"INTERNATIONAL TENNIS

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 51, 28 August 1926, Page 19

"INTERNATIONAL TENNIS

THE FINALS AT WIMBLEDON

BRILLIANCE OF BOROTRA

(From Our Own Correspondent) LONQON, 15 th July. Wimbledon, 1926, is over, and three

nations share its honours—France takes two, the men's singles and doubles; England two, the women's singles and the mixed; and America one, the ladies' doubles. The weather was perfect [throughout, and despite Suzanne's abeence'the'stands each day were filled ; to ! overflowing. In The semi-finals of '.the men 's singles were Borotra, Co'chet,' Brugnon, and Kinsey. The KatcK-between the first-mentioned pair ■wasreagerly watched.. Borotra started ladlyy and soon Gochet had taken the iirst set and was leading 5-3 in the second. At this stage Borotra made a yery.'.determined attacic—his quickness in getting to tho net was wonderful. Mis-arm shoots: out on either side, and Jie is So far. in as to almost touch the , net. The. second set went to Borotra at i7-5.r So;far there had been very few rallies—'both men were driving and vblloyjng with such speed that the ball could not'be returned. •

In tho final set Borotra followed a '.link of attack with almost monotonous '■jSti'c'cess".., ;He .persistently chopped a gather" slow ball well back to Cochet's left hand,.and then dived for the net. (Over and over again -he caught Cochet's return" or forced him to net the ball. All through the match Cochet seemed nervous and. strained, and his overhead work had not its nsual brilliance.

. __T<Lj?e-fivo times within a point of Victory was .the fate of Brugnon in'his matafe.with Kinsey, and each time the study American produced some uncanny twist pf service or drive, or a ]ob,with,top spin to cheat the despair- ,. Jng'Frenchman of his'right to enter the final.' -XDnec or twice Brugnon raised his eyes to.heaven, but he fought on, attacking bravely, though at 6 all one . cojild,see he felt Fate was against him. ;,"jrhe imperturbable American found time ~ _«nee -to smile to a friend when he had "~/"justs"aved his third match point. Tremendous, applause was given to both men-at tho conclusion of their bitter - (Struggle. ■ BOROTRA v. KINSEY. Owing to Howard Kinsey being in the finals of three events, the men's singles •was. ' played on Friday afternoon. in the. first set Kinsey forced Borotra to an advantage set, one felt aodoubt; that the match would be won in straight, sets. Borotra was too agile, too. severe with his driving, too deadly with his volleying for his opponent, who relies on base-line play, though mixed very-cleverly. The crowd loves Borotra'a spectacular play, his quick emilo, the unostentatious way in which ha refuses an advantage given by a linesman. Half-way through a set he amused tho audience by dropping his racquet and balls, and leaping on to the umpire's stand and demanding something. Our curiosity was answered by the umpire taking out his handkerchief and peering into Borotra's eye. Evidently the speck was found, for Boro- I tra - returned smiling ingenuously, and the match went on. It was a very hot afternoon, and at one stage he took off his black Basque cap, but evidently ho is superstitious, for, after losing two games, he put it on again, to the clapping of the spectators. FINAL MEN'S DOUBLES. '. In this event Cochet and Brugnon (Opposed Vincent Eichards and Kinsey. It vrasnot a very good match, and of the;-four,.Brugnon stood out for admirable splay^ A much more exciting, match was seen the previous day, when the English Davis. Cup pair, Crole-Rees and Kingsley, were defeated in five sets by Eichards andKinsey. The English pair wonthe. first sot, led.s-3 in the second, and lo'st;it-owing to Crole-Rees' inability to-help his brilliant partner. Again they lost the third at 12-10. They won the fourth,;and lost the last deciding set? after; a two ■ and a half hours' match, which, held the spectators right through, Kingsley 'for : his . wonderful play, being cheered enthusiastically.' MIXED DOUBLES. After her thrilling, win in the singles Mrs.' Godfrse -returned to the centre court ]to partner her husband against Kinsey. and Miss. Browne. The English pair had'a surprisingly ' easy, victory. In this, as in,the previous match against Bichardsand Miss Byan,- Mrs. Godfree played.very ~ well indeed, and shared .equal honours with her husband. Richards and Kinsey played erratically in both matches, and', the- explanation given. for their poor form is that they _-jdOtt't-play mixed" doubles with any enthusiasm in America. LADIES' SINGLES. Mrs. Godfree defeated Mdle. Vlasto .. In the semi-final in straight sets. The "French girl has a beautiful forehand drive, played' with a -straight ax:i, but Mrs: Godfree's superior accuracy and good all-round- play helped her to- • a fairly easy victory. ■

