New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-08-23
Ranking of Players a
Problem After Macs
Upset at Newport.
"COMET" SEEMS TO BE
LOSING HIS PUNCH
Williams. on Other Hand, Shows
Increasing Confidence and
SureneSS in His Game.
Bv FRED HAWTHORNE.

.;,.ee % the l.. 5. y. /. T. a. becomes
- veNatious with each passing
Icy snd nobody knows what will
ta,nen bv the time the national lawn
ennis championships are finished at
80 IVES Side Tennis Club. at Forest
u;ns This tourney begins next week.
The defeat Of Mclaughlin by VIII
ans A. Newport on Saturday came as
sturr.rg surprise 20 the general
1yblic. which has been led 10 believe
he wonderful Californian IS practically
invincible Many persons. however,
have not taken into account the re-
rarkable all around improvement
shown hy Williams in the last twelve
months and the fact that Mclaughlin
has retrogTaded TO an appreciable ex-
tent in the same time.
A review Of the Comets" matches
since coming East this season will
serve 90 illustrate the truth Of this
last statement How many PLAYERS
were there. with the possible exception
Of Williams himself. who could have
taken set from Mclaughlin two
wears ago. Very few, certainly.
Trouble for Mclaughlin.
V. here we see Mclaughlin being
EXTENDED 20 several of his matches at
Seabrch- :wo weeks ago. losing a set
10 Nathaniel ". Niles and then being
defeated n the final round by Karl
Behr A. Newport last week Niles
made a. even better showing against
the Californian. taking the first set
and rcatlrg two Of the remaining three
our Co deuce.
Then along comes Williams. who,
after dropping the opening set, sailed
straight along 20 victory IN the last
three. completely outp.aying McLough-
In iH the latter stages of the final
round match.
OF course. Williams was defeated
bv the star from the Pacific Coast in
California last month. but this out
come can hardly be taken as a true
test OF the relative merits of the two
men The play was on asphalt courts,
which are so utterly different from the
grass courts Of the East DIS 10 actually
cripple the feet OF the men from this
TART Of the country
Mclaughlin repeated his triumph
ever the national champion in the
LOngwo0d tournament, and on turf
courts, but here again the conditions
did not afford an accurate line on the
opposing p.ayerS. a steady fall Of rain
rendered the court treacherous under
foo. and seriously Influenced the
hound o. the bali. Then, too. Williams
was affected more by the rain than his
opponent
A year ago. when Williams took the
national title from Mclaughlin on the
courts Of the Newport Casino. the
writer said he believed the Harvard
man had won distinctly on his merits.
There were many scofers at this The
DRY. and one and all made the same
comment: mclaughlin was way off
his game. and the next time they meet
Williams viii be beaten. And he will
lose his title next wear in addition"
Gaining in Confidence.
Il also was stated in these columns
that Nilhams's victory over his
greatest opponent al that time might
give MN the confidence and feeling o:
tureness IN his game that had before
been lacking. Certainly this appears
10 have been borne out by the trend of
recent events
The champion was the personifcation
o. confidence when he took the court
against the comet" on Saturday.
Never for moment during the first
set, when Mclaughlin was going great
guns and smashing and driving with
disastrous results 20 his opponent. did
Williams lose his feeling that eventu-
any he would crush the man from the
Coast
Gradually Mclaughlin burned him
self OUT and his defence began TO
crumble as Williams kept hammering
me ball TO the California players back
hand and ripped his defence to shreds
with sharp volleying strokes that were
aimed so accurately for the openings
that Mclaughlin simply could not cir
cumvent them
Yet even then the national champion
I'D not hurry himself, but actually
toyed with his opponent Williams was
content 20 drop game occasionally in
lhe last two sets, seeming 10 know that
DC held the great Westerner at his
mercy.
II did not matter 10 the Eastern star
ma, he lost many points on double
iauts. His second ball was always
SER ed with fully as much speed as the
inst, and although he made more double
faults than VI ,Loughlin, he also scored
more aces, and even when Mac did sue
coed in making his return of the ter
rife shots Williams sent into the ser
vice court the were so weak and fall
terng as TO Pford the Harvard man
the opening he had been looking for. II
was the same way with all his strokes.
The title holder demonstrated that he
was % firm believer in the golfers
maxim, "Nevet up, never In.' and con-
tnuaily played the ball for the lines
and the angles no matter how narrow
the margin Of safety and how much de-
pended on the success or failure Of the
shot.
Hard Man TO Beat
Few players can take chances like
hai and WIN with any consi stency. but
Williams does. and 10 Is only upon the
occasions whea he is OF form that he
is beaten Who his eye and his con
uol Of strokes are not az fault his
methods are a, parently invinciblc. and
mere does not appear any player IN the
world to-day Nho can successfully com
ba' The present champions style Of
game
what has come over the once fiery.
raging, magnificent sweep Of McLough-
ms game? A player Of international
reputation, WIZ has met the greatest
opponents Of ,lwn tennis IN the world