Merits Of New Tennis Champions

Chronicle (Levin), 6 July 1949, Page 6

Merits Of New Tennis Champions

Received Tuesday,"' 7 p.m. LONDON, July 4. English tennis writers are now arguing about whetlier the standard of play at this year's Wimbledon tournament was the best ever seeti. in the allEngland championships or whether the great players.of the past were bettei than the champions of today. " Stanley Doust, 'in ''the" ; Dhily MailJ clailns that Miss."Lbuisbr- Bfbiig-ii'at- hei4 besfe could beat eiither.Syianne Lehglen,' who was unbeatenjat; Wimbledon .,be-j tween 1919 and J92a, (or Mrs.. . Hel'en Wills:Moody, who! ,won the women singles "titl'e eight times. , Doust claim's that Suzanhe' Leiiglen did not -have -to cojitend with players who had the speed of Miss Brougl^ nor did any of. th-e Frenchwoman's opponents have as good' a serviee as ihe Ameriean girl. Miss Brough, he says, has as good a seTvice as Helen Wills-Moody and, in addition, can volley like a man. ' ' I be'lieve that both Miss Bro'ugh and Mrs. du Pont have advanced women 's lawn tennis beyond that played by either Suzanne Lenglen or Mrs. Moody, " concludes Doust. Opposite View Taken On the other hand, John Oliff, tennis writer for. the Daily Telegraph, says that to pretend that the standard of play in the women 's final this year was high is nonsense. "This Wimbledon has been described as the greatest of all Wimbledons, ' ' says Oliff. "It- was the greatest in every way except, in the st'^pdard of play. True, th'er'p, were a few matches which can be pickQd out as great, bu't there was on the wholo moi;e bad tpnais played at Wimbledon this year than r ever remember seeing. -The, yvomen 's events were robbed of ip,te.rest by the vast majority of the two champions." ' * Oliff says that a few years ago, if women players had ventured into the net to take poor-length balls, as Mrs. du Pont and Miss Brough did, they would have been passed with regularity by good driving. Commenting upon the final appearance of the much discussed Miss Gertrude ("Gorgeous Gussie") Moran, , John Oliff says: "Gorgeous may be the right word for her, but the only oue that quite satisfied me is ' whistleable, ' the word coined last week by -the dramatic critics of the New York Times." [The New York Times critic used this word in referring to the physical attributes of the B'fitish aetress Sarah Churchill, now nlakmg her first appearaiice on Broadway.] . , ' , . New Ranking Lists . • ! Gierrard Walter, in the News. Chrojii-1 ele^ gives the following interjiationul: ranking lists ;basecL upon the' perform-t ances at Wimbledon and in the FrencW championships: — Men: F. R. Schroeder,: F. Parker, G. Mulloy, R. Falkenberg, (United States), J. DVobnv (Czeehoslovakia), J. E. Bromwich -(Australia), E; W. Sturgess ( South-. [Af rica) , G. Browrjj (Australia). Women: Miss L. 'Brough, Mrs. M. du Pont, Mrs. P. Todd (United States), Mrs. S. PF.Summers (South Afriea), Mrs. H. Rliibany (United States)-, Mlle. Adamson (Eranee), Miss G. Hoaliing, Mrs. M. Blair (Great Britain.) ' • ' ' Walter says _that 'he Omitted the Aus? tralian Frank Sedgman' because, i'n splte of his two matcli points ' agaihst Schroe'der ht Wimbledd•n,, " he waS riot capable of beating any of the men players listed.