Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-09-04
MURRAY WINS
TENNIS TITLE
Californian Defeats Bill
Tilden in Straight Sets
in National Final
LASTS SIS MINUTES
Forest Hills, v ". Sept. 4

Forest Hills, y ", Sept. 4.
The name of r. Lindley Murray was
Yesterday added to the list OF California
tennis players who have won the ma
tional singles championship en- the turf,
when he captured the 1918 title by de-
| in straight sets by scores Of CD. 6-l,
| rs, Playing in the final and champion
| ship round on the/courts of the West
side club, the California meteor won
| the first National tennis championship
| tournament since 1916. and the only one
| Of the yearin the tennis world, in fifty
five minutes of court battle, which
proved conchsvely that Murray is the
ranking American player of the season.
Following N the. footsteps of Maurice
McLoughlin who won In 1912 and
5o S,3 and nd WI Wilism M Johnsto5n ,ts the title
well-rounded game and the same calm
| confidence in his racquet ability that
marked the play of his predecessors from
| His victory was the more remark
| able in view of the fact that he had not
played serious tournament tennis until
about ten days ago, when, after receiving
| a vacation from the munitions plant
| where he is chemist; he made his ap-
pearance at Southampton and later at
Forest Hills.
Tilden. owing to his Improvement and
greater tournament practice this year.
was expected by many followers of the
game to prove Murray's master in the
Californian. playing from the Niagara
! Falls n. Y, tennis club. proved. how
ever. that even in the short space of
lime. allotted to him for practice he
could reach the heights of court skill
and strategy that proved so bewilder-
| ing to Tilden.
Tilden Suffered Handicap
The tall Phladelphian. despite his
wizardry Cf cut strokes and court COW
ering ability, was unable to check for
any length. of time Murray's march to
the championship. Tilden was handi-
seriously interfered with his footing for
some of the vi,itors harder smashes
Murray, however. did not rely en-
tirely upon his power to drive the ball
like a rifle bullet from one end of the
| court to another. He used these smash
ing tactics at times. but Sc skillfully
nterspersed them with chopped, four
court strokes. lobs and side line, passes
that Tilden was constantly unbalanced
by the versatility of the attack. In ad-
dition. Murray always had the reserve of
times with deadly effect, as is shown
| by the stroke analysis. which credits
| him with fifteen service aces to TIL
! den's four.
Does Not Play to Form
| In the face of the constantly shifting
scheme of offense Tilden made many
errors and seldom appeared to rise to
|
Occa sionally he would bring applause
| from the gallery of several Thousand
| spectators by ripping returns across the
| court or deep to the base lines, but they
| were flashes only.
| Murray from Dis position at the net
| even in these rapid fire exchanges al
ways worked with the skill and delibera-
ton OF a master; and the steadiness
| with which he made impossible ap-
| p"arng gets and returns of lightning
Ike strokes appeared to take the heart
from Tiden's play. 1t was the latter s
unsteadiness in netting and outing the
ball at critical moments that really cost
him the championship, for he actually
outplaced Murray in the number of
his killing aces.
Murray Was Stole
| Murray never appeared 70 be worried
| by these remarkable StreakS of play on
jTilden's part, and continued to carry
out his plan of campaign as though the
outcome was never in doubt. Repeatedly.
he went after returns to the very eX-
tremes If the boundary and by marvel
Gus strollng would bring the ball back
into play with such persistency that
Tlden would finally lose the point on
the simplest appearing kind of errors.
| Murrays supremacy was further DEM
onstrated by the fact that of the twen-
ty-eight games played, only six were
carried to deuce, and the manner in