Professional Lawn Tennis

Press, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22004, 30 January 1937, Page 12

Professional Lawn Tennis

The present series of exhibition matches between F. J. Perry and H. E, Vines has gone a long way toward proving that professional lawn tennis will never supplant the amateur game in the interest of the public. Few events in this sport recent years have created such worldwide interest as the first meeting of these two players—Vines, the acknowledged champion of the slowly-growing band of professionals, and Perry, the undisputed champion of the amateurs. But after the first four or five matches between them interest has waned to a remarkable degree. No doubt there will be big crowds to see them in action at each new centre they visit in their tour of some 40 matches, but long before the tour is over it will have ceased to interest the outside world in the way the great national championships and Davis Cup competition interest followers of the game. Nor is the reason very far to seek. It is impossible even for the spectators to tell whether both players have their hearts in the game—in other words whether they are trying to win. Much Jess ✓possible is it for those who follow the play from other countries. There can be no certainty in any given match of a long series between two men who are paid for their services that they attach any importance tc the result. While the game itself is a very fine thing as a spectacle, it must be remembered that results do count and are the only things that interest those who cannot see the players in action. There is no such doubt in an amateur event. A good man may be beaten by an inferior, but it can practically always be assumed that it was through no lack of trying by the former. It would indeed be surprising if two professionals were able to give of their best in every match of such a tour and if they are fairly evenly matched, as Perry and Vines appear to be, it is a fairly safe assumption that the “ off days ’’ of each player will tend to balance. The general opinion among followers of the same here

is that the first meeting of the two players alone can be taken as a real test of their merits. There can be no doubt that both men would be keen to win that match. Old rivals, and each in turn a world champion, they would obviously regard that match at Madison Square Garden—their first meeting in several years—as a “ needle ” match. It may be that the loser failed to do himself entire justice, but however that may be, distant followers of the game will demand a great number of subsequent successes to wipe out the initial defeat. Thus it seems that the maintenance of interest in professional lawn tennis depends entirely on the success of the promoters in weaning new top-ranking players away from the amateur ranks. As an international sporting event professional lawn tennis fell into the doldrums soon after Vines signed contracts to play Tilden; the same will happen again as soon as the novelty of PerryVines contests wears off.