Evening star., 1939-06-12
Drops Only One Set
To Farrin in Star
TourneyFina|
Later Pairs With Lynch
For Doubles Title in
City Court Event
By BILL DISMER, Jr.

A clean-cut. deeply bronzed
youth who might be taken for a
miniature Jimmy Foxx probably
realized today that he didn't do
wrong when he forsook Fcvy's pro-
fession for tennis.
Several years ago David johnson
wasn't sure whether there was much
to this game of rackets and fuzzy
balls. He had been raised in a
neighborhood of baseball-playing
kids and, like any other normal
American boy, baseball became his
first love.
But because his father played a
pretty good game of tennis and
seemed to like it, David started &C
companying him on daily visits to
the courts. His father gave him
his first instruction in the game and,
aside from infrequent Junior Davis
Cup guidance he has received in the
last two years, has been his only
teacher
Today. r. Strand johnson had
reason to be proud and David rea-
son to be glad that he never went
back to baseball. Because the pres
ence of The Star Cup and hand
some electric clock in the johnson
household indicated that 18-year-
old David was the reigning mems
champion of Washington, standing
supreme in the wake of 1895 first
tournament.
CllmaXlng a conquest which saw
him win five matches with the loss
Of only one set, johnson yesterday
routed 30-year-old 1t James Farrin
of the Navy by the decisive straight
not the kind of a guy to deserve
such breaks, but it marked the Sec
ond successive year that the likable
Leech Cup star had been routed in
straight sets in the final round after
playing brilliantly through the
tournament.
Adding honor to honor. johnson
later paired with Hugh Lynch to
win the doubles championship by
taking the fifth set of a resumed
match with Farrin and 1t. Bill
Howard by the score Of 6-3.
Playing the way he was. johnson
couldn't have lost yesterday. But
even had Fate been so unkind as to
have handed Farrin enough breaks
to have won, those who saw the
match would have remained con-
vinced that in David johnson Wash
ington has a tennis player who may
60 as far as any local player in
history.
Briefly, johnson has everything.
The strokes, the temperament, the
intelligence to vary his game
everything. If there was one thing
lacking before yesterday, it might
have been confidence. If so, 1t
should be in Johnsen's makeup to-
day with a capital &C." for he now
knows what he can do. A year ago,
or even earlier in this season, David
might have been loath to swing into
! his ground strokes with that SEEM
| ingly reckless abandon. but in truth,
long have noted he was capable Of.
There were times when johnson
seemed content on playing safe,
rather than swinging out with the
power which would have won him
the point Immediately If those
times are gone forever David will go
on to become a worthy successor
of his Biblical namesake to whom
| giants meant nothing.
But johnson doesn't have to rely
on power alone. He has the chop,
the drop-shot, the volley with which
to keep his opponent ever on the
defensive as he did Farrin yester-
day, and all of them are nearing a
| point of perfection. With that
equipment in first-class order john
sens sole task is to keep it in shape.
AS mentioned above, competent
observers long have felt that john
sen had a great future in tennis. AS
great, perhaps. as the immortal
Connie Doyle or-of more recent
vintage-Gil Hunt. Indeed, John
sen may have the two vital qualities
which both of those separately
lacked; the time and opportunity to
travel denied to Connie, and con-
Sistent will to win notoriously absent
in Gil.