THE DAVIS CUP

Manawatu Times, Volume 62, Issue 31, 6 February 1937, Page 11 (Supplement)

THE DAVIS CUP

ITS STRAIN UPON NATIONS SHOULD ENTRIES BE LIMITED? DIPLOMATIC MOVE NEEDED The figure in shorts and a sweater we saw trotting neatly, breaming correctly, and looxing nicely fit, on Hampstead Heath the otner was none other than “Bunny” auiolin, who now has both handles oi tne Davis Cup to hold, writes cfilloru WeDb, in me Daily Herald. The said cup, which is reaily a bowl, is a heavy piece of prec.ous metal. With sundry tennis nations pulling and tugging, “Bunny” is going to be awfuiiy nard-pushed Lj jctani his grip. The Hampstead Heath effort is, no doubt, indicative of the seriousness with which Austin views his ta„k. We may be inclined to a little super-optimism in sport in view oj. the cricket turn-up. 1 would say, though, that England will achieve a miracle far more sensational than tne cricket win, if we manage to Keep this Davis Cup within the tignt l.tde island. What would happen if the ru.e that keeps the holders out of tne combat until the challenge round did not operate, I hesitate to think. Which brings us to a litie point. Behind this Davis Cup competition there is—and always has been a muttering and a fluttering of slight resentment against certain features cf the annual international lawn tennis tournament. Not surprising, of course. The surprising fact is that, with so many nations represented, there should have been such smoothness of working tor so many years. Exemption But the feeling is growing that this exemption of the holders from all rouncis, except the challenge round, is neither good tor the competition nor for the game geneml.y. There was a time when tne holders of the Wimbledon angles championship were not called upon to piay through the competition. That soon to an end, when it was realised tnac the rule kept the most attractive player out of the competition until the last day. And that is precisely what some of the tennis nations have been thinkmg about the Davis Cup. In some of the European countries where it is extremely difficult to get sufficient spectators to pay expenses —even for early round matches—it is felt that to be drawn against the holders in the first round would, at least, provide home tennis enthusiasts with one attractive tie. The frequency with which nations win the Davis Cup three, four, or even five years in succession, is quoted to prove the difficulties of challengers. Long sequences of wins for any one nation is apt to rob the competition of much of its international interest. But that isn’t all. I hear that the most startling proposal yet made in connection with the Davis Cup is to be placed before the respohsible committee in the near future. Limit Entries It is this. Entries should be limited to, say, 12, and the whole competition decided during a fortnight’s tournament at one specified centre. A programme would be drawn up, and the competition given to each oi the big cities in turn —London, New York, Paris, Berlin, Sydney, for example. With three or four courts available, it is considered that the whole competition could easily be got through in a fortnight, beginning and ending on a Saturday, or a Sunday as the case might be. It is argued that such a concentrated carnival of the best men's tennis in the world could not fail to attract big crowds. The receipts would be pooled and equally shared after expenses have been paid. Long and weary wanderings from one country to another would be avoided, as would long lapses between rounds, and the strain imposed on players by participation in various national championships, followed immediately by long trips to play a Davis Cup tie in some other country. We had an instance of that last year, when the Germans had to race from Wimbledon to middle Europe for a Davis Cup tie, and then back to Wimbledon for the inter-zone final with the Australians. That was a bad arrangement, and there are bound to be many such bad arrangements under the present system. Calls for Diplomacy The question of selecting the 12 entries in the event of the list being over-subscribed would be a problem, calling for a certain amount of diplomacy; but I feel sure that several of the nations which now enter teams for the Davis Cup would be better off financially if they did not compete. Anyway, it is a novel suggestion and, even if an early round had to be played elsewhere in oraer to limit the number of teams to eight for the big show, there would still be created an enermous amount of interest. The indications are that something of this sort will have to be planned, or else the competiion altered to a bi-annual affair—a move that has already been put forward officially on more than one occasion. Lewis Now Heavyweight, John Henry Lewis, the world’s cruiserweight champion, who recently successfully defended his title against Len Harvey in London, will, according to his manager, Mr. Greenlee, enter the heavyweight ranks«at tne end of the year and seek the world’s heavyweight title. •