IN THE GLARE.

Shannon News, 21 July 1925, Page 4

IN THE GLARE.

WIMBLEDON STARS. “CLOSE UP”. OF CHAMPIONS. (By William T. Tilden). In view of the fine play of J. O. Anderson, of Australia, Rene Lacoste and Jean Bortra, of France, at Wimbledon, the opinions held by William T. Tilden —“Bigg Bill” of these men is interesting. “Fascinating” Anderson. Writing of the J. O. Anderson, Tilden says:— Tall, ungainly, almost awkward, taciturn, grim, unsmiling, yet interesting and to a great majority of all who see him, fascinating, J. O. Anderson, of Australia, brings a new force into the tennis world. One feels a ruthlessness, a devastating power in Anderson’s game. The tremendous punishing forehand wallop followed by the sliding yet speedy advance to the net and the ultimate crushing volley make the spectator feel that before him is a juggernaut of the tennis world, pulverising his victims without mercy.

Suddenly, a flashing smile, a gleam of white teeth, and a shake of the long head, and the spectator senses a warmth that he had not suspected. Anderson is suddenly revealed as human. It is a striking example of the dual personality of the great Australian star. One cannot question the power of Anderson’s game. I cannot say that I regard him as one upon whom to model the whole game, yet he has certain strokes that are masterly in their conception and perfect in their execution. The flat forehand drive, hit with the short, snappy swing which conceals the direction until the ball is’ struck, is a marvel of effectiveness for little effort. It is this drive, the long legs that carry Anderson over the court at incredible speed for all his seeming slowness, his fine high volley and his service and overhead that are absolutely firstclass tennis equipment. Anderson’s backhand is weak, and his low volley and half volley only average, yet undoubtedly, at his best, Anderson is one of the greatest players in the world. “Schoolboy Wonder.” Of Lacoste Tilden says:— Every country has its “schoolboy wonder.” They usually remain “the schoolboy wonder” long after college days, as well as their school days, are merely memories. Harold Throckmorton. Charles Garland and Vincent Richards are still ‘schoolboy wonders’ to many reporters in the United States. Rene Lacoste is the “schoolboy wonder” of France. Lacoste is young, but not quite so young as the Press would have one believe. He is nineteen, of medium height, stocky and inclined to be slow in movement, yet many critics consider him the greatest tennis player of France. There is no question about Lacoste’s great skill. His record in 1923 was very impressive, including victories over Count De Gomar, Francis T. Hunter, Henri Cochet and other stars. Lacoste has not the French sparkle which holds such a fascination for me. '

His game is more of the machine, business-like type. He seldom provides the thrill of enthusiasm that rises when one is watching Gobert, Brugnon, Borotra or Cochet, arid yet Lacoste is the equal of any of these players. The methodical precision of his movements, the suave glide of his walk, the inscrutable mask of a face, shielded by a small cap pulled far down over his eyes, is not in any degree French. There is almost an air of the East in his Sphinx-like face. His game has few faults. One cannot praise his footwork highly or approve of his forehand drive. There are technical faults in his volleying; yet Lacoste triumphs over his defects and produces first-class results. His backhand is beautiful and he favours it he is steady and accurate, a cool, crafty court general and a doggard fighter. He is far more of the order of a British star with some of the Japanese characteristics added than he is of the French school. There is a fatalistic determination to do or die that is strangely at variance with the spirit of all the other French players I have ever known. Peculiar Mixture.

This is how T.ilden sums up Jean Borotra:—

Jean Borotra, the young national indoor champion, 1925; covered court champion, 1924, of France, is a picturesque figure. Tall, graceful, agile and impetuous, Borotra is an eccentric tennis player. He dashes around the court in the most sensational style, making marvellous shots from difficult positions one moment, only to fall down on the easiest shot imaginable in the next.

I have no idea how to describe his game. It is unorthodox, peculiar, individual and interesting. His grip is strange, his ground stroke unique in form, his volley queer. His footwork reminds one pf Russian dancing. Yet Brorotra plays fine tennis. I cannot however, regard him as the equal of Cochet and Lacoste as a possible future champion of the world. Borotra is typically French. One moment he is bui-sting with joi de vive, volatile, bubbling, magnetic. Suddenly something occurs to upset his equilibrium, and Borotra collapses like a pricked toy balloon, and with him goes his game. It is either the heights or depths with him, but no matter in which extreme he is playing he retains his interesting personality. He affects long hair, brushed straight back, hair so long that it sweeps his eyes if not held in place. His manner of controlling his unwieldy, Samson-like locks is simple yet picturesque. It consists of a bright coloured tam-c/-shantei\. usually of plush, so beloved by French painters in the movie Bohemian quarter of Paris. This bright “tam” dashing from side to side on the court, bobbing up and down as Borotra bounces | about, has so fascinated me when I

have watched him that I fear when I may have under-estimated the real value of his game. I know that his speed of foot is remarkable, his energy, if once aroused, prodigious, and that his vitality is unbounded, yet somehow I cannot regard Borotra seriously except as a unique and coloured personality in, tennis.