DEFORMING A GAME

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 53, 26 November 1919, Page 7

DEFORMING A GAME

LAWN TENNIS "REFORMERS" CRITICISED

GAME ALL RIGHT, BUT PLAYERS WRONG (Bv A. E,'- Crawley, in the London "Observer.") Criticism of the methods and .regulations of a gnmo is usually ft sign, not of defects in tho same, but of , intelligent interest on the part of players and spectators.. Yet rules committees must'sit Terr tight when these suggestions come forward, lest reformation result in deformation. "" To their credit bo it sain', that rules committees are generally a verv sound-judging and hard-headed collection of sportsmen. Recently both cricket and golf have been through the furnace of re-leading-to-deformation in the resccctivo .matters of two. versus three-dav matches, and of altering the stymie rule.

Some years ago that very sound critic ana player of lawii tennis,- Mr. H. Koper Barrett, remarked to mo (apropos s of some proposed alteration)— The game's all right; it's the players that are wrong"; reminding you of Mr. Barry Pain's "Conductors" reply to tho lady who complained she had got "into the wrong bus'—"The bus is all right, mum, it's vou that's wrong."

Lawn tennis in victory (or peace) year has had a great boom, and it is one of the penalties that in the silly season it must suffer from a sniping of suggested reforms. As already stated, tho fact indicates interest. It is wortli while to oiscuss some of these, as they are typical of the wav in which tho would-be reformer and—more likely—deformer, goes about his self-imposed crusade. All Kumes from time to time go through the experience; at the moment, it just happens that lawn tennis is the best example.

Patterson's Service.As I travelled home from a tournament last June, in which Mr. Gerald Paturson had been wiping the floor with an English international, thanks to his wonderful service, I heard my vis-a-vis sny: "It's a.scandal, and ought to bo stopped,'' I'replied, "Which?" Ho explained. "This service; it ruins tho rarae." ■ I ventured to suggest that it was up to the other r.cople to find a counter to it.

It is a truism-thnt in doubles tho sido serving has the advantage. When tho server comes into court; as Messrs. Davis and Ward did,.with a rew delivery, they have a still further advantage, antf so has Mr! Patterson. But it is men like these, who improve the game, and help it towards perfection.

When the Americans 6howed us tho "American" service a well-known critic wrote that the service was a "foul stroke," tho ball being hit, not. merely twice, but three times, off the wood at 'one side of tho racket, then on tho centre, and lastly off the wood at tho other side, Somo criticism! Certain gentlemon, interested in the matter, tested it by the simple method of using a racket smeared with wet paint: From the marks left on the ball it was proved that the length of contaot with tho racket was never more than one inch. It is.well known how Messrs S. H., Smith and H. L. Doherty dealt with this American service. And their dealing improved the game; there was no more question, of ruling out this service. ' Now a suggestion is made (in view of the dominance of the server—if he con serve) that the ball shall not be "in play" until the striker-out has returned the ball over tho net. If this proposal were adopted, it would mean that tho 6triker-out has the right to refuse to return a service, and'will refuse unless it 'is easy enough for Mm to make a (food return. It is a curious thing that in the early days, of ball games the- initial stroke" (service) was regarded merely as-an institution of play, not as an offensive operation. A boy was-employ-ed to throw the ball in. or a ball-throw-ing machine did the work.. Another suggestion is that the server shall not be allowed to volley the return of his service. .', Still another is to limit the servico to one delivery.

"" 'The, Charm of the Game.' Times without number it hog been suggested that the server 6hould be handicapped; a line was to be marked some way behind the base-line; or he was to replace his swinging foot behind the bnse line Wore. advancing to the net after delivering the service. But moro. than half the charm of the game, and it is so in cricket between batsmen and bowler, is the rivalry between server and striker-out. Make that as keen as possible, and the game will look after itself. If there should be an overwhelming preponderance then rules committees mil act. An ingenious critic, Dr. F. H. Pearce, annlyseu a number of matches in the recent championships at Wimbledon. Ho finds that if "game" could have been reached by the player who "first scored two' consecutive points after deuco 274 points'would havo been saved in nineteen singles and 198 in twelve doubles. His suggestion is simply the old "ad-vantage-all." Certainly the reversion to this "best out of three" points . would shorten matches,.and games in which deuce is' called ten or twenty times aro npt to pall. Tho same suggestion might !>e .made for the set; the player, after five-all. first to score.two games winning tho set. which-could never consist of more than thirteen games, thuß: 7—5 or 7—6. I believe .the record set was won at. tho score of 24-22. Such a mammoth sei is in time and energy expended equal to four average sets. A series of such might reduce a match to a mere trial of endurance.. For tho purpose of preventing abnormal length of sets the above suggestion is better than that of "Baseline," who advocates the beet of three sets only for all matches, but, each' set to bo 9 games up instead of 0. Hero there would have to be the best of 3 games when the players, reached "games all."

Matches have often been lost and won by a ball which hits the top of the net and trickles over, impossible of roturn. Many have suggested that a net-cord ball, should bo a "let," as it is in service; some that it should score against the striker.

The Larger Bat. Tho laws of the game do not limit in any way (as they do in cricket) the size of the bat. Mr. F. W. Donisthorpe (and one disciple) has been playing for years with a mammoth racket, which gave the Frenchman Gobert a.fright at Wimbledon. Tho extra size gives the player a longer reach, but it makes his stroke less crisp; its increased weight also renders his stroke slow, .oint players havo been so bothered by the pudd'ilg cnivractcr of the balls coming from this racket that they want the Authorities to fix a standard of size and weight. As a matter of fact, Mr. Donisthorpe has had to work enormously hurd to loam tho body'movements necessary inr manipulating this huge weapon, and, as s. matter of practical politics, tho giant ; racket has killed itself.

There aro rumours that the L.T.A.. ia shortly about to revise the laws uf Hie game.' In the mutter of wording lliey. seem hero and there to need it.' But wo trust that the committeo will deal sternly with such suggestions as hnvo hoen mentioned above, which would onlv result in deforming tlio game. And when a game is spoilt by excessive tinkering it will be given up by sorious athletes.