WILD EXCITEMENT

Dominion, Volume 26, Issue 285, 28 August 1933, Page 9

WILD EXCITEMENT

Mrs. Wills-Moody Beaten LAWN TENNIS SINGLES Retires in the Third Set WIN FOR HELEN JACOBS By Telegraph.—Press Assn.—Copy right. (Received August 27, 7 p.m.) New York, August 26. For the first time in six years, Mrs. Helen Wilis-Moody, the present Wimbledon lawn tennis champion. Was defeated at' Forest Hills to-day by Miss Helen Jacobs in the final of the United States women’s singles championship, 8-6, 3-6, 3-0 (retired). After winning only five points in the first three games in the final set, Mrs. Wills-Moody went to the umpires’ stand and announced that she was unable to continue. It was a dramatic and disappointing conclusion to one of the most spectacular matches in the history of the women’s championship. Seven times previously the 'pair had met, with Mrs. Wills-Moody never losing a set. The crowd of 7000 became wildly excited as Miss Jacobs crashed through in the initial set. Miss Jacobs had the support of the crowd. “My right leg kept bothering me; I simply could not get to. the ball," Mrs. Wills-Moody said afterward. "There was no use my continuing, though I disliked very much having to retire. Miss Jacobs was playing beautiful tennis, and deserved her win.” Mrs. Wills-Moody was wearing a truss as a result of a spinal Injury, which caused her to withdraw from the Wightman Cup matches several weeks ago. Her right leg, however, bothered her more than her back, she said. She also decided to withdraw from the doubles, in which she was paired with Miss E. Ryan, thus giving the title by default to Misses Nuthall and James (Britain). In the semi-final, Miss Jacobs defeated Miss D. Round (Britain), 6-4, 5-7, 6-2. ‘ This is the first reverse Mrs. WillsMoody has met in any tournament since Mdlle. Lenglen .defeated her at Cannes, in 1926. Mrs. Wills-Moody won the Wimbledon championship on six occasions, the French championship ' four times, and the United States championship seven times. Since her defeat by Mdlle Lenglen, and until her defeat by Miss Helen Jacobs, she has lost only two sets in tournament play—one to Miss Dorothy Round and one to Miss Betty Nuthall. DOUBLES CONTESTS Win for Turnbull-Quist CRAWFORD-McGRATH LOSE (Received August 27, 5.5 p.m.) New York, August 26. Play in the quarter-finals of the United States lawn tennis men s doubles championship saw the defeat of the Australian pair, Crawford and McGrath, at the hand# of Lott and Stoeffen (U.S.A.). On the other hand Turnbull and Quist defeated Allison and Van Ryn. Results are as follow . Vines and Gledhill (U.S.A.) defeated Jack Tidball and Gene Mako (Los Angeles), 7-5, 6-3, 6-3. Quist and Turnbull (Australia) defeated Allison and Van Ryn, 15-13, 0-6, 6 Lott and Stoeffen (U.S.A.) defeated Crawford and McGrath (Australia), 6-2. 7-5, 7-5. ' Shields and'Frank Parker (Milwaukee) defeated Perry and Wilde (Britain), 6-2, 6-1, 3-6, 7-5. Allison and Van Ryn in the first set led 5-3, and were three times at setpoint on Quist’s service in the ninth game, but they netted or drove out and found the lead reduced to 5-4 The Australians drew level at 5-5. iney were now as brilliant as their opponents were erratic, and drew 6-5, but the Americans evened the score with a love game. There then followed some evenlymatched games, punctuated by longdrawn and hard-fought rallies. The set developed into a test of endurance, in which the hardest tennis of the tournament thus far was played- The teams aiternated.m the quality of the play, patchiness following brilliancj with bewildering rapidity. Rarely in championship tennis nas a game been fought as was the twentysixth, in which the Australians weie set-point, but unable to clinch it, and the Americans evened the score, 1313. Turnbull took the next game to love on his service, and the Australians capped the performance superbly_by taking the next also to love on Van Ryn’s service to end the set. Patient Policy. The gruelling struggle had taken something out of the Australians, and in the second set they dropped fiv games in a row in five minutes in an exhibition of quite nervelesstennis. They then patiently let the sixth „o, knowing the set was hopeless. They returned to fight the third set, break ing the Americans’ winning streak w i beautiful Play, losing only ‘ he rt ' l on a temporary lapse in accuracy. They were literally driving the Americans off their feet, with a large gallery breathless and cheering. Returning to the courts after the 10 minute interval, apparently much r freshed, the teams resumed the struggle on an even basis in the fourth et which in common with the others was bought at the net for the greater part, testing the volleying skin o I the players. The Americans were set-point on Quist’s service in the tenth ga , but the Australians pulled it out of t - Are by standing at the net and simply blasting their opponents from he court. They then lobbed high in the next game to see their opponents diop their shots into the net. ■ The Australians were in a eommanding position at 6-5. from which the) would not. be budged, setting th match in the next game. Decidedly Bad Start. Crawford and McGrath made a de■•idedlv bad start, Doth losing their service aiid permitting Lott and Stoeffen to amass a 4-0 lead. McGrath’s doublehanded backhands were driving the ball yards out, while Crawford found his opponents’ returns placed at ms feet The Australians won only five points against the Americans’ seventeen in these games. The Australians recovered in the fifth game from 30-40. They then sav-

