1957 four-man tours (Rosewall, Hoad, Kramer, Segura)

PRIZE OF £500 FOR ROSEWALL
K.R. Rosewall (Australia) has won a £500 sterling prize as the most successful singles player on J. Kramer’s professional lawn tennis troupe’s tour of South Africa. Rosewall beat a fellow Australian, L. Hoad, by 6-1, 6-2 for his tenth win in 18 matches, at Johannesburg on Monday night.​

In recent weeks Kramer and Hoad have met nine times: Hoad leads 5-4, but Kramer has the edge by 2-1 in matches played indoors.​

UP—Ken Rosewall beat Lew Hoad, 6-3, 6-3 today during an exhibition professional tennis program which promoter Jack Kramer admitted showed his players were rusty on grass court play.​

In a 12-day period in 1957, Kramer’s entourage made 11 appearances in 8 cities, from South Africa to the Philippines.​

LYONS, Franca, 4 (U.P.)—Os australianos Ken Rosewall e Lew Hoad derrotaram os norte-americanos Pancho Segura e Jack Kramer, em suas partidas de tenis profissional.

Hoad venceu Kramer por 7-5 e 6-2, e Rosewall derrotou Segura por 6-4 e 6-1 em partidas individuals. Os australianos tambem venceram em duplas, por 6-3, 5-7 e 6-2.​

BULLY BOY HOADS BEATS ROSEWALL

Cape Times Correspondent

JOHANNESBURG—“Bully Boy” Lew Hoad, the 1956/57 Wimbledon champion, showed us here yesterday just why Jack Kramer paid him £40,000 to turn professional.

He treated the indoor professional champion Ken Rosewall very shabbily to beat him 5-7, 6-2, 6-3 at Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria. The match lasted 1 1/2 hours.

This was the opening match of Jack Kramer’s six-week professional tour of the Union. I doubt whether it will be bettered in the coming six weeks for thrills, superlative tennis and tantrums.

CALLOUS WAY

Why do I call Hoad the “bully boy” of tennis? It is because of the callous way he crushes all opposition.

I saw Hoad behave in exactly the same way when he won the Wimbledon title this year. He was never popular with the crowds, but the tennis connoisseur could not suppress a gasp of admiration for his brilliant game.

Hoad struts about the court with the arrogance of a **** storm-trooper. He grins fiendishly when he hits a winner.

“SADISTIC”

And he slams the ball with the same sadistic satisfaction of the school bully twisting the unfortunate “fat’s” arm.​

JOHANNESBURG—A superlative first set of tennis between Jack Kramer and Ken Rosewall dominated the afternoon’s play when Kramer’s professional troupe gave their second exhibition at Ellis Park, Johannesburg, on Saturday.

Although Rosewall went on to win the match, 6-8, 6-0, 6-2, it was against a badly-tiring Kramer, and the quality of play in the first set was such that the result did not matter.

It was a set full of brilliant rallies in which every classical stroke in the game was played by one or other of the players.

At times the crowd began to applaud an apparent winner only to find the defender score a winner himself, and at others spontaneous applause broke out in the middle of a rally.

Kramer’s more decisive service, as much as a change in tactics, which saw him using the net when he found Rosewall outplaying him from the baseline, earned him the first set.

In the last two Rosewall’s superb condition and almost fantastic speed about the court were too much for Kramer, who was too exhausted to chase balls which in the first set he would have retrieved comfortably.

Lew Hoad, the 1956 and 1957 Wimbledon champion, was sadly out of touch with his game and went down 2-6, 2-6 to Pancho Segura. He improved considerably in the doubles, in which he and Rosewall beat Kramer and Segura 6-4, 6-3.​

LEVEL-PEGGING KEN AND LEW CLASH HERE ON SATURDAY

WIMBLEDON champion Lew Hoad meets professional indoor title holder Ken Rosewall in one of the two singles matches when Jack Kramer’s professional tennis troupe plays at Rondebosch on Saturday.

