LAWN TENNIS

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 79, 28 December 1920, Page 6

LAWN TENNIS

— * — 1 — )RAW FOR DAVIS CUP MATCHES CONTEST BEGINS TO-DAY By TclcEcaph—Preei Aaaocialimi. Auckland, December 27. Tlio Davis Cup draw was mnde 10-day. I'o-morrow Brookes (Australasia), playa L'ilden (America) and Patterson (Australia) liieols Johnston (America)- On I'hursday. Brookes ami Patterson will >lay Johnston and Tildon, and on Fri. lay Brookes plays Johnston and l'attorion plays Tilden, The weather is iine.and :he court fast, nnd promises to play very A'dl.

form of the champions

THE AMERICANS FAVOURITES.

; (J3y Telegraph—Special Reporter.) Auckland, December 27. ' If tlie practice form of the two tenuis 1 who. will compete for the Davis Cup this week eoulil b& tnken as iv guide, there would be only one opinion in Auckland to-day as. to the outcome. I have se*u the players of both teams to all appearances fully extended, and on strokes ami play the American pair, Johnston aiid Tildeii (and I put them in that order) stand out by themselves. Thoy are tremendous hitters on both backhand and forehand, and their plneing is superb. Johnston is wonderfully consistent, anil though he may be shadod for brilliancy at times by 'i'ilden, the latter has lapses which lower the general average of his play. Like most peopl.; who had heard of the terrific pace of Patterson's service and drives, I was particularly interested in comparing them with those of the Americans, and it was a disappointment to iiud that even in hard hitting r.he Americans Beemecl to eclipse the efforts of the hope of the Australasians. Patterson has some fierce strokes, but Tilden lias, if anything, a faster service, while Johnston Itaß a more brilliant drivp. .1 saw Patterson playing O'Harft Wood, and Patterson wa s all out—l say all out advisedly, on account of certain little incidents during the play. O'Hara Wood handled Patterson's services very well, and had the best of the play. Unless Patterson won a rally early it generally ended in O'Hara. Wood out-gen. entiling him. Many easy kills were missed by Patterson in a pitiably weak fashion, notably "soft stuff" at the net and short drop shots to his backhand. His backhand shots from well back' in 'th o court are very fair, 'but when close in- he appears to- be weak on ■ tne backhand when the ball keeps low. O'Hara Wood, like the Americans, play* his strokes clean and true. Patterson frequently makes stakes suspiciously liko mishits tliat soar skywardjiut drop into ciurt with uncanny frequency, and with a puzzling lot of work on them. One would like to believe that they are Intcntional, but it is hard 'to credit. On their play there is at present little, between Patterson and O'Hara Wood, but if anything the latter appears to be the 60U11 dor player. I saw .Brookes play Ilea to on Saturday. For two sets 'Brookes certainly is the master craftsman of his team,_ niul in most respects quite the antithesis of L'attCTsan. ''rookos leads up to an opening arid kili* when he has made the. opportunity—Patterson goes for a kill at all times. This perhaps is ft slight exaggeration, but it will serve to illustrate liie contrast between the two styles of clay. Brookes is playing as well as ever, 6o his friends say, and I believe that for a couple of sets lie would give the pick of the Americans all they_ wanted, Whether lie ca\M continue oil is another matter. Both Tilden and Johnston _nrc clever tacticians as well as brilliant stroke players, and tliey would no doubt nlay to wear Brookes down if they found they could not beat him in the earlier Washburn. Hardy, and fieatli aro noin the class of the others. -The Australasians should win the doubles on form, but if they succeed in tho singles it will be in flat contradiction of their (practice form. I believe from my observation of the play that the Americans do take their practice and training more seriously than the Australians, and this may perhaps account for tiiem appearing to better advantage in tho practice matches. Still, the odds at the moment must be to be m favour of the Americans.

POINTS ABOUT THE PLAYERS

SOME PERSONAL NOTES. Referring to the four competitors in the bis; Raines, the Auckland "Herald nays:—Brookes, the Australasian captain lias been a commanding Agave in world tennis' for nearly fifteen years. No player in tlio world has won so many championships, ranging from club championships to the worlds title, ,which' he held when he was twenty years of age. lie was associated with Anthony Wilding in tlio first win by Australasia of the Davis Cup in 1907. An omi.neut critic, soys of himln the finesse of the panic he| is in. n class by himself. His ground strokes are accurate to n degree, but lie uses tliem moro as a method of descending on the net. Once there the famous volleying stroke and his uncanny sense of anticipation are as groat as ever. His half volley is deadly i.n its directness and certainty. Brookes, perhaps, makes (ewer mistakes than any man playing tennis to-day. Even now, at 43 years of age, ho is an opponent who must always be feared by even the greatest of the world's younger players, Brookes is a left-hander.

Gerald Patterson is < 24 years of ago. A protege of Brookes," his rise to fume has beoti meteoric. He won the world's title in 1919, but lost it this year to TV. T. Tilde.i, of America. He is a born match player, who is not infrequently beaten by steadier performers in practice games, but rises to surprising brilliancy in matches. His overhead vo'loying is wonderfully certain always, his smashing terrific, and his service harder than that of mny other presentday player. -His "mystery" stroke is an unorthodox backhand that he plays to high rising halls, which is ftindnniontally all wrong, but is at times wonderfully effective. o'Hara Wood is under 30 years of age, and plays versatile and brilliant All-round tennis, without a noticeable weakness anywhoie. He has not tlio. hitting power of Patterson, but his spwcl of foot and precision of shot enabled him to bail that player in the Allied Armies' competition at Paris in lillfl, and to fully extend him in the Victorian Singles Championship this yonr.

W. 'I'. Tilden, the present world's champion, is a master of every stroke. Ho is a great hitter on either hand, high or low, and a fine lobber, though inclinod to bo caught in error against an opponent who lobs well against liiui. His service is not quite to severe as Hint of Patterson, but ho ha> a low straight shot that has been cliristenod his "bullet servi.ee," -which is a winner when it coiues oft'. Ho makes some amazing recoveries.

W. M. Johnston was considered in America to bo an unapproachable allround player till Tiidcn camo on the scene this year. A littlo man ho times his strokes so exquisitely that they nil liavo groat speed, and his forehand drive from the back of'the court is faster than that of any of the other players. He docs not cut so much as Tilden, but,' like his fellow-countryman, he is wonderfully accurate in his driving on either hand. Ho has not tho severe sorvice of Tilden.