New-York tribune., 1919-09-15
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do not think any critic has yet
delved into the reasons for the re-
markably easy victory of William NJ.
Johnston. the new national champion.
over Robert Lindley Murray. the previ-
GUS title holder, and the surprisingly
pocr showing Of the latter. in the re-
cent tournament on the West Side
Tennis Club courts at Forest Hills.
In that match Murray. the meteoric
Murray, whom we have all thrilled
to see in action as he made those
famous rushes of his for the net. to
smash or volley. and to bear down op
ponents By the sheer forcing power Of
his attack-was unexplainably mild.
In the first set this was not so ap-
parent The blond haired Meteor
was crashing over the tremendous
"railroad' service and racing for the
net on winged feet, as Of yore. but the
change that came over his game after
that was startling.
The failing champions service un-
derwent an unmistakable softening; he
faltered in his rushes down the court
and his volleying lost it's severity and
sharpness. Yes. and as watched him
from the side lines that day Murray
actually staggered and swayed on his
feet after each particularly savage
rally with tire relentless little Johns
ton. More than once it seemed that
the stalwart Californian would col
lapse on the court Only his mag
ridcent fighting courage kept him on
his feet.
But it is not in Murray's nature to
save himself, nor to stall" for time
when in match. He gives to the last
ounce of his splendid strength, fool
ishly. perhaps, but nevertheless in a
manner that we cannot help but ad-
mlre And somehow he got through
the match, shook hands with Johnston,
that winning, boyish smile OF con-
graduation on his face, and then went
TO the club house.
Murray's Game Weakened
do not suppose there were half
dozen persons among all the thousands
Of the faltering, the weakening in
Murray's game. Johnston always
could beat Murray was the express
sion most frequently heard on all sides
after the men left the court, and with
that they dismissed the "Meteors" de-
feat.
But there must have been something
deeper than what we saw on the sur
face. From Murray himself there was
no word of explanation coming. "Bill
is q wonder: he certainly played won
dcrful tennis" was about the sum and
substance of Murray's comment, and |.
who have known him for the last five
years. expected nothing else from
Murray
1t was several days later that the
true facts IN the case came out, and
quite by accident at that. Two men
were discussing the match in my hear
after reaching the clubhouse follow
ing the match with Johnston, Murray
tainted. A physician was summoned
and it required more than an hours
work to bring the Californian around
again so that he could leave for the
city.
"Dilatation of the heart from
strain was the explanation made by
the physician, and there we have the
to me that Murray has not paid the
price before this Only q constitution
of tremendous vitality could have
withstood the demands that the for
mer champions game made upon It,
Undergoes Severe Strain
His service alone must place kill
ing tax on Murray's heart, the more
so as the Californian is d left-hander,
bringing the strain more directly on
his heart side. Added to the terrific
power Murray puts into this stroke ne
further aggravates the strain by the
peculiar manner in which he draws
up and wrenches his entire body as
he is in the act Of delivering the SER
vice. Every atom of strength goes
into that nation, and the former
champion is literally tied into a
knot at the moment the racquet comes
in contact with the ball.
Three or four years ago, at Sea
Bright. | saw Murray collapse outright
on the court on particularly oppres-
sive day while he was playing five
set match with Williams. At that time
it wss said the Californian had suf-
fercd a touch Of sunstroke. Perhaps
so. and yet it is reasonable to suppose.
in view of what happened at Forest
Hills, that Murray even thus early was
beginning to pay the price.
Following that experience the former
champion did curb his game appreci-
ably. He acquired ground strokes, so
that it was no longer vitality necessary
for him to storm the net continually,
and in other ways he tempered the
l.;