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Williams' service is generally a fast slice, although he at times
uses an American twist. He is erratic in his delivery, scoring
many aces, but piling up enormous numbers of double-faults. His
ground strokes are made off the rising bound of the ball. They
are flat or slightly sliced. Never topped, But sometimes pulled.
Williams' margin of safety is so small that unless his shot is
perfectly hit it is useless. He hits hard at all times and makes
tremendous numbers of earned points, yet his errors always exceed
them, except when he strikes one of his "super" days.

His volleying is very hard, crisp, and decisive, coupled with an
occasional stop volley. His use of the half volley is unequalled
in modern tennis. His overhead is severe and ordinarily reliable,
although he will take serious slumps overhead. He is a past
master of his own style strokes, but it is an unorthodox game
that should not be copied by the average player.

He is never willing to alter his game for safety's sake, and
defeats himself in sheer defiance by hitting throughout a match
when his strokes are not working. He is greatly praised for this
unwillingness to alter his game in defeat. Personally, I think he
deserves condemnation rather than praise, for it seems
recklessness rather than bravery to thus seek defeat that could
easily be avoided.

Williams takes tennis almost too lightly. Cheery, modest, and
easy-going, he is very popular with all galleries, as his
personality deserves. He is a brilliant ever-interesting light in
any tennis gathering, and his game will always show sheer genius
of execution even while rousing irritation by his refusal to play
safe. He would rather have one super-great day and bad defeats,
than no bad defeats without his day of greatness. Who shall say
he is not right? We may not now agree, but Williams may yet prove
to us he is right and we are wrong.

CHARLES S. GARLAND

The last member of the Davis Cup team and youngest player of the
Americans is Charles S. Garland, the Yale star.

Garland is the perfect stylist, the orthodox model for ground
strokes. He is an example of what stroke perfection can do.

He uses a soft slice service, of no particular peculiarity, yet
places it so well that he turns it into an attack. His forehand
is hit with a full swing, flat racquet face, and a slight top
spin. It is deadly accurate and of moderate speed. He can put the
ball at will anywhere in the court off his forehand. His backhand
is slightly sliced down the line and pulled flat across the
court. It is not a point winner but is an excellent defence. His
overhead is steady, reliable, and accurate, but lacks
aggressiveness. His high volleying is fine, deep, and fast. His
low volleying is weak and uncertain. He anticipates wonderfully,
and covers a tremendous amount of court. His attack is rather
obvious in that he seldom plays the unusual shot, yet his
accuracy is so great that he frequently beats a man who guesses
his shot yet can't reach it.

N. E. Brookes stated he considered Garland one of the greatest
ground-stroke players in the world. This is true of his forehand,
but his backhand lacks punch. His whole game needs speed and
aggressiveness.

He is quiet, modest, and extremely popular. His perfect court
manner and pleasant smile have made Garland a universal favourite
in America and England. His game is the result of hard,
conscientious work. There is no genius about it, and little
natural talent. It is not an interesting game as it lacks
brilliancy, yet it is very sound, and much better than it looks.

VINCENT RICHARDS

Vincent Richards, National junior Champion of America and the
most remarkable boy playing tennis, is a distinct personality.
Richards, who is now only seventeen, won the Men's Doubles
Championship of America at the age of fifteen. Richards is a born
tennis player and a great tennis genius.

Richards' service is a fast slice that he follows to the net. It
is speedy and very accurate. His ground strokes are both slice
and drive, although the basis of his game is slice. He meets the
ball on the rise and "spoons" it off his forehand. It is low,
fast, but none too sure. His backhand shot is a fast twisting
slice that is remarkably effective and very excellent as a
defence. He is learning a flat drive.

His volleying is the great feature of his game. He is the
greatest natural volleyer I have ever seen. Low and high
volleying, fore- and backhand is perfect in execution. His half
volleying is phenomenal. His overhead is very severe for a boy,
and carries great speed for so small a person, but it is inclined
to be slightly erratic. He is tremendously fast on his feet, but
it inclined to be lazy.

Vincent Richards has the greatest natural aptitude and equipment
of any tennis player I have ever seen. Against it he has a
temperament that is inclined to carelessness and laziness. He
tends to sulkiness, which he is rapidly outgrowing. He is a
delightful personality on the court, with his slight figure,
tremendous speed, and merry smile. He is a second "Gus" Touchard
in looks and style. I hope to see him develop to be the greatest
player the world has ever seen. He gives that promise. The matter
rests in Richards' hands, as his worst enemy is his temperament.

