GERMANY AND THE DAVIS CUP

Manawatu Times, Volume 64, Issue 80, 5 April 1939, Page 8

GERMANY AND THE DAVIS CUP

REVIEW OF THE PAST 1 i VON CRAMM’S GREAT PART j If Gottfried von Cramm reappears ; with the German Davis Cup team, it j will be the first lucky break German, tennis has received in a decade. No; other country has suffered such a series of setbacks to tennis ambitions since Daniel Prenn and Hans Moldenhauer won the European Zone in 1929. These two players were then regarded as the two most promising players in Europe, Moldenhauer being particularly impressive, but he was killed in a car accident the following winter. Prenn carried on, but received little support in 1930 and 1931. Then von Cramm stepped into the picture, and in 1932 he and Prenn won the European zone final and fully extended America in the inter-zone final. But that was Prenn’s last year with the German team. A Polish Jew, he had to leave Germany when the Nazi regime was gaining power. Von Cramm could not carry the burden in 1933 and 1934, but when Henner Henkel joined him the following year, they gave Australia a shock by defeating Crawford, McGrath and Quist four matches to one in the third round of the European zone final. They accounted for Czechoslovakia in the final round of the zone, but Budge, Allison and Van Ryn were too good for them in the inter-zone final. That defeat by Germany assured Australian officials that it was safer to challenge in the American Zone, which Australia won in 1936, and went on to defeat Germany in the interzone final, played at Wimbledon, writes Harry Hopman in the Meloourne Herald. In 1937 Germany again won the European zone, but fell before America in the inter-zone final. In that match von Cramm led Budge 4 —i in the fifth set of their match,

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and if he had won he would have given Germany the right to challenge Great Britain, holders of the Cup. .But Budge made a wonderful recovery, and America went on to win the cup from Great Britain by a comfortable margin. Team Broken Up Again Last year von Cramm was out of the German team, and although Germany won the European zone, the loss of their leading player left them without a strong challenge to Australia in the inter-zone final. If von Cramm comes back into the team, an inter-zone final between the same two countries this year would be a different story. I think Australia would win again, but it would be a tough fight. I feel sure that if von Cramm were nominated for Wimbledon by Germany his entry would be accepted. It was stated that Wimbledon would reject his entry last year, but I understand that was not official. He has been a finalist at Wimbledon three times, losing to Fred Perry in 1935 and 1936, and going down to Donald Budge in 1937.