Evening star., 1924-06-22

In the opinion of London Field,
the impartial referee. having an in
Innate acquaintance with both epochs.
would probably declare that neither
conclusion Is accurate. 1t does not
require the evidence of a Riviera. eve
witness to quash the notion that
Anthony Wilding would have been
defeated by any player visiting the
courts of the south Of France since
the war. Wilding was at his best an
their sunbaked surface; his top-sDin
drive was irresistible on il. He beat
Norman Brookes as easily as he hea,
Ritchie. and if on one occasion h
suffered a reverse from the 1atta-
his zenith
The Dohertys, who came before
Wlldlng and were not actually hi
cotemporaries. though they wera
beaten in doubles at Nice by WiIdine
and Ritchie when r. +. Doher7v w.
in declining health. had a st-en4,o1,g
experience in the south For tha
most part they were opposed 10 r7ar
whose measure had been accurately
taken elsewhere; their refined tvns
OF game could win by the errors
which they invariably drew from
their opponents. But now and again
as When II. L. Doherty was beaten
by r B. Alexander at Monte Carlo
IN 1903, an oversee antagonist would
lntrude his more modern methods and
more puSnac1ouS personality on the
champion. who had allowed his stroke
10 rust and his spiri, 20 flag Tho
there was trouble
Yet II both Wiiding and Dohertv
were not in fact actually immune on
the Riviera. they were undouhta11,.
SUPERIOR n and
without discomfort all the plavers
or the present day who anticipate
the summer season in France. Tha
margin however, would not have
peen been so wide as 'Shamrock'
claims. In 1913 and 1914 Wildfng
then at his best, met F G. Lowe o-,
many occasions on the Riviera r.
beat him on all of them, but he Ger
tain!y would not have won if he had
CARRIED the heavy penalty Of 'op-a
ence between them was not more
than four or five sixths This yez-
IN addition TO Lowe, Lacoste. Coche-
and washer were all competing at
Nice None Of these continentals was
at his best under novel conditions
but it would be absurd to suppose
that either Wildins or H l. Dohert-
could have conceded 1872 to a pIavs-
of Washers caIiber
Results recorded on the Riviera
al 44oI lIlc ldSL nor even tra
last word but one, in international
form. but the evolution Of the game
is not checked by the admission of
that fact. nor is il any the less Ger
tam that Tilden's physical and mental
qualities, enjoying greater scope for
exploitation than was ever voucb
safed his predecessors, would have
proved superior TO those who have
gone before"
Great Rritain b,x roI;I -
order TO be a serious contender for
the Davis cup competitions a new
generation of tennis players must Re
developed. and, therefore. the tennis
critics abroad are watching with tha
greatest interest the development Of
the younger players in England
Brian |. c. Norton. the English cham
pion. has deserted his native coun-
try TO make his residence in the
United States.
younger players lies the hope of Eng
lands tennis future. One of the play
ers who Is being watched closely by
critics is H. w Austin. the new
schoolboy champion of England. AM
S. Powell Blackmore. the tennis eN
pert of the London Sphere. has great
hopes that The youth will develop into
a real star in adult competition.
In an issue OF the sphere. Black
more had the following to say about
young Austin:
Showing steady improvement dur
ing the past three years the dimin
utive Repton schoolboy, H. ". Aus
tin. has now become the schooIboY
champion. How far young Austin
will go IN adult tournaments depends
upon how much he can speed up his
strokes as he becomes bigger and
stronger. At present his stroke pro
duction is an excellent example TO all
boys. His swing of the racket in tha
various strokes is welnlsh fault
less. His stature is against his
acquiring hurricane speed in serving,
so I should like to see him develop
ing the Americana break delivery
Municipal tennis is making rapid
strides in Australia. Nine new courts
have been constructed in Moore Park
Sydney, of which six will be turf and
three hard courts. A number of hard
courts are to be constructed in other
parts of Sydney, including a special
layout for Camperdown. According TO
statement from Australia, the ten
mis- association is following closely
the development of municipal play in
the United States, as encouraged by
the United States Lawn Tennis 4SsO-
citation. and is planning to adopt such
features as are suitable for Australia.