TENNIS.

HARD COURT TOURNEY IN PARIS. WILDING'S WORLD'S CHAMPIONSHIP. [FROM OUB Cohrkspontmwt.] LONDON, June 12. Wilding was tho only member of th® Australasian Davis quartette to make tho journey to Paris to take part in the World's Hard Court Championship tournament. Tho Now Zealaiider did so to defend the championship he won last, year, just after his defeat ou grass at Manchester by J. C. Parke. By that triumph lie showed his great power of concentration and his ability to adapt himself quickly to a chango of surface and of climate—-it was unconscionably hot in Paris that year. Wilding not only again made good his claim to bo considered the finest exponent of hard-court lawn tennis, but . did so wjth the loss of only a single sot. Certainly his natli to victory was barred by none of the crack German players, but lie had to contend with the best of the Continental cracks outside the Fatherland, and, truth to tell, he was never really extended. The sot lie lost to Morpurgo was lost mainly, it seemed, because for one© in a way Wilding was holding his adversary too cheaply. It is seldom indeed that tho New Zealander does this sort of thing. Usually he is "out to win" as quickly as he can, and seldom takes risks, though, of course, ho wisely conserves his energies against hopelessly overmatched opponents. Although Wilding's victory seemed tolerably well assured, it was certainly • anticipated that in the final Count'Salm would make the New Zealander " gallop all tho way." The Austrian's brilliant victory over Gordon* Lowe showed the Count as a greatly improved player, and his subsequent play suggested that the further he went the better he would perform. But against Wilding ho qiiite failed to fulfil his earlier promise, and up to the end of the second set the tnatch was ft terribly onesided affair. In the first set Count Salm could only win four points, including ono presented to liim by Wilding double-faulting. In the second he won a. couple of games by well-placed service, but it was not until tho third that _ the Austrian really compelled. Wilding to give of his best. Then when led 2-lovo the Count justified his ap--1 pearance in the final, and for the nest five games played brilliantly. Ho' won the third game, after two 'vantages, squared the set in the fourth and went ahead at 3-2. Tho forehand passing shots brought Wilding level again,, but |in the seventh game Salm went ahead ■ once more as the result of some splendid volleying. Ho changed his shoes after this effort, and tho pause unsettled him, for he returned to serve two double, faults. Then Wilding won his own service to love, and tho end came when ho took the tenth gain© from 'vantage with a magnificent foreihand drive.

So Wilding won by throe sets to love ana lb games'to 6, the scores in his favour being 6-0, 6-2. 6-4. : For the rest the glory of the tourname"t feu upon tho young French player Mdlle Suzanne Lenglen, who at the first tame of asking won the ladies' hardcourt singles championship. Mdlle • Lenglen only passed lier fifteenth birth- ,?* -° n 24. It is true that this child had no Mrs Chambers or Mrs Larcombe in the ranks of her opponents. Probably either of those players would beat her handily, but she is neverthewonderful performer for her age, and her defeat of Madame Golding by 1- games to 3 in the final at St Cloud was effected by sheer stroke superiority, coupled with really wonderful' anticW tion ana steadiness auite marvellous in one so young. With Miss Ryan as partner Mdlle Lenglen also won the Ladies' Doubles and in ; the- final dsfsated the sisters Amblard in love-sets. >' The Men's Doubles wate won bv l>ecugis jpid Germofc, whose opponents in the final were the veteran' A. W. Gore and the Anglo-Indian A. R. F. Kincscote, who were defeated by three set? to one, the scores b 3 ing 6-1, 11-9, 6-B,' •Ui, re ' by T wa y> 3 's in his fortyeighth year. _ It is not often we see a fifteen-year-old girl and a man more than three times her age in champion-' ship finals on fc! ie same day. n the Pans cunmp.onship the holder has to play ,l,r. - in^ad of be _ mg allowed *•" ! down" till the challenge rou r; ... ,fe Wimbledon. At St Cloud .Wilui ~).npd the ball by defeating H. i). j.i.oipurgo, a Viennese player ■alio had the satisfaction of taking a set off the champion, but was defeated quite easily at the finish. Wilding: seemed inclined to regard his adversary s failure in the first set as a note ot resignation and began to slacken down. When he was 4-2 he made a kind of effort to recover touch, ' but Morpurgo was not to be denied his salvage, and leading 54 won the tenth game gallantly from 0-40 against him. But then Wilding woke u pwith a-ven-geance and took tho next twelve games .out of thirteen. It was his first single since Cannes, nearly two months ago. The New Zealander's nest opponent was a Britisher. A. C. Simon to wit," who, though beaten in straight sets—-6-4, 6-0, 6-3—gave the champion a much better game than was expected. Wilding's form was certainly not that of a world's champion, for life fore- , hand drive was comparatively weak, and he allowed himself to be passed with a, frequency that disturbed liis well-wishers, and started them speculating as to how he would fare on the morrow who* called upon to tackle that rising Anglo-Indian player A. E. F.. Kingscote.. The morrow came and with it Wilding in his best vein. The soldier played right uj> to his best form, but he could only win four games in three sets and 48 strokes to Wilding's 85. .. Wilding kept a magnificent length with 3ns drive, volleyed to kill, arid left nothing to chance. Kingscote was unable to settle down to any game that would have stood much chance of success Kingscote played pluckily to the end. but Wilding was out for every ace he could possibly collect, and gave no quarter - and the soldier retired defeated in straight sets at 6-4, 6-2, 6-2, and Wilding proceeded to the semi-final round. Therein he met Max Decugis, the French champion, an old opponent whq. it was hoped, would give Wilding a, really strenuous"fieht. But the mercuvial Frenchman found the New Zealaiiaer his master from first to last. Wildms? lost only four games in threo sets and won 93 strokes to the Frenchman's 60. Concerning this inateh that acute lawn tennis critic. Mr Wallis Myers said :—" What must have iui- . pressed the onlookers most about Wilding's game was that he did not rely on one or two strokes. His chief aim was to work- the Frenchman out of position, and he did this my many tactical devices of which perhaps the lob was the chief. He nsed the toss freely, even as a return to the service, and so finely were these shots eau'ged that Decugis. with all his smashing ability, was outwitted and driven back. It was tho champion's lob that thwarted Brookes's volleying attack at Cannes—those and the slow half-court dinninsr drives that Wilding now plays so skilfully. He adopted the same campaign against tho French ehammon to-day. except that he attacked Deeucis much more pointedly on his forehand. A few of tho champion's lobs were short, and these were crushed ; but their small number only served to the excellent pitch of the remainder. 5 ' By his victory Wilding qualified to meet Count Salm, who had been ing greatly improved form during Hip run of the tournament, and on Irs way to the final had removed in turn from his path Cordon Lone. Gobert and Poulkt,