Part 11 (1/2)

THE 1921 SEASON

The season of 1921 was the most remarkable year in tennis history throughout the whole world. More tennis was played and more people viewed it than ever before.

The climax of famous Davis Cup compet.i.tion was reached when England, France, j.a.pan, Australia, the Philippines, Denmark, Belgium, Argentine, Spain, India, Canada and Czecho-Slovakia challenged for the right to play America, the holding nation.

This wonderful representation naturally produced not only many new stars, but also thousands of new enthusiasts in the various countries where the matches were played.

The early rounds saw several brilliant matches and naturally some defaults. Argentine and the Philippines could not put a team in the field at the last moment. Belgium, after defeating Czecho-Slovakia, was unable to finance her team to America to meet the winner of England and Australasia.

England scored a fine victory over Spain when Randolph Lycett, F.

Gordon Lowe and Max E. Woosnam defeated Manuel Alonzo and Count de Gomar in a close meeting. Notwithstanding his defeat by Lycett, Manuel Alonzo proved himself one of the great players of the world and one of the most attractive personalities in tennis.

India sprang a sensation by defeating France in their match in Paris. Sleen, Jacob and Deane showed great promise for the future. France was crippled owing to the loss of A. H. Gobert and William Laurentz, the former through a seriously sprained ankle sustained in the World's Champions.h.i.+p at Wimbledon, and the latter through illness. Samazieuhl, the new French champion, and Brugnon could not cope with the steadiness of the Indian stars and the team from the Orient won 3 matches to 2. Meanwhile the Australian team of J. O. Anderson, J. B. Hawkes, C. V. Todd and Norman Peach had arrived in America and journeyed to Canada, where they swamped their Colonial cousins easily. Norman E.

Brookes, Gerald L. Patterson and Pat O'Hara Wood were unable to accompany the team, so the greatest contender for the t.i.tle was weakened appreciably.

The Australians decisively defeated the Danish team of Tegner and Van Ingersley at Cleveland, winning with ease. They proceeded to Pittsburgh to await the arrival of the English players.

England sent her invading team, unfortunately without the services of Col. A. R. F. Kingscote and Randolph Lycett, who were unable to go owing to business affairs. J. C. Parke, her famous international star, was also out of the game, having retired from active compet.i.tion last year. The English team was made up of Gordon Lowe, Max Woosnam, J. C. Gilbert and O. E. H. Turnbull.

They were accompanied by that delightful author and critic A.

Wallis Meyers.

The English met the Australians at Pittsburgh in July. The latter won three matches to two with J. O. Anderson, the outstanding figure of a well played meeting. The tall Australian defeated both Lowe and Woosnam in the singles and aided in the doubles victory, thus scoring all the points for his team.

Meanwhile the Indian team had arrived in America and proceeded to Chicago, where they met the j.a.panese team of k.u.magae and s.h.i.+midzu. The battle of the Orient resulted in a victory for the Nipponese.

The final round found Australia playing j.a.pan in the famous old tennis center of Newport, R. I., where the National Singles so long held sway. It was a bitter struggle, with the Australians within two little points of victory in two matches they afterwards lost. s.h.i.+midzu and k.u.magae took all the singles, but k.u.magae was two sets down to Hawkes and one to two down to Anderson. Thus j.a.pan in its first year in Davis Cup compet.i.tion earned the right to challenge America for the treasured trophy.

It was a marvellous meeting of these two teams. Over 40,000 people watched the players in three days. Although America won all five matches, s.h.i.+midzu came within two points of defeating me in straight sets and carried Johnston to a bitter four set struggle.

The Cup is safe for another year but the new blood infused into the compet.i.tion by such men as s.h.i.+midzu, Alonzo, Woosnam, Anderson and Hawkes shows clearly that America must keep working or we will fall from our present position. It is a healthy thing for the game that this is so. I hope we will see many more new players of equal promise next year.

The United States Lawn Tennis a.s.sociation, following its policy of co-operation with the Internation Federation, decided to send a team to France and England for the champions.h.i.+ps. The personnel of the team was Mrs. Franklin 1. Mallory, Miss Edith Sigourney, Arnold W. Jones (boy champion of America, 1919), and myself. J.

D. E. Jones, father of Arnold, himself a tennis player of renown, accompanied the team, as did Mr. Mallory.

The invading tennis players sailed May 12th on the Mauretania to Cherbourg and from there journeyed to Paris, where they engaged in the Hard Court Champions.h.i.+p of the world.

The first week of the stay was devoted to practice on the courts at the Stad Francais, St. Cloud, where the champions.h.i.+p was held.

The team were the guests of the Racing Club at a most delightful luncheon and shortly afterward dined as the guests of the Tennis Club of Paris.

The finals of the champions.h.i.+p of France were held during our stay and, greatly to our surprise, A. H. Gobert, the defending t.i.tle holder, fell a victim to his old enemy, heat, and went down to defeat before Samazieuhl. The Hard Court champions.h.i.+ps of the world produced a series of the most sensational upsets in the history of the game, a series, I might add, that did much to allow me to win the event. Gobert lost to Nicholas Mishu in the first round. Alonzo, after defeating Samazieuhl, went down to defeat at hands of Laurentz, who in turn collapsed to Tegner.

Fate pursued the winners, for Tegner was eliminated by Washer, who came through to the final against me. Either Alonzo or Laurentz should have been finalists if the unexpected had not occurred, and either would have been a hard proposition for me particularly in my condition. I had been taken ill on my arrival in Paris and was still far from well. However, Fortune smiled on me and I succeeded in defeating Washer 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.

Meanwhile the long awaited meeting between Mlle. Lenglen and Mrs.

Mallory was at hand. Mrs. Mallory had come through one side of the tournament after a bitter battle with Mme. Billoutt (Mlle.

Brocadies) in the semi final.

Mlle. Lenglen had proceeded in her usual leisurely fas.h.i.+on to the finals with the loss of but two games.

What a meeting these two great players, Mrs. Mallory and Mlle.