LAWN TENNIS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16512, 24 August 1921, Page 3

LAWN TENNIS.

EGLIPSE OF BRITISH LAWN j TENNIS, ! A NEW CHAMPION FROM SPAIN. (Special to the ee Star. ’) LONDON, June SO. For over a. week of the lawn tennis tournament at "W imbledon, English playera clung to the hope that we should put at least one man into the centre court who would hold his own against the all-comers from the various parts of the world. In fact, at times w© had even told ourselves that we might have a player who would beat Til den for the title of world’s champion. On© by one, however, the British hopes passed out of the competition, so that by the time the semifinal was reached not one Englishman was left to tell the story. The worldwide passion for lawn tennis can perhaps best be illustrated by pointing out that the four semi-finalists for the singles’ championship came from Spain, Japan, South Africa and America. Lycett, one of the men to whom we had looked to uphold the name of English, was beaten in a gallant fight against odds by Shimidzu, and two days later Major A. R. F. Kingscote went under in no half-hearted fashion to a Spaniard, Alonso. Possibly the success of the whirlwind man from Spain was the most unexpected happening of the whole tournament, for here was a player who had had little experience on grass courts, and of whom practically nothing had been heard until he appeared at Wimbledon. Before his arrival, though, Tilden had dropped a hint which might have warned the spectators not to expect Major Kingscote to half a is the fastest man on a tennis court I have even seen,” was Tilden’s oninio n, and against “ England’s hope ” Alsonso proved the truth of Tilden’s summing up. One would hesitate to describe Alonso as the most brilliant player ever seen at Wimbledon, for there are men —Tilden himself, by way of example—with a greater variety of strokes, but Alonso must be awarded the prize for agility. From start to finish of a match, Alonso is always on his toes, and although for the most part he plays his shots off the ground from the base-lino, he also possesses a deadly smash, with which he makes many winners when the opportunity for going up to the net presents itself. Compared with Alonso, Kingscote seemed slow and ordinary, and on the whole rather disappointing, though it should be remembered that in lawn tennis, in most other games, a man only plays as -well as his opponent allows him to do. And at twentythree a man who is an expert at the game is likely to find his staying powders extremely valuable, as Alonso did at Wimbledon.

To most people it came as a genuine surprise to find that England had a mixed doubles pair equal to knocking out Tilden and his partner, Mrs Mallory, but Max Woosnam, with Miss Howkins as a partner, succeeded in doing this. It should not be overlooked, though, that so far as America is concerned, mixed doubles are only looked upon as a sort of makeshift game at best, and it is held, by the men players in the States that the playing of mixed doubles affects their game adversely. Whether -phis is true or not. it is certainly a fact that the great Tilden seemed rather at sea on many occasions in the mixed doubles, which resulted in his defeat. Ail the same, the wav young Miss Howkins beat the singles’ champion time after time provided a source of renewed hope for Britain. If this girl progresses in the next two or three years as she has in the past, she may yet be a world beater.