Evening star., 1937-01-05

nj Ellsworth Vines is the greatest
tennis player in the world, he
will have an opportunity to
prove 1t tomorrow night when they
toss Mr.. Frederick Perry into the
cage with him and lock the doors.
From then on it will be strictly up to
Ellsworth.
There are those who believe that
the young Californian with the five
card-stud-poker face can carve Mr..
Perry to mincemeat, if so disposed.
This would not be pretty spectacle,
but it would be conclusive, and con-
elusive victory over the greatest
amateur player Of the last few years
would leave Mr.. Vines, the greatest
of the professionals, on a solitary
pinnacle.
OF course, this match in Madison
Square Garden is merely the first Of
a series that will take Mr. Vines and
Mr.. Perry from coast to coast, beating
each others brains out almost nightly
for the entertainment of tennis nuts
in all regions and climes. Mr.. Perry
Is bound to win some Of those
matches, and you can't count him out
on the strength of one licking.
Biggest Indoor Net Crowd Due.
RUT the first match is highly i'm
portant. 1t will be played before
the biggest crowd in indoor tennis his
tory, something like 10000 people. 1t
vf-iI1 ho he Ercf I>ofr
Perry and Vines since they became
recognized as the worlds greatest. It
will be the key match of the series,
and you sort of get the idea, from
watching the boys warm up, that both
will be aiming for a kill.
Your correspondent went around to
see Mr.. Vines in practice. The young
man looked much as usual, pounding
away with all he had, and when the
blasting was over he expressed a very
earnest desire to get Mr.. Perry's scalp.
There won't be any fooling around"
said Mr.. Vines.
Now. whenever athletes engage in a
contest where cash money is the prin-
cipal objective, the public is disposed
everything they have to the cause.
Mr.. Vines seemed to realize this, be.
cause he was most emphatic In dis.
cussing his plans and motives.
Means Money to Vines.
IT'D BE a sucker not to try to win
as quick as can" he said. Perry
Is one OF my best friends, We CORE.
spond regularly when we're not to-
gether, but if can beat him at all
I'm going to lose as little time as DOS.
sible doing it.
Just look the situation over. Ten.
mis- is my business, and good business
means good money, and you can't
name me 8 guy in the world who
likes money better than 1 do. Well,
to make real dough, you have to stay
up on top.
When the next great amateur
turns pro, they'll want some profess
sional fella to play the important
matches with him. I aim to be that
fella. If I'm beaten before then,
won't get the call. That's Just so
much real money out of my pocket.
If Perry beats me more often than
beat him, the guy they ask for next
year will not be named Vines"
Young Ellsworth has a notion that
his llow-Californian, Don Bulge.
will be the next important amateur
to Jump off the cliff.
II think Bulge figures on turning
pro as soon as he wins the national
title" he said, land I don't see who's
going to stop him from winning it
in 1887"
Expects to Play Bulge in '3s.
WHICH means. in the terms of Mr..
w Vines neat. though sordid system
of logic, that. If Mr.. Frederick Perry
can be disposed of in the meanwhile,
it will be Vines vs.. Bulge q year
from now.
Vines tennis is something to watch
these days. If you haven't seen him
since the time of his short sojourn
among the Simon-pures, you will be
surprised at the change In fact,
you will be electrified, if that's your
idea of fun. Vines could always
smash a tennis ball harder than any
topnotcher in the business, but he
couldn't always control it. Now he
is pitching strikes all the time.
Forehand or backhand or volley. he
is inside those lines consistently. Nat
urally, a player of Mr.. Frederick Per.
rvs skill is going to force the Cali
fornian into occasional errors, but the
errors won't be Of Vines making. as
they used to be. Give him clear cut
at the ball and he will lay 1t on .
dime, II you give him a dime.
Perry to Face Great Game.
VINES is continually striving for
passing shots or for outright kills.
Perry will hold his Sunday punch un.
til the other fellow Is properly set up,
a practice which makes for protracted
rallies when the other fellow Is good,
but Vines doesn't wait. He can afford,
with his speed, to dispense with STRAIT
egy and position. The combination OF
| (See VINES, Page A-133
Is Will ReDeat