Evening star., 1926-06-17

y quick succession of drives tC
the base line followed by a change OF
pace and a drop shot to the net is
another OF her favorite tricks. Nor
does she forget the importance of a
few lobs at the end of a long rally
1t gives her time to rest, to catch
her breath and to get into position
for a finishing stroke. l have taught
Suzanne never to talk to her op
ponent or to the people who are
watching her play during a match.
All her thoughts and all her attention
are concentrated on the task before
her I have never permitted her to
SLOW 'lD her game or to become over
confidcat because of a good lead
She knows the value of conserving
her energy. and she rarely INDUCES in
needless movements or useless ges.
lures on the court.
Especially, | have pointed out to
her the folly of preparatory motions
during tournament play. Some play
ers brandish their racquets as il they
We're threatening their opponents;
others comfort their bodies into all
sorts Of fantastic positions before
serving and waste more energy in so
doing than in actual play. One woman
player on the Riviera cannot serve
without trying to make her head dis
appear between her shoulders. An
other bends SO far back before she
serves that she looks as If she were
doubling up like jack-knife.
Praised by Meyers
Wallis Meyers. the great English
sporting writer and critic. wrote the
following about Suzanne in the maga.
zine Tennis ct Golf of March, 1920.
Suzanne was then 21.
ut Is fact that Mile. Lenglen is
in n class by herself. but there is a
reason why this little French artist
wins SO regularly and with so much
facility. Her style is mixture of
ease and elegance. She has learned
to impart the maximumG amount of
to impart the maximum amount of
effort. While others tie themselves
into knots to execute difficult strokes.
Suzanne performs them in a most
natural manner and without any ap-
parent effort.
Mile. Lenglen possesses every
known variety of stroke, and can,
therefore, concentrate all her atten
ton on her strategy"
The competence of Wallis Meyers
thus corroborates the advice I gave
my daughter. which she has followed
out to the best of her ability.
Saves Her Strength.
I have always insisted that Suzanne
take great care with her first service
in order to avoid the fatigue of serv.
ing twice. She has been taught to
vary her service as much as possible
When she finds service which seems
to annoy her opponent she sticks to
1t. I have never been a great believer
in violent tennis, and I have tried to
make Suzanne see that 1t does not pay
to sacrifice precision for violence.
She has often beaten her opponet by
prudent and defensive tactics. That 1.
certainly the best way to beat an over
audaciou player. Sooner or later Il
he is given enough rope he hangs him
self. / must admit that the gallery Is
always more impressed by the pyro
technics than by the shots executed
scientifically and with finesse. The
gallery unfortunately knows very lit
tie about the fine points of the game
and as a rule it is the lucky shot, the
fluke or the useless smash that re
ceives the most applause. The well
placed, perfectly executed shots, as a
rule go by unnoticed except by the
very few who understand. Suzanne
has been taught to disregard the ap
plause of the gallery entirely. AS a
rule she gets very little, because peo
pie have come to expect brilliant play