Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-03-22
COUNTRY IS LAUDED
FOR SPORTS SPIRIT
Dominion Team This Year Is
to Offer Yanks Keener
Fight Than in 1929.
BY VINCENT RICHARDS.

b1 NlNCEN1 hACnAnOSs
This Is one of series of stories
in mitch Vincent Richards analyses
the chances OF countries other than
the United States in the Ddvis Cup
competition this year.
N TEXT to the United States
N the strongest nation en-
~ tered in the American zone
A Davis Cup matches is Can
ada. Through the draw, Canada
will face the United States in the
first round.
Last year the United States and
Canada met in Montreal, and the
United States and had no great
difficulty winning, although Can
ada proved far from Set-up.
This year, with Canada'S added
experience, its representatives
should be all the worthier oppo-
nentS, though / do not look for
ny upset.
The Canadian team in all probability
will be picked from a squad including
Jack Wright, Willard Croker, DR..
Arthur Ham and Marcel Rainville, with
Wright and Croker as the singles
players. There is a possibility Wright
will not play, as he said last year. fol-
lowing the tie with the United States
that he was going to retire from Davis
Cup competition.
Wright Best in Canada.
But I am convinced that when the
call comes Wright will be on hand. He
Is clearly the best player in Canada, and
has been for some years. Although he
lost both his singles to John Hen
T1ll loc
carried Hennessey to four sets ana
almost to five, and during the Summer
he defeated some of the best young
United States players in the Canadian
championships. John Doeg and Frank
Shields, both members of the first 10,
fell before him in the Senli-final and
final, respectively.
On the form Wright showed in win
ming the championship of Canada he
should be dangerous opponent for the
young players from the United States
who will bear the brunt of the Amer
lear zone ties. Croker. while not as
good as Wright, can nevertheless play
flrst-class tennis when he is on top OF
his game, and he has given Wright
many close battle. He isn't quite as
aggressive as his teammate, and hasn't
as much stuff on the ball, but his
strokes are clean-cut and made with
good form, and he is capable of making
trouble for any one who takes him
lightly.
Rainville and DR.. Ham were both
members Of the Canadian team last
year, and are likely to make serious bids
for position again, particularly in the
event Wright should not play. DR.. Ham
represented Canada in the matches last
year, teaming with Wright against Van
Ryn and Hennessey and taking a set
from them. There are some who think
Wright and Croker make better team
than any other Canadian can muster,
but the Dominion officials know their
own business.
Dominion Deserves Credit.
Regardless whether Canada defeats
the United States. she deserves great
deal Of praise for her support of the
Davis Cup matches. A country shows
real sporting spirit If she enters when
the odds are against her, This loyalty
by Canada should have its reward, for
the experience her players are gaining
against those of other nations is bound
TO improve them.
Remember that LacoSte and Cochet
of France were once regarded as only
fair players and that today they rule
the tennis world. The French associa-
ton kept challenging and sending her
players to the United States year after
year. They knew they were going TO be
beaten, but they knew also that unless
they got the experience they would
never reach the top.
Garrett H. Meldrum, Ross Cleveland
and John M. Miller are the men who
are keeping Canada in the Davis Cup
picture. The excellent manner in which
they ran the Davis Cup matches last
year helped stimulate interest by Can
ada in tennis, and as long as the game
Is in the keeping Of such men, there is
no question Canada will take her place
in the not distant future among the
leading powers in international play.
(Next-England)
(Copyright. 1890, by North American News
paper Aliance.l