The Waterbury Democrat., 1940-08-03
TODAY'S SPORT
 PARADE
By HENRY McLEMoRE

(UnaGe0 kreSS StaM COfTeSpOnueHtJ
 New York, Aug. 3-(UP)-Tennis hasn't had a crackpot champion since William Tatum Tilden .the twice reached an age where carpet slippers were more becoming to him than sneakers, and you could tell how well he was playing by listening to the checking of his vertebrae.
 There has been number of play CTS with crackpot leanings, such as George Lott who played before the now dowager queen of England at Wimbledon with his shirt-tail whip ping in the breeze, and who once threatened to punch the nose of a pompous and astigmatic umpire during a semi-final match at the exclusive Queens club. There was the Rumanian Davis-cupper with the unspellable name who, when the officials wouldn't halt his match with Fred Perry, unfurled an umbrella and held it over his head during the final set. There was Jack Tidban, the terrible tempered MT. Bangs" who gave himself pep talks in a resounding voice while engaged in play, and there Is the current Gil Hunt, the mad mathematician whose antics don't add up. And, of course, there was that delightful English big game hunter, E. Gandar-Dower, who preferred to play the game while garbed for safari in the Congo.
 But none of these men quite had or have the strokes to become cham pion. Now, however, the game of tennis promises to produce, and in the very near future, screwball skilled enough to win the singles title. speak of course of Frank Kovacs, the 20 year old Californian who whipped Bobby Riggs. the pres ent No. l player, in four sets in the semi-f1nal round at Southampton yesterday.
 Kovacs still has a long way to go as a zany before he acquires the status of g. Tilden, but he is ad- vancing rapidly. Reports reach us that KovacS' comments as he races about the court are remindful of Bob Hope or Milton Berle before a microphone, and that these ad libs are spoken in voice that overcomes the poor acoustics of tennis court and are audible to everyone in the gallery.
 The gangling Californian is said to owe most of his skill as 8 player to the fear he has instilled in his racquet.
 "If they (meaning the racquets) do not hit the ball the way want them to, why stop play and bite them on the handles" he has been quoted as saying. And, if biting does not make the racquets stop making poor shots, Kovacs scales them over the backstop or beats their tender noggins on the ground.
 The Californian's court behavior Is not that of the stern, grim warrior. He has little of the do-or-die atti- tude. He laughs a lot. sings snatches of popular songs while whamming into forehands and backhands, and occasionally executes step or two of the latest dance.
 Kovacs has 8 terrific game to go with his tom-foolery. AS long ago as two years, before he had become hardened in big-league tennis com- petition, he was capable of making Don Budge play his very best in practice matches on the coast. His quick and sure defeat of Riggs is proof that his game has few weak nesses, because Riggs is master at exploiting flaw in an opponents equipment.
 Let us hope that Kovacs does win the national title, because the For est Hills parade has been a very sombre one since Tilden went "pure" and turned professional.