New-York tribune., 1920-12-05

the ranking OF the leading players OF
has been ample time to thoroughly
and to give them a relative ranking.
Attempting to give the proper
racket wielders within a week or tw
or less fraught with the danger Of
the memory of one particularly sens;
pense of more consistent though
another.
Having purposely delayed my own
approximation as to the relative stand
ing OF the leading players of the coun
trv. which, in this case, will be con-
fined to the so-called ".irst ten," | feel
that the results, however greatly they
may differ from the official ranking, or
those Of other critics. wi | at least have
tire virtue of being compiled with calm
Judgment.
am not one of those who have ever
wholly believed in the efficacy of the
present ranking system, and while it
is hard to go behind figures, IN which
the present ranking committees fairly
revel. the ut mate results of this sys-
tenn. as eNemp.lied in last years o.
fetal rating of the leading players, is
sttic.ure enough on the innovation, in
ny opinion.
Reason Better Than Figures
If we are to determine who is really
the best player in the country then
We must not place too much rel ance on
the mathematical element of the rec
ords bat must temper this with cod,
common sense The machine can never
be equal to the brain in working out
such problems. There is a certain
valUe in beng visionary, so to speak,
in working out these tennis rankings.
that should not be overlooked. BY
that | mean that when, for instance,
the figures indicate that player B is
entitled to higher rating than player
A, and our common sense tells us that
A is the better it IS time to cast aside
the figures and let reason rule.
As an example, let US cite the case
of William NJ Johnston, OF California.
former national champion. Johnston.
as We ali know, gave II den tre-
Ihe national singles championship at
Forest HILLS. last September There
was little to choose between them. as
they played Il at day. but at Newport a
couple OF weeks previously johnson
had been defeated by Clarence j. Grif-
I'm payer at least four or five places
below aim. Are we, going by figures,
10 say tIUL JOi.uSlOu SuOuiu Ue pIdScu
bcl1T Griffin?
Tilden himself furnishes striking
example OF the futilty OF placing too
much reliance on the mathematical
e,emert AS is we'll known, the ne'@
world champion has always been iN-
clincd to take things easily against
opponents who do not class with him.
Not or Y does Tilden do this because
certain generosity toward G notably
N I'M to o "a
weaker man make a showing, but the
champion invariably takes advantage OF
sucl situations to tly out his shots and
polish OF the rough edges from his
game.
When. however. Tilden faces man
OF Approximately mis- own callber there
is an absence OF this carelessneSs OF
play and OF temperament that distin-
guishes his work against weaker op-
ponants: he goes out to win, and as de-
cisively as possible. What is the re-
suit? Against Second ten" man Til
den frequently drops the opening set
while he tunes up his strokes, but
against man OF nearly his own
strength the Philadelphian wins IN
straight sets if he can.
Rebuke for Ranking System
l.; it fair then, to give the player
who took complimentary set from
the WDrlQ champion q u4S hci ioNAAi6
than the man who went down in
straight sets before Tilden when the
latter was going at his best through
out the match? | do not believe SO,
Set. IF the present RANKIN system As to
be consistently followed, that must be
tho logical deduction.
At the very pinnacle OF American
and world lawn tennis there IS room
orl- for one player No other man IN
this country OF abroad has the slight
est claim to being given higher rank
ing than Tilden, nor an equal one. 1t
REQUIRES no expert critic OF the game to
determine the Philadelphian's place.
Inc winning of the worlds cham
pionship alone would be sufficient to
vut Tlden above his fellows, for at
Wimbledon the field included Johnston,
PARK Williams, Washburn, shimidzo
Kingscote and Patterson, the defend
ing champion, among others, and Til
den went through the lists in impress
sive manner. When we add to these
acconpl. shments the winning of the
national title at Forest Hills and the
TACT tha. ne went through an entire
season meeting the worlds best with
one defeat. py Johnston, at the Queens
Club, standing against his tournament
record, We have an idea of Tllden's ten
MS stature last season.
Lovbt II any man ever SO complete
L. earned the right to first place amone
the words players az Tilden has done
this year, unless It be the late Hugh
Lawrence Dohcrty, when the little Brit
4th champion was at the crest of his
game.
johnstons right to the place just
below Il!dcn cannot be rightfully ques
toned either, in spite of MS defeat by
Griffin ~ Newport. That reversal arc
those al the hands of Parke, in Eng
and. and By Ti!den at Forest Hills anc
lr thc tast-West matches. were tho
oaiy mans against the former title
ao.ecr'a record. The fact that upor
I.lden and Johnston will fall the CHEZ
burden of bringing the Davis Cup bach
% this country, when the American
team plays The defending Australasiani
= n the cna lcngc round at Auckland
New Zealand. tnis month is criterion
enough of the value set upon theil
aerwces by the national association.
Williams in Third Flare
Richard Norris Williams ~ ought Ia
gam tnifd place, 1t seems , RE. The
f"o-,lne former champion had hs
di"astrrus bumps, it IL true (he Away.
does during season Of playj, but in
me last analyzlz the quality Of h 8 play
Vas tetter than that q! the other stars
WIN toe exception Of Johnston anc