The Sun and the New York herald., 1920-08-11
ny SAMUEL J. BROOKMAN.

Special to THE Sun AND New YoRK HERALD
NEWPORT. Il, l., Aug, l0,-Out OF a
dozen or more brilliantly played
matches, any one OF which would give
an ordinary tournament distinction. the
victory OF William VI. Johnston, national
champion. over Nathaniel w. Niles Of
Boston, stood out as the most thrilling
on the Casino courts to-day. The con-
test saw tho Californian a bit unsteady
at the start, which was not surprising
considering the fact that he had stepped
on a Transatlantic steamship only n day
or so before but II also saw him come
through with his characteristic fighting
rally In time TO turn impending defeat
into well deserved triumph. Working
up gradually to his best speed and con-
troll, Johnston appeared to find himself
In the last division of a three-set match
and before the match was over flashed
some Of the wizardry OF stroke that car
ried him to the top year ago,
Johnston was one Of three OF the
American Davis cup players to make
their appearance on the Newport courts
In the annual invitation tournament, the
other two being r. Norris Williams al
and Charles s, Garland. The fourth OF
the conquering international team
William T. Tilden I'd, winner OF the
British championship, was not on hand
and II was learned definitely to-day that
no will not be here during the tourna-
ment. The Phlladelphian. anxious to get
away from all tennis for a while, is
going off to some mountain retreat and
will not bo seen in action until the
national doubles championship starts at
Eongwood next week,
Although Tilden was the man whose
appearance had been awaited most
eagerly, Newport tennis enthusiasts soon
resigned themselves to his absence and
settled down to the enjoyment Of the
days tennis And enjoyment It was, de-
spite the cloudy day and the constant
threat Of rain.
Davis Cup Men Begin EARLY.
In order to catch up with the rest of
the field the Davis cup players. day
late took the courts as early as 10
o clock this morning. Neither Johnston,
Williams nor Garland had a particularly
strong opponent In the opening round,
but none of them made any attempt to
win quickly or decslvely. 1t was the
nearly a fortnight, and they had not
got rid Of their sea legs. so they con-
tented themselves with tuning up for the
more important matches in the second
round, which were to come an hour or
so later Johnston, for instance. after
romping through 6-l set with c. X.
Shaw Of Pawtucket, eased up consider
ably and permitted his opponent TO run
into a lead OF So IN the second set be-
fore he bestirred himself. Then he
came along with an irresistible rush
and won six OF the next seven games
for the set and match.
1t rained quite hard several hours he
fore play began, and the crowd did
not get to the courts as early as yes
terday. However. when Johnston and
Niles appeared on the championship
court for their second round match
Newport residents, the women folk re-
splendant in their gay colored summer
attire, were filing the stands rapidly.
Niles indicated from the first that he
was out to win, not merely to make
good showing. He played aggressively.
stroking swiftly, making remarkable
gets and forcing a fast pace. Johnston
had to settle down Immediately to his
best efforts, and thanks TO his effective
service held his own from the start
Games alternated for long time. but
Niles was winning on his service more
quickly than Johnston on his. the latter
netting with a frequency that would
have been surprising ordinarily. Niles
kept going at top speed and was very
steady, and the champion had to pass
him cleanly to win his points.
The first break came In the twelfth
game, when Johnston on his own service
made succession OF errors. That SIN
gle lapse was enough TO give the Bos-
tonian the set at Is. Johnston flashed
some brilliant strokes early In the sec
ond set, driving at sharp angles and
forcing Niles out of position with deep
shots into the corners. He broke through
Niles's service In the fifth game and for
the first time in the match had lead
of 80. His advantage was short lived,
however, for he dropped the next three
games in a row, two of them hard
fought deuce games in which the rallies
were long and heated That left the
score SIS in Niles's favor and the lat
ters own service coming.
JohnstOn's Uphill Fight.
II was a trying situation for the Cali
fornian, for It was up to him to break
through the Bostonian's service or lose
the match, and he had succeeded only
once in nine games In breaking through
service up TO that stage. But he faced
tha task nluckily and after an uphill