CARNIVAL OF SPORT

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXVI, 19 August 1933, Page 3

CARNIVAL OF SPORT

THE FINAL AT WIMBLEDON AUSTRALIAN’S LAWN TENNIS TRIUMPH (From Our Own Correspondent) LONDON, 13th July. Wimbledon’s finals, the open golf championship, Henley Regatta, the Athletic championships, and then the out-of-doors heavyweight fight between the champion, Jack Peterson, and the young Irish giant, Jack Doyle —truly the ma jor events of the summer crowded one upon the other to make a wonderful sporting carnival. But that they should clash in this way was unfortunate. There ought to lie a clearing house for the chief fixtures. Lucky Wimbledon! Every clay of the fortnight was gloriously fine, and though one imagined that the record attendance for the tournament had been reached last scasoh, the crowds on this occasion wore larger than ever. And it was agreed by the players as well as the public that there had never been such a successful meeting. “Every time I play Wimbledon seems more wonderful,” said Mrs Helen Wills Moody, who still wears her crown as queen of the court, despite a thrilling challenge by the young English girl, Miss Dorothy Round. But there was the usual fly in the ointment. All the titles were won by visiting players. It was some consolation, however, that the men’s prize was reclaimed for the Empire, ancl it may fairly he said that Jack Crawford, the Australian is the finest player in tlie world. He now holds the French as well us the British title, and, in view of these successes, ho has decided to go to America in quest of the championship of the United States. !!

In the final Crawford defeated Ellsworth Vines, the American holder, wining the second, third and fifth sets. It was a great match, in which soundness in stroke production, and courtcraft heat speed and fierce hitting. Even more thrilling was the ladies’ final. For the first time since she entered on her alLconquering reign six years ago, Mrs Moody lost a set, and as she admitted she was given the hardest game of her life by Miss Round.

MRS MOODY LOSES A SET The outstanding feature of the Crawford-Vines match was the way in which the service dominated play, and it was in favour of the Australian that lie not only won the toss for the opening service, hut that he began every set with tlie service. In fact in some of the sets he jockeyed so cleverly as to gain this advantage, losing one game deliberately for this purpose. In the second set the service was won for nineteen games. Then Crawford broke through, and I think this was the turning point in his favour. At the beginning Vines served terrifically. In some cases Crawford did not even attempt to get His racket to the ball. In fact he simply shook his head, as much as to say: “Those shots are beyond me.” But I think he reflected that, if he could only win his own service, the American could not keep up the pace. This was the plan lie seemed to adopt, ancl it took him to a great victory.

It was taken for granted that Mrs Moody would retain her title, and the best hope was that Miss Round would be able to make her light for it. She did more than this. Indeed, she came so near to winning that, if the match were to be replayed, the result might be reversed. Never before has the American woman been made to run so hard to the corners. For the first time se met an opponent who drove as hard and as accurately as herself. In fact, so keen were the rallies that, at tlie end of the second set, which went to the English girl at 8-(>, both were physically distressed. Miss Round hung on tenaneiously in the third set, but then Mrs Moody’s greater resource told in her favour, and she was successful at G-3. This much may be said for Miss Round, who is 24. She is a better player to-day than Mrs Moody was at her age. And it is only a matter of time before she wins the highest Honours. Prior to this final, she had defeated Miss Helen Jacobs, America’s No. 2 player, and also Mme. Million, the chief player of France.

GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP AGAIN GOES TO AMERICA In viewing the prospects of the Open golf championship at St. Andrews, ■Walter Hagen confidently predicted another American success. “The British player,” he said, “is very greatly handicapped. Whereas we go from tournament to tournament, not only during the summer but throughout tlie winter on the Pacific coast, and are therefore always tuned up to competitive play, the British professional is engaged at his club chiefly, giving lessons, and lie has not the same opportunity to practise. In the circumstances, while he can play all the shots, he is not so consistent, and he is more likely to break down.” The facts are as Hagen stated them, and they have all the meaning he put on them. Unfortunately, too, he proved a very good prophet. For the tenth year in succession, the honours went to America. At the end of the seventytwo holes, two Americans, Densmore Sluite and Craig Wood, tied for first

place, and Gene Sarazen and Leo. Diugel were equal third, with S. Easterbrook one stroke behind. ' In fact Easterbrook was the only English who stood up to-tlie Americans to the finish and had a chance of winning.

