The New York herald., 1921-06-26
MANUEL ALONZO Is
COMING TENNIS STAR
William It. Tilden I'd Says
That Young Spanish Player
Will Create Sensation.
by WILLIAM Il. TILDEN I'd.
tWor'd's Tennis Champ.on).


TIE hard court championship OF the
world IS over And in some cases old
champions have been recrowned. while
nov ones have attained TO places for
! merry held by TIE veterans. Yet Il Is
nc: among the cham 2ions OF the worid.
pas. o. present. that the outstanding
| isure of the recent tournament at ST.
Cloud IS 20 BE- found. lie is none other
than Manuel A!onxo os Spail. whom we
are vary likely to see In America this
summer. True. In t,se ssoond round he
was defeated in a terrific ayo set strug-
sic b. Lauren,z Of France. then holder
of tho hard court title. but luck in the
tnal game played no small part in
throwing this match to the Frenchman.
Aa il was. no one among the thousands
of spectators doubted for a moment that
Alonzo was the greater player.
Aionzo had just arrived from Eng
land When re entered the st. Cloud
tournament. He had there represented
his country in the hrst Davis Cup tie.
True. he had been defeated by Robert
I.ycett In three close sets. But that
match had been played in an exception
ally high wind. q condition to which the
Spaniard was not at all accustomed.
But Alonzo had clearly proved his
ability In this affair when he had de-
feated T. Gordon Lowe In a five set
match. notable victory when one real
ICES that Lowe has conquered Major A.
r. F. Kingscote, ranked high in British
tennis. Ia Ave out of six matches played
on tire Rivera last winter.
a Remarkable Game.
1t Is q remarkable game with which
Alonzo accomplishes the downfall of hNs
opponents and a most engaging person.
ality that directs it, Young. versatile
and 1.-THE. he fairly flashes through all
his matches. He is also sportsman
of the highest type. as he is as modest
in victory as he Is generous in defeat.
Alonzo Is an all court player. He has
an adequate II not remarkable Ameri-
can twist service. This he plays well.
1t carries no great speed. but It is Of
sufficient variety to keep his opponent
guessing at all times. His ground
strokes, both fore and back hand. are
top spin drives. These carry great
depth, ana. off his fore Sand. remark
able speed And he can bit with equal
facility either straight a. cross court.
Alonzo's volleying Is remarkable for its
angles. While his deep volleying lacks
aggressiveness II Is sound. to say the
least. Overhead this Spanish player is
severe and also unusually reliable.
Speed His Asset.
But 1t is in none of these points that
~
are many players who equal his stroke
equipment. Rather II Is In his phenom-
email speed of foot and quiclSness of eye
that Alonzo proves himself one of the
worlds greatest players. His anticipa-
ton Is not faultless. but his uncanny
ability to change the direction of his
shot at the last moment repeatedly saves
him after he has been outguessed II
he has one weakness Il is lack of pa
tience. He is also somewhat uncertain
on ground strokes from midcourt and
will attempt TO ACE his opponent when
an opening shot would be better.
This brilliant Spanish player has the
match winning temperament. He is a
fighter of the Bill Johnston type-never
so dangerous as when behind. His re-
sourcefulness Is not that OF tennis
genius such as marks the play of Nor
man z. Brookes. IL is rather that of a
man driven into a corner-unthinkfng
but instinctively right He Is not subtle
and his defence IS secondary to his at
tack. Once one breaks through the lat
ter Alonzo Is a beaten man. True. he
will go down fighting TO the end. but
solely so because he simply lacks tacti-
cal knowledge TO save himself.
These minor defects I'm what Is other
wise a great game are due primarily, as
see II. to lack OF experience. Time
should remedy all that. Alonzo is now
planning TO come TO America to play In
our national singles championships In
Philadelphia during September. or
course his team 10 out of the Davis cup
ties here. the Eng g'ish having eliminated
the Spanish players but should his
present plans mature and he gains the
experience our big tournaments preced-
ing the national are bound to give him
look for him 20 create n sensation In
our tennis circles. His game to-day Is
a composite of Billy Johnston's and Har-
old Throckmorton's.
Copyright. 1921, Sol Motsger.