The New York herald., 1922-05-27
Miss Wagner and Miss Cassel
Triumph After 3 Hours
35 Minutes of Play.
by SAMUEL j. BRoOKMAN.

In one of the longest and hardest
fought women's tennis matches on
record in the metropolitan district, Miss
..arie Wagner and Miss Clare Cassel
won the doubles final of the Montclair
Athletic Club open tournament yester-
day. defeating Miss Florence Ballin and
Miss Martha Bayard, Ga, Ct and
A-l2 For exactly three hours and
thirty-five minutes the four women held
the courts under a relentless sun that
sapped the energy OF spectators as well
as players before decision could be
reached.
For forty -eight games the tide shifted
repeatedly as the rivals spurted and
Jagged in turn. and when 1t was all
over the four finalists were pretty well
tagged out. 1t was a great match for
Miss Wagner and Miss Cassel to win.
mighty tough one for Miss Ballin
and Miss Bayard to lose for they gave
all they had unsparingly. Five times
during that record third set of twenty
six games the losers were within
point--a single stroke-of a triumph,
and five times was victory tantaliz-
ingly snatched out of their grasp. 1t
was heart breaking.
Nor were the winners without periods
of despair. They, too. were four times
within . point of ending the match In
their favor before they finally clinched
IL. In the last few moments OF the
tense struggle II was surprising how
the women played. how much speed
they injected into their strokes and
how we'll they sustained the rallies.
Errors mt Critical Stages.
1t happened to be Miss Ballin's mis-
fortune to contribute the errors in most
of the critical rallies. To that extent
she was more responsible for the defeat
than her partner, yet II does not seem
fair to admit that fact in the face of the
truly brilliant tennis she played through
out the greater part Of the match and
the fighting aggressiveness she showed
from start to finish.
Miss Bayard was steadier than her
partner, more consistent, more depend
able when a point meant a great deal.
but hardly more effective. considering
the match as q whole. The losers, had
they won their share of the important
rallies, would have won in straight sets.
They led in every division OF play In
the first set, which they lost at Ga.
the score at one stage was 4--3 and
4O--15 in their favor. In the second set.
after taking a lead of 80. 1t was all
they could do to save II at Is. And
in the last set, which required nearly
two hours play, they we're out In front
at Al.
1t was hard to lose so substantial an
advantage, but on the other hand II
reflected great credit on the team that
came from behind, drew even and even
tually triurnphed. On the winners side
of the net Miss Cassel did the bulk Of
the work. From position near the
base line she engaged both Miss Ballin
and Miss Bayard I'm a series of driving
duels and had the better OF the ex-
changes She used excellent judgment
In placing her returns. showed splendid
control, and when a critical point was
In the balance employed n slice to her
drive that baffled her opponents con-
siderably.
Deep Driving DueIs.
Early in the match Miss Wagner up
mt the net deflected so many returns
for earned points. volleyed and smashed
go well. that Miss Ballin and Miss Bay
ard decided II wise to keep the ball
away from her as much as possible.
They settled down to n driving game
In which Miss Cassel more than held
her own. There were times, however.
when tho persistency and sheer power
Of attack OF the losers turned the
tide completely and almost ended
the match in their favor. but they failed
when victory was within arms length.
Another idea of how close the tussle
was may be had from the fact that the
losers actually outscored their oppon-
ents by the margin of one point during
the match. 157 to 1855. In the matter OF
games II was Is for the victors and %
for the vanquished.
Miss Wagner and Miss Cassel will re-
turn to the courts this afternoon to play
on opposite sides of the net in the final
ef the singles tournament. following
which the mixed doubles event Will be
completed. The summaries:
woMEN's DOUBLES FINALS.
Miss Marie Wagner and Miss Clare Cassei
defeated Miss Florence Ballin and Miss
Martha Bayard. g., 81. 14-i2.
MIXED DoUBLEs-THIRD ROUND.
Nf,ss Ceres Baker and Leonard w. Knox de-
feated Miss Gertrude Hopper and c. Atch-
eson 6--3, Ga.