In the other one Kramer meets Pancho Segura. There is close pegging on the “log” at the moment with Hoad and Rosewall, each having won five matches and lost four, and Kramer and Segura [each] having won four and lost five.

Rosewall keeps technical top place because he has won 13 sets and lost 12, while Hoad has won and lost 12.

Each player has beaten and lost to every other one, with the exception that Kramer has yet to beat Rosewall.

Rosewall has beaten Hoad once and lost to him three times.​

SPORTS LIMELIGHT
BY DICK STENT

Why the Tennis Stars Are All Out To-day

How hard do the Kramer tennis troupe boys try to beat each other? This is the question I passed on to former Springbok Davis Cup player Leon Norgarb, who has been looking after them for part of the tour which reaches its midway point here to-day.

And the answer was: “As hard as they can. They try to win every point.”

Leon further explained: “The result of every one of the troupe’s singles games are tallied up at the end of the year and the chances are that the man at the bottom will have to drop out to make way for someone new.

“These chaps know that they have only a limited time in the big money. When they start losing, the public loses interest—and so does the promoter.

“It is a question of uneasy lies the head . . . I envy them the spendulicks but they can have the anxiety and the tension!”

Up 15 Points

HERE are some other observations:

• The fact that each player has beaten the other in turn is because the standard is uniformly high. There is very little between them.

• At that, Rosewall and Hoad have “improved their amateur play by fifteen points” (per game), an “inevitable sequel to the intensely tough day-to-day competition.”

• The players are not (and could not afford to be) party-minded. They have to concentrate on keeping a peak fitness for their matches.

• Jack Kramer, former Wimbledon champion, went through a training routine more rigorous than a boxer’s, when he re-entered the circus. With roadwork, skipping and a “killing schedule” he took off fifteen pounds in two months….

Ambition

Kramer, incidentally, is reputed to have made about £1,000,000 out of promoting and playing tennis in the last seven years.

“But, like many top tennis players, he wants to be a star golfer. And he has got down to a six handicap,” says Norgarb, who, of course, is himself a representative golfer.

Ellsworth Vines was another Wimbledon champion with such an ambition, and when he put away his racket he had won several big money tournaments as a golf professional. Kramer says: “I don’t quite aspire to that, but I would like to take a dollar off Norgarb when we play here this weekend.”

120 mph Service

We should, incidentally, see some of the best tennis technique in the world to-day, if what Leon says is true.

He stated:

• Hoad has the fastest service (estimated by Segura at 120 miles an hour, two miles a minute, 60 yards a second) in the world to-day and the best volley. (Drobny: “Also, he is the one man in the world who can storm anyone off the court.”)

• Kramer has the best forehand in the world.

• Segura has the best return of service in the world.

• Rosewall has the best backhand in the world.

So there is going to be muchest of the bestest tennis at Rondebosch to-day.
​

HOAD WORTH EVERY PENNY OF £40,000
By PETER HARRIS

Every penny of the £40,000 Jack Kramer paid for the Wimbledon tennis champion Lew Hoad was money well spent. That is a fair inference from Hoad’s performance at Rondebosch on Saturday, when the blond Australian seemed to stand, if not quite head and shoulders, then at least an inch or two higher than his three companions of the tour.

Consistency, of course, counts for much in these arduous, intensive moneymaking tours. It must be easy to get stale—tired of living in a suitcase. Only time will tell whether Hoad is temperamentally adaptable to this sort of life.

But there is no “tennis reason” why he should disappoint as a professional. If he maintains his form he may prove himself the best professional in the world, as he proved himself the best amateur.

In beating his fellow-countryman Ken Rosewall by the odd set in a three-set match, he gave an astonishing display of serving and volleying power. I didn’t have any apparatus for measuring the reputed 120 m.p.h. speed of his first service, but got the impression he was shooting it out of a gun hidden away somewhere. He reaped a good crop of aces even from this slow court. His volleying had to be seen to be believed: he clove the ball out of the air to such effect that many a stroke he took at shoulder or at waist-height was as hard to return as a smash.

