THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 28, 1920. THE DAVIS CUP MATCHES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVII, Issue 17664, 28 December 1920, Page 4

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 28, 1920. THE DAVIS CUP MATCHES.

o One does not require to be an expert or even an enthusiast to appreciate the importance of the Davis Cup matches. There is hardly any form of athletics that does not make a strong appeal to the British temperament, and lawn tennis stands high among our national games. Britain gave lawn tennis to the world. Australasia, in conjunction with the United States, took a leading part in its development. Britain established the groundwork of the game and endowed it with the sportsmanlike traditions which belong to all British pastimes. America contributed the speed which is characteristic of many things American, the adventure and the spice of recklessness which marked the McLoughlin school. Such men as Mr. Brookes and the late Mr. Wilding combined the best points in both games and restored the balance between British orthodoxy and American heterodoxy. Lawn tennis is therefore peculiarly an Anglo-Saxon game. Although the Davis Cup has been offered for international competition since 1900, 1 only English-speaking teams have held it, and it is a remarkable evidence of the genius of Australasian , players that they have lost possession of the Cup for only two years since 1907. The Davis Cup matches ■ have been a powerful instrument of | international friendship, but their friendly rivalry has most powerfully influenced the English-speaking nations on both sides of the Atlantic and the Pacific. Whatever political misunderstandings may arise between the two branches of the AngloSaxon race the danger of a real quarrel will be very slight so long as America continues to send forth her Tildens and her Johnstons, not forgetting such large-hearted captains as Mr. Hardy. The visit of two teams of super- , players can hardly fail to exercise an ' important influence upon the outdoor : life of New Zealand. Our winter game is fixed beyond possibility of challenge. Not all the baseball players in America could persuade our young men to abandon their Rugby, but of our summer games none has claimed paramountcy. The peculiarly English game of cricket, the Anglo-Saxon game of tennis, and the aquatic pastimes of an insular people are all in healthy competition. There is room for them all, but tennis offers the advantage that it can be \ played by two persons wherever there is a small space of level ground J and close turf. Its charm entices a youth and age, and there is no sex barrier. In inexpert hands it is a gentle exercise for a hot day ■ plaved by specialists it is a rare test" of

strength, endurance, stamina, and training. It is a mental stimulant as well as a physical, an art developed from a science, a trial of moral quality as well as of mental alertness and physical fitness. It was fostered by the Allied Governments as a training and a relaxation for soldiers in camp. Tennis players joined the ranks in their thousands and some of the best fell while serving the greater game- It is difficult for foreigners to realise how strong an influence British pastimes had on the national morale during the years of crisis. Among them tennis stood the test of war with distinction. No game which had not would be worth a moment's consideration or the interest of a solitary spectator. The game which will be presented to us in its most perfect form this week comes, then, purged by war. It comes, also, at a most interesting stage of its development. Each feature of the game—the service, the ground stroke, the overhead stroke — has had its period of specialisation. The champion teams of to-day are all-round specialists. The game has recovered its balance, and the player who forgets that the drive is the foundation of tennis is as unlikely to win the highest honours as the player who neglects the volley, i This makes for the brilliance of the j game. Modern lawn tennis has a spectacular appeal which draws to its most classical exhibitions larger crowds than can usually be accom- I modated. The space of the game j being confined, every movement is under the spectator's eye. The layman can follow the broad outlines of the play almost as readily as th<=> expert and need not be behindhand in appreciating the high level of sportsmanship, the stern endeavour, and the interplay of personality which characterise a great match. That this great contest for the Davis Cup will yield brilliant tennis need not be doubted. The American players are well furnished with a great variety of strokes and they have a powerful attack. Against them Australasia pits the youth and fire of Mr. Patterson and the unequalled generalship of Mr. Brookes. Whichever team wins the matches will be clean and sportsmanlike. There is nothing pe\tty in international lawn tennis, and the game will be best served if the best team wins. Aucklanders may be excused the frailty of hoping that the best team will prove to be the Australians, with whom, through the genius of the late Mr. Wilding— whose memory will be fittingly honoured to-day—the prestige of New Zealand tennis is inseparably linked. i