LAWN TENNIS.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume XLV, Issue XLV, 18 August 1922, Page 3

LAWN TENNIS.

(By Alan E. Norman.)

Xo ball game.. I believe, ever could be invented to vie with lawn tennis match play, replete with the umpire pedestalled on a high chair near the net and; a gathering of spectators a fP i the court -- as th-e game, above au others at which it is the most difficult to excel and as the one which makes the severest test upon a player's nerves and self-control. Whyi golf in comparison is the veriest child's play At golf one strikes a stationary ball, you take up your stance with all the pomp and circumstance of the redroated Beefeaters parading at the lower; you may have five minutes, if you like, m examining the lie and choosing a club (but in the end you might be wise to take what the caddie gives you) and finally no one within a liali-nnle radius may dare to move, cough, or breathe audibly while you make your stroke. A fellow once was blackballed from a big club because he sneezed when his opponent, a committeeman, was at the tee. On the tennis court the successful player must time perfectly a ball coming to hint at the speed of an express tram while a cunning and agile opponent a few yards away is simultaneously performing the wildest antics in coiu-t to make the striker take his eve i-ennis nerves is a summer malady, off the ball.

Once again it is with us, and the chief suiFerers are the tournament competitors. And don't imagine the owe-fortv player, resplendent in his blanket coat and three rackets under his arm, is immune. The other day B. 1.-6 "Norton was trounced by the critics for throwing away the fifth set- against Andre Gobert at Queen's dub. But a of mine was convinced it was a real, bad' attack of nerves. "Why," he exclaimed, "I was talking to him m the dressing-room when he was changing for the match. He was literally shrtrering with fright, and could scarcely get into his shirt " This match panic is an affair of th/. mind, and disappears when approach'd m the right way. The most consistently successful match player last year, Ala homed Sleem, the Indian, summed ip the question thus: "I used to suffer .erribly, but i: ,w I never get stage fught-. which ;, wholly due to an overnnxiety to wn, Tt is a subtle form of (onceit. Now. > don't think about victory or deft:).. I concentrate upon 1 -laying each i—cicular stroke as well as I know huv. I think hard about keeping my e : .v fixed on the ball always, tnen up.™ getting my footwork right, and finally upon the awing of the racket. If a player really is thinking about these things there is no corner m his mind which can harbor that panicky feel." And that is all there is to it. Before a match do not hang about thinki ng 1 f V' as an awful ordeal and as to whether you can beat that fellow. Jnnd a quiet corner and read a novel Don't smoke. Go and have tea and biscuits: avoid cakes and new bread Then, when in court, if panic comes along remember that your opponent may be feeling even worse and immediately concentrate upon the makine of your strokes. Remember to keep in the proper position. After each stroke lost think for the reason: "Did I keen an eye on that ball?" or "Was I in. the best position?" or "I hit that ball too late—l must keep farther away from the bound."

Further, study your opponent's game Begm play by testing his various shots, watch whether he usually piays the straight or the cross-court return. Find out his weakness and flien hammer it. Finally, just as mental unrest shows up in your quick nervous physical actions/ so the re! verse is true. Act outward calm and deliberation, and subtlv that will tend to induce inward poise of the mind