The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-08-30

ing their title in a spectacular court | F. Mclaughlin and Ward Dawson, and with 60 pairs of the best tennis players
 of the country in action on a wide ex- | panse of velvety green turf, the 36th
 annual. national lawn tennis cham
 pionships got really under way yester- day at the West Side Tennis club at Forest Hills, l.. I. The rain and gusts
 of wind which spoiled the opening on | Monday were forced from memory by the. clear sky ana dry, fast courts
 which were ready for yesterdays play. The disappointment Of the first oay only tended to increase the interest in the blue ribbon tennis event of the | year, ad when the four youths from
 the Pacific coast took their places to | begin the struggle for the national
 doubles honors there was a crowd of 5000 spectators. which included most l of the well known lovers of amateur 1 sport hereabout, assembled in the stands.
 Johnston and Griffin,th champions.
 won from Mclaughlin and Dawson by the score of A, 6-3, 5-7, 6-8. This
 was the feature event of the day, and
 enthusiasm ran high as the once peer less McI.ouglin and his tall team mate.
 Dawson, tried in vain to wrest the title
 from the pair of champions, who play ed together with perfect harmony. Courts a Vast Motion Picture. But this wasn't the only attraction of the day of keen sport, by any
 means. The crowd hurried from court
 to court to get peek at other players
 who were fighting it out in the singles.
 It was exactly 20 times as difficult to
 see all the matches as it is to see all that is going on at n three-ring
 circus. A view of the tournament from the upper tiers of the grand stand resembled a great motion pie ture. The effect was kateidoscopic,
 as the scores of players darted back
 and forth between net and baseline. There was a great throng around | the court where the willy and wiry l little Japanese, Ichiya Kumagae, was
 having an easy time disposing of Dam l forth Gee, Jr., of Hoosick Falls. The l Oriental is one of the picturesque i figur.s in the big tournament, and he | was the centre of admiration. Another match which attracted great attention
 was that between Karl Behr and Con-
 rad B. Doyle of Washington. Behr
 was extended to five hard sets to win.
 On a nearby court. Willis E. Davis,
 the clay court champion from Califor-
 mia, was defeating Joseph J. Arm
 strong of Philadelphia. The veteran, | w. J. Clothier, put out the other
 Japanese player. Hachishiro Mikami,
 in straight sets. There Wsre dozens
 of players whose names are on the | tip of the tongue of every tennis en- | thusiast, playing on one court or
 another, and the spectators promenad- l ed from court to court to get . 1 glimpse of as many of the matches as i possible.
 It would be a hard task to find a
 prettier place for the tournament than | Forest Hills There it is, set on the
 Long Island plains just like a little l Spotless Town. The village. with | it's quaint looking houses and red
 roofed gables. looks fon all the world | like an old English hamlet. Hard l by are the tennis courts hemmed in | by beautiful shrubbery and trees. Resplendent Touches of Color.
 The big blue and yellow banners of the West Side Tennis Club flew
 from the fiagpoles, and there were | great splashes of color on the green
 striped awnings of the clubhouse and
 the red-striped tops of the luncheon tents The women folks were all
 resplendent in summer finery and the | grand stand showed great patches o1 | color from silken jackets and hats
 of many hues. Many of the young | CT women wore summer gowns which | had all the gaudiness of Joseph's coat. The neckties and hat bands | of many of the men added color to | the scene, the hatband of Secretary
 Edwin F. Torrey being in particular l gem of liveliness.
 | The courts were in wonderful condi-
 tion after Mondays rain. They were
 as smooth and hard as the green bsjze | of a billiard table-so attractive that
 one of the debutantes remarked that
 they were smooth enough to dance on.
 All the onlookers had their favor l ties and there were many who were | keeping a watchful eye on the little l player from the Far. East. 1ch1ya
 Kumagae Since his defeat of Johnson, he looms up as a dark horse. | Johnson. the present title holder; Geo. | M. Church, the Princeton player; the | ex-champions. Maurice E. McLough- lin and R. Norris Williams, 2d., all | have their admirers, who expect them to come through the week s play with flying colors.
 l Kumagae was almost mobbed by | the photographers. Everywhere he
 turned he faced a battery of cameras.
 He stood the ordeal with fortitude' , and wore a continual smile, emphasiz- ed by his white teeth. Finally, the lit- 1 tie Oriental was rescued by his many l Japanese friends, who are attending the tournament in large numbers to | give encouragement to the Oriental | star.
 One of the first to congratulate
 Kumagae after he had won his match
 was Miss Molla Bjurstedt, the wom- 1 en,s national champion.
 Applause Greets Contending Pairs.
 It was nearly o'clock when the 1 champions, Johnston and Griffin, s1p-
 peared on the courts, followed by Mc-
 Loughlin and Dawson. A storm or applause greeted the quartet as they 1 began to lob the ball at each other In practice. Mclaughlin was the favor | ie of the four with the crowd, ana | his smile and shock of auburn halr
 have changed not a whit since his last appearance here. His work was watch
 ed with interest yesterday for the test of the match would show whether the | California Comet still retained has