Evening star., 1923-08-19

difficult feat, but i'll spite OF this TIL
admirably conducted by the well kno
America is divided into twelve ten
mis- sections. and the winning doubles
team OF each section is brought at
the expense of the national associa-
tion to compete in the title doubles.
This idea was first put into practice
two years ago as an experiment. with
the hope that players from outlying I
sections would improve their games
through the experience and obSerNa-
tion. Attempts have been made to
put the boys and juniors on similar
footing. SO far without success. ow-
ing to the large financial obligation
that such a plan would impose on
the L. ;. l.. L. \.
Foreign Teams to Compete.
Last year a great deal OF interest
was added to the tournament by the
presence OF several competing for
tign teams. The final between Tilden
and Richards. the defending cham
pions. and Patterson and OHara-
Wood of the Australian Davis cup
team will long be remembered. On
this occasion Richards distinguished
himself by his brilliant play. and
thus gained place on Americas Da-
Wis cup team.
Again this year we are fortunate
in having so many foreign teams
with us AuStralia's new team.
Hawkes. and Anderson. will be strong
ContenderS for the title, as VIII be
Japan'S new doubles combination.
Shimzu and kashio. France viii
also be represented by that beautiful
StNlist, BrugnOn. partnered either by
lIirsch or by La Coste. the eighteen
year-Old sensation of the year. rms
lad. unlike his predecessors, Colbert.
Decugis and Rorotra. has all the
aplomb OF a Washburn when on the
court His manner almost borders
on Indifference, so cool and self-pos-
sess ed does he appear TO be at all
times We shall also have Spain |
represented in the person of the
ElonSo brothers. England by one or
two of her intercollegiate teams. Ha-
wall by her Davis cup team. and can !
ada by her champions, Crocker and
Wright.
Have Strong Defenders.
Opposed to such a formidable array. |
what have we to offer? Tilden has
forsaken Richards for Is. l. c. Norton,
a newcomer. Such a course seems
unwiSc. as the new combination cam
not possibly win the championship,
and deprives Richards OF the only
partner with whom he has ever won
any doubles title of note. America
has three other nrSt-CiaSS teams. |
Johnston and Griffin must be named
first, as they have SO often won the
championship. The kinsey brothers
feated them on the Pacific coast, al |
though this win was reversed al the |
Crescent Club when the play was on !
grass.
Perhaps even a stronger combiua- !
tion is Williams and Washburn. who !
at Seabright administered the worst |,
drubbing the famous brothers have |
experienced for years Yet Williams |
and Washburn were themselves |
beaten by Johnston and Griffin in |
the same tournament, and a Newport |
by Nee and Davies, another Cali |
fornia pair. SO it is difficult to pre- |
dict which of these four teams has !
the best chance.
These combinations of players are |
all so strong, so proved by many a !
tough contest, that l do not believe |
any of the visiting teams from abroad |
will defeat any one of them. 1t is |
more likely that some young Ameri- |
can team might do so. Ingraham
and Jones came close to defeating |
the kinseys recently. while Snod-
grass and Bates Of California almost |
beat Johnston and Griffin at Seabright,
having them set down and 1S-all |
In the second set
Some Formidable Pairs.
If Tilden would again have part |
nered with Richards l believe they !
would have had the best chance of |
any of our teams of winning. |
Johnston and Griffith still are a J
formidable team, but it is now ap-
parent to all that Griffin has not the |
speed of stroke or the fleetness of |
foot that he possessed "A decade ago. |
IT is only his consummate general |
ship and thorough knowledge of the |
doubles game that still enables him /
to hold his own, as his game has |
softened appreciably.
The kinseys are very strong pair |
when going well, but are too easily |
persuaded to adopt defensive tactics |
Aggressive tennis is the keynote to |
doubles as il is to singles Subtle |
plays are useful at times, but after |
all, there is no really adequate sub |
stitute for speed. and the kinseys
are too prone TO rely on running play |
and court generalShip. l
Williams and Washburn play I
hard hitting, fast game. coupled with |
drop shots and unexpected place
ments. They never play patball and
the only time either of them smashes
with less than his full strength is
when n smothered smash at the net
Is advisable, their opponents being
eight or ten feet back of the baseline,
or when an angled shot Will do
Washburn is the most consistently
good volleyer in the country next to
Johnston and Richards. while Will
liams is not far behind him in this re-
spect when he has one of his good
days.
Exceeds His Expectations.
>
liams openly declared that he knew
nothing about the doubles game. Since
then he has won the doubles cham
pionship of the world with Garland,
and the manner in which he now
works his way toward the net, execut-
ing difficult volleys from the service
line or even farther back, is truly
wonderful, though it may not be or
thodox doubles. With Tilden and
Richards not playing together, l be-
lieve Williams and Washburn should
win. 1t is more through bad luck
than anything else that they failed
to defeat Johnston and Griffin at
Seabright. and 1 believe they will re-
venge themselves at their next en-
counter with this team.
This years championship is certain
to be a memorable one. Matches will
be played that will be talked about
among tennis fans for years to come.
i do not expect many upsets of form.
Our best doubles combinations all
probably will reach the semi finals.
Experience tells, particularly in a
five-set affair, as are all the matches
In the American championships.
America should again successfully de-
Send the championship from any pair of
invaders from foreign land.
Copyright, 1921