New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1921-09-06

y
only efter being forced to his best
pace from start to finish. In his second
singles defeat of the series Shimidzu
had proved himself foeman worthy
OF any opponents steel.
Play Is Swift and Keen
Tie play in both these matches was
swift end keen all the way. Tilden did
not make the mistake against Kumagae
yesterday that he had made against
Shimidzu on Friday. This time he was
upon his toes at the start and con-
tlnued to be on the alert until the final
point had been scored, even though |
iie let down noticeably in the third set,
when it was evident that Kumagae had
shot his bolt.
1t was brilliant and at times ag-
gressive Tilden that we saw Yesterday.
but it was Johnston who kept us en-
thralied by the sound perfection of
his play and the beauty of his stroke
execution. This most effective shot,
cross-court volley. These shots car
ried great speed and force, and were
always under uncanny control Had
it not been for those mastery strokes, |
that pulled Shimidzu out of position |
many times when nothing else could, |
Shimidzu might have sprung the tennis |
sensation Of the year by defeating |
Johnston.
The slender little man from the Far
East actually made his soft, deceptive |
service count more heavily during the |
four grueling sets than Johnston was
able to do with his powerful, heavily
topped delivery. AS a matter of fact,
majority Of the Californian's errors |
came as result of his returns off |
parted such low bound to the ball |,
that Johnston always had difficulty in |
handling it. He either netted his re- |
turns or overdrove the court by wide !
margins.
Mile. LengIen Applaudcd
The. day of brilliant tennis was
topped off by the appearance Of Mile. |
Suzanne Lenglen, of France, the
worlds woman champion. The French |
girl was paired with Dean Mathey in |
special exhibition mixed doubles
and Willis Davis, of California, and |
was victorious by score of 60, 81. |
The great crowd gave Mile. Lenglen
rousing welcome, and in return the !
Oily Of France" came through with
dazzling display of shots. Nothing to
equal the graceful skill and polish of
her game ever has been seen on the
try, in my opinion.
Mile. Lenglen stepped long way
forward in the estimation of the public
Yesterday by the way she played on
the West Side courts. If there were
any who had been in doubt as to her
real ability with q racquet those
doubts must have been dispelled five
started play From the standpoint of
tennis alone America must pay real
tribute in admiration of this slender,
graceful girl from France. The execu- |
ton Of strokes was above anything we
have in this country.
Because the Johnston Shimidzu
match seemed to rule first in the
and rightly, ! shall take it up first and
attempt to give an outline Of the play,
the tactics and the contrasting meth
DDS by which the men sought to gain
their ends.
Johnston's' Method Of Play
Johnston had evidently determined
beforehand that victory for him lay in
an early and continuous assault from
inside the service court lines, and so
he forced his way in against the deadly
accuracy of Shimidzu's low drives and
craftily timed lobs.
There were many occasions, Of course,
when little Bill" paid the penalty for
his daring, as the Japanese scored on
hne-cutting passing shots or lobs that
sailed serenely over Johnston's head
as he rushed to close quarters ready
for the "kill." Yet in the end it was
the Americans grim determination to
hew to the line, let the lobs fall where
they may, that paved the way for Shi-
midzu's defeat.
The times when Shimidzu threatened
most seriously came when Johnston
began to feel the effects of the severe
T6n Tow ole Vcr1, 114
cred vastly more ground than his op-
ponent, never appeared to grow weary |
of chasing after Johnston's placed
shots.
Johnstons ground strokes always
carried more pace than his rivals, but
greater accuracy by the Japanese gave
him bit the better of these deep
court exchanges. 1t did not take our
man long to learn that only positive
kills" on his part would render his
points certain. Shimidzu's ground COW
erlng and his remarkable anticipation
OF his opponents returns enabled him
to get his racquet on almost everything
that came over the net.
Do not make the mistake Of thinking
that Shimidzu never went into volley,
or that going in he did not perform
we'll. There were many instances
where the imam from India" challenged
Johnston at the net and either held his
own Or came out with flying colors.
Volleys Across Forecourt
The balance of power, then, came in
the greater severity of Johnston's
shots and those telling volleys across
forecourt as Shimidzu came scamper-
ing in from his base line. The Jana.
nese lunged desperately to get his rae
quet on the ball on these occasions.
but almost invariably the speed of the
ball beat him out and left him winded
and Jared to his heels by his effort.
1t was precisely one Of these per
fectly played overland crossing vol
leys that won the final point Of the
match for Johnston. There had been
a brief driving duel from back-court.
and then Shimidzu sent return skim
ming over the court, just to the left
of the centre court line. The fight Of
the ball was swift, but not swifter than
the eager little Johnston's rush. The
Californian caught the ball on the full
volley before it started to drop and
whipped it back alta wonderfully sharp
angle, to strike bare two inches in
side the side line and not fifteen feet
from the net.
For the last time Shimidzu plunged
forward in terrific effort to get his
racquet on the ball. He was not in
time, however, and was ten feet short
as the ball struck court. The next
moment Johnston had vaulted the net
and was shaking Shimidzu's hand.
kumagae, in spite of his defeat by