CHAMPION LAWN TENNIS.

Inangahua Times, Volume VIII, Issue 1303, 28 September 1883, Page 4

CHAMPION LAWN TENNIS.

- (Rdl .v ail Gazette) The aspect of the game of lawn < tennis has undergone great modification?, during the last five years. The long rallies of consecutive strokes from rebound, which were so characteristic of first-class play in 1876 and ISBO, Lave given place to shorter encounters, iv which volleying plays a prominent part. The game has been progressive, as a science ; and its style has altered with the advance of the science. The first thing that a player has to do, if he Seeks to b-3 proficient, is to take care of himself, and to master the return j the next sfcp is. to learn to puzzle his adversary by returns on his own part :-afety comes first; b.ut the defence that is aggressive on its own part, without abandoning due caution, succeeds against play that is purely defensive, and which does not dare risk its own accuracy in the pursuit of attack. The earlier masters first • studied safety in retu rn. Such severity as they put into the stroke was more that of cut and twist from the rebound than that of pace, placing, or of volleying.,' This style of play was the outcome of real tennis, which was at first' assumed, to offer a model for lawn tennis. The next phase was the discovery that the judgment of pace ai*d power of placing were more attacking in the return, and at the same time made the return more accurate than a lobbed return with a twist. Cut thus went rather out of fashion; long, low, and severe returns from the rebound were studied, aud each season these became more effective as each master by practice was enabled to make his own return more dangerous, and yet notletß safe on his own part. Mr. Hartley's play in the best day was . mere of this nature, whereas Mr Gore beforehim and Mr Kadow had depended a good deal on cut in the return. The stroke became more severe, and the Ijtllies shortened a little in Mr Hartley's second year of championship (1880). Ti.eu the. present exponent of the art, Mr Kenshaw, came to the fore, with a more neck-or-notliiug style of play, volleying profusely, risking a certain amount of accuracy on his own part for the aake of greater in return. Graduallyaccuracy improved with him »nd the risk of his style became less ; till in tht^end he got far more than he gave tW'aj; by it, and won the premiership in ldfcl. -iiijthat year Mr Hartley was, out of all form, for want of health and practic*v MrEecshaw's stylo had notreached it later perfection, and probably would jiot have succeeded that season had the old champion been in his 1880 from. But Mr lienshaw and his brother ■were young, and had nothing else to do, as independent young men, but to nukea specialty of the game, and this they have done with marked success. Their latest from is a great improveinput on their first success. The game has been so progressive that, if JVir W. Benshaw should still continue to make it • as especial a study, winter and summer, as heretofore, we nia-y gee a still more elaborate edition of it a year or so hence at his hands. He has now won the champion cap -thrice in succession, so that it becomes his own property, Tins may induce him to relax his study of the game and to . retire from champion competitions; if. it does not, we anticipate still further development of gtyle in him in latei seasous. The game has become such a science that only those who can study it all the year round can now. hope to reach the top of the tree. A notable feature in the play of the two premier brothers this year was a return to a cutting stroke, or rather a superaddition of cut to the stroke of the preceding season. Cut, »s aforesaid, had been rather dropped by leading players, pending acquirement of more thorough mastery of pace, placing, and volleying ; these attained, cut comes in again, as an addition, not a substitute, in their stroke. Mr E. Benshaw, for the second year in succession, beat all comers except his twin brother ; and this year as' last, the final match lay between them as Wimbledon, Each won two sets — Mr E. Benshaw the lirst, by 6 to 2 ; his brother, Mr W. Kejnshaw, the second and third, by 6 to 8 in each case. Then Mr E. Benghaw won the fourth, by 6 to 4, making two sets all. In the last set ends were changed with each game, the western court being the better of the two. The champion won the first fpur games straight off, then Mr E. B. won two games, then Mr W. B. the next, then another fell to the other brother, and the ninth game was one by > r W. X, settling the match, The winner had •the best of the luck as to returned balls which struck the net severely. Once only was the loser thus favoured : the winner had six or seven such turns of fortune. The play of the two brothers is very pirailar in style. The champion twin is the more carefal of the two, when he plays his very best, and herein, with a little better luck, he just turned the scale against his brother. Serving two faults is a pretty good test of .carelessness, and Mr K. Benshaw did this two or three times more than his brother. Mr E. Benshaw was not one whit less brilliant in stroke when he leached the ball ; but, active though he was, he was not quite so good a judge of distance and position as his brother, as to where to place himself for a return, In delivering a" s uush* ing " volley at racing pace his aLn was not quite so true, and he, moreover, volleyed snudiy balls which he could have punished quite as efFectivety had Jie waited for the rebound. Iv the final sot he played with less "acciraoy than previously, just when the points came. Nevertheless, taken all round, the piny of both brothers was brilliant |v tie extreme. I'ach showed, from lljQ crnsta-:t performance of good

strokes, coupled with occasional failures at easy ones, that, good as they ars, and ahead of the rest of the rest of the world at their pastime time, they have still scope for further accuracy. The latter quality has been progressive in their play for some seasons, and in proportion as it may increase, while severity of strokes is retained or eveti improved by them, so will their exposition of the science continue to advance so long as they care i to make it their goal of life, and are served by youth and health.