The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1929-09-16
l ALKING
1T OVER
WITH JOE WILLIAMS
NEW YORK Sent

Vi w fAl4dilA lAlA[AAs a
tennis player of some repute. airs
his views on a number of gripping
subjects. including what's wrong
with American tennis. amateurism
vs.. professionalism and the optical
deficiencies Of his Jals. the court
linesmen. Tilden unblushingly ad-
mits that c5nniS in this country is
not what it was when he and Billy
Johnston were at their peak. He
fears We are too SNUG for our own
good and deplores the Character
istic American impetuosity," which
persuaded the tennis officials TO dis
card the style which he and John
ston used in their conquest Of the
world.
II appears that We are now a nation
without set tennis style, that all Of our
young players are laws unto themselves
and that there is at the present time no
dsauite model With a technique or vir-
tuosity worth patterntng. To quote IHden,
"the national style has broken up into a
sounds pretty awful to me, if you must
know.
o M IH5KS TBE 6 6VEEsrREs ssEH
SPEED 70 THE NEGLECT OF DEFEN-
sIVE TACTICS AND THAT AS LONG AS
THIS CONDITION is ALLOWED TO CON
TINUE WE WILL HAVE ABOUT AS MUCH
CHANCE OF OVERTAKING THE FRENCH
As. AS AS-SAY. HAS ANYBODY GOT
4 BOOK OF SMILES AROUND THIS
JOINT?
TTNLESS their styles are changed
~ sharply and Immediately, TIL
den sees very little hope for fellows
like George Lott. Wilmer Allison,
Frank Shields and Johnny Doeg
because all they ever seem to have
in mind is the thought of knocking
the cover right off the little white
onion.
But there is one bright spot TO the pic
a protege of his, by the by. Is going about
the building up Of championship game
In the right way and one of these days
youth in a big way. Indeed he is the
greatest asset for national style that the
United states Lawn Tennis Association
could ask
TILDEN WRITES THAT THE Asso-
CATION At THIS MOMENT STANDS At
soCIATIoN MUST EMBRACE A Foley
OF INFORMAL TOURNAMENT PLAY
PINNING IT'S HOPES TO WHATEVER
ALONG. OR MAKE A SERIOUS AND
DAVIS CUP MATERIAL.
TILDEN favors the latter proceed
l. ure and advises: do it by
the most careful international train
ing. the most careful grooming of
your stars, on and of the court, and
by official recognition of the fact
that it is Job that takes the great
er portion Of each year of the play
ers life
In short. TiIden's idea is that an anna
teur tennis player should be tennis
player and nothing else. In this attitude
to back him up. Quite a few Of our
amateurs always have been just that
From this point Tilden plunges into the
amateur vs.. professional controversy and
attempts to swim up stream, and not
without some difficulty.
TILpENs PORTRAIT OF A PROBES:
SIGNAL is ANY PLAYER WHO PLAYS
or COACHES TENNIS FOR MONEY OR
WHO is DIRECTLY PAID FOR WORK
WHICH HE DOES NOT -ACTUALLY PER
RIGHT FOR AN AMATEUR PLAYER TO
WRITE TENNIS. MAKE TENNIS MOTION
PICTURES. ACT IN TENNIS PLAYS AND
SELL TENNIS GOODS.
IF there must be distinguishing
j difference between an amateur
and a professional, I suppose this
solution is as good as the next one,
yet in the final analysis, the result is
not totally different. Tilden's pro-
feSSional would make his money in
one way out of tennis and his anna
teur would make it in another. 1t
would be for the same kind of
money. and as I see it, quite as hon.
orable for one as the other.
q
TiIden predicts that ultimately the
amateurs and the professionals will meet
In open competition just as the amateurs
and professionals nov meet in golf and that
these meetings will be productive of the
finest type Of tennis imaginable.