Evening star., 1923-07-15

When 1t became known last March
that Canada had drawn Japan in the
Davis cup contest, most experts at
once predicted an easv win for Japan
Considering the experience that Shi
mlzu and Kumagae have had in inter-
national play, the Canadians might
Wei have been discouraged at so diff
ncuIt a draw, but instead they ex-
pressed themselves as delighted at the
chance Of entering their men against
| a team of the first standing, and the
officials in charge of Canadian tennis
at once made plans for selecting
team from the best players from all
sections OF the country.
Test Matches Planned.
1t was known that the best material
came from the far west and from
Montreal. and the committee planned
together at the Canadian national
championships. In case the results of
| the tournament were not conclusive,
the committee decided TO hold test
matches Immediately afterward.
Such policy was once adopted by
the United States Davis cup commit
tee. and l remember very we'll the
! many difficulties that arose in cornec-
tion with the tests. We were some
times in great a quandary after the
matches as before, since the better
player may very well be indisposed or
below his true form on the day of the
test A far better plan is for the COM
| mittee to exercise it's judgment in
selecting a team. irrespective of test
1t is useless for Canada to attempt
to play any Of her old Davis cup men
such as Schwengers. Foufkes or
Mayes: Canada's finest player, r. B.
Powell, was killed in the war. and it
would be unwise to utilize his CO.
| temporaries even If by so doing she
could win one or two initial ties
! Canada's wisest policy is to choose
young material, men who play mod
ern tennis and who are developing
along the lines of such players as
Tilden and Johnston. She should Sc
lect her team from such players as
the Peers brothers of Vancouver and
Crocker and Wright of Montreal The
| one possible exception should be La
frambose. whose game is better
adapted to doubles than to singles
and whose age would be compensated
Tor by his experience in doubles.
Have Outside Chance.
I believe that Canada has an out
SIDE chance to win against Japan, but
only an outside chance. However. her
hc;pe hGpes OF victory are distinctly
the Japanese Davis cup captain
| Zenzo Shimizu, has been i'll for over
month. and may not be in prime
condition by the time of the contest
Furthermore. Japan has not the same
team this year that carried 1t into the
finals in 1922. Kumagae, last years
captain, is in Japan. and his substi-
| tute. NJ Fukuda, the new champion
or Japan, is not yet as well rounded
player as Kumagae, nor had he
ever played on grass until recently.
The third member of the team,
kashio. is a sound, cautious player
without much speed OF stroke and
Is not likely to be used unless Shimizu
or Fukuda are unfit to play.
Neither Crocker nor JEFF Peers, the
best of the young Canadian players.
can be expected to defeat so sound
and experienced base-line PLAYER
as Shimizu, man who once carried
! Tflden to five sets, and who, by de-
feating Manuel Alfonso. once reached
the final at Wimbledon. However,
it is conceivable that either of them
might defeat a Shimizu not entirely
recovered from recent illness
1t is also possible that an aggres-
sive net attack might disconcert the
Japanese. Howard Voshell. whose
powerful service and smashing are
so well known, twice defeated Shi-
| mfzu III straight sets by running in
on every service and volleyina while
| other Americans who outrank ed
Voshell were defeated In base-line g
dueis with the little Japanese.
Jen Peers Strong Player.
/ 1t seems to me that JEFF Peers has
the best chance of any Canadian to
defeat Shimizu. He plays the most
modern type OF game. as he serves
both balls hard. takes the ball on
the rise and follows in his good
drives for kills at the net He has
an easy, natural style, somewhat like
Kingscote's, but lack of practice may
prevent him from giving good ac-
; count of himself at the Toronto
| tournament and in the test matches,
/ SO that he is not even certain Of MAX
ing the team. There is no doubt
however, that he possesses the game
! that is best suited to defeat the
I Japanese captain
Crocker Is a much sounder player.
but he is inclined to remain at the
base line too much, and here he is
certain to be outclassed by Shimizu.
His best chance would be to add a
little speed to his second service and
to run in on everything, but it is now
too late in the season for him to
practice this type of game.
Fnkuda may prove the weak spot
-