SPORT IN ENGLAND.

TENNIS, ROWING, AND SWIMMING. AUSTRALASIA AT WIMBLEDON. (Prom Our Special Correspondent.) LONDON, July 6* It is a pity that Norman Brookes could not make the journey to England this year in order to accentuate the international flavour of' the lawn tennis championship tournament at Wimbledon. In his absence Australasia had only one representative in A. F. Wilding, the young New Zealander whose form on the Continent and in the Davis Cup contest had given rise to hopes that he might at any rate be found opposing H. L. Doherty in the challenge round of the singles championship. These hopes were doomed to disappointment, for though Wilding ran through the preliminary rounds in a. fashion that suggested he had a good deal "up his sleeve," he found his master in the semi-finals in his old opponent, A. W. Gore, who in 1901 beat R. P. Doherty for the championship. Gore is undoubtedly the wonder of the tennis world. He is years older than most of the championship players, but still shows wonderful agility, and what he lacks in that department he makes up for by his splendid judgment. For some reason or other, Wilding never seems to face Gore with the same confidence as he does other players of a similar calibre. He has never -beaten the veteran on a grass court, so his failure on Saturday came as no great surprise. The New Zealander found the court rather too dead to suit his service, and seemed to lack his customary dash and vim. But his defeat was mainly due to Gore's steadiness and judgment. His fine driving and accurate placing gave the New Zealander few ■ opportunities for volleying, and, indeed 4 Gore's tactics kept Wilding chiefly in the defensive. The match was, howeyer, a fairly close affair; indeed, Wilding looked like winning bo tithe first and third sets. In the first he led by 5—3, and in the ninth game went within a stroke of set on three occasions before Gore won. Subsequently it was 7—6 in the New Zealanders favour, and in the fourteenth game he got to 40 —30. Gore, however, won the game, and taking the next two, claimed the 6et at o—7.0 —7. In the second Gore was "all over" the New Zealander, and, beating him at all points, ran off with the set at o—l* Wilding played wretchedljr in I

this set, but in the third J__ : • again."* Adopting more ties, Wilding hit harder, kept a joqa '2_. ter length, and got plenty oj _B_»i < « l .s£v baJI.V Gore, however, was .ha fetter__£ I for the first five games, avßd ; led\l*r4*j v-; The New Zealander then got im_X *jj*r *w»rmly cheered by the such good work that he won four *f»Lz off.the reel, and led by ■ C3oret___. W> the next and made it "5 •«__," but \B-ju ing secured the eleventh game and lU_t 1 by 6-5. Then the Newaway to *_»thing, and by winning •£ | next three games Gore ran ou-^jygj?. 'h"i thus winning the match by three BetaiS 'j love, and 23 games to 14. ™ Gore was on Monday defeated W__>' ley, who on_"*t*arday had pot out ft? H Smith by three sets to one (B—a #: 6—-2, 6—4) after a most exciting __52'il and who thus qualified to meet Doherty in the challenge round, wW«_ 1 anon; '-.-..■- Associated with _tf_ J. Ritchie. WiV~~__. - reached the semi-final round of' the bles championship, only to he therein by Smith and Rise'ey bytko>_ sets to love, and 19 games to"-.■-__!,'.;j| 1 > American pair, Little and CoIHm •»•_■>_ \ also beaten in this round, and W flrvTV* ing their conquerors hy three net* to one, Smith and Riseley won the riAt ta ' meet the Dohertys in the 'f___fle**« i y< round. y In the mixed doubles Wilding tganl as Mis 3D. K. Douglass' partner, ai the pair "smothered" their nppo'___i t in the earlier rounds. In the semi-final they were called qm« I to face R. F. Doherty and Miss ___iv " lake Smith, whom they heat by t»» sets to one. It was a tight tossl. tween the rival pairs, "R.F." and paj-hM-f .': winning the first Bet at ft— *-" : Then' ■ Wilding and Miss Douglass made a great effort, and, playing splfendidly together, ' made the match "one all" at*6—3L-.'-__&".•" reverse only served to wake up tiei_)s_ v her ty-Eastlake combination, and the de* ciding set was very exciting, tv_t_-« games being necessary before Wi__fc_» and his partner gained the set a_.diro» '''■ the match. In the final the New Zealand.. u_| Miss Douglass were opposed by Goresat Miss Thomson, who is a brilliant player at the net, but by no means a match fat Miss Douglass where base line tadae. are concerned. The first set went against the Anglo-New Zealand co__« bination at 6—4, but in the next tfcer turned the tables in a most decisive _eaa_ ncr, and won at 6-—2. In the deeidiaf Bet Gore and his partner made a rathe* better fight of it, but were over-played, and lost the set at «—3, and with it the v match. Wilding and Miss Douglass tho-v oughly deserved their victory. They both played fine tennis, and their co-ouerntk-a •vas almost perfect. DOHERTY'S TRIIIMPH. . \' ' The final of the singles champiooaJua - drew a record crowd to Wimbledon._"_» 'y weather was brilliant, the Sun blazing '/> down from a sky of mid-summer btoe. ' Brilliant, too, were the dresses'and the > scene at the centre court, with the gnna if turf set in a moving frame of cohxa. made a striking picture. Excitement ran high as H. L. Doherty, the champion,.'