Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-06-22

of Wimbledon, which Is
the climax Of the Euro
pean tournament season, followed
by the Davis Cup interZone final
and challenge and the end of the
great tennis events in the Amer
lean championship, finds all the
leading tennis stars working to
point their game so 1t reaches its
best at the right moment.
Every player has a favorite way of
practice, and in almost every case the
way is different You will find the stars
working toward the same point by Diff
ferent roads, yet ali reaching the be-
ginning of the great championship
tuned to the second. There are some
men who like all the tennis they can get
up to the moment OF actual start OF
competition. There are others who want
a complete lay-od for several days be-
fore tournament starts.
You will find players who insist on
playing actual match play as their
training. There are others who want no
match play, but hours of stroke prac-
tice instead. There are few who be-
lieVe they need no practice ut all II 10
interesting to study the choice of these
men.
French Stars Contrast.
Henri Oochet is player who appears
to want little or nc match play, very
little hard single competition in prepa-
ration for big event but he prefers TO
come into the match after several days
OF almost lazy and Indifferent stroke
practice. In marked contrast TO him,
Rene Lacoste wants hours OF intensive
tennis up to the actual moment Of play.
Lacoste will spend several hours q day
during the preceding period to the
Davis Cup matches working on some
one or two strokes. He does not want
to actually play. He prefers to tune up
the mechanics Of his game.
| Jean Borotra usually spends his prsc-
! tice periods of about an hour q day
| for the week before the competition
begins in stroke practice, but on the
day Immediately preceding ne will play
several hard sets OF singles. He IA a
player OF impulse more than mechanical
perfection. Practice bores him. and is
| apt to make him stale. He Is one Of the
| few players in the game who Is apt to
produce his best wnen very short of
practice.
Hunter = Worker.
! Frank Hunter is a player who Is a
hard worker In practice. He prefers to
play rather than tusi work on strokes,
but he wants work and plenty Of 1t up
to about two days to enc day before the
championship begins He has one Pc
culiarity in his practice preference. He
| likes TO 90 out In the morning and play
q set on the day Of 4 big match.
George Lott and John Hennessey DO
| not want as much preliminary work as
Hunter. Lott also wants q day Of rest
II possible before a big match. On the
other hand Wilmer Allison and John
Van Ryn are gluttons for work UP 70
the moment Of actual play. They do not
seem able to get enough play.
Among the women the one who seems
to want to practice ali the time is Eliza
beth Ryan. On the Riviera one found
her, even during tournaments practice
Ing as early as 8 in the morning. And
again after play stopped in the tournA-
ment for the day.
Likes Male Opponents.
Helen Wills Is a player who practices
regularly and seriously but for short
| periods. She prefers to actually play
and will always choose q man as an
opponent rather than q woman. The
same Is true OF Helen Jacobs except
she wants more and longer workouts
than Helen Wills. She, too, prefers 10
gain her practice with q man.
Cilly Aussem, the little German star,
Is a very serious player in practice.
! ASAAN oPShto AiOuAS WOAhlI1k Oll nET KMIi1G
with professional She usually lust
practices strokes, often in the past 70
the detriment Of her match play.
Senerita Alvarez loves 10 stand on
the court and practice her service
and overhead. She seldom plays and
seldom pays much attention to her
driving game.
am probably the worlds worst
practice player Any one and every one
beats me at will In practice. Last year
over our European trip did not once
beat Frank Hunter in practice, yet all
ways won when we met In matches.
The same was true TO q lesser extent
with Junior Coen. who won the major.
ity OF his practice matches with me.
Needs Real Competition.
want to get by practice in actual
! tournament play. Somehow never
learn to make my shots in practice.
1t is not until the absolute necessity
arises in match play, where it Is a case
OF make them or lose, that manage
to gain mastery over my game.
Practice Is a personal problem 10
every star. Until q player has reached
the class where he Is playing the ma
Jority of his tennis in tournaments he
can follow certain definite rules for
practice and know that by so doing he
will progress. But the poor man who
Is playing large amount of tourna-
ment tennis has the added burden Of
preparing his match temperament as
well as his strokes, and 1t is match
temperament that needs careful han
ding
I could no more prepare for 4 tourna-
ment or Davis Cup tie as do Cochet,
Lacoste and Borotra than fly to the
moon. 1t would drive me crazy and at
the same time ruin my game, IL any,
Equally true is the fact that Cochet,
Borotra and Lacoste could not use my
system.
Racketers Consistent.
The most interesting thing In all this
matter OF practice Is that no nnnCer
how they do 1t, you will find that every
year these stars reach the big cham
pionship very close to their best form
Only illness or accident seems 10 cause
one OF them to fail. That Is why the
game of tennis runs truer to form
there are fewer upSets and the average
standard OF play has less variation
than any other game
Certainly skill tells more often and
luck far less than in golf. A tennis
champion repeats In his title more often
than any other athlete in his branch Of
sport, and it lies in the fact that once
condition, mental and physical, Is
reached, player will produce the same
game indefinitely until his condition
fails or he stops playing.
(copyrisht. 1890, By Eerth american News