Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-06-22
DISTRICT RACKETERS TO PLAY
j LTIMORE TEAM AUGUST q
Champion Combinations to Meet in Mon
umental City Clash Here Likely to
Be ARRANGED for Later Date.

players who work for sporting goods
houses, how much they make and how
! they make it. how many days off they
get to play tennis and whether they are
| paid while away at tournaments. In
| fact. the officials want a lot of intimate
/ details that are not usually gone after in
| just that way.
! OF the country clubs the officials seek
copied free board and lodging while
! taking part in Journeys and how many
! took money for their railroad fares and
'other expenses" This eagerness for
| knowledge coming on top of Vincent
Richards short -lived suspension looks
| n. l.. T. A. 1t appears as if the old
guard is going to steer the lads on the
| true amateur course.
phenom who is being hailed as a worthy
successor to the late Anthony Wilding.
! This promising youngster is Lieut..
/ Gerald l.. Patterson. and he is the pupil
and protege of Norman E. Brookes.
rated by many cities as the greatest
| living exponent of the net game. While
! it is true that Patterson was defeated
| in the allied tournament by Capt.
! O'Hara Wood. also of Australia, yet be-
fore succumbing to the greater expert
youngster downed NJ. ]. G. Richie,
Stanley n. Doust and H. Roper Barrett
| in sensational fashion.
/ British critics. who frankly admit that
Great Britain hasn't chance in the
! Davis cup matches this year, laughingly
remarks that the decision of the United
, States to stay out of 1919 international
competition on account of being in a
stronger position than the other coun-
tries was based on a misapprehension.
In fact, they believe that Australia
can muster a team that is the class Of
the tennis world. Instead of having a
| weak team, all shot to pieces by the
war, the Antipodeans have Brookes,
Wood. Patterson. Doust, Maj. Heath
and A. b. Jones, a mighty formidable
array.
Foreign sharps who have seen him in
! action unite in saying that Lieut.. Pat
terson is lacking in experience and still
has many rough edges to be smoothed
off, but are loud in the praise of his
game in general.
There are very few effective servers
in tennis" says one British critic, ''but
this Melbourne youth is one Of them.
Deep, fast, varied in direction at will.
with just enough twist on the ball to
reveal the true artist, his service is easy
and graceful. McLoughlin's service was
lower in delivery and had more break:
it took considerably more out of the
server. Brookes' commands greater
variety Of services. and his pitch is
more under control; hut In year or two
Patterson's service will probably be as
powerful as that of his countryman. In
his ground strokes Brookes is much the
superior.
1.-The younger man has no counterpart
to the older mans whipping forehand
drive across the court. His backhand
drive is the least calmly Of all his
strokes. and since he adopts the Austria
liam grip Chitting the ball. as the late
Capt. Wilding did in his early Cam
bridge days. on the same face of the
racket as that used for the forehand),
the stroke is not under effective re-
straint. and many even break down al
together in awkward corners. Yet this
defect. for such 1t is unquestionably, is
obscured from view by the brilliance
and variety of Patterson's volleying,, by
the fact that he relies as little as pos
sible on back-court play-almost never
when the pace has to be pressed and
critical aces won.
''Patterson's volleying is less sharp
than Brookes'. but it is very fine. His
sense of anticipation is keen and in
tuitive; he moves by instinct to the
right place. And for one SO young he
lays his traps we'll. rarely failing to get
his own improvised openings"