STYLE CONTRAST

Rosewall, who kept slipping on a court which was drying unevenly, is a less forceful player than Hoad, inferior in service and volley but superior in ground-strokes and court-craft.

The contrast of styles raises the old question. Will the top-notch ground-stroke player and strategist beat the superlative server and net-stormer? On Saturday the answer was in the negative, but it is not always so. I would judge these two Australians most equally matched—but not quite. Other things being equal, Hoad should beat Rosewall more often over a long period than he loses to him.

The earlier encounter between Jack Kramer and Pancho Segura, which Kramer won in two sets after a long struggle for the first, was notable for more baseline play than we are accustomed to in this class of tennis. That is not to say that neither player came to the net; both did, and often. But there was enough of the other sort of tennis to recall the days when long rallies were the rule rather than the exception, as they have become in this day of “sudden-death” tactics.

PANCHO THE JOLLY

Pancho Segura has a jolly court personality (though what a man can find to smile about so often when he has to play as much tennis as these fellows do, I can’t fathom). He also has an interesting style. He hits his forehand two-handed except for an occasional wide ball, though his backhand is more orthodox.

It is astonishing that this forehand, which would handicap most players through loss of balance and manoeuverability, is so effective and well-angled (any coaches who may still try to make every young player conform to orthodox style, please note!) Kramer, who appeared to be strong in every aspect of the game, beat Segura mainly because his service was better.

A light-hearted doubles exhibition, which was good in patches and which the Australian won, rounded off the afternoon’s tennis. If better tennis has been played at Rondebosch, it must have been a long time ago. Kramer and company brought not only their skill, but a keenness which the previous professional troupe seemed to lack.​

Ken Rosewall gave a display of unflagging steadiness and concentration to beat his fellow Australian Lew Hoad, 8-6, 7-5, in a tight match that lasted 80 minutes here yesterday.

Hoad and Rosewall beat Kramer and Segura, 6-3, 6-2.

Jack Kramer beat Pancho Segura, 6-2, 6-4.​

JOHANNESBURG—Although beaten, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 by Lew Hoad on Saturday night, Ken Rosewall retained his lead in the Round-Robin tournament for the most successful singles player on the tour when Jack Kramer’s professional tennis troupe appeared at Ellis Park, Johannesburg.

All the players have now taken part in 16 matches. Rosewall has won nine, Hoad and Kramer eight each and Segura seven.

The troupe will play an extra exhibition match under floodlights at Ellis Park to-night.

As Ken Rosewall has challenged Lew Hoad to another singles match, the pairings will be the same.​

LEW HOAD IS TROUNCED

JOHANNESBURG—Ken Rosewall trounced a thoroughly dispirited Lew Hoad for the loss of only three games in the professional troupe’s final match here last night.

When Rosewall won the first two games in the first set, Hoad seemed to lose all interest and Rosewall had to do little more than keep the ball in play to win points.

Rosewall beat Hoad 6-1, 6-2.

Jack Kramer gave a magnificent exhibition to beat Pancho Segura 6-0, 4-6, 6-3.​

PRIZE OF £500 FOR ROSEWALL
K.R. Rosewall (Australia) has won a £500 sterling prize as the most successful singles player on J. Kramer’s professional lawn tennis troupe’s tour of South Africa. Rosewall beat a fellow Australian, L. Hoad, by 6-1, 6-2 for his tenth win in 18 matches, at Johannesburg on Monday night.​

CLASS TENNIS BY WORLD PROFESSIONALS

Thrills galore for Karachi fans

By Dawn Sports Reporter

Tennis bordering on the classical pattern was provided for the first time in the country yesterday by the world famous professional stars during their one-day exhibition matches at the Karachi Gymkhana.

