TENNIS EVENTS OVERSEAS

Press, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22110, 4 June 1937, Page 15

TENNIS EVENTS OVERSEAS

STRONG DAVIS CUP CHALLENGERS GERMANY A THREAT TO UNITED STATES HENKEL'S PERFORMANCES ARE SIGNIFICANT [By CROSSCOORT.] With the completion of the American zone of the Davis Cup competition and the close of the French hardcourt championships at Paris the lawn tennis season in the northern hemisphere reaches a very interesting stage. Australia, believed to be the strongest contender for the international supremacy which almost certainly has passed from England with the withdrawal of F. J. Perry from amateur ranks, has suffered extremely bad luck through illnesses among its team, and has been beaten crushingly by the United States, and meanwhile in Europe the full strength of Germany's team has been revealed as a very real threat to the aspirations of the Americans. The most significant tennis news in the cables during the last few weeks has been the success of Germany's second player, Henner Henkel, who now follows in the footsteps of Lacoste, Borotra, Cochet, Crawford, Perry, and von Cramm as champion of France. He also holds the French doubles championship with his more distinguished team-mate, von Cramm. A year ago a leading critic declared that Henkel had only to improve his volleying and his second service—which was referred to as "a mere trickle compared with the Niagara of his first delivery"—to take his place among the leading players of the world. Henkel's Advance Cabled reports of the French championships indicate that since last year he has gone far toward making these adjustments in his game. His volleying in the doubles was described as deadly, and apparently he completely outplayed H. W. Austin. England's chief hope in the Davis Cup defence this year, in the singles hnai. Since the rise of von Cramm Germany has needed only another firstclass player to become a very strong challenger for the Davis Cup, tor while one man's brilliance can accomplish a great deal in this competition it cannot win the highest honours. The United States could not have won with Tilden alone. France could not have dominated the game with only one of its famous "Musketeers and Perry needed the help of Austin to keep England at the top of the tree. Whether Henkel will prove as effective on grass courts as he has on the hard courts of the Continent remains to be seen. It will be remembered that von Cramm was a brilliant hardcourt player long before he became a power to be reckoned with on the turf of Wimbledon. Still, Henkel has been getting the experience that is necessary, and there is no doubt that he will be a much more formidable opponent on grass this year. Australia's Bad Luck Australia, of course, had almost incredibly hard luck in having to take the court without the services in singles of Quist and McGrath.. Had both been fit and in form it is unlikely that Crawford would have played in singles; the results of his matches against Budge and Grant merely confirmed the impression of the Australian season—that Crawford is no longer a singles player of the highest class. Even so, in the light or the results, it seems very doubtful whether Australia, with its best team in the field, would have justified the optimism of enthusiasts in the Commonwealth. They, it will be remembered, were counting on two singles wins against America's second man as well as success in the doubles. In this they were fortified by the belief that Quist and McGrath—particularly McGrath. who had won the Australian championship from Quist, Crawford, and Bromwich—had made considerable advance on their game of the 1936 season. Quist had earned unanimous ranking as the world s fourth amateur, and McGrath had shown that he was little, if any, inferior. Neither, however, was able to test his mettle against the top men of the United States, and the veteran Crawford and the untried youngster, Bromwich, bore the burden of singles Australians, however, may have been reckoning without a corresponding improvement in the play of their teams opponents. From the cabled accounts of the contest it appears that Budge has strengthened his game. Grant, whose omission from the American team last year is regarded by many as a blunder, also showed good form. It will be remembered that at Wimbledon last year he crushingly beat McGrath when the latter was well below form, but there is nothing to show that the result would not have been the same had they met in the recent match. Budge and Mako top, have probably strengthened their doubles game, and this time, even had they met Crawford and Quist, there might have been no such fifthset collapse such as last year gave Australia the all-important doubles match when the Americans appeared to have the game in hand. England's Doubts Meanwhile, in England, there has been nothing to reassure even the optimists concerning England s chances of retaining the Davis Cup. The selectors must still be in doubt as to who shall fill the important second singles position, the play of the leading doubles pairs, Hughes and Tuckef and Hare and Wilde has been strangely inconsistent, and Austin has shown fine form up to a point only to lose disappointingly to Henkel in the French championship final. However, it must be remembered that all the tennis so far has been played on hard courts, which not only do not suit the Englishmen, but confer a big advantage on their Continental opponCn There is a strong body of opinion in English tennis which holds that Hughes should be the second singles player, although he dislikes the singles game, and for the last few years has concentrated on doubles. , New Zealanders will remember his excellent day in singles when he beat Perry In exhibition matches here two years ago. and there is no doubt that he is an exceedingly shrewd and clever exponent of the singles game. He is in fact, just the sort of player likely to score a much-needed point against the second player of the challenging nation whether that challenger is the United States or Germany. He cannot be expected to play in both singles and doubles, however, and in spite of the defeat of Hughes and Tuckey by Hare and Wilde in the British hardcourt championship, the latter pairs poor showing in the French championship will make the selectors reluctant to pass over the tried and proven pair.