LAWN TENNIS

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 57, 4 September 1926, Page 23

LAWN TENNIS

"ay Hun*"'

FRANCE THE CHAL-

LENGER

HARADA BEATS, HIS FRENCH

OPPONENTS

MISS M. MACFARLANCE, LEICESTERSHIRE CHAMPION.

France, as a result of the win from Japan, is the challenging nation for the Davis Cup, and the match against the United States of America starts next Thursday, on the Germantown Cricket Club's courts at Philadelphia. Henri. Cochet may have been playing himself into form against the Japanese players, but on past performance it appears that Jean Borotra is more to be depended upon to rise to the occasion when up against big odds, and France, after all, may see fit to have Lacoste and Borotra in the singles, but? Brug; non may. get a place in the doubles. Great players as the Frenchmen are, the writer still believes that the Americans can hold off the attack again this year. Should William Johnston be in his best form then, the Americans will win,, even though Tilden loses both his singles, but the Frenchmen, with last year'i experience, should be able to make a closer fight of it, and it is just possible that they will win one, maybe two matches. In the last six contests, the Ignited States has on only two occasions dropped a match in any of tho contests^ In ,1922, Patterson and O 'Hara Wood (Australia) won the • doubles against Tilden and Richards, and in 1923 J..0. Anderson (Australia) beat W. M. Johnston. • The Americans are hard to boat in America, and if France can lift two matches, it will be better than any other nation has done during recent years. Japan'! Team. In the 1921 Davis Cup contest, the Japanese team, composed of Ichiija Kumagae and Zenzo Shimizu, sprung a surprise by beating the' Australian team, in which J. O. Anderson and J. B. Hawkes were the singles players. Kumagae beat Anderson, 3-6, 6-4, 2-6, .7,5, 6-2, and beat Hawkes, 3-6, 2-6, 8-6, 6-2, 6-3. Shimizu beat Anderson, 6-4, 7-5, 6-4, and beat Hawkes, 4-6, 6-2, 6-8, 6-2. The Japanese pair were beaten by Anderson and Todd' in the doubles, 4-8, 6-4, 8-6, 6-0. In the challenge round against the United States team the Japanese players fought hard against Tilden and Johnston, and Shimizu ran Tilden to five sets, and Johnston to four sets, before admitting defeat. In. 1923, Japan again entered, and each year since has tried to again reach that challenge round, but whilst able to produce one star capable of winning'has not so far been able to bring two to the front in any one year, and that is what appears to be necessary to win a Davis Cup contest nowadays. Japan ha! been striving to build up a young team, and this year Takcichi Harada, Sekio Tawara, and Teizo Toba, with Zenzo Shimizu as captain, has given tho French team somewhat of a shock. Harada beat Gerald Patterson last year,.6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 7-5, and as he had. before beaten M. Alonso, 2-6, 6-4, 0-3, 6-4, in the Spain-Japan contest, it was quite evident that he was the first hope of Japan, and if another could be found like him, then Japan had a chance of doing something. Still, few could have thought that Japan would get within one game of defeating France. Harada's defeat of Lacoste must have been a bombshell to the French team, then when Tawara with two sets in against Henri Cochet forced the latter to 5, all in the third set, France's hopes of reaching the challenge round hung in the balance. Harada proved that when he'met Cochet, as he beat him, 6-1, 6-3, 0-6, 6-4. The French players won by three matches to two, but it was a close call, and the full details will be interesting. Japan, with Fukuda on the improve, by next year will be able to put a stronger team in the field, and it is evidently that nation's aim to keep on trying until the Davis Cup is taken to the Land of the Rising Sun. The French team possibly is not quite up to concert pitch yet, but nevertheless Harada's win brings him up into line with the champion of champions. New Zealandera in England. Mrs. Marshall and Miss M. Macfarlane, both of Auckland, competed in the Beckenham tournament for the Kent championships in June, before tho Wimbledon championships. In the first round of the singles Miss Macfarlano beat Miss H. Bourne, 7-5, 6-2, but Miss P. Dransfleld beat Mrs. Marshall, 6-4, 6-1. Miss Macfarlane was beaten by Miss Dir in the second round, 7-5, 6-3". The Leicestershire championships were first played in 1908 and some noted players have figured in many of the finals. New Zealand' was. represented at the 1926 county championship meeting held in Leicester, by Mrs. Marshall and Miss Marjorie Macfarlane, both of Auckland, and the latter won the ladies' championship, beating Mrs. Morle easily in the final. Miss E. Ryan was the champion in 1921, 1922, and 1923, Mrs. M'llquham in 1924, and Mrs. SVhitley in 1925. Miss Macfarlane is the first New Zealand lady to win a county championship in England. In the Wimbledon singles Miss C. Tyrrell beat Miss Macfarlane, 6-4, 6-4, and Miss J. Fry had a win from Mrs. Marshall. It appears strange for the latter to be in the singles at Wimbledon, as she has not played tournament singles in New Zealand for a number of years. Mrs. Marshall was a "seeded" player in the second quarter, and Miss Macfarlane likewise in the last' quarter of the draw. Twenty-six lady players had to compete in a qualifying competition, and the last eight qualified to play in the championships at Wimbledon. For the New Zealand ladies to be allowed to compete without a test and then "seeded" shows what an advantage players have when they are nominated for Wimbledon by their national association, but it also shows how careful nations should be in nominating players for Wimbledon, and those nominated should without, doubt be of championship class as many fine players not nominated have to stand down so that preference can be given to the nominated players. The nominating privilege is wrong, and visiting players to England should not be asked to compete in "the qualifying competition unless they have performances which entitle them to be nominated to meet the class of players who compete at Wimbledon. Seemingly all the nominated players went into the Wimbledon draw, but quite a number of bettor players than some of those had to play in the qualifying round. Because a player happens to win the championship of a particular nation, that does not prove for certain that the player is' class enough to meet the champion players who assemble at Wimbledon, for the simple reason that the class of play might be'of a very poor standard when the player won the event. Tho officials at Wimbledon have extended the right for nations to nominate their players, but it can be taken for granted that only the players of a very high class