The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-09-02
AMERICAN DAVIS CUP PLAYERS WIN IN FIRST MATCHES.

Forest Hills. September 1.--Ameri- ca's lawns tennis players responded robly to the call to the defense of the Davis cup, emblematic of the worlds team tennis championship, on the courts of the West Side club here this afternoon. William T. Til den, II, of Philadelphia. national champion and William NJ. Johnston of San Francisco. former title holder, turned back Gerald Patterson and James o. Anderson, in straight sets
 Tilden defeated Patterson by scores of T-5; 10-S; 6-S and John ston conquered Anderson, 6-1; 2-6; e-3
 Tomorrow. Tilden and Vincent Richards. the 19year-old phenome- non. will opose Patterson and Pat O'Hara Wood in the double match. If the Americans win, the famous silver bowl will be safe for another year. The loss of the doubles. how ever, will put it up to Tilden and Johnston to win at least one of the two remaining singles to be played Labor Day when Tilden meets An 6erson and Patterson faces John ston.
 In meeting Patterson the winner at Wimbledon, England, this sum mer. Tilden faced the holder of what Is generally conceded to be the worlds championship. Tilden held the same honor in 1920 and 1921 but he did not defend this season. Through the conflict came Tilden with hon. ors untarnished and the claim of his admirers that he Is one of the gI eatest, if not the greatest player in the world today, apparently sus- tained.
 Tilden Had Reserve While Patterson forced him into deuce sets in the first two periods of the match, critical observers were inclined to believe that Tilden always had something in reserve This ap- peared to be borne out by the fact that when he turned on the full power of his offensive his ability to Immediately check the rallies of Pat terson became evident.
 While Patterson uncovered a tre- mendous amount of bodily power in his battering of the ball, he did not
 have the perfect control, change of | pace and finesse that the American disclosed in the real pinches of the | play. A study of the stroke analy- sis shows that Tflden made approxi-
 mately a third less errors than Pat terson and almost twice as many l earned points.
 Patterson's percentage of earned l points, as compared with his oppor- tunities, was less than twenty five pere cent while Tildens was better than 33ls per cent. Patterson de- | pended for many of his points on his terrific service but despite the terrific amount of power he put into his strokes, he served but eight aces to Tilden's ten and made IS double faults to the Philadelphians s | one.
 JOhnston-A nderson Match
 The Johnston Anderson match was more or less much of an anti-cli- max following the sustained struggle which preceded it. It required one hour and ten minutes for Tilden to defeat Patterson whereas Little Bill raced through his match in trifie less than forty minutes. Just how much effect Anderson's recent ill., ness had on his play will perhaps never be known, but certainly the Australian was no match for John ston today.
 Anderson could not match John ston's speed afoot, his wizardry with the racquet or his generalship.
 During a great majority of the match, Anderson was on the defen- sive end and piled up many errors In his efforts to- stroke Johnston's fiercely drven and chopped re- turns The Australian made s1 err TOTS, more than half of which were outs and earned but IT points. Less than one-fifth of the oppor- tunities presented to him. John ston, a perscrification of steadiness. made 39 errors and 13 earned pofnfs