INTERNATIONAL TENNIS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19254, 17 February 1926, Page 11

INTERNATIONAL TENNIS.

IE.NGLEN-WILLS MATCH. FRENCH PLAYER WINS. TWO FIRST SETS ANNEXED. GAMBLING SPIRIT DEPLORED. By Telegraph—Press Association— Copyright. (Received 12.25 a.m.) A and N.Z. PARIS. Feb. 16. The weather was favourable for today's lawn tennis match between Mdlle. Suzanne Lenglen, the Frei eh woman champion, and Miss Helen W ills, the American representative player. Lnprecedented interest was tajcen in the contest. The French player won the first set by the comfortable margin of 6 games to 3. The second set was more even, but Mdlle. Lenglen also annexed it by / games to 5. Prior to the match the papers devoted lengthy articles to the contest and published" a multitude of photographs. Publicity was worked up to the utmost limit. Miss Wills denied a rumour that she had cut her knee in a fall yesterday morning. She said she expected to play as well as she had ever done. Mdlle Lenglen said: I do not like such a spectacle as there will be to-day, but as Miss Wills has won her half of the tourna-, ment and I have won my half, we must meet. Let us hope it will be over as speedily and as painlessly as possible. "I am glad in the interests of the game to meet an American champion, but I object strongly to this Americanisation of the sport in France." Considerable discussion has been evoked amcfrig tennis players at Cannes by the reported intention of players of international repute to expose the commercialisation scandal. They promise exposures that will surprise the sporting world and show how a gambling ring has gripped Riviera tennis. They threaten to present a case to the British, the American and other federations in order to obtain a ruling on the black-listing of the Riviera unless the game is re-established on a clean basis. A new element has added interest to the contest. This is a letter which has been received from Fraulein Nepach, the German champion, announcing her arrival at Cannes on March 17, and expressing her wish to meet the winner.