DESCRIPTION OF PLAY

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 54, 12 September 1928, Page 18

DESCRIPTION OF PLAY

Australian Press Association, (lleceived 12th Sept., 8 a.m.) NEW YORK, 10th September. In a match that lasted nearly three hours, .Crawford defeated Wood, a youth of sixteen, weighing about 100 pounds, and former boys' champion of the United States. Crawford, after winning the- first set fairly easily, despite deuce in a number of games, fought an uphill battle to secure a put 5 load over the American in the second set. The Australian serving in the twelfth game was unable to win it, despito constant deuciug, and Wood evened the score 0-0. The games then alternated with service until again the Australian's service proved a weak point in the sixteenth game, which lie lost to 15-10, thus dropping the set. Tlie third sot alternated with service, Crawford winning the fourth at love, one of the few games to be thus gained, until the Australian came into a 4-3 lead on games, by breaking through the American's service at love. Ho improved the lead to 5-3, and stood set point at 40-15 in the tenth game, but lost his service, and Wood then evened the score 5-5, and drew into a load of 0-5 on his own service. The Australian duplicated the feat at 0-0. The games then alternated with service, • until Crawford broke through Wood's service in the nineteenth to take a 10-.9 lead. ■ Wood returned the compliment to even the score 10-10. Wood dropped flat on the court, writhing in pain from the cramp in the twenty-first game, Crawford rushirig""to liis aid. lie :rosunied limpingly to drop his service and go through the motions or.' playing 22 games to get the necessary ten minutes' rest between the third and fourth sets without thcro and then forfeiting tho match. The men returned to the courts butit was obvious that Wood was done. Ho struggled bravely in the next set, but his condition precluded anything like test play. Boussus's left-handed playing and (lie. resultant sharply-angled returns that often seemed to parallel 'tho net wero the principal cause of Moon's defeat. The Australian with his crashing repertoire- of service that boomed like a gun and overhead smashes from the base lines that could barely '"bo touched by tho racquet was nevertheless like clay in tho Frenchman's hands. Moon was either caught flat-footed by the unexpectedness of his opponent's angled returns or when recovreing quickly enough to put the racquet on the ball drove it way out. Boussus hovered over the net, putting direction, but no speed on his shots, to outwit tho Australian. The match' was of an even pattern throughout, but the third set was, perhaps, typical of tho -way in which tho Frenchman was victor. The Australian lost his service in the first game to give his opponent an advantage which he quickly rolled up to a 4-3 lead. The Frenchman again found Moon's service vulnerable in tho eighth to increase his lead to 5-3. Moon stood 40-0 in the ninth game on his own service, and was- apparently about to pull the set' out of danger, temporarily, at least, but he dropped tho next five points on outs from Boussus's ping-pong-like drives to the corners, to lose tho. set the match. Shields, a tall, heavy youngster, had too much force behind his shots for the slighter and easier playing Hopman to be ablo to withstand tho American's quick and unwavering rush to victory. There was a whole string of doubtful decisions in tho first set, with a change of umpires for the second, and this did not help tho Australian's game. Hopman won only tho first game in each of tho first two sets on his own service. livery other game he served, although oil one occasion he stood 30-40 love he could not effectuate. Ho lost his sci'vico in the first gamo of tho third set, after drawing back up to deuce twice. Four times, again.when he served ho could win only after tho games wero repeatedly deuced. Shields on his own service, however, was impregnable. Tho Australian seemed to bo about expert in tho upper-hand for the first time in tho natch when ho nearly broke through Shields's service to assume a 3-2 lead, when Shields stood 0-40, but his play was not vigorous enough and the- American pulled that game out and, on tho basis of tho lead obtained by- winning tho first game on tho break through of Hopman's service, took the set and match. Cunimings's victory over Johnson, tho North-Western States champion, was as quick as was expected. Cummings was superior in all branches of the game, life stop-volleying at tho net being especially impressive. He stroked more trenchantly and the force of his shots made his opponent pop back easy returns that invited and received prompt killing. Tho Australian, moreover, forced the American into so many errors that the piling up of nets and outs quickly defeated tho latter. It was only in the third set, when Cummings grew slightly careless and permitted himself a series of nets and outs, that the American was at all dangerous. He broke through tho Australian's service in the fourth and tenth games, which went to deuce Iliroo times, but tho Austi-a-lian, steadying, could not be denied and, taking the thirteenth on Johnson's, service and last on his own, won tho match.