New Seedlings

TENNIS

The invited Russians never showed up, but 272 other tennis hopefuls did. Seventy-six players from 28 nations on both sides of the Iron Curtain even whizzed in on a chartered plane from Amsterdam, poor-mouthing in many tongues that they were used to clay courts and expected to play miserably on the grass. Australia sent seven men, and the Common Market chipped in two each from Belgium and The Netherlands, four from France, three from Germany and one from Italy. But for the first time in the eight dreary years since Tony Trabert won the men's singles, the U.S. was in a let-'em-come mood on the eve of the national championships at Forest Hills.

Flash, Flay, Fly. The big reason was a U.S.-Australia switch in roles. Time was, and not so long ago, that wave after wave of bony-faced, floppy-haired Australians would flash into Forest Hills, flay the U.S. amateurs, and fly off with all the prizes. The top Aussies might then turn professional, but Australia was so deep in first-rank tennis players that it hardly made a difference; next year's wave would be just as devastating. Last week Australia had to be content with a one-man wave and a wavelet--second-seeded Roy Emerson and fifth-seeded Ken Fletcher. Emerson won at Forest Hills back in 1961 but lost this year at Wimbledon.

Emerson's old spot as top-seeded player at Forest Hills was taken over by Chuck McKinley, 22, the power-driving Texan who beat all comers at Wimbledon in July. McKinley's stunning win in England (he never lost a set, polished off Australia's Fred Stolle in the finals 9-7, 6-1, 6-4) evoked comforting shades of Trabert and Don Budge and clearly established him as America's--and perhaps the world's--best tennis amateur. McKinley followed up Wimbledon with a slamming defense of his national clay courts championship, an off-form loss to Mexico's Rafael Osuna in the American Zone semifinal Davis Cup matches, and a quick comeback win over Osuna's partner, Antonio Palafox.

Pout, Curse, Hurl. For the first time in years, the U.S.'s top-seeded player has some sturdy new seedlings to back him up. In the third-ranked slot, behind McKinley and Emerson, is Denny Ralston, 21, of Bakersfield, Calif. When Ralston is good, he is very, very good. When he is bad, he pouts, curses, hurls rackets and tortures himself with despair. On top of his form, this year he has won the national indoor singles and doubles, the national intercollegiate singles and doubles, and his share of the Davis Cup matches against Mexico. At his worst, he has misbehaved badly enough to get a four-month suspension from the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association, and blew his chances at Wimbledon in July by booting away an early match.

Three notches behind Ralston is Eugene Scott, 25, a big server from New York. Yaleman Scott won this year's Eastern grass court championships in South Orange, N.J., last year beat McKinley and Veteran Vic Seixas in indoor matches.

Ralston, or Scott, could succeed McKinley as No. 1 U.S. amateur. Indeed they may have no choice. For, like the Australians before him, McKinley has been offered something like $50,000 to turn professional, and only Forest Hills, the Davis Cup, and a few more months at Texas' Trinity University stand in his way.

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