The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-07-19
CAN J. 5. HOLD THE . DAVIS TENNIS CUP?! Austrians Appear Most For
 midable ExpOnents
 WELDING AND BROOKE Former Is At Top of His Game At
AND BROOKE
Former Is At Top of His Game At Present and Appears Unbeatable But Latter Is Going
 Back Fast

London, July 18-(Specia1) )-What are the chances of Uncle Sam retaining the Davis cup this summer? That question
 who has been spending most Of his time this past week at Wimbledon, where the English lawn tennis championships have been held. There, in singles and doubles most of the cracks who make up the challenging teams of the several coun- tries interested in the supreme tennis trophy were to be seen in action and a good line obtained on their present form.
 No matter how ou look at it one can not get away from the strong conviction, amounting almost to a certainty that Australia will emerge victorious from the eliminating trials and will be called upon to play the United States. Look where you will among the players of Germany, France, England Belgium and Canada, 1t is impossible to discover a team strong enough, on paper at least. to give any serious trouble to Wilding, Brookes, Doust and Dunlap.
 Wilding and BrOokes
 Thus the question whether or not the CihlcN pidlcS iS u Icld1I tut DdFls cup narrows itself down to question whether or not she can get together team strong enough to beat the Australians. And from what I have heard during the past few weeks and from all indications it will be simply a question of beating Wilding and Brookes. Doust and Dunlop will not be called upon to play, except in case of an accident to one of the first two players.
 Wilding is playing IS well as ever. How well that is one has only to remember his match against Mclaughlin last year in the challenge round of the English cham picnshirs. Wilding Is really much better than he looks to the ordinary observer. He is steady as a rock, always in per feet condition, able to play half-a- dozen of the hardest sets without collapsing and great fighter. But there Is nothing showy or spectacular about his play and this accounts probably for the unwilling ness of many judges of the game to ac- cept him as a really super-player fit to rank with the Dohertys, Brookes, Larned and a few others.
 But though Wilding beat Mclaughlin last year it is not at all certain that he will do again next time they meet. Wilding has undoubtedly reached the top of his game, while the Californian is SoHiiilS Oil. IL Mcl<OuSlllln can peT1ect ms ground strokes and attain greater accu- racy with his short volleys coming up to the net he will have little difficulty in beating Wlding or any other player in the world, for that matter. I doubt how ever, whether any other American play CT can beat Wilding at the present time, so he is practically sure of at least one of his single matches.
 Brookes Going Back
 ntra1 fc osts |, the BrooSes of several years ago? Watch ing him play through the English cham pionships I do not hesitate to answer this question i nthe negative. He has been beaten twice this year by Wilding, feat of which the latter was never capable when Brookes was in his prime In the final round, F'ritzseim, the German, took him for five sets and the Australian won cnly by the narrowest of margins.
 Much of the dash and fire and sting has gone out of his play. He is showing the weight of his years. In the days when he first came to London and car- rico everything before him his American service was practically untahable and was always good for many aces. Almost every player he opposed at Wimbledon this year was able to get it back across the net. His overhead smashing while wonderfully accurate, has lost its old time vfgor. I think that Mclaughlin certainly and probably one or two other American players could beat him now 1t will largely be question of condition. Brookes conserves his energies in won derful fashion and the man who beats him must be playing as well at the end of a f1ve-set match as at the beginning That is where so many of the Americans who have come to London have failed The writer saw Holcombe Ward lose to Doherty, Seals Wright lose to Wilding and Karl Behr lose to Brookes through lack of ability to last five hard sets of frst-olass tennis. Proper condition on the part of these three American tennis play CTS would have changed much of the his- tory of international lawn tennis.