The top-ranking world professionals who thrilled the Karachi tennis fans by their forceful all-round display were the leader of the troupe, American Jack Kramer, Australian Lew Hoad, his compatriot Ken Rosewall and Pancho Segura of Ecuador.

The crowd of about 2,000 which included Acting President Alhaj Abdul Wahab Khan, was fully satisfied by the grand display of tennis and enthusiastically applauded each brilliant stroke from the racket of the masters of the game.

Later, the players were introduced to the Acting President who welcomed them to Pakistan, spoke highly of their game and finally distributed them souvenirs on behalf of the Karachi Lawn Tennis Association.

Leaving aside the outcome of the matches, the visitors fully demonstrated how tennis of class is played in different styles. The four foreign stars in their approach to the game presented four distinct schools of play with varying modes of executing various strokes.

Former world champion Jack Kramer approached every stroke in a manner that put him far above the rest as a complete player. Though not at his best now, Kramer’s execution of every possible stroke in the game gave full glimpses of his hay [sic] days and I for one failed to notice any weak spot on his side of the court. Throughout his match against Pancho Segura, Kramer followed his controlled spin services to the net thereby fully exhibiting how an attacking game is played.

UNORTHODOX STROKES

Segura on the other hand appeared to be the most interesting player for the crowd with his unorthodox double-fisted strokes from both sides. Though his services and backhand do not come up to the best in the world, his volleying was excellent while his forehand drives had their own beauty. Some of the short-crosses which Segura produced against the net-rushing Kramer, were like games of the highest quality. Other bright sparks of his display were his antics on the court which [won] the hearts of all those tennis fans.

The right-handed Rosewall, who was erroneously mentioned as left-handed in these columns, presented himself as one who could be [held] up as a model by students of the game. Whether on the base-line or over the net, Rosewall always appeared in a copy-book style with long swinging actions. He is more on the defensive side having stylish strokes on both hands from the base-line, but when pressed, produces elegant passing shots in a cool and calculated manner.

When compared to Rosewall, Hoad presented a contrast. He is a follower of the hard-hitting school of play, always relishing in producing winners. He owns terrific service and overhead work, powerful drives on both hands in addition to fierce drive volleys. Hoad always follows his services to the net besides executing other strokes with a gay abandon. His entire display of yesterday could be easily termed as a display of fireworks from a tennis racket. The only drawbacks of the present world champion are his inconsistency and mood. He is more on the erratic side and gets perturbed at the very slightest disturbance from the crowd.

The visitors could have given a far attractive display, but the fast and slippery Gymkhana hard court was not relished by them for moving fast from one end to the other while there were too many errors from the linesmen to put them off at short intervals.

OPENING SINGLES

In the opening singles, stocky Pancho Segura beat Jack Kramer 8-6, 8-6 after being down in both sets while Lew Hoad produced quite many outright winners to defeat the steady Ken Rosewall in the other, also in straight sets, 11-9, 6-4.

The doubles between Kramer and Segura and Hoad and Rosewall was abandoned due to failing light after each pair had earned a set. The first set was won by Hoad and Rosewall at 6-2 and the second by Kramer and Segura at 6-4.

As Kramer and Segura entered the court for the opening match, the former started dictating terms with his angled services backed by a net-rushing game and established a lead of 4-1 and then 5-2; Segura settled down at this stage and started producing attractive forehand drives which earned him many points in a row. Passing Kramer three times with his beautiful short-crosses from the forehand and by anticipating correctly twice over the net Segura drew level at 5-5. A titanic struggle for supremacy then followed between the two in which Segura came out successful to get the first set at 8-6 after having saved two set points when Kramer led 6-5.

The second set was a repetition of the first. Kramer led again 3-0 and 4-1, but Segura came up from behind to share 4-4 and after Kramer had let again 5-4 and 6-5, the double-fisted player finally swung the balance in his favour at the identical score 8-6.

