Evening star., 1924-01-06


should be encouraged i'll practice ga
there are linesmeu, it works harm t
and B. both good sportsmen, are h;
returns ball into BIS territory that
has really lost the point. but B, bein
out, prefers to give A the benefit of t
eventually losing the point. A now
that really belongs to B. so he deter
IN order to equalize matters in so ia
Sometimes the, first mentioned point
comes at the end of "A game, so tina
throwing the next point does not equal
fze matters. This happened during the
Ttlden-Anderson match at Forest Hills.
when a doubtful decision occurred
while the last point of the second set
was being played The linesman gave
the decision ia Tilden's favor. thus
giving him the set. Tilden threw the
next point away. but points are not
SO important in the beginning Of a set
as they are at the end.
Different I'm Practice.
In practice games a man is put on
his honor to give his opponent the
benefit of every doubtful decision. He
must consider good all balls that come
close to his boundary lines unless he
is positive that they are out. This GUS
tom IS one of the first tennis lessons
to be impressed upon the beginner, who
must. at all times curb his desire to
win in order that he may do full JUS
tce to an opponent.
Those who custcmarily call 'the close
ones" in their own favor are soon
Stunned by their clubmates, and they
find that they must either play the
game in I, proper sporting spirit or give
it up, since no man will willingly play
more than once with poor sport.
All this applies only to practice
games. Ii is quite another matter
when a tournament match is in prog
ress, with linesmen ready to make de-
cisions. Now the player is relieved
from the burden of watching the lines
closely. The linesmen are there for
this one purpose and the player can
give his full attention to the match.
q full corps Of linesmen requires ten
10 twelve men and players should abide
by their decisions. 1t is because so
ing of linesman that the umpires have
appealed to the national association for
redress.
IL Mark of Honor.
Membership in the Empires Associ-
alton is regarded as q mark OF honor.
The men receive no pay They are
actuated by an unselfiSh spirit that de-
notes true devotion 10 the game. AND
when players refuse to accept their de
cisfons they feel that an affront has
orga nization. There is no doubt that
the Umpires' Association is a necessary
and a useful adjunct of tennis.
Every player recognizes the value OF
II,
being steadily undermined by players
who throw away points. The sporting
spirit which the player brings from his
practice games. where he was taught
to ccncede doubtful points in favor OF
an opponent. has no place in tournament
matches where there are llnesmen.
In the smaller tournaments one
often, hears some well known player,
who is doubtful about decision
rendered in his favor, say to the
lat'
If the official be inexperienced, or
chances to be a man lacking in deci-
sion of character. he usually allows
his first decision to be overruled and
orders the point replayed.
On the other hand, i have seen um-
pires get down from the chair re-
fusing to go on with the match
when their rulings have not been ac-
cepted. Linesmen, too. have been
known to leave their posts when their
decisions were questioned, for the
members of the Umpire's Association
resent any usurpation of their
powers.
Should He Stopped.
7 believe that the proper procedure
for a player during a match Is that
of unquestioning acceDtance of all
liEesmen's decisions. Often the player
is wrong in his opinion. for the lines
man is in better position to judge
the exact striking point of ball
than is moving player. The player
should. therefore, assume that the
linesman is correct, and should con-
tinue the game without comment un-
til the point is finished.
There is no doubt that linesmen
occasionally make mistakes. Being
but human, they are bound to err
occasionally. / once saw player
become so furious over q glaring
mistake made by Hnesman that
his temper lost him the match when
it was well in hand. Such players
never rise to the great heights of
tennis, since self-control is essential
to greatness in any endeavor. But
all players should be prepared for a
certain number of poor decisions. and
they should go, on the court ready
10 face such mistakes with cheer
full grin The results will not then
be serious, as the linesman's errors
have been discounted.
The only hope of checking point
throwing lies in a recognition by the
most prominent players of the harm
which this practice is working to
the Umpires' Association, and of con-
certed action among the players to
abide by the rulings of linesmen in
all cases 1t is obvious that il is
not possible to legislate against point
throwing. so the only remedy lies
Is Question of Character.
Good sportsmanship is question of
character. 1t does not need the ap-
piause of an appreciative audience,
which often believes the point throw
er to be a hero. to re-enforce it.
Often, too, the action is distasteful
to an opponent, who is himself too
good a sport to desire to benefit by
any questionable decision.
/ once saw a player throw a point
away purposely after his opponent
had first thrown one. This continued
for four straight points, each player
trying not to be outdone in gener-
osity. 1t reminded me of After you,
Aiphonse." and shows to what ridicu-
lous lengths such practice may
lead even the best intentioned players
Point throwing is a practice that,
to say the least, is discourteous to
the 1inesmen, and is certainly harm
full to the morale of his organization.
It often results in a "f1ashy grand
stand play" that draws cheers from
the gallery. who do not comprehend
fits true significance. The player
should have the moral courage to
ignore the gallery. He should play
the game with a stiff upper lip. TAX
ing without comment what share of
good or bad fortune may fall to his