The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-01-07
MAURICE F. M'noPGHI4IN, WORLDS TENNIS
 CHAMPION, IS 25 TODAY.

Maurice B. Mclaughlin of San Francisco, the champion lawn tennis player of the world, will celebrate his twenty-fifth birthday today. The wonderful Californian was recently given the premier position among American players for the third con- secutive time in his brief career. The selection of Mclaughlin for the American honors followed a long controversy, as the Californian comet was defeated at the New port national tournament by R. Nor ris Williams, although the latter showed inferior form in the Davis cup and other tournaments during the year.
 In the last Davis cup competition. although the Australian team cap tured the trophy emblematic of the worlds championship, Mclaughlin defeated Norman B. Brookes and Anthony F. Wilding in the singles. Tn spite of the defeat of the Ameri- can team, opposed of Mclaughlin, R. Norris Williams and Thomas c. Bundy, the brilliant play of the Cali fornian and his personal triumph over the Australian stars gave him a standing as the worlds greatest player of the racquet game. Mo Lough1in was the only player during the preliminary, final and champion ship rounds to best the hitherto in v1ncible pair of Antipodes, and he thereby clearly earned the title of worlds champiop This has been generally recognized in England and Australia, where, in the official ten his handbooIzs, Mclaughlin has been ranked as the foremost player in the game
 Tn the national champions at New port Mclaughlin showed a complete reversal of form, while Williams, the Phi1ade1phian, played the great game of his career. The Quaker City man defeated the Californian in three straight sets, at 6-3, S@6 10-8. In his fourth appearance on the Casino courts in, >cfampionship
 matches. McLoughlin was clearly off his game. As he had taken the championship twice a victory meant permanent possession. of the trophy, and the Ca1ifornian's faiIurei to make l good was the big tennis surprise of the country.
 In ranking the American players 1 the comittee of the United States Lawn Tennis Association, at it's meet | ing in New York last month, faced l the difficult problem of deciding whether first place should go to the holder of the national championship 1 or to the man who had demonstrated. . 1 despite one failure, that he was the 1 tennis star not only of America, ut of the world. They finally decided 1 in McLough1in's faiIure-a decision which met with general acceptance as being right and proper, although without any reflection on the bril-
 iance of Williams performance at Newport. The decision of the com
 rnittee as to ranking gave Pacific l Coast players the lead in all. divi-
 sions, Mclaughlin and Thomas c. | Bundy standing at the top of the
 doubles. list. and Miss Mary Browne leading the fair players.
 It is altogether unlikely that Me
 Lough1in will have the opportunity
 of defending his right to the worlds
 tennis championship this year, as i Anthony F. Wilding and Norman E. I Brookes, who captured the. Davis
 cup for Australia although both were
 defeated in singles by Mclaughlin
 are now soldiers and fighting at the | front.
 Mclaughlin coronation as king ot
 the tennis world marks the first -ap-
 pearance of an American player in that role, by the universal consent | of the tennis critis of all nations He has remained at the top in Ameri-
 can tennis for three successive years
 in spite of the fact that when he be. l gan his championship career a rule
 was put into effect making it neces. i sary for the champion to play | through the national tournament, ant
 champions of past years had played
 only in the challenge round.