New-York tribune., 1918-09-01
National Meet Produces as
Stirring Matches as Any
Previous Event
By Fred Hawthorne

The lawn tennis season of 1915 will
reach its pinnacle on Tuesday after
noon, when the final round match for
the national singles championship will
be played on the championship"
stretch of turf of the West Side Ten
mis- Club, at Forest Hills, Long island,
and while there must be regret at the
closing Of the active outdoor period
on the courts, those who guided the
destinies Of the United States National
Lawn Tennis Association through q
perilous season, cannot but look back
upon the work they so ably accom-
plished with merited satisfaction.
In way, it has been the most sue
cessfu- era of the game in this coun-
try since that memorable year Of 1914,
when the mighty Wilding and the
court master Norman Brookes won the
great Davis Cup on the " st Side
courts from the American tear Of Nc
Loughlin, Bundy and@Williams.
Tourney Big Success
Beset by myriad difficulties and ac-
comparied by thousand and one fore
bodings of failure, the great national
tournament approaching it's close at
Forest Hills has been a conspicuous
success from every viewpoint. No
matter who shall be crowned champion
on Tuesday (and we hazard the guess
that the finalists will be William r.
Tildcn, I'd, of Philadelphia, and Rob-
ert Lindley Murray, late of California;
this tournament has seen matches as
stirring and as sensational as any that
have distinguished previous holdings of
the event.
Julian S. Myrick, vice-presi dent of
the u. S. N. L. T. A., and those associ-
ated with him in bringing together
from all quarters of this broad land
the men who have been battling for
the national title accomplished note
worthy feat in chat respect.
The presence at Forest Hills Of
Ralph H. Burdick and Walter r. Hayes,
Of Chicago, for instance, cannot fail
to do the game world Of good next
year. 1t was the first visit of the
strong Chicago pair to this city and
both gained host of friends, during
their play at Longwood, at Southamp-
ton and at Forest Hills.
While not able to win the chief hon.
ors in any Of these three tournaments,
Hayes and Bnrdick, playing under diff
ficulties, proved to the East that their
game is of the soundest and that their
sportsmanship, both on and off the
court,.is of the same quality.
Burdick's Play Sensational
Burdick created sensation at
Southampton by the manner in which
he forced Tilden to his limit to win,
and he did likewise on the West Side
struggle against Nathaniel w. Niles,
Of Boston. Hayes, through his remark
ably easy victory over Ichiya Kumagae
at Southampton, gave the Japanese
the most decisive defeat he has suf-
fered since coming to this country and
stamped himself as a fitting represen-
tative OF the game as it is played in
this country.
We extend the hand of welcome to
Ralph Burdick and Walter Hayes and
we hope that they will feturn again
next year and make another try for
titles here in the East. The game of
lawn tennis will always have high
place for such as they.
The return of Beals c. Wright to
participation in national championship
play was another noteworthy feature
of the week just closed, and although
defeated by Kumagae on Friday,
Wright astonished the gallery by his
wonderful showing in this tournament.