New-York tribune., 1919-06-24
Play Begins in
Middle States
Tennis Tourney
Hall to Meet Winner in
Challenge Round; Ham,
NETT an Early Victor
By Fred Hawthorne

The thirty-fourth annual lawn ten
mis- tournament for the championship
OF the Middle States began yesterday
afternoon on the new turf courts Of
the Orange Lawn Tennis Club. at
Mountain Station, N. j., with a record
entry list of seventy-four in the mems
singles. Chief among the contenders
for the title now held by Walter Mer-
rlll Hall, VINO will stand out to meet
tne tournament winner in the challenge
round, are lchiya Kumagae, of japan:
Harold A. Throckmorton, N. W. Niles
and Theodore Roosevelt Pell
The draw finds the strength about
equally divided, with Kumagae and
Niles In the top half and Pell and
Ihrockmorton in the lower section.
Ihrockmorton was the only one of the
tour to put in an appearance yesterday
and ne came to the courts SO late
that he did not get into action until
after o'clock, when this faithful and
much-suffering Boswell of the courts
had to commute back to the great CITY.
Tor the first time on the new turf.
seed for which was sown a little over
year ago. Considering the circum-
stances, remarkable progress has been
made in perfecting the grounds and
other arrangements by the tournament
committee, headed by Allan C.
!Bragaw. Six of the courts are now
IN commission, and all are surrounded
by wire back-stop nets, covered over
with green canvas, making an ideal
background.
The turf was so firm and fast yes-
terday that the players found no
trouble with ,erratic bounds. Benches
and stands have been built around
one side and at the backs Of The The
courts, which are depressed about ten
feet below the surrounding embank-
ments,. so that the galleries have an
exceptionally good view of the
matches.
Club Champion Winner
Among some Of the matches that
were completed before $3.50 o'clock
were those in which Alfred D. Ham
NETT, Louis B. Daley, G.. A. L. Dionne.
T.. II. Hendricksen and Robert P. Ben
nett, the club champion, were victors.
Hammett took the measure of F. M.
McWhatty by score of Go. 8-6.
making full use Of his deceptive cut
strokes McWhatty partly solved the
mystery of the bounds in the second
set and fought hard for the lead, but
Hammett finally pulled it out after
the games had gone twice to deuce"
Dlonne was opposed by A. H. Chaplin,
jr., of Springfield, son of the treasurer
of the U. S. N. l.. T. A., and the
veterans steadiness from back-court
was entirely too much of an obstacle
Tor the younger man, who went down
to defeat by score Of Go, 6-3.
Dionne covered lot of court and
made some great "gets" as he went
after everything Chaplin sent over.
His own drives through deep court.
while they did not possess much "pace," ("
were so uniformly we'll placed that
Chaplin was often caught out of po-
sition.
Former Sailor Scores
Bennett eliminated R. W. Seabury IN
a fast match, by score Of 7-5, 6--2.
while E. H. Hendricksen, of New York.
one OF the noted ex-band of Pelham
Bay gobs, had fine tussel on his
hands before he could come through
against Harold Herrick, by score of
Cd, 7-5. The former sailor found
the net his most advantageous posi-
tlon when it came to winning the
points, and many pretty rallies
occurred from inside the service court
lines.
The singles will continue this after
noon and the mems doubles, the win
ners Of which will qualify for the
sectional doubles title, which carries
with it the right to compete for tho
national championship at Longwood,
will get under way to-day.
The women's singles will start to-