New-York tribune., 1919-05-13
Harlem Club Begins An
nual Tournament I'm
: der Threatening Sky
BY Fred Hawthorne

The annual open tournament Of the
Harlem Tennis Club began on sodden
clay courts yesterday afternoon, and
In spite Of the threatening clouds and
TIA occasional showers Of light rain
ihs play continued until long after a
tc.ndsIized sun had gone into the
hay" The members on the courts
showed a great keenness for daylight
saving" and as a result Of their in
-dustry the seventy-nine starters in the
singles reached out all through the first
round and almost completely filled the
second.
The outstanding feature Of the day
Ichiya Kumagae, of Japan, New York
state and Metropolitan champion. The
little man from the Far East simply
swamped Van Dyke Johns, the Califor-
MAN, under a score of Go, 6-1, in the
opening round. His drives through deep
court carried such tremendous pace and
were so accurately placed down the
sides Of the court that Johns was COM
pletely bafled. Not only did Kumagao
overwhelm his opponent from the back
Of the court, but he also excelled when
ne WeUI W tuC ucC pOSlIlOu, VOllcylAE
with more success than he has shown
in many months. 1t was evident that
the Japanese star has his "eye on the
ball" once more, and with this came
added pace in his shots. The state
champion looked yesterday as though
he will take a lot of beating in this
tournament.
Another favorite to come through
the opening day successfully was Fran
els T. Hunter, recently lieutenant in
the navy, and twice winner Of the Trib-
une Challenge Cup for the North Side
Championship. Hunter, showing no
trace Of sea legs, won in straight sets
from Norman Johnson at Ga, 6-3.
powerful forehand drive, and this was
working we'll yesterday. Johnson
found it dangerous to try for the net
position while Hunter was in driving
mood, for more often than not the
young man from Uncle Sans "Navee,"
scored the points on fine passing shots.
= Edwin Bry, chairman OF the tourna-
ment committee, and his brother
Louis, besides attending to their one
thousand and one duties in connection
with the running of the tournament,
found time to take the courts them
selves, and both were victorious. In
the second round Edwin triumphed
cover G. Ronaldson at 6-3, Cd, while
his brother took the measure of K. L. |
Johnston at Sd, 4-6, 60.
The Harlem Club, which has been
holding this tournament. and opening
the official season of play for years,
was very unfortunate in the allotment
aof weather dealt out. The play was
scheduled to begin last Saturday, but
the all-day downpour so saturated the
courts that it was utterly impossible |
to play on Sunday, thus necessitating
yesterdays intensified activity.
Two players advanced to the fourth |
oround, Paul Martin getting default
in the second and defeating J. Keyes
fat 6-3, 6-1, in the third. The other !
to move out was lingo Hartman. the |
hard-hitting left-hander OF the New
York Tennis Club, who defeated Sig
mund Spaeth at 6-1, Go.
One of the most bitterly contested
matches of the day found Fl. R. Hath
away, the brilliant one-armed nlaver
from Westchester County, the victor
over Harvey O'Boyle, the Pelham Bay
ex-tar. The sets went at 6-3, 81.
S-6, with Hathaway driving beauti-
fully and with splendid depth.
Ken Yamasaki, the latest of the |
Japanese players to reach this country. !
defeated W. P. Fischer at 6-1, 60.
The Jap made full use of chop stroke |
IN winning his way through, but he
.did not impress as a player of the |
cailore of Kumagae, his countryman
and sponsor