The sun., 1916-08-30

the national tennis championship yes
terday was no surprise to the majority
Of the players. nor to the big crowd that
saw the match, despite the fact that
they rooted persistently for the ever
popular Mclaughlin. There were many
wagers recorded In the clubhouse before
the match at odds of 8 to 3 on the cham
pions, for the poor showing of Dawson
on Monday wac thought to Indicate a
certain weakness on his side of the net.
The champions play ed Dawson pretty
consistently throughout the match. and
surely ,rofitcd by these tactics. but 1t
was Mclaughlin himself whose weakness
was CHIEFLY responsible for their clear de-
feat. ror those who nave been expecting
q glorious comeback" on the part of
the Comet a great disappointment was IN
store. The former champion never rose
To the heights Of his oldtiine skill. and
he fell down repeatedly in his service.
on the form he displayed Yesterday Me-
iou1hlin's chance, for the singles must
bc placed distinctly behind thOse OF John
s,on and Williams.
"Mac's' Service u.acks sting.
Curiously enough. MACS strongest
point OF thc Ola udNt was nF NteNtS
Yesterday. Instead OF a service that
proved the tower Of strength that it used
to be. he lost more OF his service games
than any of the other three. or the
forty games played Mclaughlin served
in eleven and lost seven OF the eleven.
which Is a lower batting average" than
any other champion of his class has made
in a championship final In many a long
day. Two years z he could he relied
on In any company to win nine or ten
out Of eleven instead Of four.
There were two reasons for this weak
ness that were not appreciated by every
one. In the first place. both Of his
antagonists wero fellow Californians
who had had long experience against his
|, famous American deliveries and for
whom they held no terrors. Both
Johnston and Griffin handled Macs ser
vice without glove and speed had no
] terrors for either of them.
In the second place. the Comets ser
vice had none Of the old sting to II.
Ito did not keep his man so far back
on the long hound and break that he
used TO get. nor did he place the ball
. So accurately into the corners OF his
I. adversary's court. Yesterday the famous
old railroad" service was missing al
together. and the other American de-
. liveries had less devil In them than
! - VI iis y WI " =
Ot the other three players Dawson did
about all that vas expected OF him and
under the constant attack he held ur
:. mis- end well. Mclaughlin showed the
same anxiety 70 cover his partner that
he did last year and in the international
!. matches two years ago with Bundy
These tactics to, frequently draw the
hes, players out Of position In doubles
as II did yesterday. and every time one
i sees such an effort he realizes more fully
= the necessity o. an evenly balanced team
. Tor success IN this branch Of the game.
n Ia " Great weakness.
n Dawson's greatest weakness was his
"A failure to follow up hts service clos
10 enough TO the net. The champion:
:. lobbed very little throughout the match
and he could have run In much close
|, on all his services with perfect safety
:. but Dawson constantly played the frs
L return from close to his feet and los
many points IN this " n Griffin II
:. particular cross-courted him constant!
>. for well earned aces.
on the other side o. the net Griffi,
.. again pla yed the par, OF the wheelhorSe
! while the champion was a hrlll!sn
leader. the champions fully 1ustifyinl
their laurels. Griffin is never a show.
player. blu. he is seldom worked out o
d dlAh III tlNNhs ottAN Wv tN"'A 'Ai
y couragement to slide the ball into III
! smallest opening for a well earned ace
!, Particularly on short cross court stroke
n he was effective YESTERDAY. and al'houg
never so brilliant az his partner In an,
Of me four sets he was quite as reliabl.
=, II not So severe In killing the ball.
Johnston played a faultless gam
- throughout the match. and OF yester
8: days form would almos: certainly hay
u Aa.,., l,. al1 rtynl Mol nlunl.n hl
l.. the two me; yesterday in singles ins'ca
OF doubles. He seemed fully up 10 III
: splendid form he showed a year ago an
more confident as we'll, Nothing cam
too fast for him and his W speed a
n we'll a. his length was as much In evi
= dence a. IN lost years matches. II
certainly played better tennis IMAM II
I. did against Williams In the East "
IVES, matches a few weeks ago VINE
no was beaten BY the ex-champion
five sets.
Enforce Foot Faults Rule.
Foo. faults were called more strict
than In any other championship mate
have seen, Ex-Champ!on Cloth'er wa
nlaced on the base line with instruction
10 enforce the foot fault rule. ana n
). ana his work with intelligence, Impair
I'd TALLY and a stric, attention 20 bushes
<. that was a great relief after the "ea
D. sp,ned efforts OF some OF last season
base line Judges.
Johnston was penalized less than an
OF the other three. but even Mcl-oughl'
came IN for his share Of attention. TIL
4 plavers were much more careful Wit
the position OF their feet when the
found they had a strict judge on n
I" base line. but their speed did not sutfe
! In consequence. Nor was there any az
~FA dAn