At his best he is to-day the equal of the top flight in the
world. At his worst he is a child. His average is fine but not
great. Travel, work, sincere effort, and a few years, should turn
this astonishing boy into a marvellous player.

R. L. MURRAY

The new "California Comet," successor to M. E. M'Loughlin, is the
usual sobriquet for R. L. Murray, now of Buffalo. Murray won the
National Crown in 1917-1918.

His service is of the same cyclonic character as M'Loughlin.
Murray is left-handed. He hits a fast cannon-ball delivery of
great speed and an American twist of extreme twist. His ground
strokes are not good, and he rushes the net at every opportunity.
His forehand drive is very fast, excessively topped, and
exceedingly erratic. His backhand is a "poke." His footwork is
very poor on both shots. He volleys very well, shooting deep to
the baseline and very accurately. His shoulder-high volleys are
marvellous. His overhead is remarkable for its severity and
accuracy. He seldom misses an overhead ball.

Murray is a terrifically hard worker, and tires himself out very
rapidly by prodigious effort. He is a hard fighter and a hard man
to beat. He works at an enormous pace throughout the match.

He is large, spare, rangy, with dynamic energy, and a wonderful
personality that holds the gallery. His smile is famous, while
his sense of humour never deserts him. A sportsman to his
finger-tips, there is no more popular figure in American tennis
than Murray. His is not a great game. It is a case of a great
athlete making a second-class game first class, by sheer power of
personality and fighting ability. He is really a second
M'Loughlin in his game, his speed, and his personal charm.

WATSON WASHBURN

In contrast to Murray, Watson Washburn plays a cool,
never-hurried, never-flurried game that is unique in American
tennis.

There is little that is noteworthy of Washburn's game. His
service is a well-placed slice. His ground strokes are a peculiar
"wrist-slap," almost a slice. His volleying fair, his overhead
steady but not remarkable. Just a good game, well rounded but not
unique. Why is. Washburn great? Because, behind the big round
glasses that are the main feature of Washburn on the tennis
court, is a brain of the first water, directing and developing
that all-round game. There is no more brilliant student of men in
games than Washburn, and his persistence of attack is second only
to Brookes'.

Washburn, too, is a popular player, but not in the same sense as
Murray. Murray appeals to the imagination of the crowd, Washburn
to its academic instincts. Washburn is a strategist, working out
his match with mathematical exactness, and always checking up his
men as he goes along.

There is no tennis player whose psychology I admire more than
Washburn's. He is never beaten until the last point is played,
and he is always dangerous, no matter how great a lead you hold
over him.

Another case of the second-class game being made first class, but
this time it is done by mental brilliancy.

WALLACE F. JOHNSON

Here is another case of a second-class game being used in a
first-class manner, getting first-class results through the
direction of a first-class tennis brain. Johnson is not the
brilliant, analytical mind of Washburn, but for pure tennis
genius Johnson ranks nearly the equal of Brookes.

Johnson is a one-stroke player. He uses a peculiar slice shot hit
from the wrist. He uses it in service, ground strokes, volleying,
and lobbing. It is a true one-stroke game, yet by sheer audacity
of enterprise and wonderful speed of foot Wallace Johnson has for
years been one of the leading players of America.

SAMUEL HARDY

The overwhelming success of the American Davis Cup team in 1920,
when we brought back the cup from Australia was due in no small
measure to the wonderful generalship displayed by one man, our
Captain Samuel Hardy.

The hardest part of any such trip is the attention to training,
relaxation and accommodations for the team and only perfect
judgment can give the comfort so needed by a team. It is to
Captain Hardy that the team owes its perfect condition throughout
the entire 3,000 miles we journeyed after the cup. Yet Captain
Hardy's success was far bigger than that, for by his tact,
charming personality and splendid sportsmanship at all times he
won a place for us in the hearts of every country we visited.
Hardy, although a non-playing member of the team, is a great
tennis player. He is one of the best doubles players America has
produced. His clever generalship and wonderful knowledge of the
game proved of inestimable value to the team in laying out our
plan of attack in the Davis Cup matches themselves.

Clever, charming, just and always full of the most delightful
humour, Hardy was an ideal Captain who kept his team in the best
of spirits no matter how badly we might have been playing or how
depressing appeared our outlook.

CARL FISCHER

I am including in my analysis of players a boy who is just
gaining recognition but who I believe is to be one of the great
stars of the future, Carl Fischer of Philadelphia.

