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Harry Foster beat Alister Robinson by four games to two, 15/11,1/15,15/7,15/6,13/15,17/14 in the first leg of their match for the World Rackets Championship.

In a tentative, tactical and grueling encounter Harry Foster won the first leg of the World Challenge today at the Montreal Racket Club, defeating his opponent Ali Robinson by four games to two, 15/11,1/15,15/7,15/6,13/15,17/14. and by seventy five aces [points] to sixty seven: Piped onto court by a member of the Blackwatch, the players were introduced to the watching gallery at 1p.m and left at 3.45 p.m., the match lasted some two and three quarter hours and left both players physically drained ahead of next weeks second leg at the Queens Club, London.

In the first game both players took a similar approach, forcing each other into the back corners by playing the ball around the angles to a length. To a difference of four points Foster accomplished this prevailing 15-11, play having been level at 9-9. Robinson leveled the challenge at game all, winning the second game 15-1, producing seven service winners to Fosters none, a mixture of kills around the angles and cross court, favouring a placement of the ball to the left hand corner past Fosters backhand. Although showing the customary moments of flair in the third game, such as a forehand volley return of service cross court back past the server, Robinson, succumbed to Fosters improved length of service and repeated use of the angles, as Foster accelerated from 6-6 to take the game 15-7 and move into a 2-1 lead.

Foster kept the momentum in the fourth game winning 15-6, producing several runs, unseen before in the match as both players repeatedly found the back wall or reduced the pace to keep the ball off the back wall, to win the game in 8 hands and producing 9 service winners to Robinsons 1, the lack of hands in this game was in stark contrast to the third game which had lasted for 33 hands as both players still struggled to serve a length and judge the pace of the ball from the back of the court and off the side walls. As the game progressed and both players developed rhythm and confidence so too did fatigue, but well into the second hour of the match, Robinson summoned the strength to come back in the fifth game and win it 15-13 to make the match score 3-2 to Foster. The pace of the game seemed to quicken as less reliance was placed on hitting the ball round the walls and both players attempted to straighten the ball more often and kill the ball, rather than wait for an unforced error. Robinson had raced to an 8-0 lead but Foster clawed back to 10-10, Robinson kept his composure and selected his shots carefully to close out the game despite several hand outs.

Robinson was clearly fatigued by his efforts and suffering from cramps and a hamstring strain battled into the sixth game taking a 3-0 start. Again play was level at 6-6 in the game, before Foster ground out a 10-7 lead, at which point a Herculean rally of some 20 strokes ended in Robinson putting away an easy winner with Foster stranded at the front of the court. Robinson boosted by winning such a competitive point struggled through a number of hand outs to 14-12, however despite having four game points Robinson served a fault and made several errors as Foster worked his way back to set 3. In the set to 3, Foster served with composure to win 17-14 as Robinson continued to tell a tale of errors induced through battle fatigue. The sixth game lasted for 39 hands and had included 6 service winners a piece.

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