Evening star., 1922-09-16

cast, as Big Bill and Little Bill alrea
that they were the two best racket W
upset could have kept them from be
Which will win today IS the b
one to answer On what they dISp
given the edge. He showed superla
posing of Vincent Richards, So, O.
best in defeating Gerald Patterson.
semi-hnal, 40. o.. 6-3. 6-l, altht
pressed, as he is famous for doing.
than he was yesterday Tilden an
bowl, on which each has two legs.
OF the winner today, and they Will I
These two stalwarts of the courts
offer Il great contrast. physically and
tsmperamentally and the only thing
in which they are alik" is that
neither has It weakness in his game
Of tennis. Unlike in their other
matches, they will not have Vul-
nerable spot to shoot at and IN"
battle is sure to become one of wits.
stamina and severance.
1t is not probable that either VIII
win in straight sots and that the
match will go the limit of five Is
most likely. Physically Tildcn tow
crS above Johnston, Big Bill standing
six feet one, nearly five inches iali-
err than his rival. and weighing lc3
pounds to the Californians less than
lo5 1t is this superior height and
reach that gives the rhiladelphian
AN advantage that is marked IllCth
game, except for his service Is u"
more severe than that of I"hnStorS.
but his greater size and rcaCh en-
ables him to- produce speed Of strokes
lat much less physical expenditure
than Little Bill. and in long, nara
fought match this is bound to tel.
In court strategy Johnston eNceiS
and he has the more even tempera-
mCnt.
Gallery Is with Johnston.
If sentiment could put Johnston
across today he would " in easily. as
Enthusiastically the greater part of the
gallery will H." with hilI- y Is ti!t
peculiar twist of psychology fh;tt
everybody hopes the champion WIZ
lose, and. in addition. Johnston mas q
personality that has made HIM one OF
the most popular men n sp"rta"lh,
T-ilden is sensitive L" the S"h'Fal
sttitude of the fans. ana thlS may
initiate against him.
Johnston, even if Every person III
the stand We're roofing against Nun
would play the same tennis as IL "
entire thrOns was with MIN ne
plays his best under all conditions
and forgetS the gallery completely:
To express it in Il terSe. tough ana
undignified term he has the CUTS:
J. Pryor Allen. dean of the tennis
writers of America. is inclined To
on Little Bill il will br MS tlrSt h:'t
guess in the tourney. Allen mas seen
all of the big net events of TINS year
and many previous seasons. ana ne
AYERS that tn" Californian is at the
top of his game, while Tiie!l is just
a little below the best
Samuel Hardy. globe trotting tennis
expert believes this edge is With III
den but that Johnston has Il great
chance Hardy who has seen all of
the stars of the past fifteen years
perform. declares that Johnston ana
Tilden are by far the greatest play
ers ever produced.
Johnston learned his game on the
hard courts and only gets to play on
grass when away from nome. sara
HARDY "Tilden plays on turf prac-
ticallv all the time. Johnston is tn
denis master on clay and cement, and
TiIden should he, and has been. the
superior of Little Bill on the green
sward.
Even Up in Games to Date.
Incidentally. it might be mentioned
that TiIden and Johnston have met
ten times during their careers, each
winning five times, and that Big Bill
gained his margin on the grass ana
Little Bill has won the majority OF
his victories on hard courts.
Tilden was born on February 10.
1892 within short distance from
the courts on which he will battle TO
retain his title today. and consequent
ly is in his thirtieth year. Johnston.
Il native Californian, is slightly TIL
denis junior. He will not be twenty
eight until November next.
Johnston played whirlwlnd game
Yesterday against Richards, who
faded before the onslaught. Rich
ards played good enough tennis, bet
Ter than he was called upon to pre-
sent in defeating Jim Anderson Thurs
day, but it was not sufficient to cope
with Johnston's brilliance. In driv-
ing and yolleying. at which Richards
is a master he was outShot. and in
court tactics he was not in the run
ming with his foxy foe. Johnston
mixed telling drOp-lots and little
tcasers just across the net with his
volleying and driving in such a man
ner as to simply daze his youthful
rival.
Richards did threaten to take the
first-se going into the lead at -,
after having been forced to break
through on Johnston s service to dead
lock the count Then Little Bill en-
ployed strategy to take the next
three games with the loss of only
two points. and kept up. the pace until
he walked away with the next two
sets.
Tilden slow In Starting.
-ilden was slow getting under way
In mis- natcn Win ptiiS
generally outplayed in the first set
His own service was not going well
at the beginning and he was handling
PatterSons in most uncertain FASH
ion. while his service never reached
par during the match it grew better
as pIay went along and by a per-
sistent attack on the AuZZe back
hand and by superior ground strokes
ha went on to victory. 1t was not the
kind of tennis, though that would
ureyail against Johnston. TIlden
made the unusual number of ten
double faults while he scored only SIX
eervice aces.
Here Is a recapitulation of the two
matches:
Johnston 81 ~ u-io"
Rtchards. /. - 81 IS , 81
TIIden. 35 30 23 1O-122
PATTERSON. Is 38 AZ 1-1O4
Miss willis Coming Champion.
In addition to the array of man
stars in action here. most or the
woman celebrities of the United
states. young and veteran. are gain
cred a short distance away at the
Philadelphia Cricket Club. in COM
netition in the morning, so that one
can spend the entire day watching
tennis IL he wishes. 1t was there
that many fans journeyed yesterday
10 witness Helen Wills. the sixteen
year-old California player. retain the
national girls title. She defeated
Helen Hooker, a New YORKER -;
ga in the final and lived up to all
that has been written about her IN
doing SO. Miss Wills, however, TAX
.hortlu aftey- her hard