INTERESTING DUEL

Rosewall and Hoad, who presented the opposite of each other in the second match, put up a very interesting duel between patience and impatience. While Rosewall was coolness personified on one side of the court, Hoad produced all fire from the other. Rosewall mostly tended to remain on the baseline while Hoad never lost any opportunity to rush to the net. Rosewall most of the time earned points through his consistency, but Hoad achieved the same through outright winners from all sides of the court. At times when Rosewall was in possession of advantage points and very much needed the game, he lacked something in his armoury, to counter the service and over-head blasts of the world champion which always brought him on level terms with his countryman whenever he lagged behind.

Rosewall relying on as many returns as possible and Hoad on brute force, the two went forward neck-and-neck till the latter claimed the first set at 11-9. They also went the same way in the second and Hoad having the advantage of his services, claimed it at 6-4.​

KRAMER BEATS SEGURA TO AVENGE DEFEAT

World tennis pros thrill Lahore fans

LAHORE, Nov. 15: The renowned Kramer Tennis troupe today provided an exhibition of a thrilling doubles match won by Ken Rosewall and Lewis Hoad.

But for the doubles in which the Americans Jack Kramer and Pancho Segura lost a three-set battle to their youthful Australian opponents, the two singles matches were decided in straight sets.

First Jack Kramer, a legendary figure in tennis, defeated Pancho Segura 6-3, 7-5 and thus avenging his Karachi defeat yesterday. Then Lewis Hoad, 1957 Wimbledon champion, swamped Ken Rosewall 6-4, 6-1.

The doubles match, however, delighted the Lahore tennis fans who had come to watch the top-flight men in today’s tennis. The 80-minute duel which looked like ending tamely finished with a last-minute strong American challenge, which failed against more competently playing Australians.

Trailing 2-1 in the first set, the Australians cashed on a double fault by Segura to level up at 4, after the deuce had been called five times.

Both Hoad and Rosewall matched the brilliance of the Americans to snatch the set at 7-5. The Australians were again in the lead in the second set but with Segura demonstrating superb smashing and Kramer excelling with his angular shots went ahead to win the second set at 6-4.

The Australians, however, surprised the Americans in the final set by [forging] a 5-0 lead as [they] invariably found a convenient gap to put the ball through. Hoad’s forceful services and Rosewall’s commendable countercraft had much to do with the Australian victory.

Earlier Hoad, in his singles encounter against Rosewall, after being level at 2-2, 3-3 and 4-4, won two more games in a row to take the first set, and in the second, he eclipsed his compatriot completely with the result that Rosewall could collect just one game.

Kramer proved too good for two-fisted Segura without being spectacular. Segura fought on gamely against Kramer who won the first set at 6-3. Segura led 5-4 in the second set but Kramer won three games in a row to win the match.​

CALCUTTA, India, Nov. 17 (UP)—Ken Rosewall beat Lew Hoad, 6-3, 6-3 Saturday during an exhibition professional tennis program which Promoter Jack Kramer admitted showed his players were rusty on grass court play.

In other matches, Pancho Segura defeated Kramer, 6-4, 7-5, and in doubles Kramer and Segura defeated Hoad and Rosewall, 6-4, 6-4.

“The players were out of practice for grass court play,” said Kramer, pointing out that most of the matches on the pro tennis tour have been played on indoor courts or clay courts. “The boys founds the ball bouncing faster and harder than they expected.”​

RBSC Tennis Show

Kramer, Rosewall Give Sparkling Displays

(By M.I.)

It was veteran Jack Kramer and classic player Ken Rosewall who dominated the tennis exhibition at the RBSC [Royal Bangkok Sports Club] tennis court yesterday!

Kramer, king of the amateurs ten years ago, beat “Pancho” Segura 6-3, 6-2. Earlier, Rosewall humbled fellow Australian and 1957 Wimbledon champion Lew Hoad 6-4, 6-2.

Rosewall, small of stature, displayed uncanny precision in his strokes, particulary the backhand. Time and again, he scored with a passing backhand shot as Hoad advanced to the net.

