LAWN TENNIS.

Waikato Times, Volume 102, Issue 17220, 1 October 1927, Page 19 (Supplement)

LAWN TENNIS.

THE CHAMPION IN ACTION. LACOSTE SHOWS SUPERIORITY. Great things have happened in lawn tennis in the United States. The victory of France in Hie Davis Cup is inspiring to players and nations everywhere. it was timely and appropriate. Now ttic defeat of the Great Tilden in both Davis Gup and American singles by Lacoste is a big event. The hour of youth has once again' swung round, as it generally does in sport. . . . Such a contest must have been heart-breaking to Tilden. But, while Lacoste has proved _ his superiority, Tilden goes down in a blaze of glory for his fighting capacity. “Well tried, Bill. You can’t last for ever!” writes “Austral” in the Referee. The much-debated question, whether Tilden, Cocliet, or Lacoste is today’s supreme genius of lawn tennis is now settled beyond all argument by the defeat of Tilden in the final round of the American championship. _At Paris Tilden had two match points against Lacoste before the colt won. At Wimbledon Cocliet only heat flilden by a lucky effort. Even in the Davis Cup Tilden was tired, while Lacoste,

was fresh. Now all started on an equal basis, and Lacoste lias not only beaten Tilden, but has done so without the loss of a set, and, close as the sets were, the colt always had the final punch of the superior player. Lacoste now takes the place in the tennis world formerly held in turn by William Renshaw, Dr. Pim, U. F. Doherty and H. L. Doherty, Norman Brookes, and W. T. Tilden, in turn, as the unchallenged champion of the world. Being only 22, Lacoste holds that proud title at an earlier age than any other man. In those earlier days also the champions mentioned did not meet their rivals on such equal terms. In the case of Lacoste there is no possible excuse to offer by the supporters of the claim of any other rival, if there are now any. He has proved his supremacy beyond peradventure,' and is likely to go still farther ahead of ali rivals, for he is as young as any player who could possibly be proposed as his successor.

Vive, La France! She has three great players in Lacoste, Gochct, and Borotra, all young, and is likely to hold the Davis Cup and all championships for many years.

That maims it all the more exciting to read that there is almost a certainty of Borotra, Cochet, and Brugnon coming to Australia next January. They will receive a most hearty welcome, and their visit would do a great deal of good to the game.

* Johnston Wiped Out. ) Lacoste met Johnston in the semi- ■ final, and only beat him G—2, 2—6, G—s, G—l. That is, Johnston made a fight of it for three sets, and then was wiped out. Tiklcn failed to win 1 a set, therefore one might hastily conclude that Johnston did better than 1 Tildcn. That is far from being so. Probably Lacoste felt all through 1 against Johnston that he could wm ■ when he wished. Clearly, unless Lacoste has improved very greatly, Johnston has temporarily or finally dropped right, out of the I forefront. Against Tildcn, Lacoste ' | would feel that he dared not risk the I I loss of a set. He went all out ( 01 ! every set, and that is why in the third set instead of easing up for a spell he felt it safer to carry on and wm white the winning was good. What a fight it must have been— Great as must be the improvement of Lacoste there can he no doubt that Tildcn has fallen off from his greatesu form. Ills records against oilier players have s’ .vn that.. Ills many hard matches against Alonso and one or two defeats by him show a fallino away, even granting that A'lonso lf * fine player. His hard fights with the colt Lott were probably the result oi this falling away. , , Much as wc-desire to give Lacoste every credit for his present unchailemrable supremacy, we have to remember that he was beaten by B°rotra at Wimbledon, and that Cochet then beat Borotra, and Cochet lias since gone down to the colt Hennessey, a d Borotra was beaten decisively Cochct’s defeat, I am inclined to ascribe it to a mental lct-doym Urat ji S always likely to happen after such a j victory as Cochet had had in the Davis Cup. He would relax at first, and was caught with “his bow unbent. If ! he had got through the early rounds 1 his interest in the American cham ! JMJ might have revived, hut when I '■ he met Hennessey he was pi ° aMy St 1 | ! wishing he could get back to Ha c , ! to tell his tennis friends how they won! j the Cup. The American champion- , ! ship would mean little to him. in j is of a different temperament front j I Lacoste, who has been styled the boy , ! veteran.’’ Lacoste, moreover, had his title to retain. Borotra got through well, and only went down to Tilden, which needs no explanation. He is not likely’ to have suffered from any mental let-down, for he is of an entirely sporting spirit, playing always for the love of tlu game, and seldom for the mere prize., though none can rise to an occasion better than the “Bounding Basque.” What a galaxy France has! America did well to have two in Tilden and. Johnston, but France has three-of almost equal merit. Still, it is the fact that those three have stayed almost level for four years that induces me to believe that Tilden and Johnston have come back to them more than they have risen to Tildcn and Johnston. I say this because I think it is extremely unlikely that three players would advance together for four years, being practically equal ajl the time. Lacoste wins by extreme delicacy of 1 ground strokes, using very acute angles to work his opponent out of position, and then finishes off the rally by another acutely angled stroke. If this be so, his game is the perfection of ground strokes, with liLtle use of actual speed of stroke, and probably he i has developed the forecourt game to a j high degree. Norman Brookes did so with the volley. Lacoste seems to do so with his ground strokes. If this is a correct deduction from the cabled details, then Lacoste has developed the kind of game I always liked to see, or in a feeble way to'play. How oflen have I pointed out that when a player like O’Hara Wood guides the ball delicately past a player for his point the gallery always applauds more freely than they do the slam drive or service.

The slow' passing stroke has always, in my experience, received deeper applause from the gallery than the mere hard-hit ball. The American clamour has been for speed at all times, and, while it succeeded, one had to restrain the expression of one’s preference. Clearly Lacoste does not win by sheer speed, though also it is clear that he can hit hard when he want to.