Grudge Match

What started the fireworks in the Pacific Southwest Tennis Championships last week was a howling headline in the tabloid Los Angeles Mirror: "LARSEN STUPID, LUCKY"--SCHROEDER. All week long, spectators hoped for a Schroeder-Larsen match. They got it in the semifinal round.

Ted Schroeder, better known for his tennis than his diplomacy, felt he had good reason to sound off; Art Larsen, the new national champion, had been saying that he, not Schroeder, should have been named to the Davis Cup team. Ted had not competed for the national championship, and he had lost three Davis Cup matches ("I take all the blame"), but he was still sure he could take Larsen any day in the week. Not particularly expecting to be quoted, Ted popped: "The trouble with Mr. Larsen is he is too stupid to realize how lucky he was [to win the Nationals]." Ted went on: "Larsen not only has never beaten me [in four matches], but he has yet to take one set from me."

When he saw the story, Schroeder was as startled as Larsen, but he made no apologies. When the two met in their semifinal match Larsen promptly made Ted swallow a few of his words by taking the first set, 6-4, the second, 6-3. Ted could not get his big serve banging in, and Larsen's deftly angled net shots were leaving him frozen-footed.

But high-strung Champion Larsen began to be visibly annoyed with the ball boys. Carried away by their private sentiments, the youngsters clapped for Schroeder (with the rest of the crowd) when he once broke Larsen's service. After that, the ball boys never seemed able to do the right thing, whether they chose to retrieve a netted ball for Larsen or let it lie. Meanwhile, Schroeder found his big serve, ran out the last three sets, 10-8, 6-3, 6-0.

Schroeder congratulated Larsen on an improved game. Larsen explained his failure: "I lost my touch." In the final, against Australian Champion Frank Sedgman, Schroeder lost his touch too, and with it the Southwest title, 9-7, 6-3, 6-2.

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