In the other half Senorita de Alvarez g^ve a delightful display of - graceful tennis, defeating Mrs. Mallory easily in straight sets. Senorita de Alvarez hits a,'rising, ball, and even half-volleys a good-length ball on the baseline, and it is.not a i defensive half-volley,, but a beautifully-placed low good-length shot. Over and over again Mrs. Mallory did not even attempt to chase the Senorita 's beautifully placed drives.

The' meeting between Mrs. Godfree and Senorita de Alvarez in the final was eagerly looked forward to, and there were varying opinions as to the result. The Senorita's supporters (and they were many) thought she would overwhelm Mrs. Godfree with her pace and win easily. The other side were just as confident that Mrs. Godfree would win without the loss of a set. The weather was perfect, and after a fortnight of excellent weather conditions, the centre court was very hard and fast. Mrs. Godfree began well, leading 3-1, and finally winning the first set at 6-3. Senorita de Alvarez appeared to be trying.to play her opponent's more accurate game instead of her usual brilliant attack, and she was hitting, her. balls into the top of the net or just over the baseline. In the second set, however, she mado less errors and more of. her effortless drives were finding the lines Jnstead of going just out. With set points against her, Mrs. Godfree made a rush to the net on a rather badlength ball, only to be beautifully passed down the side-line. • A POPULAR WIN. '; In the third set Senorita de Alvarez led, and it almost seemed as though the Spanish girl would win, but Mrs. "j&odfree's-superior accuracy and wonderful ■ fighting spirit came to her aid. Seriorita'de Alvarez appeared to tire towards; the. end. Tho last ball of the^ match^' a return of Mrs. Godfree's to the backhand • court, she did not even attempt'to chase. Mrs. Godfree played • excellently throughout. She did not appear to drive so hard or so low as she sometimes does (in'her match against Miss Ryan,.,for instance), but no dQubt she had studied her opponent's game and realised that it' was useless to attempt to outdrive one of the fastest ■women . drivers over seen at Wimbleion. In'fact, Senorita de Alvarez made most of her errors on a slow, rather high, bad-length ball; these she fre(giiently hit out or into the net. Neither J>layer:attempted to-reach tie-net mor«

than once or twice during the entire match, both being too good at passing shots (and in Mrs. Godfreo'a case, lobbing) to give the other a chance to volley. This is the second time Mrs. Godfree has won the singles, and it xraa a very popular win. MIXED DOUBLES FINAL. The final of the mixed doubles resulted in another victory for England, Godfree and Mrs. Godfroe defeating Kinsey and Miss Mary Browne (U.S.A.). This was Kinsey's third final, and he appeared stale. He made many more errors than is usual with him. Godfree played beautifully, his overhead work being particularly brilliant, and he was ably supported by Mrs. Godfree, whose volleying makes her an excellent mixed doubles player.. She runs into the net on her second serve, which is a slow, good-length ball, and always eeems ! able to anticipate the return and kill it. Miss Browno played well, particularly at the net, but her partner's rather erratic play made it difficult for her. During the match a flight of aeroplanes returning from Hendon flew so low over the court that the players stopped, and all eyes were turned upwards. till they passed.

GRACEFUL SPANISH GIRL. lii spite of the.absence of Suzanne, Hilen Wills, and ■ Lacoste, through illness, the Jubilee championship meeting was as great a success as ever; in fact, Suzanne's withdrawal made the singles more open, and the graceful .Spanish girl has become so popular with the spectators that .there' are many who would rather see- her beaten 6-0 than | watch a better player win. Winning or losing, she always attacks, and her graceful style always delights the gallery. A ■ : •:■■■"•■

MISS MACFARLANE. News has come to hand that Miss Macfarlanc, of Auckland, New Zealand, playing in the Leicester tournament, has won the women's open singles. Sho is to bo congratulated on her success. After competing at a tournament at Cheltenham, • she purposes playing in Belgium.