Young Fischer, who is only 19, is a brilliant, hard hitting
left-hander. He has already won the Eastern Pennsylvania
Championship, been runner-up to Wallace Johnson in the
Pennsylvania State, Philadelphia Championship and Middle States
event, besides holding the junior Championship of Pennsylvania
for two years. He won the University of Pennsylvania Championship
in his freshman year.

His service is a flat delivery of good speed, at times, verging
on the American twist. His ground game carries top spin drives
forehand and backhand. His volleying and overhead are severe and
powerful but prone to be erratic. Fischer is an all court player
of the most modern type. He is aggressive, almost too much so at
times as he wastes a great deal of energy by useless rushing. He
needs steadiness and a willingness to await his opening but gives
promise of rounding into a first class player, as his stroke
equipment is second to none.

MARSHALL ALLEN

Far out in the Pacific Northwest in Seattle, Washington, is a
young player who bids fair to some day be world famous. It is
quite possible he may never arrive at all.

Marshall Allen is a typical Western player. Allen has a hurricane
service that is none too reliable. His forehand drive is
reminiscent of McLoughlin. It is a furious murderous attack when
it goes in and quite useless when it is off. Allen's backhand is
a flat drive played to either side with equal ease. At present it
is erratic but shows great promise. Allen volleys at times
brilliantly, but is uncertain and at times misses unaccountably.
His overhead is remarkably brilliant and severe, but also
erratic. He reaches great heights and sinks to awful depths. If
Marshall Allen consolidates his game and refines the material he
has at hand he should be a marvellous player. If he allows his
love of speed to run away with his judgment at the expense of
accuracy and steadiness he will never rise above the second
class. Time will tell the story. I look to see him world famous.

OUR RISING JUNIORS

For a moment I am going to pay tribute to some boys who I look to
see among the stars of the future. They are all juniors less than
eighteen at the time of writing.

First in importance comes Arnold W. Jones, of Providence, R. I.,
who accompanied me to France and England in 1921, where he made a
fine record. Young Jones has a splendid all-court game, with a
remarkable forehand drive but a tendency to weariness in his
backhand and service. His volleying is excellent. His overhead
erratic.

Second to Jones I place Charles Watson III of Philadelphia. Here
is a boy with a most remarkable resemblance to Chuck Garland in
style of his game. Watson has a fine service, beautiful ground
strokes fore and backhand and a more aggressive volley than
Garland. His overhead lacks punch. He is the cleverest court
general among the juniors.

Phillip Bettens of San Francisco is a possible successor to Billy
Johnston. Bettens has a terrific forehand drive and a rushing net
attack. He needs to steady up his game, but he is a player of
great promise.

Armand Marion of Seattle, Washington, is another boy with a
finely rounded game who, given experience and seasoning, bids
fair to become a great star. Marion does not have enough punch
yet and, needs to gain decisiveness of attack.

Charles Wood of New York, W. W. Ingraham of Providence, Milo
Miller and Eric Wood of Philadelphia, John Howard of Baltimore,
and others are of equal class and of nearly equal promise to the
boys I have mentioned.

In the younger class of boys those under 15, one finds many
youngsters already forming real style. The boy who shows the
greatest promise and today the best all-round game, equalling in
potential power even Vincent Richards at the same age, is
Alexander L. (Sandy) Wiener of Philadelphia. At fourteen young
Weiner is a stylist of the highest all-court type.

Among the other boys who may well develop into stars in the
future are Meredith W. Jones, Arthur Ingraham, Jr., Andrew Clarke
Ingraham, Miles Valentine, Raymond Owen, Richard Chase, Neil
Sullivan, Henry Neer, and Edward Murphy.

There are many other great players I would like to analyse, but
space forbids. Among our leaders are Roland Roberts, John
Strachan, C. J. Griffin, Davis, and Robert Kinsey in California;
Walter T. Hayes, Ralph Burdock, and Heath Byford in the Middle
West; Howard Voshell, Harold Throckmorton, Conrad B. Doyle, Craig
Biddle, Richard Harte, Colket Caner, Nathaniel W. Niles, H. C.
Johnson, Dean Mathey, and many others of equal fame in the East.

CHAPTER XIII. BRITISH ISLES

J. C. PARKE

There is no name in tennis history of the past decade more famous
than that of J. C. Parke. In twelve months, during 1912 and 1913,
he defeated Brookes, Wilding, and M'Loughlin--a notable record;
and now in 1920, after his wonderful work in the World War, he
returns to tennis and scores a decisive victory over W. M.
Johnston.

