New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-05-11
AUSTRALIANS TRY TURF
Hold First Practice on West
Side Tennis Club Courts.
ALL SHOW EXCELLENT FORM
Touchard and Pell Slump Badly
in Match with Hall and
Haggett.

Australia's challenging lawn tennis team
made its first appearance in practice on
the courts Of the West side Tennis Club.
at 23Sth street and Broadway. yesterday.
Under the leadership of Stanley y. Doust,
the captain OF the team. the men first
tried out their strokes on the hard sur
faced dirt courts. Then when they had
warmed up and into the swing OF the
game they moved over on the turf where
on they will clash with the Americans In
the first Of the international matches for
the Davis Cup
The vanguard Of the crowd that assem-
bled to witness one of the trial compet-
tions for places on the American team
wee early enough TO witness the players
from the antlpodes In action.
Doust paired in doubles with A. Il. Jones
and the two faced Horace Rice and +. W.
Hicks, the manager OF the team. The
four worked like Trojans and II they are
a bit rusty on their strokes at present, as
Doust says they are. they Will certainly
give the Americans plenty to DO when
they get tuned up for the cup contests.
While no accurate score Of games was
".
lead the other pair. Both Doust and Jones
were remarkably fast off the ground and
their position playing was admirable. In
the wonderfully quick sorties Doust
worked his smashes. sending the ball
kicking over the net and compelling the
others to play wide OF the court in order
to make a possible recovery. Jones dis
played a backhand stroke that was al
once powerful. controlled the ball to a
dot and sent 1t winging through tho OPP
posite court for the points.
Tho Australians took turn about at
singles practice. but when the crowd be-
gan to arrive they left the courts and did
not play again during the afternoon. Cap
tain Doust said that they planned 10 go
down to Tuxedo to-day and on to Phila-
delphia tomorrow for a lengthy stay.
probably until few days before the in
ternational matches.
Gustave r. Touchard and Theodore
Roosevelt Pell. the candidates for places
on the cup team Of this nation, expert
enced sad and dismal slump in form.
They went dawn TO defeat in four straight
and one-sided sets against Walter Merrill
Hall and Charles T.. Haggett. the English
professional, 10 the score Of 6-3. ca,
G-3, 6--4.
The showing OF the losing pair proved
most depressing To many Of their admir-
ers. who had confidently expected them
TO duplicate their upset Of last week.
Haggett followed the ball In TO the net
when Hall made his long drives. AT close
range he popped the returns across court
at angles which made IL impossible for
either Touchard or Pell to bring off gets
with any certainty Toward the close
Pell apparently was overcome by the wav-
ering form of his partner. so that he over
Tapped the base line on his drives by
from one to three feet.
From the plans being made at the pres
ent time by the officials In charge OF the
American international team number or
the candidates will begin active practice
this week on the West Side turf Tho
only absentees will be Maurice Il. Nc
Loughlin, who will not arrive from Cali
fornia until next Sunday. and II. Norris
williams Of Harvard. who is Ill with
tonsiltis, and will not be able TO enter
into the preparatory work until next week.