, it will be gathered that I do not consider a New Zealand team at this juncture would have a very good chance of beating either New South Wales or Victoria in a six-aside match, though, if Wilding were available, it would make a big difference. Lawn tennis has gone ahead considerably in New South Wales and Victoria. Some very promising young players have come to light, and • a very even six can be put in the field. Of the other States I think South Australia and Queensland would 3y put up a moderate fight'against New * Zealand, but they would be hardly strong enough, whilst West Australia would be out of it, and Tasmania hopelessly so. In the ladies' department things are far more hopeful, and I think New Zealand has a very strong team available. To begin with, in Miss Nunneley New Zealand has a player who when on her game could not probaoly be matched in Australia to-day. Miss Payten, the v only lady likely to have beaten her, has unfortunately -been compelled to retire from the game through illness; and, though Mis? Baker, who is Sydney's jiext best payer, actually beat Miss Uunneley in the Taranaki meeting, I <do not for a moment consider her the equal of the New Zealand champion. .Personally, I think Miss Nunneley is Ik playing as well as she ever did in her days., and her driving is as deadly as ever. The fact that she takes the ball near, the top of the bound gives her an immense advantage -.over the other lad ; es, as she is on the ball too quickly to allow them to reeover position. Miss Powdrell has again shown that she is second only to Miss Nunneley by her performances at the meeting, but second she will remain until she san manage to take the ball at a higher elevation than at present. She appears to use her strokes to better advantage than formerly, no doubt as a result of increased experience. Miss Ward is to my mind quite the most improved lady player of them all, and I should hardly have recognised her as the player of two years ago. She has developed quite V the best service of any lady in New f Zealand, and it has plenty of pace and breaks away very awkwardly to the backhand. Her ground strokes are sufficiently severe and very accurate, while she keeps her head well and can volley at a pinch. My previous remarks about making a better use of the angles of the court in drawing apply with even more force in the case of the ladies, as, not being volleyers, they are dependent for success on their base line play, and they should also cultivate the drop shot, which would successfully terminate many a rally. It is not ; easy to gauge Miss Travers' strength, as she plays such an in-and-out game. When her eye is in, she is almost invincible, and her drives are a treat to watch; but not infrequently sjhe is off her game, and she is then an easy prey for a steady opponent. And now I como to Miss R. Wellwood, who is unqueslionably the most promising player ' New Zealand possesses. With hardly any experience of tournament play she can already hold her own fairly well against any of the above players except Miss Nunneley. She has every qualification to enable her to reach a very high standard. Though barely out of h*r teens she plays with all the "savoir faire" of a veteran and does not get in the least rattled at a critical moment. Her backhand is made in better style than that of ary other lady competitor, but a habit of lifting her Isft foot in making a forehand drive makes this stroke a little unsteady on occasion. She was unlucky in meeting Miss Ward in the first round of both events, as the latter is just a shads too steady for her at present, though each match was splendidly contested. She appears to have better staying powers than the majority of ladies, and possesse the inestimable advantage of being a first-class runner. I look upon these five ladies as being certainties for the team which it is proposed to send to Sydney next March, and if a strong sixth player can be found I do not think that New South Wales will have much chance of retaining the honours. If Miss Bremer has returned from London it will help to make the match a more level one, but even so I will pin my faith to the Dominion representatives. The Sydney ladies are far better volleyers than our players, no doubt owing to the fact that Miss Payten, on whom Uiey have modelled their play, is "par excellence" avolleyer; but to volley successfully one must be in proximity to the net, and I do not think that Miss Gardiner or the Misses Gordon will have much opportunity of indulging in volleying against the hard driving of our ladies in the singles. In doubles of course the case is different, and some trouble may be experienced in passing the Sydney pairs when at the net, but if it would not be considered disloyal to my adopted State I would like to suggest t that the lob is more or less of a "settler" when both opposing ladies are up. The Australian courts are much harder than ours, and* the ball consequently has a longer bound, and as the light is much brighter the ball often appears to be closer than it really is, and I expect our representatives will find themselves mistiming their strokes for a few days; and I would therefore urge upon the N.Z.L.T.A. the necessity of arranging for a week's practice before the matches begin. The hard courts and high bounding balls will be all in favour of Miss Nunneley, who should win the singles, especially as she has had previous experience of the conditions in Australia, and I should imagine that Miss Ward and Miss Wellwood will a'so show to advantage; but I should like to see Misses Powdrell and Travers take the ball a little higher off the ground, as this is even of greater importance in Australia than New Zealand. It was a great pleasure to again welcome Miss H. Hitchings to a New Zealand Tournament,and though short of practice, she was playing in extremely good form at the finish, especially in the match when she and Miss Wellwood defeated Misses Powdrell and Travers. Of the other players I thought Miss Gray most nearly approached championship

foiran, move especially as she nhowed plenty iof confidence and volleyed well, 'her 'Overhead work being as good ;as ithat of many of the men. Almost ;all New Zealand players show far too great a tendency to foug the baseline,and I mean this remark to include the men as well as the ;Jadies. Personally I play the baseline game from choice, and because it would probably be too late forme to make any radical change in my <game which would be likely to be any improvement on my present style; but it is my decided opinion, based on the results of my observations at outside metings, that the volley is far too neglected in New Zealand. Young players, especially if they aspire to championship honours, should remember that t.he greatest players of to-day, sunh as Norman Brookes, the Dohertys, Beals, Wright, etc., are in the main volleyers. and 1 wcuid therefore advise them to culti- j vate an effective service which could be followed to the net with a reasonable opportunity of getting to the net after making a good length stroke. "Doing this practically compels one's opponent to make a difficult stroke to win the point, and it is surprising how many mistakes even a first-class man will make when he is bustled at the net. It should be the aim of every vofleyer to cultivate his power of anticipation, as this will enabk' him to cut off many a drive which ! would otherwise ivave passed him. No stone should be left unturned to make advances in style, and particularly in accuracy, as the latter is essential for winning matches, and in perfecting weak strokes. I have found an intelligent use of ths volleying board of great advantage to me. A large number of players attend tournaments just for the pleasure of the game, and no doubt they extract a great deal of enjoyment from their matches, but the keenest j enjoyment to be extracted from any i game is the sense of gradual and steady improvement, coupled with a fixed determination to forge to the ( front, and the few hints that I have given are really intended to help players of this stamp who are, ambitious to excel.