Davis Cup

When King Frederick Perry I of England abdicated the throne of amateur tennis last autumn to woo the almighty dollar, the heir-apparent was Prince Donald Budge of the U. S., unless .aging Pretender Jack Crawford of Australia could make good his claim. At stake was more than the throne. Without King Frederick, England had little chance of retaining the Davis Cup, and the challenge round for that 37-year-old receptacle, which Australasia and France have each won six times, Great Britain nine times and the U. S. ten times (but not since 1926), would really be the American Zone finals between Australia and the U. S.

Last week-end the court of claims met at Forest Hills, L. I. Pretender Crawford's cohorts were weakened by an attack of intestinal flu which had laid low Adrian Quist, and an infected right hand which hampered Vivian McGrath, the curly-haired eccentric who plays a two-fisted backhand. Left at Crawford's side was only blond young John Bromwich who, even more eccentric than McGrath, is ambidextrous as well as two-fisted.

Crawford's square-headed racquet still commanded such respect that expert doubt about Budge's ability to beat him was perfectly honest before the match began. And doubt still assailed the U. S. squad's brain trust after they had picked Bryan ("Bitsy") Grant, the lionhearted, 5 ft. 4 in. Atlanta tumblebug, as No. 2 U. S. singles player. But all doubts evaporated when, as so often happens in sport, what had promised to be a titanic struggle turned out to be nothing of the sort.

Serving murderously, stroking like precise lightning, the attenuated, red-haired Budge polished off Crawford 6-1, 6-3, 6-2. Indefatigable little Grant had small trouble with 18-year-old Bromwich, 6-2, 7-5, 6-1. When Budge & Gene Mako demolished Crawford & McGrath 7-5, 6-1, 8-6 in the doubles next day, the issue was settled. The singles matches that followed--Budge v. Bromwich and Grant v. Crawford--were purely matters of form. In one, Bromwich managed to get Australia its first set while Budge was beating him 6-2, 6-3, 5-7. 6-1. In the other, Grant amazed even his own admirers by finishing off Crawford 6-0, 6-2, 7-5. Final score for the U. S. was 5-to-0.

Next obstacle for the U. S. team will be the Interzone finals next month, probably against Germany, which plays Italy in the third round of the European Zone matches next week. From last week's matches, experts drew two conclusions :

1 ) Grant should have played in a major Davis Cup match long before 1937. Be cause his legs and arms are so short that he has to spend most of his time chasing the ball, Grant frequently falls down, has become dextrous at returning shots while sitting on the ground. This has caused experts to underestimate the soundness of his game, which has enabled him to beat most of the world's best players at one time or another. Grant has been struggling to get on the U. S. Davis Cup team for the past five years.

2) While the U. S. was beating Australia, Heiner Henkel of Germany was winning the French hard-court singles championship at Paris. In the final he beat Bunny Austin, England's Davis Cup No. i, 6-1, 6-4, 6-3. Heretofore 22-year-old Henkel has been regarded as nothing much more than a handicap for Germany's No. 1 singles player, Baron Gottfried von Cramm. His performance last week suggested that, just as Australia turned out much weaker than expected, Germany may turn out much stronger.

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