The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-05-24

game believe that II ]. PARNLY PARFT.
soon will be met with better ground
strokes. which in turn will offset the
present advantage OF the twist deliveries.
The doubles game Is threatened more
than singles. and this Is due rather TO
the development OF volleying than SER
vice alone. Here the advantage is so
strong with the serving side hat in first
class championship play between evenly
matched teams the servers win some
where between so and 90 per cent. of
all the games played that is. victory
follows the service with great rogu-
larity.
Many new ideas have been tried go
onset this advantage. hut nor seems
10 have been entirely successful. In
England the orthodox players. a large
share OF them. try 10 prevent the serv-
ing side from taking complete possess
sion Of the net by placing the partner
of the strikerout half way up in the
court. at about the service line. 70 an
'icipate the first volley of the server
and his partner.
Now. this position has been con-
demned as unsound by most authorities
on the lne and ! rever have felt
that 1t was tenab.e aeaius; the fastest
American volleyers. The ira, real test
Of its merits was when the Doherty
brothers played Davis and Ward. then
champions OF America, and these two
pairs met several times In Davis cup
matches over here and In England.
Each time the Dohertys won u while
they did vary this position and occa-
s~ionally kept both their players back
In the court II cannot be said that
these matches proved the English posi-
ton to be unsound. Against Ward and
Wright. however, the Doh.rtys were
forced to give up their favorite tactics
and the strikers partner was driven
back from the volleying position.
The success of THE English "forma-
t'on.' as ii often is called. is based on
the slower net attack of the average
English players. and for this reason II
has been quite successful among Eng
l'sh players against their own teams.
Asains, fast volleying Americans WHO
come In to within SIX or eight feet Of the
net TO Nollcv v s,ns n Difficult matter
to prevent the g. shot made by the
servers side from going right through
the strikers partner, WHOSE weak posi-
ton at the service line would seem to
make him quite vulnerable.
But what are We TO think Of the sue
cess OF foreign teams with this forma-
ton over here Not only did the
Dohertys succeed with it against our
best teams. all except Ward and Wright
AT any rate, hut Doust and Jones. play
ing Tor Australia In the Davis cup
matches OF 1918 here IN New York.
used the same formation against Nc
Loughlin and Hacket, and won their
match. Again last year Brookts and
Wild!ng used this formation and beat
McLoughlin and Bundy. u national
champions. In last years match the
visitors were distinctly too strong for
our team, with the weak spot AT Bundy's
position. but that cannot he said 81
Jones and Doust, and yet they won from
80 good a team as Hackett and NJ
Loughlin.
II Is hard " dispute such facts as
these on record. yet nevertheless | am
still convinced that this English position
for doubles II unsound, and everything
else being equal. fast voileying Amer
leans at the net should put the strikers
partner out OF commission just az Beals
Wright did some years ago with the
Doherty hrothers. The successes IL has