The sun., 1910-08-14
WAYS OP TENNIS CHAMPIONS
Ron" WRENH 4LWAiS HtD
4 HAND BlTTIE.
whitman Wen WIN Cool Ease Larned
Piays . straight. Old FashIsned Dame
the Crafty Tactics sf WriGht Woa
the Great IO0a Match IN Australia.

WV SENaA hOg" 'NsNsNs ~
With the exception of the match between
Larned and Clothier last year II u long
since there has been a hard fought con
test in the challenge round of the national
championship at Newport. Not since
the days Of e. ID Wrenn. who won the
championship four times, always with
a struggle. has thers been n really dra-
matte championship match.
Possibly one thing which made Bob
Wrenn year after year the favorits with
the gallery. says the AmsredR Magazine.
was his faculty for having battlss and 30
rewArding the seekers after excitement
Another factor which made for his popu-
larity Was his habit of winning those
battles.
Twice also hs attained the stature OF
a national hero and patriot by successfully
unterposing himself against the attack
OF a British invader before whom ali
hers had sucoumbed From the time
when. a freshman at Harvard. h" de-
feated knapp. a seasoned player OF the
first grade. in one Of the longest matches
in history. to the day when. spanish war
veteran. he returned to the game in vain
attempt To save the international cup for
America and was the Last Of ths team to
go down In defeat. Wrenns tennis career
was in p! ''uresauenass without parallel
What made Wrenn's record especially
remarkable was the fact that though for
tour years champion % ths country. he
had no preeminent tennis skill, IN the
, technique Of play he was cNcelled by
/ Hovey. by Larnad and by the Englishmen
whom he yanquish-d His strokes were
seldom severe either at the ne, or from
the back Of the court and his hackhand
was comparatively weak. Asa well known
player said In speaking of this weakness.
-Wrenn would get = knas no and fool
the ball over somehow
But IL his strokes were leSs sDsedy than
those ~ others they were sur" and accu-
rat" H.. was a MASTER of tactics he had
endurance. ne tried for everything. he
fought always till the last point-and
i..sidsS all that he had a reputation for
winning when i, was necessary TO win.
and tn. moral value ~ such a position -
lmmensa Though not a brilliant player
h, s.-,m.d az times nsrv.d by nec-~sity
to do brilliant thing. hs had his inspi
ration-
They we're chiefly Ia trying for balls
wnloh seemed Impossible and IA returning
v-tias r-'@--
h,- J"rsistency in sending back balls that
ought 20 have been good for the point
wearied and discouraged many an oppo-
u.nt T. was this readiness 80 attempt
everything and anyt hing v'h IN first set him
safely ia the champions s-at. In Isas he
met Hoy"y m the fuils Of The All Com.rs
at Newport. and Won IN hRrd fought
match
The o-i'ical momen' came Va 'hs third
set Esch player had won .ri and IN the
th,ri The SCORE stood g. - ~ in wrenu :
favor Hov-y needed thu next pomt tt-s-
p"raielv sino.a u he won It he would have
almost an even chanr' Tor the set Thore
was n brief rally, then, with Hovey NJ the
net. Nrenn pat up fatally rhor1 lob
lInvrys -mashes wora terrific, instead.
however of turn lnG and running in pan
cky 'Torr 20 gc' to some possible position
Nr.nn waited alert IN the middle Il the
court
a. ne had for,,S~er lIovpy smashed the
hail directly al him -ordinarl " the most
decisive play ~ such Circumst an o-.s.
Nrenn racquet fiA,red Caugh' the tall
on the voliey and shot II hack over th.. net
b"fore Hovey could recover from his
swing II WIS lightning quick aud IL wa,
''I" ItaN Nnich thhtie " FNnn toT me ftT-f
ZINE champs m 81 America
In the following year hr defended hrs
oalmpionship successfully against Good
body the IRISH PLAYER who had di-po~..d 4
- our hest men in the All Comers Tn.
year Of 1896 was an OF one for Nr-nn.
His old opponent Hovey Won tho tounla %
ment and then wrested the champions nip
from him IN thrse straight sets such n
trouncing left Wr.nn in no mood 20 r-tirr
lie struggled through a hard field the
next year tramplIne upon his two broth
ers Dwight Davis. Carr Neel and Iarned
in his path. and then after one of his old
fashioned fivc set encounters with Hovey
r~EaiBsd the championship There were
various memorable episodes in his prog
res- 20 th. honor not the least of which
was the match with Carr Neel. "a player
of the ~ane steady tyre as himself
II was five set match. and though
wrenn won II he escaped defeat in three
straight sets Ivy the nnr-owest possible
margin. Neel took the first and third
sets and lost the second by a score ~
Ia - after a struggle which continued
for an hour and sight minutes and after
being within point of winning innumer- =
able tInles Even then Nesl had not
shot his bolt and in the fourth set seemed
TO hhy" wrenn IN difficulties when c
lucky lneIdent turned the lde
Tho score was for S~el and vantage
in his favor Wrcnn was ssry hg and
Ncal returned ~" @rv" down the line
40 sharply that probably II wo,Ild have
earned IN. point and tn" game. But AZ
ihat rnompni n hall boy threw "a h'all IN
the court striking Wrsnn and theAr-fer-e
declared tld' H." point must he played
lover THIS time Wrenn won IL md fol
Iowasl It up 10y taking four stra ghi va mes
and th. -.'' N'-al wRa done then and IN
ith. nf'h set s~srired only one "a ne
The next day IA the finAl roundI wrann
mot IArncd and after losing the inst two
Ss.'s fought through ~ victory Ie sheer
dos goodness And the following dav
forum. presented him with a poioi which
was largely instrumental in det trimming
his victory IL came in the first set
which Wrrnn won, 5 Hoveytwon the
recUnd and fourth sets easily and on
tn. first had Wrenn Z and tO-Ib He
served and Wrenn drove hal 4 aaE struck
th. top of m" net and after baSancinR
a moment Iusi struggled over Then
Wr.nn pulled ou' the set and. Ne ityproved
with IL the cha ampionshIp.