DAVIS CUP

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 83, 31 December 1937, Page 12

DAVIS CUP

AUSTRALIA'S OUTLOOK CHANGE FOR THE BETTER RISE OF YOUNG BROMWICH The Davis Cup position, as it affects Australia, has changed in a flash, says tlie Sydney Referee in a leader. When the Cup team returned from their unlucky and disastrous tour abroad public opinion was more or iess apathetic. The players had the sympathy of everyone in their illnesses. But it was felt that the younger ones, in a sense, had to begin again to develop their best form and rekindle the fighting spirit that can rarely ba shown when tne men are wearied by too much match play. . Form here a little while back indicated that the tour-tiredness had not disappeared. But within a few weeks things have changed. There is once again that buoyancy about the big games aind leading Australian which is a cojbHary of success — not. necessarily victory. The lawn tennis of D. Budge and G. Mako and their breeziness have been the tonics to revive Australian form in both singles and doubles. Enthusiastic crowds in Sydney saw Australia defeat America in the threeday match by four rubbers to one, or 13 sets, 95 games, to 5 sets, 72 games. The weather was perfect, so were the courts. The play of the Australians was of so' high a class that it confounded critics who had considered Davis Cup possibilities in 1938 to he hopeless. Donald Budge showed wonderful form in most of his games, He may not have expected the stern opposition that came from Bromwich and from the Australian pairs. But hi£ play was well worthy of the champion of the world. We need not expect similar success to that of Bromwich against him to come often. That it did come is heartening to Australians, who now hope that when the team goes abroad it will not find it so difficult to show on foreign -courts the best brand of Australian lawn tennis. The performances— of Bromwich and Quist, mainly— restore the prestige of Australian tennis. They definitely prove that Australia is still one of the strongest contenders for the Davis Cup and, moreover, should play in the 1938 series. Donald Budge, the devastating world champion, may not hdve reached, in Australia, the form that gained him his coveted title, but his Victorian title victory and his convineing defeat of A. K. Quist suggest that he is playing high-class tennis. says the .Referee's tennis critic. Therefore, Australia can feel justly proud of wonder colt John Bromwich who accomplished the'downfall of the champion after thriliing play in the final match of the international series The score was 6-3, 6-2, 6-10, 6-4. It is the greatest achievement so far of this ambidextrous Davis Cup youth and I attrib'ute it to his outstanding control of length and speed, based 011 the exceptional tactics he displaved of keeping his strokes down the centre of the court within a foot of the baseline. This prevented the champion ex« ploiting severe crosscourt angle drives, which open up the court for his severe ground strokes, particularly his backhand. Budge frequently made errors in Sgrafft° fo^ce the Pace of his strokes off^thjs centre-court theory. , H^tan sent back returns of short length that enabled Bromwich to effect severe deep-length drives to the t°hra sharpiy-^gled crosscourt returns that forced Budge into errors winw returns, thus enabling Bromwich to make the points.