New Caledonia

Top In Touch Tennis

Conditions

Extremely difficult playing

conditions ruled top tennis out.

But they didn’t inhibit some

gruelling fightbacks by under

dogs, Guam, American Samoa

and Nauru against strongly

tipped New Caledonia, P-NG

and French Polynesia. New Heb rides and Fiji disappointed. New Caledonia was the superior; NG took out the silver and Nauru the bronze.

Play was on Port Moresby Tennis Club’s courts and several teams were unhappy with the court surfaces, which they said were “only patchy”.

Balls often tended to deflect after hitting lines.

Bugbear was the winds, always worse in the afternoons and a prob lem for the women who would have preferred more morning matches.

Changing direction and strength all the time, the winds acted as if the temporary windbreaks weren’t there.

The tough but unspectacular American Samoan pair, Sam Hocking and his nephew, Pat, stood out, as did the Roberts man and wife com bination of Nauru, New Caledonia’s great singles find N’Godrella and the NG mixed doubles pair, Bob Davies and Iris Hopkins.

Nauru produced good teams of both sexes and with much local sup port whipped the Guam teams and the Fijians.

The New Caledonians adapted well to the courts while the Guam boys didn’t; French Polynesia shone in doubles.

Tennis is proving to be yet another Games sport dominated by the expat riate camp. French, Australian and British players represented the French territories, Fiji, P-NG and Nauru. To encourage Islanders to get in the courts, coaches feel new good-quality courts are needed in all territories and regular competition should be organised.

Many team managers were adamant that Islanders were capable of much better tennis, with the right help and encouragement.

In Tahiti in 1971 there will be greater encouragement for individuals —there will be gold medals for in dividual singles and doubles winners, and not only for the overall team win.