Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-01-30
BEST RACQUETS
/ TILT IN YEARS.
Fred Tompkins, Noted Pro,
Lauds Clean Play in Finals
for Doubles Title
PELl-M0RTIMER SUPREME

GONE. of the finest matches ever
~ played in the final round for the
national doubles racquet championship
in this country"
Fred G. Tompkins, for It was indeed
he, was speaking. The noted instructor
for NIL indoor tennis games played
within the confines of four walls paused
TO light his pipe and brush his wavy
locks from the eye. He was giving his
opinion o. the match Saturday when
G. C. Pell and Stanley Mortimer sue.
cessfully defended their title rs national
doubles racquets champions against Jay
Gould and Joseph W. Wear, Pb!ladel-
phia. after five sizzling games.
eyes. SIR" continued Tompkins, sit
was one of the finest matches we have
had, because it was thorough eXhi-
bition Of sound racquets and, above all,
craftsmanship.
|. II have seldom seen such clean
match" asserted the speaker. relight-
ing the pipe. at was q return to old
time racquets. There was no showing
each other out of the way, no continual
appeals to the referee or other tenden-
cies of the modern game.
"In the old days. to put i lightly;
Il was after you, my dear Alphonse.
Nowadays it's a case Of get out Of the
way or take it in the neck. Players
arc showed out of the way these days
or the shot is made regardless. But the
match Saturday was absolutely clean.
1t was pleasure for the old-timer 10
watch"
Ex. Champs Agree
Som. OF the champions listening
to the speech bowed agreement. Tomp-
kins selected another pipe and lit up.
"As for the winners" finished the
noted professor of the resilient brick
walls "in my opinion, Pell and Nor
timer are the first real racquets pair
we have produced since George Brooke
and r. X. Cassatt. 1t is one thing to
be n brilliant individual player in sim
giles and quite another to find partner
who will add luster to your game In
doubles.
"Pell and Mortimer make perfect
team. After a rather slow start they
came back and won three out of the
next four games. The last game was
ina, which proved that they had their
host in reserve when our local team per-
haps flaggel bit under pressure Of the
grucling match
Even Maurie Talman, the golf pro
NJ the club, was visibly impressed by
the earnestness of the Grafton and
nodded by way Of making the sentiment
unanimous.
great racquets. Both galleries we're
hacked with eager spectators, whose
freauent applause made the walls fairly
tremble with the hollow roar. The shots
were hard, and low, spectacular gets and
angle shots we're frequent. "Sidewall
skimmers" we're frequent, one Of the
hardest shots to return.
Start Slowly
The locals started off badly, trailing
nv 6-12, but staged a remarkable at
tack. coming from behind to 1912 and
then winning the first game. They
icuced the second game at 14-14, but
lost on the extra points. Gould and
Wear could not get going in the third,
trailing at 0-l2, but they jumped TO n
iead in tho fourth and won 1t by hashy
That made it two games. all, and the
Philadelphians got a 20 lead In the
ffth, The champions, however, then
began TO score on the locals misses,
running o points In one service turn.
The deciding game was finally won by Il
great kill of the racquet Of Stanley
Mortimer.
Jay Gould has proved since the age
of sixteen that he has no peer as q
court tcnuis player, but at rncquets he
il naturally not so great player. lie
playcd wonderful game, but the real
honors of his side so to j. w. Wear,
who displayed remarkable skill.
His court craft was superb and sell
dom has such aggressive play been seen
here as lie showed without let-up. De-
mite the defeat of the locals they came
in for great cheer for the beautiful
match they played.