LAWN TENNIS

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 35, 11 February 1933, Page 6

LAWN TENNIS

■ ■-■ ■ By "drive"

THE GREAT VINES

AMERICANS IN ACTION

COMPARATIVE FORM

The tennis event of the year, of several years, the visit of the American tennis players to Wellington, is over. Few who were fortunate enough to be present will forget the thrill of Wednesday when they saw for the first time Ellsworth Vines, the holder of the two biggest championships in the world, the Wimbledon and American singles, flashing' oyer those shots which have won him the tribute of the greatest player that tho game has ever produced. Vines's game is r peculiarly his own. His mighty forehand drive, made so easily and with such, deadly effect, is the product of his exceptional height, his backhand is a neat, quiet,' stylish swing, his ease and, control of stroke are something undreamed of by those who have never seen a real champion of champions, his service and volleys are breath taking. His service ball is ■made with a slow throw-up and a mighty sweep of the racquet which gives spin and swerve to it. Even his fastest ball carries some spin, and is the strongest by far in the American team* Yet it is hit without apparent effort and with much grace. In the swift fligh 1 of his volleys something new. was discerned. They afe peculiarly his own, not alone because of their depth and direction (usually to the corners), but-because of the way they are struck.- When he smashes there is no returning the. ball. The deadly effect of his overhead drew laughter from the spectators, the laughter of' amazement. ' A Good Team. ./.'... .Vines stands at the head of^an adequate team. Neither van Ryn nor Gledhill, despite their fine shots, impresses as an outstanding" singles player in doubles they are both good. \ Van Byn's' strongest point is his 'con; sistency, his strong if ungainly service, and _ his volleying., His overhead: is terrific, his volleys are deadly. But he shows up as a triumph of character, a player whose game has been built up and whose success is largely due to his refusal to take" anything too seriously! He would fight with perfect good humour for the most vital point. Allison, the team's captain, is also definitely short of the greatestl Americans, such as W. M.. Johnston, not to mention the towering figures, Tilden and Vines. Allison may be second player in the United States on his performances last season, but there is a long drop even from an out-of-forni Vines to the American No. 2. To think of Allison, as a serious menace to the Borotra of five years ago is to realise what a toll the years are taking of that champion. Physical Strength. But nevertheless Allison is a fine player. He has a great forehand and a_ backhand which is usually reliable. His great asset is his physical resource, his quickness in to the net, and Ms deadly volleying once there. All the shots played in the air, service, high and low volleys, and smash are... sound, sometimes brilliant. Hia quickness in. intercepting ia great, and he will try for anything. Gledhill, the fourth member of the team, but the one -who latterly dia best in Australia, is not on Wednesday's form, up to his teammates. He possesses a fine forehand and Ms. service. is good, but he has not the resource of either Allison: or. van Ryn and his backhand is not as.good But as Gledhill had the worst conditions of the day to play under (he met Angas on a very slow court) it is perhaps not fair to pass final judgment on him. On last year's play he is rated higher than van Byn, and that ranking' would be made only after ample cvi-! denee had been, collected by the ranking committee. First in the World. -v - The great 'thing was the play of Vines. _ After seeing him even for the brief time that his,, match occupied against Andrews, it is impossible to believe^ that anyone can displace him from his position as first player in the world. He is too strongly armoured, too much a tennis genius, too- fine a tactician. Writing of him after-meet-ing him in the Davis Cup and again'in the American championships,'-- Henri Cochet said that Vines was the ideal height for a player. His build gives him the.maximum chance of making the perfect shot. Yet the margin of error remains small, and the champion, when off, must be off badly. He has a. quiet demeanour on the court, he is never exerting himself- between the* rallies, yet once the ball-is-in play he dances about alertly and ready for anything: His ■ perfect tiaiing, great reach, and speed on his feet make him a most difficult man to pass at the net; the strength .of his ground shots means that to .get him on the defensive is just as difficult. And against such a man what can be done? Vines, at the beginning of his twenties, seems about to enter upon a. tennis reign which may rivalthat-of Tilden. Those who saw him in action will know why! - Did Well. Against these men, the first.three of whom were the American .Davis'Cup team in the challenge round against France last season, the New Zealand side did well, though not quite well enough. Angas,' always trying hard and volleying nicely, had 'Gledhill at Ms mercy in the third set and if he had won the fourth game to be 4-0 it would have been all over. But he missed that game by a single point and .then .took Gledhill a little too lightly in- the closing stages: of the third set. Bad-Angas been quicker to start' he would have won in straight sets.' He should have won, for his form was' better than that of his opponent and his ..adjustment to the conditions g00d... . '. . E. D. Andrews was also in good: shape against Vines, perhaps not the best shape, but playing well enough. It was the. merit of Vines which told, for after dropping the first two games the American never really - gave Andrews a chance of being dangerous. At the beginning of the; match Vines, liko everyone else, was in difficulties from Andrews's spin. He ended his troubles by taking the net without delay whenever things seemed likely to go badly for him if a point were lost. . Slowed Up. : ■ ■Malfroy, on the other hand, was not himself. He should have taken, the first set from Allison, but failed to take the best chance for which—he could hope—three successive set points. Allison's forcing tactics had a hand in this, but one at least of these points Malfroy would have managed to win some months ago. The truth is that since coming put here the inevitable has happened—Malfroy's ,me has gone back. It is impossible to keep up the pace of a game when meeting playera who use slow stuff, and Malfroy has been the victim of his environment. ' Yet there was very little be--tween him and Allison/and in a second meeting the decision might be reversed. At first D. G. France was completely oS against van Eyn, due to the excitement of the occasion. When he settled' down France played better tennis than van Kyn revealed at any stage, but the local man was too uncertain, taken all through. Yet he has tho strokes to beat van Eyn and with a few more matches in big company would do it.