Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-07-28

made for them. Let no player cramp
his style by worrying about the gal
lery thinking he is playing to, the
grandstand when he is trying for SEN
sational recoveries."
Believes in Imitation.
Tilden lives up fully to .his own
advice to scramble. With his long
stride and tremendous reach, he has
physical advantages that enable him
Ito make difficult gets with seeming
ease, but at the same time he is al
ways ready to dash far out of court
or plunge to the net, risking possible
injury
II am believer in imitation" he
went on. Not that a player can ac-
curately copy another's stroke, but in
attempting to do so he is apt to discov-
er a valuable stroke of his own. My
| forehand drive which actually bears
no resemblance to ]. o. Anderson S,
is the nearest to it which I am able
to produce. My backhand slice, which
has no family connection with that of
j. J. Armstrong, former Harvard star
and ex-intercollegiate champion, start
ed as an imitation of his famous
| slice.
My advice to young players is to
see as much good tennis as possible
L
strokes Of the famous stars.
I'm attempting to develope the game
of various juniors 1 have found the
road to greatest success lies in taking
their natural game and modifying it
| for orthodoxy without destroying
its individuality. The greatest dan
| ger OF professional coaching lies in
the fact that every professional
strives TO make duplicate Of his own
game, whereas a sound teacher should
treat each pupil as an individual case
to be developed along different lines
rather than as standardize product.
Have Their Own Style.
II could not have developed Carl
Fischer, the former intercollegiate
champion, along lines Of Vincent
Richards, nor Sandy Wiener and
Junior Coen on parallel plays. Each
is great in his own way, which is not
mine. but no twR are great in the
play my game. I would have ruined
| them ALL
The guide lines which Tilden stakes
out for boys would not, however, APP.
ply to feminine players, he believes.
"One hears discussion of the relative
merits of the tennis % leading men
and women, but their games are en-
| ttrely different, he said.
'To me the ideal type Of game for
a woman is the base line game
consider 1t impossible for women to
play an all-court game for three sets
They are not physically able to do so
Even as great a star. and unusually
strong woman as our. own national
champion, Helen Willis, or our former
/ champion, Mrs. Molla Mallory, or
Elizabeth Ryan, cannot. consistently
go to the net through three sets and
stand it,
| 1T is common knowledge that
suzanne Lenglen. Notwithstanding
the sensational photographs of her
PLAYING, only goes to the net when
she's drawn In by her opponent"
Dodges Psychology Question.
Tilden deftly parted a. request to
explain some of the playing psychology
that has been so conspicuous in his
many close matches; hts frequently
uphill victory In international play
He did 50 because he feels this is a
peculiar attribute of his own game
ana that no explanation or analysis
of 1t would be beneficial to any other
| player.
TELL US. then. what match was your
| hardest?"
"Unquestionably my flve-set. strug-
| gle with Rene La Coste In the chal-
| lenge round of the Davis Cup play
last year" replied the champion.
FL never was in a worse hole and
| I never took any greater physical
punishment getting out OF ii than
did In that match, Il was physically
| dead on my feet In the first set,
| losing 1t as well as the second set and
the first four games of the third set
before striking my stride, / was four
times within q point of losing the