Hoad appeared erratic yesterday. But had he been in top form, he might still have lost to Rosewall, who gave a near faultless exhibition in the singles match. Hoad’s forte was a “cannon-ball” service and overhead smash, which in tennis jargon are features of “the big game.”

Rosewall, who unexpectedly beat “Pancho” Gonzales in the final of the professional tournament in England recently, looked and played like the winner yesterday. His crisp volleying and back-of-the-court lobs invariably upset Hoad’s forceful game.

But it was Jack Kramer who somewhat stole the show yesterday. Although probably slower than he was in his peak years just following world war II Kramer had the best all-round game. His powerful services produced several “aces” against both Hoad and Rosewall, while he was equally good in backhand and forehand.

The most exciting match of the evening was the doubles when the Australian “twins” Hoad and Rosewall, who were an unbeatable combination for many amateur years, beat Kramer and Segura in a very close struggle. The score was 7-5, 6-8, 7-5.

Here again Kramer produced most of the winners on his side, although Segura, with his two-handed drives, showed glimpses of the form that carried him to Wimbledon honors several years back.

A hot sun beat down on the court during most of the game. But this did not seem to dim the enthusiasm of the both tennis players and spectators alike.

“Pancho” Segura, who was introduced as the “Little Pancho” and not the big one (meaning Gonzales) brought bursts of laughter from the crowd with his court humor. One jest which caused the most merriment was his shouting “Oh Yes” whenever he executed a stroke which he anticipated as a winner.​

ROSEWALL WAS AN IMMEDIATE HIT

“Big Jack” And His Boys Waste No Time In Prolonged Rallies

By “TOUCHWOOD”

For sheer entertainment value there is nothing to beat the Kramer circus which captivated and enthralled a sell-out crowd at the Hongkong Cricket Club yesterday afternoon. With Lew Hoad, Ken Rosewall, Pancho Segura and ‘Big Jack’ in person, this professional squad put up a real tennis treat which kept the fans glued to their seats from the moment Kramer and Segura started off the first of the two-day exhibition games.

Kramer, Segura and Hoad are familiar faces in the Colony, having played here before. Ken Rosewall was an immediate hit as soon as he took to the court. Sydney-born Rosewall has the most timid look among Kramer’s troupe and he doesn’t immediately strike one as a top professional tennis star.

I was particularly impressed with Rosewall’s easy-flowing strokes, so well and accurately executed. Not too big in build, Rosewall is steadiness personified. In his three-set match against his compatriot, Lew Hoad, Rosewall showed us his versatility and his booming service was something out of the ordinary. Hoad had the measure of Rosewall after they battled it out for three grueling sets, with Hoad winning 3-6, 6-2, 7-5.

Sustained and spontaneous applause was the order of the day in the three exhibition matches played. Though the doubles match between Hoad and Rosewall and Kramer and Segura ended abruptly due to failing light, the Australian combination proved too agile and quick for Big Jack and his partner. Hoad and Rosewall won the first set at 6-1 and were leading 4-2 in the second when the umpire halted play.

Greatest Ever

The Hoad versus Rosewall match will long be remembered as the finest, greatest and best fought out exhibition ever seen in Hongkong.

There was a good measure of tension as both Hoad and Rosewall volleyed, smashed and parried for the winning shot with the minimum of labour. A striking feature of the games was the complete lack of base to base duels that was expected of these top professionals. In fact, I cannot record more than five prolonged rallies in the two singles and a doubles match.

The reason is obvious. Today’s professionals score points with no waste of time and unlike their contemporaries in the amateur ranks, these pros combine artistry with entertainment thrown in whenever they take to the courts.

Talking about entertainment, the Ecuadorian, Pancho Segura, kept spectators roaring with his clowning around the court. This diminutive player had the crowd cheering for him and his two-handed strokes were something to cheer about indeed. These were executed with such ease that this Segura stroke will be the talk in local tennis circles for a long time if not copied by the local players.