. and F- L. Riseley, the challenger, stepped into, the court. The pair made an inter- i csting contrast, for the champion a short, slight, black-haired and pale el face, while his opponent is a tall, ath* I letic youth with a bronzed* complexion, fair hair and blue eyes. ' ... Riseley began rather unsteadily, and the champion scored first blood with a love game. The second game also went to Doherty, but, Riseley, ainidet loud applause, annexed the third, fifth, and sixth* Riseley was playing in grand forpi noviV getting- in many irresistible seirt _je sbot/f[ ;,.;' and placing his returnß with; tplendiif' ■'.. precision-.-' The seventh game, 'after 7 fit'!]' long struggle at vantage, went lifcerwi-i to Riseley, but the champion equalised in " the next, making thescores ) 4-r4, and with the ninth and tenth games also to ; ■ his credit, Doherty pulled off the firati set, 6—a. The second set- was a "ding-dong", struggle throughout, and .intensely. _*£-; citing. Riseley wonthe first game, Do- '. herty the next, Riseley the third and ' fourth, winning the latter on hia.•**»-*, vice. The champion responded by 'annex-ing-the fifth and sixth, making the score 3—3. The challenger won, the seventh and again Doherty equalised, 4—t TN ninth was a.jrreat fight, each in t*an>. ' getting to vantage time after time without pulling off the winning stroke, but, eventually Riseley got home with, i lucky shot, the ball-striking the net aitd; dropping over, 5—4. Fine placing bj Riseley off the champion's service';,***! the tenth game and set for the chat lenger, 6—4. : . y Encouraged by his success Biselej} ;;. opened the third set in good »tyle bj| || winning the .first game,-but the next) : fell to Ms opponent. The ihipi w«a grandly contested, prodiicing one rnagnl*; | ficent rally from which the challenge* | scored by clever tactics. After a long struggle at service and vantage won the game with a lucky net ybelJ. ■ 2—l. Placing with beautiful preaskra, and varying his drives with arthrt-W* - over his opponent's head, the ch«B|iifl_--now began to forge ahead, and hie op*'•':. ponent to grow .erratic From S-r-2j.th« ;-. score rose quickly to 3 —2, 4—2,._r—2,-aaa finally to 6—2, Doherty being bow, tvifl sets to his opponent's one. _*'.'. .Riseley battled very gamely W through the fourth'set, and' brought OB A some wonderful recoveries*, in attempt" ing seemingly impossible returns; bat" ' the champion generally held the : uppefl r ■ hand, and by brilliant placing kept"tin[■'";.' other man perpetually on the mo»i«tfc"'y - The first and third games went to Rise** ley, the second and fourth to th»y . champion. The fifth produced a «plea_ did contest, but superior generalship; ||| told its tale, and tliis game and th(J? next were Doherty's, 4 — 2. By good"' placing Riseley pulled off the seventh, | and looked all over a winner in" the eighth at but the cham- , pion made a great recovery, and pulled"' the game out of the fire, 5—3. The ninth' game produced more than one good\ | rally, but Doherty was always just a bit too good, and game and set ended* in his favour, 6—3. By a margin of-' three sets to one he had carried off the championship for the fifth year in succession. . '.'.'.'-,_: -' '. It was a great contest to witness,. fo# both men played beautiful tennis, a_fS.*'-.. the loser was game to the last. Tw, spectators were very impartial, and ap*. plauded tbe winning hits on cither side',:with equal .heartiness. But the result was received with singular apatSyH "; only here and there a tardy hand-clap.' y No one could honestly grudge _is well-eanwid laurels, but I think mostof the spectators would,, have liked t* see the challenger victorious for onoa_, after having! fought his way trima*. [>hantly right through the touraaimm'!' THE '-..jrTINCrBI-ES'" BEATEN. H. L. Doherty's triumph in the singlef. ---■: was a less noteworthy event than thai' iefcat of .the brothers; by Smith and. "viseley in the Challenge Round of th*, doubles. In 1902 the Gloucester playeri(Co»tlTme4 sn yge 14J t . >\