VINCENT RICHARDS WINS

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 64, 12 September 1924, Page 7

VINCENT RICHARDS WINS

WOOD DEFEATED BY FAST VOLLEYS.

(Received 12th' September;, noon.) PHILADELPHIA, 11th. Sept. Whoa the second match began between Vincent Richards (U.S.A.) and P. O'Hara Wood (Australia) the stand, winch holds ten tliWßfuiil. upo.cUtovK

game wearing a heavy sweater, and served first. -.

In the opening set Wood's fast pace and splendid placements were at first too much for the youthful New York player, who, however, Jater found himself, and by brisk volleying and sharp serving won the set. Richards made but few errors, playing a. careful, driving game. Richards won the . second set mainly by the persistence with which he came to the net, rattling off volley shots which passed the Australian. Wood then made a splendid rally, pushing the American to the .utmost, but Richards finally captured the set by terrific drives past Wood. In the third set Richards from the front of the court flashed smashing volleys and cross shots, keeping Wood on his baseline and making fre?quent "kills." Wood made another splendid. rally that all but turned the tide of battle, winning three straight games before the American could put over a winning game. Richards, serving, lost the first game. The New Yorker, who is the most outstanding net player in America, compelled Wood to give shots of the greatest length, to prevent the American from approaching the net. AVood amassed a 3-1 lead, winning "the earned points by beautifully-calculated line drives that caught the New Yorker decidedly off his pace. Richards's accurate and forceful playing soon began to count, however, and, cracking Wood's service in the sixth game, and winning his own in the seventh game, he led 4-3. Richards demonstrated himself an able backcourt player, and he earned many points with hard forehand drives, shoulder high, that sailed like a bullet back over the net, and were practically unreturnable. Wood was still playing accurately, but was nevertheless constantly in difficulties. He lost his service in the eighth game, and Richards led 5-3. Richards was now winning easily. He lobbed every time Wood attempted to run. to the net, and kept the Australian running back. Richards worked hard to approach the net every time. .His service was hard, and Wood-was compelled to return defensively. Richards I ran out, winning the set 6-3. Richards again took the lead in the second set, breaking through Wood's service in the third game, his finelybalanced play proving always effective. Wood, like Patterson, was playing well and fighting hard, repeatedly working in handsome placement shots. He was most accurate, but Richards, however, was still more accurate, while the American's service was also effective, his first servo often being unanswerable. Wood continued to have great difficulty in holding his service, pulling it out wherever successful only after deuce had been called. Both men engaged in a volleying duel, during which each tried to get the other running backwards and forwards to the back of the court. Richards usually ended such issues with a fast forehand drive that whistled; through the air and cut into the corner of the court for the winning point. .Wood lost hip service in the soventh game, and Richards led 5-2. The American now overwhelmed the Australian wicn brilliant speed from the ground and succeeded in coming to the net more often. He was unpassable there, and Wood, fighting to pass him, found himself checked continuously. Richards won the eighth game and the set 6-2. The third set developed into an instance where a defeated man shows that he can fight against defeat to the last, point, and one can never. tell that he is beaten until all is over. Wood lost his service in the first, third, and fifth ■games, and he appeared as clay in Richards's hands. Wood, when the seventh game stood at 2-3, lost his sei-vice, and looked to lose the match, but he brought the game to deuce, but although losing a point when he had the advantage he nevertheless won the .game. Richards, however, led 5-2. Wood hung on to tho match through sheer will. No shot was too impossible for him to get, and he was beating Richards point-for point. Richards lost his service, and Wood, by winning three games consecutively, appeared to have a chance of winning tha set if he could break through Richards's service in the tenth game. Wood had fought bitterly to win his ' own service in the ninth game. The tenth game found Wood seeking weak spots in Richards's play, but, this was difficult to do. Nevertheless, the Australian won alternate points, taking the crucial game into deuce, where it gravitated, sometimes Richards, with winning shots by inches, snatching a possible redemption from the Australian. Richards could not be. denied, and won the set 6-4. Following are details :oi the scoring: Vincent Richards (U.S.A.) :107 points, 25 nets, 25 outs, 22 placements, 3 aces^ 0 double, faults. ■ ■ ' > P. O'Hara Wood (Australia): 81 points, 39 nets, 40 outs, 26 placements 2 aces, 2 double faults.