Los Angeles herald., 1910-12-05

uGdu XIII, dIiu llC POooCooNo " 10
Hal Braly's vanishing speed driv
hand, and a few years experience
to smooth out his style of play.
The visit Of the Australasian team to
this country next summer Is more
probable than most followers of the
game have supposed, judging by the
following from The Referee of Sydney,
Australia:
"The next thing of international i'm
port In the game will be the trip to
England and America of Australia
best players, or three of them, anyway,
namely, Messrs. N. 70. Brookes, A. w:
Dunlop and Rod Heath, and they viii
probably be Joined by Anthony Wild
ing, now picking up odd championships
on the continent. Henry Marsh will
Join the team, and after competing IN
the English championships they-or
most of thenl--will journey on TO Amer
lea. and then we shall probably near
of great doings, Brookes VS.. Larned,
Brookes -yVilding VS.. Alexander lack
ett. and Heath-Dunlop against other
pairs"
certainly in store for the enthusiasts
next year. The doubles champions,
Hackett and Alexander, had expressed
their intention of defaulting their title
Ii
that they will defend should any for
eign team win the allcomers.
While the ranking committee is hard
at work in picking the countrys best
players, the fans are figuring, guessing
and otherwise doping out the posslplll-
ties of the selection.
What the present ranking committee
will do in the case OF Long is, of course,
something that no one else knows. II Is
probable that the committee ltselt mas
not reached definite conclusion regard
ing the matter. 1t is, indeed, a dlincuiI
thing to decide. We know that Long Is
in the same class with the Califor-
mans, Bundy, Mclaughlin and Gardner,
and his work this year indicates that
he has improved quite as much as any
of these men. He has beaten Bundy re-
peatedly and quite held his own with
McLoughlin. In the clay-court cham
pionship at Omaha last August he was
a yeritable whirlwind, no one being
able to extend him the least bit. HAD
he come east this year, as ne dld IN
1909, there is every reason to beleVe thdt
he would have done as we'll as, II not
better, than he did then. He might
very conceivably have been facing Lar
ned on the championship court at New
mort in the endeavor to wrest from the
present holder the title of champion.
Despite all this, it would obviously
be unjust to rank Long on what II IS
believed he could have done. He dld
not come east and play in the Dig
championships, and he did not meet
any first-class men except Bundy ana
McIoughlin-and these encounters
were early in the season. The winning
of the clay-court championship was no
mean achievement, yet no man VINO
could possibly be regarded as likely TO
go into the first tenor the first TWEEN
ty, for that matter-played IN that
event. Therefore, it cannot possibly pc
regarded as giving Long right TO
demand admittance into the charmed
circle. This is not due to the fact that
the meeting was held in Omaha IN
stead of in the east, or that 1t was only
n clay-court championship. Rather is
it because Long met no one or MS
class. Had he met other good men,
there or elsewhere, 1t would nave peeh
possible to determine by actual Know.
edge how he compared with them. But
he did not, and it is not easy to see
how he can be ranked at all.
The ranking committee can choose
its horn of the dilemma; it can either
decline to rank Long at all, or, ranking
him. "hold him safe'-that is, place
him low enough to prevent -crltlcislh'
Any other course would be UNJUST 70
other aspirants for place In the tlrst
ten who did go to the meets where the
best men were to be encountered:
Longs record is: Won clay-court
championship of the United states
(Omaha), d. Anderson, 6-S, 60, 6-l;
6. d. Jones, Ga, Ga, 6-3; Han nnal'
60, 6-1, 6-1. Won California state
d. p. Fottrell final, 60. 6-1, 6-S; won
pacific States, d. G.. Young, final, 6-S'
a. al 81: G. James, holder, Go,
6-3, 6-1. ~,
William A. Larned undoubtedly. WIN
he the first choice of the committee
His years record is as follows:
Won Metropolitan, d. r. Burchard,
6-1, 6-1; c. r. Gardner, 6-S, ~, o-o'
Touchard, final, go, 6-1, 81. Long
wood d. Mclaughlin, challenger 6-S'
4-6, 81, 6-3. Newport. d. Bundy' chai-
lenger, 6-1, 81, 60, 6-S, 6-1.
BeaIs Wright, master of tactics ana
the chopping and volleying game
reached the top OF the ladder in this
country, and yet he is entirely minus
the one stroke which most critics con-
slider invaluable-the drive The pres
ent champion, w. A. Larned, once re-
marked that Wright would be invlncl-
BILE if he possessed a drive in ADDITION
to his other strokes, as this would en-
able him to pass an opponent at the
net with much more ease and surety
1t is quite probable that Wright con-
siders that the time when he might
have strengthened his game by cultl-
waiting a drive has long since passed.
If lit might be well to add he believes
the stroke would really be an asset
Again, there is the possibility that he
could never have developed drive of
great strength. and at the same time
kept up the high standard of his chop.
The chop is the easiest and best stroke
on which to take the net, and as
Wrights real strength is in his vol
leying it is readily seen that control
of the chop means much to him. 1t is
also fact that a chop stroke is the
most useful In varying pace and length