Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-03-08

~ AIM BEACH, Fla, Marcn b.
THE six greatest tennis play
ers in the world, outside of the
i United States?" repeated Frank
Hunter, in reply to my question.
well, in my opinion, they are Cochet,
Lacoste and Borotra. the Frenchmen;
Baron de Morpurgo, the italian; Young
Crawford. the Australian. and either
Manuel Alfonso, the Spaniard, or the
younger Kozeluh."
We were. of course, discussing anna
teurs, although Hunter does not believe
that Kozeluh. the famous professional,
can beat such men as Cochet. Lacoste
or Tilden. Hunter himself, four days
after he landed in Europe, played Koze-
luh and lost to him by score of 6 to 8.
Alfonso didn5t play last year." con-
tinued Americas second ranking star,
but he is coming back to tournament
play this season, and, when he is in
form, he always ranks with the best.
He is a great stylist. with beautiful
backhand. You never know where he
is going to place the bali-he can
shoot it either way.
"Cochet's great strength lies in his
ease of stroke and his ability to raise
his game to any necessary pitch. His
style is effortless, which enables him to
conserve his strength. I was going we'll
when I played him at Forest Hills last
season. but toward the end of the
match was exhausted and he was still
fresh
Lacoste's Control Great.
"Lacoste, In spite of his mechanical
perfection of form, uses much more
energy In a match than does Cochet.
His great assets are his steadineSs and
uncanny control He can angle his
shots sharply from the base line and
still keep them in. If Lacoste really
stays out of the game this year, it will
vastly improve the chances Of the
United States to regain the Davis Cup.
"Borotra has great asset in his re-
markable agility. No matter where
you put the ball, you never can be GER
tain that he will not reach and return
II. He also has a lot of stamina, and
when he looks tired Is always capable of
staging an active and sudden rally. He
is q wonder overhead, and, while his
otner strokes may not be so good, he
plays an unorthodoX, but highly eff
1icient game"
In reply to the question whether
Crawford wasn't likely to be a little
uncertain. playing much better some
Gays than others, Hunter said:
Perhaps that is true, but it is some
thing experience will cure, Crawford
Is . fine player. He has a good serve
ana deceptive game. He covers his
strokes so well that you can't tell the
direction Of his return until the last
moment. He should come along fast.
De Morpurgo," continued Hunter.
plays sound, all-around game and
Is fine athlete and a great fighter.
He never is beaten until the last point
Is played"
Hunter naturally admires a fighting
neart. 1t Is one of his own main assets
Hunter describes Kozeluh, the Czecho-
slovak, as having much the style of his
older brother and relying mainly on
steadiness and control, rather than
speed, to win.
Likes Lott, Van Ryn.
I asked Hunter which of the young
sters In the United States promised to
be the Larned and Wrenn, Mclaughlin
and Williams, or Tilden and Johnston
Of tomorrow, and he unhesitatingly
named George Lott and John Van Ryn.
Lott is %, Van Ryn. %, and Hunter
thinks each of them has the attributes
Of a great tennis player. Each not
only has sound game, but is capable
"
Hunter believes that the United States
has a splendid chance to bring the
Davis cup back across the ocean. He
points out that the matches last year
were much closer than many persons
realized; that Tilden beat Lacoste in
singles and that the doubles match
was decided by one break in service.
According to Hunter, Tilden realizes
he tried to carry too much Of the load
last year, and Frank is confident that
this year Bill will be content to con-
fine himself to the singles. Under
these circumstances, Hunter believes
that the United States will have good
chance to win.
Any time that Hunter loses a match
In these early Florida tournaments TIL
den calls him on the long-distance
telephone and kids him about it. Big
Bill pretends to be much outraged by
such conduct, saying that he doesn't
mind Hunters losing to him, but that
it Is not fitting that his doubles partner
should lose to any one else. After
leaving Palm Beach, Hunter may stop
for few days at White Sulphur, but
he Is anxious to get back to business
Tennis, with Hunter, is only a vaca-
ton. He regards it as game, not
Job.
CCopyrisht, 1929. by North American News
paper Alliance.)