JACK CRAWFORD

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLVIII, Issue 21555, 18 January 1940, Page 8

JACK CRAWFORD

Gentleman And Player “To-day, after almost a generation in the game, Jack Crawford is the greatest crowd-pleaser in Australian tennis,” writes H. A. de Lacy, in the “Sporting Globe.” “If the intensity of his game has somewhat faded, the delightful Crawford touch remains. His effortless stroke making never fails to enthuse Kooyong patrons. Years ago I described Crawford’s tennis as that of a fencing master with a rapier, facing a peasant with a broadsword. To-day the thrust might not be so scintillating. Others have crowded Crawford from the front page, but if he plays tennis till he is a greybeard, John Bromwich, the No. 1 of to-day, will never rank with Crawford in the crowd’s estimation. The crowd shares with Crawford every perilous moment

in a close grim struggle in which he is a principal. Crawford on the court looks the immaculate tennis player. He is never ruffled. The young man of to-c’.ay tries to copy and does not quite make the grade. “To-day, because of the Crawford influence, we have a generation of youngsters whose immaculate stroking delights the crowd, and the youngsters themselves and maybe their coaches if they have a coach, but which faits to win the points that a little more robustness would gain. To-day there is in Austrr”a a growing generation of complacent stylists. In America there is a flock of tennis hawks—killers who go for their prey without the appreciation of the art shown in Australia. Could the ‘stylists’ survive the ‘killers’ if called on to do so? The Davis Cup men— Adrian Quist and Harry Hopman—say no. And the greatest stylist of them

all, Jack Crawford himself pleads for a generation of players who will hit the ball with more devil. “Crawford told me that the young Australians would have to develop more robustness in their methods, more devil if they are to overthrow the new race in the United States. The Americans hate to rally the ball; they go for the kill early, Crawford said. But reverting to the unruffled tennis mien of our greatest crowd-pleaser to-day; Jack Crawford could well be copied by several of our prominent players, particularly Bromwich, in respect to court demeanour. “Tennis is an intimate game, and players are easily misunderstood. A footballer might curse the kick for goal that goes astray, a cricketer might talk to himself about the dropped catch, but distance supplies the smoke screen to temperament. The tennis player is less fortunate. He might stake all on a sideline shot, and see the ball just miss. If he throws down his racket in petulance he makes a display. If he feels he must kick a wayward ball into an adjoining court, as one Davis Cup man did recently, he should take time out and try to understand the reasons why the gallery like Crawford.” Fixtures: January 20—South Canterbury v. North Otago, at Maori Park. February 5-12—New Zealand championships at M’ amar, Wellington. February 10 —South Canterbury v. Mid-Canterbury, at Ashburton. March 2—South Canterbury v. Otago, at Timaru. March 16—South Canterbury v. Canterbury. at Christchurch. February 24, March 2 and 9—South .Canterbury junior championships, at Maori Park. North Otago v. South Canterbury: On Saturday next at Maori Park, the first representative match of the season will be played against a strong North Otago team. The teams have been announced as follows: — South Canterbury: W. E. Renton, P. Durning, F. G. Lewis, G. Innes-Jone.s, J. S. Satterthwaite; Miss S. Ussher, Mrs W. E. Renton, Misses E. Gawith, B. Sutherland, J. Doyle, E. Patchett. North Otago: :A. Feathers, W. Giffin, L. Green, S. G. McDougall, L. MacKinnon, W. Shea; Misses D. Miller, E. Baikie, A. Blyth, J. Corrigall, J. Gunn, Mrs M. Robinson.