Evening star., 1926-09-17

Tilden, the master of all he h;
magic OF Henri Cochet, "a, who was
for France in the Davis Cup single
OF Jean Borotra. Richard n. Villa
lost TO Rene Lacoste i'll straight sets
Tilden was beaten by 6--8, 6-1,
6-3, II, SIS: Johnston by 3-6,
4-6, 6-3. Ga. Ga
In sweeping aside the fourth French
contender, jacques Brugnon yester-
day. with the loss of only five games
In three sets. Richards flashed an
attack of unusual brilliancy He had
sturdier opposition for today. how
ever, meeting Borotra in one semi
final. with Lacoste and Cochet bat
Ting in the other. starting at 2:30
pm.
Tilden has had a bad knee through
out the tournament. He offered no
alibi, however, saying Cochet played
marvelously.
'T'n be back next year" the de-
throned champion added.
Only once before. in 1903, when it
was captured by the British crack,
Hugh Doherty, has Americas pre-
mier tennis crown passed to foreign
hands. Never before, however, has
1t faced as strong a challenge in
numbers or ability as it does now.
4. -. heH Near
Tilden and Johnston both were
beaten with victory seemingly in
the grasp of each, but neither had
quite the ability to come through In
the face of the impetuous attacks
Of their foreign rivals.
Tilden went gallantly to defeat,
fighting as a real champion should
fight, and when the long battle was
done a bitter disappointment lined his
long face. He twisted his features
into a grin and warmly grasped the
hand Of his conqueror
He declared the knee knuckle which
had been responsible for his eXag-
gerated limp of the earlier rounds was
in no wise accountable for his defeat.
and his speed afoot throughout yes
terday's engagement supported that
contention, for only on rare occa-
sions was the lameness apparent.
Service Ineffective.
What really beat him. in the opin-
ion of the ma jority Of expert observ-
ers, was the ineffectiveness of the
celebrated cannon BALI service,
which heretofore has been the bane of
ell Tilden's opponents and which
throughout his long and mighty ca
reer has been ever ready to produce
badly needed point.
Henri Cochet, with neatly gauged
block shot. sent that sizzling service
hack at big Bill'' time without num-
ber, and so unexpected were the ma
jcrity OF such returns that Tiden was
taken completely off guard 9r - v
ings developed whereby the French
man could score the needed lU.i...
That treatment of the cannon
ball." combined with Cochet's marvel
GUS steadiness and a tactical scheme
which kept him at base line rather
than in the forecourt, proved just a
bit too much for the tall titleholder.
Unexpected Triumph.
No less unexpected was Borotra' s
triumph over Johnston, Little Bill, +"
twice the champion before Tilden de-
feated him for the title in 1920, since
which time. except for one year.
Johnston has been the perennial
runner-up.
The battle of the Bills" has been a
stock phrase in speaking of national
championship finals, for with big
Bill" cleaning up in the upper half
and Little Bill' following suit in the
lower half of each title tournament,
no foreign foeman nor any Amerl-
can rival has been able to break up
the battling Bills.
Then. too, Johnston has maintained
perfect record against all French
opponents. Where Tilden failed in
one Of his Davis Cup engagements
last week, Johnston came through to
victories in both. and his record of
triumphs over the GaulS dates back
several years, where representatives
OF the tri-color first came to this
country.
BorOtra Is Superior.
But the Borotra of yesterday was
not the Borotra Johnston has so
often beaten. The Bounding
BASQUE" whose stamina was believed
UNEQUAL to "A long five-set engage
ment, and whose unsteadiness in Il
crucial situation has been a tennis by
word. was physically the stronger and
steadier player yesterday. and it was
after Johnston had won the first two
sets rather handily that Borotra made
his uphill fight to take the match by
winning the last three.
Lacoste in his triumph was always
out in front, for he caught Dick VIII
liarns in an errorful mood and had
raced through the first two sets and
on into a seemingly commanding
lead in the third session of play be-
fore the American brought his shots
in control and made a real fight of 1t
before he yielded the long third set.
Richards victory was the most
quickly earned of the day, for the
Yonkers youth was stroking the ball
and covering court as he had not done
in several weeks and 80 maneuvering
his rival that Brugnon. despite the
hriefness of the match, was a much
fatigued player as the final score was