At the end' of the second round it was said: “Hagen is going to win again.” At this point he had returned scores of'oß and 72, and was at tlie head of the field. But, in a way that was startling, lie collapsed completely on the last day, his rounds going up to 79 and 82, and he finished twentyfourth on the list. As a matter of fact, the outlook underwent a great change on the last day. Then Henry Cotton, Abe. Mitchell, A.- If. Padgham, as well as .Easterbrook, had as good prospects as any of the Americans, except perhaps Hagen. But in every case the final round proved too much for them. The conditions, it is true, were exceedingly difficult, the players having to battle against a strong wind on tl.e journey home. But they ought to have done hotter.

The two Americans, Wood and Shute, played oil over thirty-six holes, and the latter * won through his greater steadiness. In tjie championship proper Slmte played each of the four rounds in 73, and in deciding idle tic he went round in 7f> and 74, to 78 and 79 bv Wood. Curiously enough Shute was the outsider of the American party. lie played last in the Ryder Cup team, and in a big sweepstake on tlie cham-

pionship he. was sold for five shillings as compared with the £34 paid for Hagen. The son of an Englishman, Herman Shute, who was contemporary with J. H. Taylor at Westward Ho, “Deny” was horn in America twentyeight years ago.

ATHLETICS BRITISH CHAMPION SPRINTER The British athletic championship, as usual, attracted all the leading runners of Europe, and eleven titles were captured by visiting competitors. Of these, I think the most notable were in the three miles and the two miles steeplechase, in both of which the victors were Finns. In the the three miles L. A. Lehtincn, who is the world’s record holder, moved like a machine, and ono was not surprised when ho beat the British record set up by Alfred Shrubb thirty years ago by as much as 8 2-ii sees. Lehtinen covered the first mile in 4mins. 3G 3-ssecs., the second in 9mins 25secs. and the full distance in 14mins 9 1-5 secs. Almost as impressive was tlie success of V. IsoTTolol in the steeplechase. Like Ills fellow countryman, lie was in a class by himself, and he won as lie liked in lOmins (i 3-sse.es which was another British record. But England produced the fastest sprinter in G. T. Saunders. Prior to the championship, lie,had done even time on seven or eight occasions, and now, in gaining the title, he was a tenth of a second faster. I do not think Saunders has an equal among the sprinters of Europe. At the half distance C. Berger, of Holland, and A. Jonatli of Germany were in front, and it did not seem as though Saunders could make up the distance. But he came with a thrilling burst, and took the lead in the last few strides. Another fine performance was accomplished by B. H. Thomas in the mile. He raced away from the field and won in 4min. 14 l-ssecs. D. 0. Finlay, the holder, retained the 120 yards hurdles, but Lord Burgliley was beaten in the 440 yards hurdles, losing to his great Italian rival, L. Facclli. This was Lord Burgliley’s last race. Ho finds that his parliamentary duties will not allow him to obtain the training necessary to compete in championships. HENLEY REGATTA Although oarsmen came from America and the Continent as challengers at Henley Regatta, only one trophy was taken abroad. This was the Thames Cup, which was won by the Kent School, of America. It was their third effort since the War, and their first success. They were given a fairly good race by Bedford R.C. in tlie final, but the latter had been' together only a few weeks, and they were outpaced. The only other event for which a foreign entrant qualified for the final was the Grand Challenge Clip, in which a Berlin crew were beaten by London R.C. Tlie German representatives had been coached by Tom Sullivan, the old English sculling champion, and their style was almost perfect. They held their own until near the finish, but then tlie London stroke made a fine timely burst, and got the better of the race by a quarter of a length. The same crews met two years ago, when the result was the same as on this occasion. In the meantime, however, the Germans have undoubtedly improved. Tlie outstanding feature of the Regatta was the fine sculling of H. L. Warren, of Trinity Hall, Cambridge, in tlie Diamonds. A month before he had not won his junior, and to reach the final was an amazing feat. In this he was defeated by . T. G. Askwith of Peterhouse, Cambridge. The latter sculled in effortless style, and, having been led to tlie mile then went in front and won by two lengths. Zavrel, the Czeclio-Slovakian sculler, was the favourite, but he was beaten by Askwith, and Denis Guyc, the holder, went out in his first race to F. E. Coles, a young bank clerk. Askwith was the winner of the Colqulioun (Sculls two years ago, and it is unfortunate that he will not be, able to continue his sculling career. He leaves for tlie Sudan next month to take up duties abroad.