Parke is essentially a baseline player. His service is soft,
flat, but well placed. His ground strokes are hit with an almost
flat racquet face and a peculiar short swing. He uses a
pronounced snap of the wrist. He slices his straight backhand
shot, but pulls his drive 'cross court. It is Parke's famous
running drive down the line that is the outstanding feature of
his game. Parke was a ten-second hundred-yard man in college, and
still retains his remarkable speed of foot. He hits his drive
while running at top speed and translates his weight to the ball.
It shoots low and fast down the line. It is a marvellous stroke.

Parke's volleying is steady and well placed but not decisive. His
overhead is reliable and accurate, but lacks "punch." The great
factor of Parke's game is his uncanny ability to produce his
greatest game under the greatest stress. I consider him one of
the finest match players in the world. His tactical knowledge and
brainy attack are all the more dangerous, because he has
phenomenal power of defence and fighting qualities of the highest
order. There is no finer sportsman in tennis than Parke.
Generous, quiet, and modest, Parke is deservedly a popular figure
with the tennis world.

A. R. F. KINGSCOTE

The most recent star to reach the heights of fame in English
tennis is Major A. R. F. Kingscote. Kingscote has played good
tennis for some years; but it was only in 1919, following his
excellent work in the War, that he showed his true worth. He
defeated Gobert in sequence sets in the Davis Cup tie at
Deauville, and followed by defeating Anderson in Australia and
carrying Patterson to a hard match. Since then he has steadily
improved and this season found him the leading figure of the
British team.

Kingscote played much of his early tennis with R. N. Williams in
Switzerland during 1910 and 1911. The effect of this training is
easily seen on his game to-day for, without Williams' dash and
extreme brilliancy, their strokes are executed in very much the
same style.

Kingscote's service is a fast slice, well placed and cleverly
disguised. It carries a great deal of pace and twist. His ground
strokes are hit off the rising bound of the ball, with a flat
raquet face or a slight slice. His wonderful speed of foot
offsets his lack of height, and he hits either side with equal
facility. There are no gaps in Kingscote's game. It is perfectly
rounded. His favourite forehand shot is 'cross court, yet he can
hit equally well down the line. His backhand is steady, very
accurate and deceptive, but rather lacks speed. His volleying is
remarkable for his court covering and angles, but is not the
decisive win of Williams or Johnston. He is the best volleyer in
the British Isles. His overhead is reliable and accurate for so
short a man, but at times is prone to lack speed.

Kingscote is a sound tactician without the strategic brilliance
of Parke. He is a fine match player and dogged fighter. Witness
his 5-set battle with me in the Championships, after being match
point down in the fourth set, and his 5-set struggle with
Johnston in the Davis Cup. It is a slight lack of decisiveness
all round that keeps Kingscote just a shade below the first
flight. He is a very fine player, who may easily become a
top-notch man. His pleasant, modest manner and generous
sportsmanship make him an ideal opponent, and endear him to the
gallery.

H. ROPER BARRETT

One of the real tennis tacticians, a man who is to-day a veteran
of many a notable encounter, yet still dangerous at all times, is
H. Roper Barrett.

A member of every Davis Cup team since the matches were
inaugurated, a doubles player of the highest strategy, Roper
Barrett needs no introduction or analysis. His, game is soft. His
service looks a joke. In reality it is hard to hit, for Barrett
pushes it to the most unexpected places. His ground strokes,
soft, short, and low, are ideal doubles shots. He angles off the
ball with a short shove in the direction. He can drive hard when
pressed, but prefers to use the slow poke.

His volleying is the acme of finesse. He angles soft to the
side-lines, stop volleys the hardest drives successfully. He
picks openings with an unerring eye. His overhead lacks "punch,"
but is steady and reliable.

Barrett is a clever mixer of shots. He is playing the unexpected
shot to the unexpected place. His sense of anticipation is
remarkable, and he retrieves the most unusual shots. It is his
great tennis tactics that make him noteworthy. His game is round
but not wonderful.

THE LOWES, A. H. AND F. G.

The famous brothers, called indiscriminately the Lowes, are two
of the best baseline players in the British Isles. Both men play
almost identical styles, and at a distance are very hard to tell
apart.

