The Cavalier daily Thursday, February 12, 1970 | ||
Tonight at U. Hall
Top Netters Play Here
By High Antrim
Arthur Ashe and Zeljko
Franulovic take the court this
evening in a much publicized
exhibition match inside spacious
University Hall.
Coach Gordon Burris disclosed
that the fourth player appearing
with the group will be Dickie Dell,
a Virginia law student and brother
of the retired Davis Cup team
captain Donald Dell.
The singles match between Ashe
and Franulovic will consist of the
best of five sets. The match should
move along rather quickly,
however, for the players will be
competing under an agreement in
which a deuce game is decided by a
"sudden death' point.
Following the singles match,
Ashe will team with Donald Dell to
face Dickie Dell and Zeljko
Franulovic. The doubles match is
scheduled for two out of three sets.
Ashe, a native of Richmond,
Virginia, comes to Charlottesville
before competing in the annual
Fidelity Bankers' Invitational in
Richmond over the weekend. One
might argue that Ashe's road to
national fame started right here in
Charlottesville, when, in 1961, he
won the National Interscholastic
Championship.
Donald Dell recently announced
his retirement as Davis Cup team
captain in favor of devoting more
time to political interests. The
Maryland lawyer broke into the
nation's top ten in 1960 with a
number nine ranking. In 1961 Dell
was fifth. He was a member of the
1963 Davis Cup squad that
defeated Australia in the Challenge
Round. In his two year tenure as
Davis Cup team Captain, Dell has
both successfully challenged and
defended the Cup.
Franulovic is the top player in
Yugoslavia and has whipped Ashe
the last two times the players met.
Franulovic will also trip to
Richmond this weekend for the
eight-man tournament there.
Dickie Dell, by virtue of the fact
that he is enrolled in the Law
School, was the only player in the
quarto in town yesterday. He has
played against Ashe both in singles
and doubles, and has with
Franulovic before. "Actually I
played with Franulovic in doubles
once about three years ago...we
didn't know each other at the
time." Dell said that he has been
out practicing and added, "I hope
it's enough."
When queried as to who would
win between Ashe and Franulovic
in the singles exhibition, the Law
Student replied, "If both have been
playing a lot. I might lean toward
Zeljko." But Dell made it clear that
this was but speculation, and that
possible advantage
would lie in the slow play from the
new "supreme court" surface. Ashe
has already won wide acclaim this
season, taking the Australian Open
tournament last month and his
serve is devastating no matter the
texture of the surface.
Tickets for the exhibition in
U-Hall are on sale for two dollars at
Newcomb Hall and Mineer's. The
University Hall ticket office will be
selling tickets right up until match
time at 7:30 this evening.
The Cavalier daily Thursday, February 12, 1970 | ||