New-York tribune., 1919-05-21
kumagae and Taylor
Cain Bracket in Final
Round of Doubles
By Fred Hawthorne

Two matches were played in the an.
nual doubles lawn tennis tournamo..
of the Harlem Tennis Club yesters.r
evening, for it was quite a bit after
o'clock before the players took tbs
court. 1t was daylight saving with
vengeance.
In one of these matches, Alex Ile,
and Leon Croley, the "gob" team Ss
feated George S. Groesbeck and G n
Wagner by score of 7-5. 6-9 .ns
gained their places in the final round
thereby. a
In the other event, Ichiya Kumaya.
OF Japan, and Harold L. Tayor, nationsi
junior champion, triumphed over H.
combination of H. Steinkampf and ALL
Rehr. at 6-3, 6-2, gaining a braclo.
IN the semi-final round, where +bor
Will play lingo Hartman and Wvba -
Grant tomorrow afternoon. the w;n
ners of that match 10 meet Ier NV.
, Croley for the chief prizes on Fr;aaa
afternoon '"s
The meeting of Kumagae and Tavlo,
and Stelnkampf and Behr proy;dsd
the better tennis yesterday, and asa
some very ordinary playing at times
humagae, hitting with great speed ans
power both off the ground and ovsr
head, was the star of the day, and i
was his whirlwind attack from all ove.
the court that made the result certs;n
Taylor, in the first set. was verm
erratic and fubbed many shots h.
would ordinarily have scored aces an
lime after time his smashes of loba
landed in the net or wide of the conrt
and his voleying strokes did not seem
gong with that smoothness that
usually characterizes his work. In tbe
second set, however. he steadied down
beautifully, and from then on he and
Kumagae WED with one another in
winning the points.
The Japanese showed a decided ten.
dency to poach on his partners
territory all through the match. but
particularly so in the opening set, and
many times he stepped directly in front
OF Taylor to take the ball He was led
to do this, apparently, because of his
partners uncertainty in the early
stages, but as he generally was sue
cessful in finishing off the points in de-
cisive fashion. the effect was good.
after all.
Steinkampf was the weaker part Of
the combination on the opposing team.
he was prone to lose his points at
the net by smashing out of court or
directly into the barrier, yet at times
ms volleylng was brilliant. Steinkampf
has not had the opportunities for prac-
tlce this season that he needs to polish
up his game.
Behr was fighting hard all the way
and scored many dazzling kills" Of
short lobs, but neither he nor his part.
ner was able TO withstand the constant
and forceful net attack of Kumaese
and Taylor, who were always well up
IN mld-court, ready to handle ANYTHING
that came over
Twice during the match Kumagae
paffied the opposing pair by employ
ing has famous loop" drive. Each time
1t was Behr, rushing from his base
line, who was caught out of position
as the ball suddenly rose above his
head and dropped near the base line.
Groesbeck and Wagner, though
steady and cautious pair, we're unable
to do much with Her and Croley. once
the latter combination got working at
full speed. Her was very wild in the
opening set, and had it not been for
Croley's sterling work, both from deep
court and at the net, the set might
have gone to Groesbeck and his part
ner.
In the second set Her gained con-
troll of his overhead play, with the
result that the opposing pair were
swiftly battered down to defeat.