New-York tribune., 1918-08-18

in struggle that was marked
throughout by tennis of the most brill
liant description the work of Richards
was distinguished by its remarkable
ail-around strength. In no single de-
partment did the towheaded bov dis
play weakness. and his generalshin
was Of the highest. 1t was an unheard
OF thing, this boy, playing with. three
/ Such masters of tactics as Alexander.
wright and Tilden. not onlv to hold
MS own, but actually to outcuesa the
older men at times.
Alexander and Wright, after dron-
ping the first two sets and apparently
Oelng headed straight for defeat, made
wonderful rally and brought the
.haich .ha , even by calling into play all
'"e'' shill and all their court craft.
Tilden Meets Crisis.
The sudden turn of the tide threat
ened p,ea to sweep Tilden and young
Men hlcnaras @ OFF their feet. but in the
CRISIS Illden responded with an nm
oeatable brand of tennis, rushing to
the net with the speed of the wind
ana smotherlng everything that came
within reach Of his racquet. until the
veterans were slowly but surely beaten
into submission.
a gallery Of close to two thousand
persons formed living square about
the court, and enthusiasm ran bipb
particularly as Richards soon sbnwsdi
lhat ne was out TO play the greatest
game OF his short but dazzling career
on the courts. In the opinion of those
VINO have attended tournaments at
Longwood for the last fifteen wears or
more, the hnal round match this after
noon was notable in a number of wavs.
interest was sustained until the final
point because of the tremendous eff
tort of Wright and Alexander TO swing
the tide IN the third and fourth sets
and because OF the sight of a sixteen
year-old boy battling his way to ma
tlonal championship.
irving Wright, brother of Beals. COM
ment1ng on the play after Richards
and lllden had won the title. said
ne greatest doubles I've ever seen
| at Longwood."
Had Wright been able Co finish off
his shots as crisply and as certainly as
Alexander 1t Is quite likely that the two
lnternatlonallsts would have won the
championship to-day. Wright plaved
nne tennis, but his game lacked the
speed and the severity necessary to
stay the rush of the youthful. hard
hitting pair on the other side of the
net.
Tilden and Richards soon noted this
lack of strength in Wright and singled
MN out for an attack, so that there
were long periods when Alexander was
Almost entirely out of the plav. Rich
ards lobbed with amazing accuracy to
Wrlght's base line, and instead ~
smashing the bali for kills" Wright
was content to play il back softlv.
SO SO tnat sooner or later Tilden ended
e, the point by one Of his own lightning
Kills" from high overhead.
Order of Service
The order Of service whent thus-
i1iden, Wright, Richards. and Alexar-~
der, and Fred Mansfield, dean % ten
clal chair
The new champions won she erst
game at love- with Richards scoring
two perfect placement aces at the net
by driving the ball sauarelv hetU;eer'
Alexander and Wright Thereafter the
games went by service, with the Diav
ilgntning fast The first break came
III the eighth game, when Richards and
lllden broke through Alexauder's ser
vice and IIden won The ninth on his
own speedy delivery, making The frst
set 6-3
'Tilden was handling wright's deep
lobs splendidly, smashing back clear
TO the base line from all over the
court, and Richards was PLAYING in
way that dazzled the gallery. fencing
Nth Alexander and Wright in the vol
leying exchanges and having the bet
ter Of the issue. It was a bevilderiny
exhibition Of youthful lawn TERMS pre-
cOcity.
Richards and his partner kept on in
the second set at the same unbeatable
pace, and now they had the veterans
on the defensive in back court, with
Wright striving to hold the other nair
back by deep lobbing. Trailing at Ia
on games, Alexander started a furious
net attack, cutting off the ball at the
barrier in deadly fashion. until he and
Wright had drawn up to Sd. But
there was no holding the impetuosity
OF youth. and Tilden won his own SER
vice for the second set at 6-4
Knowing it was to be then or never,
Alexander and Wright started their
rally half way through the third set.
with the games 81 against them, and
set such a furious pace cutting of
everything at the net that they took the
next eight games in row. giving them
the third set at 6-3 and a lead Of 40
in the fourth. which they eventually
won at 6-2, bringing the match even.
Tilden and Richards then closed with
an extra burst Of speed and won the
fifth set at CO, giving them the matchs
and the championship.
Miss Bjurstedt Beaten
Mrs. George II Wightman and Irving
c. Wright won the mixed doubles tour
nament. defeating Miss Molla Bjurstedt
and Alexander at 6-3, 6-2, the issue
never being IN doubt.
The summaries follow:
Mems national championship doubles final round,
-N "A a.
feated Frederick Alexander and Besls c Wright
IS 6-4. SIS 2-s e.
sgesia mixed doubles final rcund)-MrA Cepvrs
Fl Wlghtman and IrytnS C Wrxht do,eafed Sfss
Aolla Bturstedt and Frederick B. Alexarlder, Ga
Ga
Staten islanders Win
Following up its good form Of last