ed the set in the seventh game when it stood at 30-40 against them, but gave over in the eighth game at a love score, Lott’s and Stoeffen’s strokes being steady as against the constantly erroneous play of McGrath and Crawford. In the second set there was something lackadaisical in the Australians' play. They just seemed unable to makd their strokes come off. McGrath finally won his first service of the match in the third game to make the score 2-1 against the Australians, but only after allowing their opponents to deuce in that third game from 30-40. The Americans were decidedly in form and gradually increased their lead to 3-2. There was an opportunity for the Australians to even the score. In the sixth, game, when they stood ahead at 40-80 on Stoeffen’# service, but the #er-* les of trick net-cord shots helped to pull the Americans out to lead 4-2. The same opportunity was offered the Australians in the eighth game, when again they stood at 40-30 on Lott's service, but they were too Inaccurate. They, however, won the ninth game to love, and in a brilliant spurt, accounting for Stoeffen’s service with their placements, won the tenth game, evening the score at 5 all. This was the first important break in the Americans’ winning streak, and boded well for the Australians. Unfortunately, the latter almost immediately lapsed into short driving, the Americans running out the set in the next two games, taking the last to love In the third set the Australians’ game had unquestionably improved, and they were terminating some exceptionally splendid rallies with winning points, but the Americans, by accounting for McGrath’s service, amassed a 3-2 lead. Stoeffen, at this point, was proved the weak link. The Australians pounded his service with unreachable returns to even the score at 3 all, and for the first time in the match went into the lead at 4-3, which they promisingly increased to 5-4. It was, however, a brief bid for power. Crawford’s nets in the eleventh game reversed the posi-. tlons of the teams and the Americans went in the lead at 6-5. It was the end. The Americans took the twelfth game handily on -Lott’s service. McGrath’s Weakness. Lott and .Stoeffen won largely by concentrating against McGrath, whose two-fisted backhand collapsed under the heavy fire of the United States sluggers. McGrath’s errors enabled Lott and Stoeffen to gain the opening set in less than 1 fifteen minutes’ play, as McGrath fluffed fourteen of seventeen chances coming his way. In the eight games he piled up fourteen nets and three outs and committed a double fault. He scored only three points. The semi-finals will be played on Monday, when Turnbull and Quist will meet Lott and Stoffen, and Vines and Gledhill will meet Shields and Parker. The final will be decided on Tuesday. MIXED DOUBLES (Received- August 27, 5.5 p.m.)~ New York, August 26. In the second round of the mixed doubles, Miss Peggy Striven and Crawford defeated Miss Jane Sharp and Stoefen, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2. TITLE FOR STEDMAN North England Championship \ (Received August 27, 5.5 p.m.) London, August 26. The North of England singles tennis championship final resulted in the New Zealander Stedman defeating H. K. Lester, 6-2, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3. In the doubles Kirby and Lyttelton Rodgers beat Stedman and Burrows. 6-0, 7-5. INTERNATIONAL TESTS (Received August 27, ‘7 p.m.) • . New York, August 25. The United States Lawn Tennis Association to-day completed arrangements for two international team matches at Chicago and Cincinnati, fol.lowing the national singles at Forest Hills. On September 11 teams representing England and Japan will meet at Cincinnati, and on September 12 and 13 picked squads from Australia and th» United States will compete at Chicago, Australia being represented by her full Davis Cup team and the United State# by leading players. Perry will head the English team.