Omaha daily bee., 1908-10-18

two out or three sets DO not snow the ieal
merit OF the players we'll enough. But, for
Instance. the match between T. r. Pell and
"A. II. Hsckett IN the Felipe cup final this
year showed only that Peil had the better
endurance. Hackett with reason might
well be rated the better player and would
have been in that match, except that he did
not last as long.
This proves little. It seems. except that
Pell had the more strength. not the better
playing ability. II lawn tennis is to be
made a contest Of strength, the champion
ships could be decided by playing the best
seven sets. say, or else having the finalists
wrestle three balls for the cup. The state
ment of the English authority that the
five set matches prove little but the
stamina Of the players is a point we'll
taken. most persons here are likely to say.
Knack I'm Playing Finals.
There is indeed so vast a difference be-
tween playing matches for two out OF
three sets and three out OF five sets that
certain players are known for their ability
to come to the front with the scores
strongly against them in the early part of
matches. Experience IN playing finals
saves some men a great deal. For in
stance. Robert LIE Roy is well known for
his ability in this line. He is accustomed
each season to defend several cups which
he holds and consistently outpoints the
men who face him. because he knows
how to play finals" as Gustav r. Touch
ard put it.
1t takes a different SORT OF tennis to
handle a three in five match, because the
veteran player generally let's the other
man work his head off in the early part
of the contest. Then toward the end what
is known as steadiness comes to the front
49, -.t-- zs-.~a e. A. -. 81
times, however, this is just nothing but
stamina, coupled, of course. with an ability
equal to or greater than that OF the rival.
It is safe to say that a good man who
wins the first two sets of a final match
plays as good or better lawn tennis than
his rival. 1t is this exhibition for which
the English commentator believes he
should receive his reward by not being
forced to play an extra long and wear
ing match. It is likely that a player would
perform consistently much better il he
did not have to go into the final OF chal-
lenge round Will the buRaboo of three
in five advantage sets TO worry him. At
any event. the best effect would be to
compress necessarily better tennis into the
shorter set matches.
Time and again a player has succeeded
in taking the second set of a final match
~ - - 6OAiC W 0NhNC III 6dilAt = "
eral times and in so doing has completely
exhausted himself. Sometimes a chal-
lenger has a score like CO., 10-S to his
credit, when the third set begins. only to
fade away from that point and be beaten
soundly by the greater resource of strength
OF his rival. 1t is a fine exhibition of
husbanded strength, but it does not make
much for the Improvement Of lawn tennis.
Question of Endurance.
or course, in national and international
matches it may seem the proper thing to
have the regulation play. but it is for just
such things that the other sort of match
Is recommended. For instance, the recent
International match between B. c. Wright
and ]. c. Parke at Longwood was won by
the American after his rival had won the
first two sets. Wright won out with things
very much against him by an exhibition Of
great pluck.
But Parke showed conclusiyely that for
two sets he was much the better player.
He was a beaten man after the third set
went a part of the way toward his finish
and his chances faded the longer the match
lasted. 1t proved. after all. that Wright
was the stronger because, although both
were tired, Wright had his strength better
in hand. 1t was the case of an older
hand proving the better, because youth
will not always be served, especially in
lawn tennis.
A great argument in favor OF limited
matches in lawn tennis also is that in most
tournaments the holder stands out. Up
to the final round generally the matches
are for two or three sets and in the final
the players have to engage in a three in
five match. II is just about then that the
challenger Is entitled to have the most
chance. But the present regulation is that
he should go on ard meet a man who has
been resting while he has been about play
ing his head off for a week as so in what is
bound to be the toughest contest of all.
Here, it seems, the limited set arrange
ment would be the fairest. Certainly the
holder could not reasonably object to Civ
ing the other man a good chance and the
player who has come all the way through
a customarily exhausting week is entitled
to the best conditions that he can get.
II the present determination to stick to
the scheme of having the holder stand out
persists it seems a fair thing to attempt
to introduce this other plan in order to
make the task of the c~haliengers a little
less ardious. 1t is about the only sugges-
ton. outside OF making the holders play
through, that will make lawn tennis fairer
for all Corners.
There is another idea which lightens the
work OF tournament committees on the
other side of the water which might be
taken up here, where so many committees
complain they are orerworked. That is
the short set" 1t is played in many
tournaments abroad, where it looks as II
the three days or so allotted to a tourna-
merit would not be enough for the COM
pletion of 1t. For instance. il it rains and
cuts a day off the allowance, the short
set" is resorted 10. This is for the best
Of seven games. the player first reaching
four ganes being the winner. 1t can be
seen at a glance that il is bound TO make
the matches very short.
The objection to It is that some players
are very slow to get started and play
their best along toward the end of a regu-
lar advantage set. 1t wouldn't do, for in
stance, for Henry Mollenhauer, who is ac-
customed to cleaning up a set. sometimes
when it's SO and o-love against him. But
where 1t hurts some II would certainly help
the tournament committees. II it were
adopted IT would act also to make tourha-
ment holding clubs respect one another's
dates more than they do now. That is a
very vital defect OF tho present arrange
ment, because the clubs do not appear 10