Gordon Lowe uses a slice service, while Arthur serves with a
reverse spin. Neither man has a dangerous delivery. Both are
adequate and hard to win earned points from.

The ground strokes of the Lowes are very orthodox. Full swing,
top spin drives fore- and backhand, straight or 'cross court, are
hit with equal facility. The Lowes volley defensively and only
come in to the let when pulled in by a short shot. Their overhead
work is average.

Their games are not startling. There is nothing to require much
comment. Both men are excellent tennis players of the true
English school: fine base- line drivers, but subject to defeat by
any aggressive volleyer. It is a lack of aggressiveness that
holds both men down, for they are excellent court coverers, fine
racquet wielders, but do not rise to real heights. The Lowes
could easily defeat any player who was slightly off his game, as
they are very steady and make few mistakes. Neither would defeat
a first- class player at his best.

T. M. MAVROGORDATO

One of the most consistent winners in English tennis for a span
of years is a little man with a big name, who is universally and
popularly known as "Mavro."

"Mavro" added another notable victory in 1920, when he defeated
R. N. Williams in the last eight in the World Championships.
"Mavro" has always been a fine player, but he has never quite
scaled the top flight.

His game is steadiness personified. He shoves his service in the
court at the end of a prodigious swing that ends in a poke. It
goes where he wishes it. His ground strokes are fine, in splendid
form, very accurate and remarkably fast for so little effort.
Mavro is not large enough to hit hard, but owing to his
remarkable footwork he covers a very large territory in a
remarkably short space of time. His racquet work is a delight to
a student of orthodox form. His volleying is accurate, steady,
well placed but defensive. He has no speed or punch to his
volley. His overhead is steady to the point of being unique. He
is so small that it seems as if anyone could lob over his head,
but his speed of foot is so great that he invariably gets his
racquet on it and puts it back deep.

Mavro turns, defence into attack by putting the ball back in play
so often that his opponent gets tired hitting it and takes
unnecessary chances. His accuracy is so great that it makes up
for his lack of speed. His judgment is sound but not brilliant.
He is a hard-working, conscientious player who deserves, his
success.

There are many other players who are interesting studies. The two
Australians, now living in England, and to all intents and
purposes Englishmen, Randolph Lycett and F. M. B. Fisher, are
distinct and interesting types of players. C. P. Dixon, Stanley
Doust, M. J. G. Ritchie, Max Woosnam, the rising young star, P.
M. Davson, A. E. Beamish, W. C. Crawley, and scores of other
excellent players, will carry the burden of English tennis
successfully for some years. Yet new blood must be found to
infuse energy into the game. Speed is a necessity in English
tennis if the modern game is to reach its greatest height in the
British Isles.

Youth must be seen soon, if the game in the next ten years is to
be kept at its present level. Parke, Mavro, Ritchie, Dixon,
Barrett, etc., cannot go on for ever, and young players must be
developed to take their places. The coming decade is the crucial
period of English tennis. I hope and believe it will be
successfully passed.

CHAPTER XIV. FRANCE AND JAPAN

France

ANDRE GOBERT

One of the most picturesque figures and delightfully polished
tennis games in the world are joined in that volatile,
temperamental player, Andre Gobert of France. He is a typically
French product, full of finesse, art, and nerve, surrounded by
the romance of a wonderful war record of his people in which he
bore a magnificent part, yet unstable, erratic, and uncertain. At
his best he is invincible. He is the great master of tennis. At
his worst he is mediocre. Gobert is at once a delight and a
disappointment to a student of tennis.

Gobert's service is marvellous. It is one of the great deliveries
of the world. His great height (he is 6 feet 4 inches) and
tremendous reach enable him to hit a flat delivery at frightful
speed, and still stand an excellent chance of it going in court.
He uses very little twist, so the pace is remarkably fast. Yet
Gobert lacks confidence in his service. If his opponent handles
it successfully Gobert is apt to slow it up and hit it soft, thus
throwing away one of the greatest assets.

His ground strokes are hit in beautiful form. Gobert is the
exponent of the most perfect form in the world to-day. His swing
is the acme of beauty. The whole stroke is perfection. He hits
with a flat, slightly topped drive, feet in excellent position,
and weight well controlled. It is uniform, backhand and forehand.
His volleying is astonishing. He can volley hard or soft, deep or
short, straight or angled with equal ease, while his tremendous
reach makes him nearly impossible to pass at the net. His
overhead is deadly, fast, and accurate, and he kills a lob from
anywhere in the court.

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