New-York tribune., 1922-08-06

Continued from page tsoo)

as possible. But unfortunately the term. -
at Lyons was requisitioned by the r. e.'O
government, and as q result he had =.
tennis until the late summer Of 1919 c. ''''e
interruption would have discouraya5 ~s'' q
young athletes, but it only served = .sss -sa
Cochet more eager than ever to nlav aSs -
last year his chances for playing were f,-.s.- sA
curtaied by the fact that he was c.Tss ''sr
serve his time n The army and ioinas s =
artillery regiment in the big barracks !. = w.
side Of the River Rhone So that !. ''s
really played little more than years ~ ~
petitive tennis, and his time for bosb o,s'@ .ss
ton and practice has been necessarily lir.ssg
At the age of twenty he is The vonn..--
champion in the world, and the youaver, .s.ss rrs
ber Of any of the teams that are conn..s1
for the Davis Cup, as well as being the bois.s
Of two world championships How ba.
conplished this feat? How has he rissn e..
an unknown player to become one of h.
Of the Europeans in little more than +u.i~'
months time? Probably because he Il o,...
those natural sportsmen who excel .. :.
outdoor game, probably also because be b...s
aptitude for tennis that is born and m. ,~.e.
Question him and ne will deny this, plaes,
ali the credit for his success on the sbo,,s.,
Of the professional Of the tennis club ~ -.
an EngIshman named Page But vithov-..-
natural gift for the game he could never -.
done what he has done. Certainly hef Is
admit having spent much time in studvfry *
game, both from the best books that lsu
been written and also by watching closely ia
great players Of Europe and adapting VII,
was best in their game to his own. conss,r
and unremitting practice with good tusn,
youth, unusual quickness Of body and m;sd
determination to play well and not too rusa
emphasis placed on winning matcheg--shsx
seem to have been the factors that have vr
the smiling, modest young Frenchmsn to d,
fore.
Andre Colbert, Cochet's teammate and ia
veteran member of the French Davis Cus
team, wrote chapter on French tennis n
book written by the late Anthony F Wildas
called "On the Court and Off" In this boo.
are given the reasons for the rapid advances
the French have made in tennis, and athaars
the book was. first published in 1912 it is al
more true and means even more today Ia,
il did ten years ago. And the reasons tz
the successes the French have had apply s.
pecially to the young champion, about whn
the following paragraph might indeed han
been written:
Why has tennis advanced so quickly
France in the last few years? It is suas
what difficult TO give briefly an adequate u
swer to this question, for the reasons sssr
to be varied ! believe, first Of all, that iF:
tennis is eminently suited TO the character al
temperament Of the Frenchman. He geus
ally prefers the sports in which he depsaa
on none but himself, where his liberty Of acaa I
IS whole and absolute and where his rsspoaa
blllty IS concerned only with himself Ts B
condition Of the game suits his physical AZ
ms mental qualities-quickness aIertnss &
ardor' daring, prompt decision. initiative
The last sentence in this paragraph cuas
with justice have been written about Cschg y
himself. Although his rise to prominence VI
sudden, II was steady. In 1920 Coche. w
winning the championship of Lyon and beaam /
Borotra, one Of his present teammates. AT s
at that time. as now, high ranking psysrf i
France. This brought Cochet TO the sttsutae
Of the officials Of the French Tennis AssosR
ton, and it was hoped that he would be aaE 5
TO play in the many tournaments that tais \
place every winter along the Riviera BS B
ms military duties prevented, and he was e Il
able TO get leave until February of this yar i
when, along with several other players, be ~ &
nominated to represent France IN the covers 4
court championships at Saint Moritz IN sxIs s
erland. He won the tournament with - 81
He was also able to get to Brussels in Mars 81
the hard-court championships, and, wiFss y
these, his successes continued IN the aas
pionships of France at the courts OF the 90 &
Catelan outside Paris.
Ali these championships were won % .
courts, and it is undoubtedly true slhs 8
game is better adapted TO dirt courts shsa
grass. His quickness and agility ssFss - =
in better stead on the harder surface a's : i
likes the swift bounce Of the ball 20 ~nlsA
is accustomed rather than the slower W.,
of the ball from grass. Furthermore y
played but little on turf and is liKeiy
some practice to adjust his game iS1 8
where he will need all his adaptaolifE. =. 3
Owing to his military duties it is unla..
that Cochet will be able TO stay IN tnis 0'.s.
for the national tournament, which taSss s :.
in September at Philadelphia Ins
fortunate, for Americans would nnd sa's .sS
est, smiling young athlete as attracsiss =
courts as do his compatriots. Alrescy -
darling of the Paris crowd, and when ,N a. I @
the championship of France last spsAs
beating two ex-champions in successive = - 4