BRILLIANCE OF TILDEN.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19351, 11 December 1924, Page 4

BRILLIANCE OF TILDEN.

* ENGLISH EXPERT’S TRIBUTE. Although several of the younger stars in England have shown great promise, the lawn tennis critics are convinced that world supremacy will bo found in America for some time to come. TUden is hailed as the leading player in the world, and critics in England state that there are others in the United States—Richards, for example—who are advancing at such a pace that when Tilden’s day has passed there will be players equally as competent to take his place. The expert of the English Field, basing his conclusions on the national championships in America, recently stated that “no American gathering can ever dim the lustre or impair the tradition of Wimbledon; it is the birthplace of the game and it remains its headquarters. But the historian, if he be faithful to the truth, must acknowledge that the standard of play in the American championships was materially higher than the standard of play in the British, and he must go further and say that Tilden's display against Johnston in the final round transcended in speed, precision, and dominance any exhibition given at any time in the world. “We had thought Tilden had reached his climax last year, when, taking two love sets from Alonsc, and beating Norton in three straight without removing his sweater, he had overwhelmed Johnston, fresh from his Wimbledon victory, without coming to the net at all. We were mistaken, for the Tilden who defeated Johnston in the last final round was a stroke better in each game than the Tilden of 1925 at Philadelphia. He was meeting a Johnston who, the previous day, had taken 16 games in succession from Gerald Patterson, and who came on to the court against the champion cherishing the belief that the day of his revenge had dawned. But no player of the past could have lived against the tennis that Tilden played. Johnston’s task was defeated before he went on to the court, the super-Tilden was waiting, and there was no stemming the attack. “It was cruelly hot on the last three days of the championships. How the players even with the applications of iced water to their beads, could have faced the ordeal of five sets in such weather is a mystery that only non-English training has solved. And it should be further noted that only at the conclusion of the five seta were any of the players greatly distressed. The Doherty's on their first visit to Newport more than 20 years ago, had to yield to the weather, and Brookes agreed with mo that the going in the Doherty era wag considerably slower than it was at Forest Hills this year. The stamina of the American player is a big factor in his play. It is something that the Englishman does not have, and if he is to bring lawn tennis honours, back to England he will have to acquire more speed and a greater stamina.’’