LAWN TENNIS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17041, 24 December 1918, Page 9

LAWN TENNIS

THE : BANKING. QUESTION'.

.Considerable difficulty has arisen in American circles over tie ranking system. It is considered by some in. America that lilden. though he lost the championship, should, be first in the official ranking list, for lit has only one dfeat in the year, that in the final of the championship; while he defeated Murray on the other occasion when i? y i «' and ftas a long-.string, of successes, while Murray has only too -tournaments iui his record. . Some players, contend that if the Tanking list 13 So have any value, the champion should > not necessarily 'be at ths head of the rankings list..., The .-'champion, it in contended the Eastern clubs, should no!) bo. included on the ranking list. The sami> point came up in 1014. Was McLoughlin. who had defeated Brookes and Wilding, to be ranked after Williams because thr ratter had beaten him in. the championship when McLouehlin .was fagged out by bis hard play "I. the Davis Cup, and both' Brookes anas Wilding had defeated, William's. In any. case, M;Loushlin was ;rt,nked first. KUMAGAE'S DEFEAT. The defeat of the champion, Era* magae, by Tilden, has caused niuc.i excitement, in the United. States.. An American! writer describes the match as' follows, giving! the reason for the ultimate defeat of th* Japanese, He states:— "When Baals Wright placed Kumasae a day or two earlier the famous world's champion- match player showed that ' the scheme to adopt < against the Japanese champion's severe-driving was to mix the game, just as , Brookes did) against J. C. Parke in Sydney in 1912. Bud though Beals Wright found out this weak spot in. his adversary's tactics, his own Jack of staying power lost him the game. Tilden. who hpd the day before been almos- boaters by Hail (Hall led at two sets to one. 6-5 and 30-15), followed the method adopted by Wright, and gave Kumagae no two similar Bfrokef.. He varied, fast chops to severe drives, and then again to over-spun drives that dived in their flight.. Also one rally he stayed back, then rati in.', and again ha pulled nis opponent in' with short chops, and, then tossed over his h°ad. He won the three) sets straight in 40 minutes at"the astonishing, score of 6-2, 6-2. fi-fl, against a playeri who in 1916 defeated. Johnston, then champion of' America,' in a five-set' match. Kumagao was very badly beaten.*