BISLEY RIFLE MEETING Though shorn of much of its pre-War glory, the annual meeting of the National Rifle Association at Bisley is still the chief occasion of interest to military marksmen. .Of late years the number of entrants lias been on tlie up grade, and the only misfortune is that so many of tlie competitors are men who have grown too old for the Territorial. Army, and shoot merely for the love of the sport, while the younger territorials neglect the most fascinating part of their service. Military opinion is less scornful than it used to be regarding the value of target-shooting. They designed a competition to reproduce service conditions as nearly as possible. It was won by a Queen’s Edinburgh eight, which included three former winners of the Bisley blue riband. An indication that a man whe can shoot well at a fixed target cau shoot well at anything.

BOXING AND BOXERS BIG BIGHT FIASCO The patience of boxing enthusiasts is being sorely tried by the repeated failure of the big fights. There was never a bigger fiasco than that on the, occasion of the heavy-weight championship contest between Jack Peterson, the holder, and Jack Doyle, the Irishman. It was held at the White City. About eighty thousand people were present, and it was over almost at the ■beginning of tlie second round, not through one man beating the other, hut through the intervention of tlie referee who disqualified Doyle. Moreover he could take no other course. In the first round Doyle was cautioned for hitting low. I think the punch was an accidental one, hut the reprimand was merited. Before the round was over booh men were cautioned for failing to break away when ordered to do .so. Almost at the beginning of the second round Doyle again struck Peterson low and the referee intervened for the third time. Tlie Irishman, however, as if lie had lost his self control, ignored the referee altogether and the latter, as I have said, was compelled to award the fight to the champion. Doyle is only ninete-ei years of age, and he may, perhaps, he excused for his behaviour on this account. He has in fact been fighting tor little more than ;i year, and he had never before taken part in a contest of this importance. The occasion was too much for him. He was very excited from the start, as could he scon from the way in which lie rushed from his corner at tlie sound of the gong. Peterson, who is only twenty two aiul lias been lighting for little longer than his rival, was in the same flustered state, and although I think lie would have quickly settled down, lie had rather tlie worst j of what lighting took place. I lie match had many extraordinaryfeatures. Judged from a world’s championship class both boxers are: little better than novices. They have!

the highest promise, but tile physical powers of neither are yet fully developed, and as I have indicated, they have still much to learn about the game. !Yet because they are big and strong men who possess hammer like punches, they seized the imagination of the boxing public, and they attracted the largest gathering of spectators that has ever been seen in this country. Needless to say the disappointment of the.crowd was acute, but they accepted the result with the usual philosophy of the British spectator, and there was no trouble. A year ago Doyle was in the fifty pounds a fight class. For this match lie was paid £5,000 win, lose or draw. Peterson received the same sum under the same .conditions, and in no more than two years lie has earned as much as £15,000 from the ring. It is suggested that the men should meet again and a match will probably be arranged, but I do not think eighty thousand people, although the memory of the boxing public is short—will be attracted to see them a second time until there is some assurance that they will get value for their money. .