The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-09-05
SEMI-F F|NALS IN NATIONAL TENNIS ! TOURNEY MONDAY Mclaughlin to Meet Dell and Williams Plays JOhn- stOn-Great Matches
 Yesterday

Forest Hills, \. Y., September 4.--As 4 . result of today's play In the national tennis championship tournament, the east md the west will be equally rep resented in the semi-finaIs Monday. William NJ. Johnston Of California will Williams of Pennsylvania, and Maui rice E. Mclaughlin of California will meet Theodore h. Pell of New York.
 Johnston won today from Clarence ]. Griffin of San Francisco, 6-2, 6-1, 6-S, 5-7, 6-1 Williams defeated William Rand III a team member with the United States champion in the Harvard University Tennis club, S-6, 7-5, 6-1. Mo Loughlin eliminated F. T. Hunter of Cornell university, 6-2, 6-4, so. Pell put out W. c Wright of Boston, 6-3, 6-1, 6-1
 Neither Johnston or Williams played up to their form of previous ma ches today, while Mclaughlin and Pell showed a distinct improvement John ston required five sets, two of which went to deuce. to dispose of his Cali
 
 to play two deuce sets Pell and Me Loughlin raced through their matches in rapid fire order and never left the spectators in doubt as to the final out come
 Johnston in Form
 Johnston opened in excellent for-l against Griffin and by clever general snip and an exhibition of rapid racquet teachnique won the first two sets in handy fashion. He appeared to falter however, under the extreme heat as the play progressed, and Griffin, bringing the full power of his sturdy physique into action. evened the score of sets by winning two deuce contests. John ston showed a great comeback fin the fnal set and with a dashng assortment 1t of strokes. played from all parts of the court at top speed, quickly ran through the deucing set at 6-1
 Considering the match as a whole. Johnston showed a greater generalship and finesse in his placing and stroking Of the ball. Except for his lapse in tEe third and fourth sets, his judgment of distance and height was excellent as he brought fore and back hand stroke5 the length of the court or at sharp an- gles with marvellous skill.
 Williams play against Rand was a distinct disappointment to the big gal lery. During the first two sets he ap. peared to have lost his wizard like cop- trol of the ball and this, taken into consideration with the fact that Rand played steadily and tried for every ball. carried the play far beyond what had been expected
 Knew Opponents Game
 Rand was familiar with his opponents game and his persistent returning of the ball seemed to throw the champion off his stroke. He netted and outed the ball in surprising fashion, double faulted in serv- ice and showed disposition to avoid ra- lss ar pushes to the net He stuck to his task, nevertheless, winning the first two sets after many deuce games The third set saw him back in his old form again and Rand ceased to be a factor. Everything that had been lacking in the champions form during the first two sets was on exhibition in the third and final session.
 In sharp contrast to Williams slump was the excellent playing of Mclaughlin. The famous Davis cup contender and former American champion, lost no time in opening his old shioned smashing driving form of attack. He served with deadly accuracy and speed, frequently aceing Hunter, rushed to the net far more frequently than in previous matches this week and once there refused to be dis lodged unti, he had in most cases ham mered out the winning point Although Hunter made some splendid placement and passing shots, he never was able to hold Mclaughlin in check for any length of time.
 Pell won by clever use of his famous backhand stroke and perfect timing of returns. Wright unable to cope with his superior all-round game, and ex- cept for a few times when he forced his way to the net for winning points was comparatively easy for the New Yorker.
 The interscholastic championship vas deiced earlier in the day when Harold TErockmorton of Sewaren, N J., defeated c. s. Garland Of Plttsburg in the final round, 6-3 2-G, 7-5 6-3. Throckmorton oame through as the representative of Princeton university, while Garland vas the winner of the Yale interscholastic tournament.