LAWN TENNIS NOTES

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVII, Issue 216, 12 August 1937, Page 2

LAWN TENNIS NOTES

With the three major championships of the northern hemisphere decided, it is evident that the American, Donald Budge, is more clearly superior at present to all other amateurs than Vines and Perry were in their most successful years, and it is unlikely that, the U.S.A. and Australian championships will alter ihe position. Tt will he interesting, to see where the recognised critics will place Henkel. Although he whs beaten in a fiveset match bv Parker, the American player ranked second, yet the fact that lie won the French and German championships may well place him first of the European players in preference to von Cramm. There is evidentlv little to choose between them, each having beaten the other more than once this year, but as von Cramm was among those beaten in the German championship it is likely that Henkel will bo ranked first at ain - rate in the German list. The sensation of the German championship was the victory of the eigli-teen-year-old Australian hoy Bromwich over von Cramm in five sets. But his form throughout the tour shows him to lie an almost certain champion of Australia within the next few years. At Wimbledon lie was only beaten by Austin in four sets, the last by B—G. In the semi-final at Hamburg ho l>eat Farquharson, South Africa’s leading player, who in 1933 heat. Perry at Wimbledon. The score in his favour was 7—5, 6—2, G —3.

Crawford’s defeat by the Austrian von Aletaxa seems to show that lie has been overplayed and needs an entire rest from tennis. He is only twenty-nine and should have many years of first-class tennis before -him. McGrath, too, made a capital show in the singles, only losing to Henkel in five sets, and with Crawford beating a strong English pair in five sets after being two sots to one down- Although two years ago Crawford and Ouist won the doubles at Wimbledon. Crawford is said to prefer McGrath as a partner. The two chief “finds" at "Wimbledon were Tinkler and Miss Ltnnb who played together and reached the fifth round of the mixed. Tinkler is the old Oxford blue who was fifth in the British ranking list, two years ago. Since then little has been seen of him and had lie not been short of practice and condition it is likely that he would have beaten Henkel, whom he took to five sets. Miss Margot Lunib. the unbeaten squash rackets champion, might well have beaten Senorita Lizana, whom she simply drove off the court in the first set with the loss of only one game. The Chilean lady took the second set with equal ease, and the third at G 3, but Miss Lunib threw away three games in which she stood at 40-15 oiv ing to her rash tactics in trying to win off every stroke. She is very similar to Miss Stammers, both being lefthanded blondes, with a very severe forehand, both quick on their feet, and both hr way of being very pretty. She is the best prospect of all the British girls to-dav and is expected to play in one of the singles for the W ightman Cup. The Senorita after an easy win over Miss Nuthnll was unable to withstand Madame Mathieu’s severe and well-placed driving and was beaten G—3, G —3. She left the court, with tears pouring down her face, and said that she was too heart-broken to speak about it. Her victory would have been very popular. She is not the first player to weep after defeat. A famous French player, a man of magnificent phvsique, who distinguished himself by his courage as a flier in the "War, on one occasion shed bitter tears after losing the final of a championship event. ... There is much adverse criticism on Mies Billie York being again omitted from the Wightman Cup team. She is a good singles player and an outstanding doubles player with many important successes. "With Madame Matliieu she has this season won the women’s double championships at Wimbledon and Baris. There was a similar instance in 1933 when Miss Scriven was omitted from the British team for the French championships, hut going over on her own account she won the women s singbs, and repeated her victory in 1934. At Wimbledon this year only three players, Budge, Mine. Matliieu and Miss Stammers were seeded in three events. Flayers who were seeded for the sixth year in succession were Austin, Miss Round. Fru Sperling, Madame Matliieu, and Miss Jacobs. Borotra was seeded seven times m eight years. It was Austin’s twelfth appearance at Wimbledon. His opinion'on the suitability of shorts for tennis appeared among the English cabled news a few days ago. Austin is a very good but not a great player, and lias never won a national 'championship on grass. On the other hand no player in shorts—except of course one or two women—lias ever won at Wimbledon. The really great players, such as Tilden. Perry, Vines, von Cramm. Crawford. Borotra. Shields, Wood, and Cochet have always worn “longs” when they won at Wimbledon, which rather goes to show that shorts are not necessary if the player is good enough. while they are not very pleasing to the eye. Cochet has met with a series of reverses since he toured this country, and in the French professional final was beaten G —2, B—6.8 —6. G —3 by Nusslein, who is the coach of the German team. Last year also Nusslein proved the better. The following description of the Wimbledon final appeared in a London dailv illustrated paper, in the sporting style which is popular in certain circles :—“The Californian ivas taking as long to put away his volleys as a mail with false teeth and a mouthful of caramel. .. a double fault from Budge, which was ns surprising as a hiccough from a teetottaller. . . . he put more things into the net than a butterfly hunter on a sunny day. . . . .Von Cramm snatching at his shots like a greedy child with a plate of eclairs in front of him —and making just as much of a mess. . . “The third set was a massacre. Von Cramm was as stationary as a car with four flat tyres and no petrol. . . at last Budge, liis red hair flaming like a banner, charged in to the net and banged in a final decisive volley.” . Fortunately we have ho descriptive writers of this sort in New Zealand. Nowadays there is quite a lot ol betting on the Wimbledon matches. J lie quotations on the first day were: Bud"e 3 to 1 on. G. von Cramm 3 to 1 against. Austin 7 to 1 against. Fru Sperling 2 to 1 against. Anita Lizana 5 to 2 against, Jadwiga Jcdrzejowska 7 to 1 against, no others quoted.