FIRST DAY'S PLAY AT CHRISTCHURCH.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1326, 2 January 1912, Page 7

FIRST DAY'S PLAY AT CHRISTCHURCH.

TWO AMERICANS BEATEN.

AUSTRALIA'S CHANCES VERY BRIGHT.

(By; Telegraph.—SocctaKCnrwiPOpdent.) ... -.'-'• "Cnristchiirchj 'January 1. Northern tennii:enthusiasts' w;ho'liter--ally- "rolled down" in""ah-, overcrowded itao-aroa through .'a:-:thunderal6rmr a. fog, and- a:'south-easferly. swell' to -Lytteltbn, had" a .'dreary'prospect -Before 'therh on Friday morning,' The"6p^hing;day of the Davis Cup might .have-been, for football, or wnter'-:pclb,.-bnlxlawn 'tennis yfas-.out.'bf tW'ftucStioif,: .'---'"',''■■ •''•'■'- : The' battle ;-.of'.: the, .'■. versus Qiristchurct^ver,_ the* locale of the contest will .scarcely ■-. have■:• been.-for-gotten'; The Christbhurch men hatL effectively. ,:..raised;:. ; the !cry, "the .'native born," for .-Wilding .-wis a-Ohristchurch boy,- and therefQre--the .Cup must.--be fought for' on Wilding's-' native -heath; 'J.'hoy had also produced, statistics'in an attempt' to prove '.tliai£ in. lifee'nibcti it rained a'.ibt in Wellingtonand"'little in Chiistchnrch.■■>.....-•■ }■*•:<::. s .. -. '~::.. -' What the visitors' actually found: was that.both Wildin^ :i hail turned of late. - They.,w.ere,, wandering: dismally about the sloppjr streets' under umbrellas and clad in their" warmest overcoats; the in'ade'qna'fely/ protected lawn Sad Decomo a tninfature.lako; and the'promised sunshine seemed "as .far away as the promised .Anthony Wilding. And this sUto of affairs went on from day, .to i day. 'The management began to wfar a : worried look, The imperturbable Brookes, the sWafthytDualdp.-'the bronzed and inscrutable-Larned, and the youthful, Smiter. from .surihy California wandered: about the;..flat city looking pic-, tures of misery. .The .Weather wis beKittn'ing to get .on' their nerves, and no wonder. It was also ..beginning to get on' the.nerves of the visitors. ; ' '. ■ These—still with . warm overcoats and umbrellas-went out and looked at tho miniature lake, walked the dreary' streets', hid morning' tea'' and' afternoon tci, of stronger beverages .'arid, in the evening,, sought to drown,dull care at the picture shows-tne only amusement that Christchurch had provided, for the holidays!'.' ' ■-'.' •-. ; .:'■"-.' ."..-:

It had been" decided to hoist the Union Jafck ,-and-..tho.'Star's'.'and Stripes' at the principal hotel if the contest could be started. -The' Bags were hot: unfuried.'and' the committee;. decided Ih'at the' 'Homeric contest could ,n6t. take place before Monday afternoon.. Then they began to sop up ;fhe • miniature• -lake with ' blankets, whereas they -should : :havo'. . nre™itod ■■. its. ' WEarariciiij; ■ a "juwnftra uso of tarpaulins,.:. lor some ddys the court ' 'crying to thohi, "Wrap, me npYfn : .my old "tarpaulin Jacket," but the,committee^had ignored the call, and the', jacket which they did provide let. in the "rain. It was not true, however,: as 6urr<mtiy stated,., that jhe; Americans, and Australians had unanimously 'd'ecitftd • "to add n few ..inches, to the .height ; c f tho Davis Cap, with a view to turning.-it 'into 'a rain gauge. What, did. happen .was .that, the contest was ~ postponed frbm'Friday till Monday. Then the. sun shohe for a couple of days,,and.tho '.'green betokens a drying wind appeared in the north-western sky, and the prophets said that it was "all fighl"-the battle coiild commence. Monday dawne'd dully with a nbr'-western feeling in the air, but ■ it provided almost a calm .daj/rand/a.. good light for lawn tennis. ■, '