ON OWN COURTS

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 356, 17 May 1928, Page 9

ON OWN COURTS

HOW ITALIANS WON AT TENNIS AUSTRALIANS’ HANDICAP (United P.A.—By Telegraph — Copyright) (Australian Press Association.) NEW YORK, Tuesday. In an interview at St. Louis the American tennis player, W. T. Tilden, commented on the defeat of Australia by Italy in the first round of the Davis Cup contest. He said Patterson and Crawford had not had time to adjust themselves to the surfaces of the Italian courts or the climatic conditions of Italy, and that was largely responsible for their defeat. Had they arrived earlier in Italy and had the opportunity to play for a few weeks more on the local courts they would have been “a tough nut for the Italian team to crack.” Tilden said he did not believe the Italian players would be as effective against the Americans as they were against the Australians, because they would not be playing on their own courts, but in France. While De Morpurgo was an exceptionally good player, he was not at his best anywhere but in Italy. Tilden held up the fate of the Australians as a warning of what was in store when they played at Wimbledon, after competing for months on clay courts. He said he would be surprised if there was a single American left in the men’s singles at the end of the first week’s play. -