The New York herald., 1922-04-14
EUROPEANS SUGGEST
A NEW TENNIS DRAW
Would Have Each Continent
Hold Its Own Davis Cup
Examinations.
AZ SAMUEL ). BnooKMAN.

There has been great agitation in
| European tennis circles against any
! form of Davis cup draw that makes II
necessary for the teams of some nations
| to travel half way around the world
| to meet first round opponent, against
| the loss of time and money that this
entails and against a method of draw
ing that leaves so much to chance.
Leading periodicals both in France and
the British Isles have. gone so far as to
ask revision Of this years drawing,
suggesting that a separate draw be
made for European nations and that
the surviving European team meet the
survivors of other Continents for the
right to challenge the United States for
the international trophy.
The Westminster Gazette says:
Eight of the fourteen challengers are
European nations, yet the luck Of the
draw has failed to provide a single in
tereuropean contest lin the opening
ties). Last year India. first of all, had
to come to Europe to play her first tie.
and then had to proceed to America
and the heavy expenses of that voyage
had to be borne mainly by midas play
ers themselves. 1t was a great financial
burden and the Indian players cannot
face such proposition annually.
1T is rather too much to expect one
European country after another to go
to the expense Of sending teams across
the Atlantic for the purpose of playing
merely one tie, and official circles ad
NIT that the old fashioned methods OF
Drawing have become unnanageable." :"
Defaults Are Predicted.
In France numerous defaults are pre-
tAxA 49, - 49, -
must be covered by some teams for
their first round matches. A number Of
humorists have written facetious arti-
cles about the Hawaiian team meeting
the Czecho-Slovakian players A Paris
| music hall is said to be featuring a
| combination Hawaiian and Czecho-Slo-
vakian tennis song.
| So 1t goes.T 1t remains to be seen how
the draw will work out. as there is little
or no chance Of draw revision this
year. regardless of what changes may
be agreed op before the season Is over
| for future International competition
There is little doubt that il would
mean financial burden for some of the
| teams to go through with their schedule
matches this year with travel so expen-
sive and the rate Of exchange what it is
| Just now. Only those teams that sue
ceeded in advancing to the ~cmi-finals
or final OF the tournament could hope
to obtain enough money in gate receipts
to recover the bulk OF their expenses
Canada must play France. Australasia
must play Belgium, Hawaii is drawn
against Czecho-Slovakia. Spain against
the Philippines, Rumania against India
and Italy against. japan, while Denmark
and the British isles have drawn bycs. In
| four cases at least one Of the bracketcd
| nations will have to send it's team half
way across the world.
The Donors object.
| But that is exactly what the donor OF
the Davis cup intended. His fun,la-
mental idea was to assist in the cement
ing OF international friendship by hav-
/ Ing the tennis representatives OF nations
| travel from continent to continent, learn
each others customs and go homeit to tell
OF cordial receptions and of new friends
| they had made. At the same time, OF
course, the international development or
tennis as sport would be assured, but
the entente cordiale feature was Lead
ing consideration.
Viewed from the objects Dwight Il.
Davis had in mind twenty-five years
ago this years Davis cup draw is al
most ideal. The luck of the draw has
failed to prived for a single inter-euro-
ropean contest. says the Westminster
GG-ctte, but so much the better one
might say, for inter-european contests
can be played at any time. while inter-
continental contests. aside from carrying
out the fundamental idea of the inter-
national tournament, are far more
necessary to the development OF tennis
as world sport.
In rebuttal European critics probably
would assert that the event has out
ffu fsrf.
tons have changed. Too many nations
arc now concerned to permit everything
TO be left to the luck OF the draw and
the expense Of travel is too great to
expect teams to journey as freely as
they did a decade or two ago.