Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-06-03
BY HARRY n. FRY.

BY HARRY a. FRY.
After struggling for two hours and
forty-five minutes, actual time. Harold
Z. Doyle defeated Spencer Gordon in
the finals of the mems singles of the
middle Atlantic tennis tournament. at
the Columbia Country Club. yesterday
afternoon, by the scores of 6--3. -,
IS and Ct The contest belongs in
the battles royal class, as every set
was hotly fought. and at the finish each
player had about reached the limit of
his strength. Nearly three hours of
tennis tests the endurance of the per-
feet athlete. The contestants were
, lucky In striking 4 day that could not
T have been better in the way of tenn
perature. When play started the warm
sun was tempered with a mild breeze
from the northwest, and when the
final set was played quite a wind was
blowing, and the spectators were any
thing but warm.
With the expectation of seeing tennis
OF high class and a close contest the
gallery collected early. and in size was
the largest of the tournamen MANY
women We're among the spectators, and
the bright colors of their handsome
gowns contributed in no small way
toward making up picture most
pleasing to the eye.
Ralph Hills was prevailed upon to. to
act as referee, ana ne Stdf toO liz
match promptly at $50. after short
exercise practice for the players to
loosen up their supple muscles. Doyle
got away to a good start. capturing
the first three games; then Gordon
broke in by winning the fourth game
From this point to the finish it was a
see-saw affair. first one and then the
other winning game, but the good
start of Doyle carried him to S-S
victory. While the figures denote
somewhat one-sided affair each game
was hard fought. and frequently went
to deuces-
Feature of the Match.
The second set was the feature battle
OF the match. Doyle finally winning by
the score of 10. Doyle's start and finish
was somewhat spectacular, as he cap
tured the first three games and after all
were even at the conclusion of the tenth
game he shot to the front and won out
cleverly by taking the last two games.
OF the twelve games played in this set
ten of them went TO deuces- Referee Hills
appeared to be announcing this fact con-
tinuously The play of the veteran was
of that cool, calculating variety that is
bound to win three times out of four.
while Gordon had to play almost startling
tennis to Offset the cleverness of his OPP
ponent. Time after time Gordon saved
himself by wonderful back-hand strokes
and he appeared in his best light at
this kind of playing. Temperament had
a great deal to Go with the loss of
this set, as Gordon frequently missed
shots by an inch less. and TIE hard
luck finally told on his nerves. Doyle
played with q stolidty acquired only by
veterans, keepinS eye open for the
least defect in the physical armor OF
his opponent, and when the opportunity
arrived it seldom slipped by him. Lob
bling, especially, went well for Doyle, and
his shots carried so prettily as to create
the greatest enthusiasm among the on
L. l..
he found the opportunity and there was
little to choose between the two when
oriiiiancy of play is considered.
Gordon finally found himself in the third
set,although the sharks at the game
declared Doyle was recuperating his
strength for the final dash-and went
through to victory by the score of IS.
For the first time in the match Gordon
got away in the lead. capturing the
initial game. and this fact doubtless in
spired him to better work. as he played
rings around Doyle in the final two games
At this point short rest of ten min
cree Hills turned over his thankless job
TO Herbert Shannon, who worked in the
final set. both men officiating faultlessly.
Comes Back Strong.
In the fourth. and what proved to be
the final set Doyle was up to old tricks,
getting away splendidly by winning the
hrst two games, but 1t was only a FASH
as Gordon then reeled three straight right
back and went into the lead This squirt
woke up Doyle, and he electrified the
gallery with some Of the cleverest lob
bling and place-smashing that has been
seen In this locality only when stars are
handling the racquets. As a result he
went victoriously through three games
which placed him two to the good. Cor
don then came back with a win, but
the tenth game was won by DOYLE and
with 1t went the match and the beautiful
silver cup on which he had already won
two legs.
Friends Of both players rushed up and
the defeated man was congratulated al
most as much as the victor for the game
battle put up.
There is only one criticism to offer, and
IT Is directed at the management. who
should have had more linesmen on hand
for an important match like this 1t
frequently happened that the players had
TO ask whether the ball was In or out
and this fact appeared to irritate both
men. When player pulls off a shot
close to the line it frequently appears
inside to him. and a quick call will salts
" MIN one way or the other. Both
players are too good sportsmen to COM
plain, but there is no doubt that the de-
hciency affected the play of one of the
contestants. The idiosyncrasies of an
athlete should always be respected as
long as he does not direct them at an
opponent. and when the deficiency noted
was seen to affect both players it should
have been remedied. Referee Shannon
was quick to see the handicap when he
assumed charge, and. as he is a member
OF the tennis committee, he lost little
time placing four men at each end of
the court instead of two.
Scores in Detail.
Following are the detailed scores of
each set:
FIRST SET
0ofdm ...........-. o o o o I 0 Ga
Doyle ............-. o / o I o lie
SECOND SET.
Gordon ..... o o 1 0-S
Doyle -. 0 Q i 0 o 0 II
THIRD SET.
Gordon ............ o n l-6
Doyle ........ 90 1 l 0 Ga
FOURTH SET.
Gordon ........... o 0 o Ct
Doyle ........... 0 0 0 / Ia
Miss Baker Reaches Semi-Finals.
In the womens singles good progress
was made. Miss Baker by the most per-