Segura is a born entertainer and is as good a player as Hoad, Rosewall or Kramer. On the credit side, beside his clowning, is his ability to retrieve seemingly impossible shots from all angles.

His concentration is so intense that he is easily irritated by those who move when he is about to serve. An example was in his match against Kramer when he repeatedly asked the umpire and linesmen to stop the ball boys moving around the court when play was in progress. Segura lost to Kramer, 4-6, 4-6.

“Big Jack”

What of ‘Big Jack’ himself? A spectator beside me remarked, “Gosh, I didn’t realise he is such a great player. I had expected to see a middle-aged cigar-smoking promoter.” For all his years in the amateur and professional ranks, Kramer’s tennis has mellowed with his competitive matches.

‘Stupendous’ is a very mild word to describe Kramer and Co and it would require other superlatives to adequately describe them.

Twenty-three-year-old Lew Hoad looks likely to dominate the pro ranks in a year or two. What a different Hoad from the one Colony fans saw last year when he came to play here as an amateur.

There is a tremendous improvement in his play and where once he was known as a lackadaisical player, he is certainly not any more. Hoad’s net-storming tactics against Rosewall were point-scorers. He moved around the court with cat-like agility and his victory over Rosewall was well earned.

Hoad was a favourite with the schoolboys and girls. They cheered for him rather than Rosewall. When Hoad was leading 6-5 in the third and final set, the students yelled out, “How about winning, Lew?” Probably they were on Hoad’s side for the sake of familiarity, or was it because he was the underdog?​

Pairings for the other two playing days, Nov. 23 and 24, may be known upon the arrival of Kramer and his world-touring tennis professionals, from Hongkong on the 21st.

Hoad, who turned pro only last summer after winning the Wimbledon singles championship, leads in his matches with Segura and Rosewall but is even with Kramer.

Rosewall heads Kramer, is even with Segura but trails in his matches with Hoad. Kramer, who has regained form, leads Segura, is even with Hoad, but trails Rosewall.​

Power tennis with the Jack Kramer and Co. trademark bares itself to class-hungry Manilans today and for the next two days at Rizal Coliseum.

Back in Manila for the second time in three years, Promoter Kramer and his world champion professionals open their three-day benefit performance here at 6 o’clock this evening before an expected crowd of 10,000…

Hoad, Kramer’s $125,000 “baby,” is leading their tour. Rosewall, who won the European tournament which was marked by Segura’s upset of Gonzales, rates a close second.

Kramer admitted in a press conference last night he is preparing Hoad for a collision with world champion Pancho Gonzales next year. The match, according to him, will start in Brisbane, Australia, on Jan. 1.

“Hoad has better chances when he plays Gonzales,” Kramer said. “By the time he meets Pancho he would already have a rich pro experience, unlike Rosewall and Tony Trabert who both played Gonzales with only their amateur experiences backing them up.”

Kramer also considers physical condition as a decisive factor in the proposed Hoad-Gonzales match. “Gonzales lays off from play constantly and I personally believe he’ll have a hard time getting himself back in condition.”

Commenting on Hoad, Segura, the troupe’s two-fisted “killer” said:

“Lew is unbeatable when his timing is perfect. He has the most dangerous, deceptive passing shots I’ve ever seen.”

About Rosewall, Segura said “he’s a much better player now than when he played Gonzales.”

Kramer, who was heard to have planned of bringing along lady professionals tennisters, stated he considers Althea Gibson a good material.

“But Althea has to have a good opponent and the only woman I could think of now who could really match her is little Maureen “Mo” Connolly.”

Connolly, however, can not possibly play because she is still nursing a sprain, Kramer added.

In a statement that was meant for Philippine tennis Kramer said the secret behind the power of Australians and the Americans in tennis lies in their constant play on grass courts.

“Of course, size has also something to do with this monopoly,” Kramer said.
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