New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-12-03
SWISS NATION
ONE OF HIGH
TSMANSHIP
Military Prowess Attributable to
Development of Outdoor
AmuSementS

London. Dec. 1.-THE Swiss have al
ways been a nation Of sportsmen. and
the war has proved the value OF tins
national quality. Switzerland is an
armed neutral, and her modified army
OF half a million is in splendid form,
fact largely due TO the cultivation Of
sport When not on the active list
the youth Of the lower classes have
their famous Turn festivals and compe-
titions. which on small scale remind
you of the old Greek games. Men OF
officer status have. inter ala, their
Yachting. riding. football and lawn ten
mis-. Football. by the way, is luxury
not a proletariat necessity. The Swiss
SCOTSMAN is catholic E" lis tastes and
is rarely man OF one game.
There are interesting points about
Swiss lawn tennis. The game has an
immense vogue for q small country.
and 10 has as i'm France, America. South
Africa and Australia. always enjoyed
the respect which il so tardily won IN
England. The excellent hard courts,
made Of a naturally elastic and binding
material. without the horrors OF Eng
lish clay, are conducive 20 uniformity
of style and 10 the absence Of those
errors which slow grass courts so cas-
lily foster
Unique Covered CoJrts
The covered courts are of the same
material as the outdoor; the Swiss
wisely decided that a wooden surface
implies a different style Of game and
is, generally speaking. unsuitable for
any ball game The simplest kind OF
roof and walls are enough TO cover IN
an outdoor court; the mere covering
without heating is enough TO keep the
frost away, except at it's severest
Then YOU may have covered court
dc luxe. like that Of the Palace at 81.
Moritz. with central heating and most
successful electric lighting distributed
throughout a fiat roof Of plate glass.
Swiss lawn tennis players have
always compared very favorably with
those Of other small countries, such As
Holland and Belgium, TO take only two
instances, but they have never yet
entered for the Davis Cup. AZ present
there is e. dearth Of new blood; the
same players appear al the tourna-
mentS week after week. Mr. Wunderly-
Volkart president Of the l.. I. g.,
thinks that after the war there will be
considerable development and that
the old guard will be able to welcome
d new generation.
The last season has been the rainiest
within living memory, not TO mention
a week Of snow i'm late April and an
other I'm early October. twenty-five
tournaments were held. beginning with
the covered court meeting at Geneva
The national championship went TO NJ.
Turrettini. brother Of G. Iurrettm'
and the ladies' event 10 Nile. K. De
Morsjer The international champion
shin a.. S.. open to all nationalitles) was,
as expected. again won by Marcel
This was held at Zurich, and the win
ner has not been beaten during the
season. The best that has been done
against him was by K. de Grenus, at
Lausanne, who won the first. two sets
and led . 3 in the third, only TO lose
marcel" Best Player
"Nsrcel" for years has been the best
plsver i'm Switzerland, a class above
every one. He is. Of course, the Eng
lishman. Captain H. OF Berne, too
little known on English courts. In
build and style ne is almost double
Of Mr.. now lieutenant commander
G. W, Hillyard; add to which a su-
preme self-conhdence. He IS quicker
on the ball than any one ! have ever
seen. except ". Renshaw, G.. A. Carldla
and r. \. Williams. lie hits before
the ball is at the top. and his length
and speed are splendid. Apropos, u
was he who taught K. y. Williams, and
the American champion luckily ASSN
Hated his teachers secret OF the MS
ing ball. which has made his game
what II is.
Another interesting player rs Charles
Martin. perhaps the best known and
most popular Of native Swiss players.
lie is not so slim OF figure as he was.
but his variety of strokes remains, MS
deadly backhand and his quickness. As
a pair the brothers de Nizcaya have
done well. Won Huppmann IS a good
doubles PLAYER. Next IN the list 20
Martin is Amman. with his feroclous
drive. All these men would, may say,
delight an English audience by their
individuality and brilliance. Another
worth mention is W Scholler, of Iu-
rich. He is one Of those natural play
ers who car do anything with the ball.
An international oarsmar. ne has other
interests besides tennis. He beat Mar
tin in the final of the interclub compe-
tition. which was won by Lausanne.
This is similar 20 our own inter-
county cup competition.