Evening Star Newspaper, February 23, 1930, Page 64

2 THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C., FEBRUARY 23, 1930—PART FIV Hall Lacking in Only One Essential to Become Important.'F actorin U. S. Tennis NEEDS ONLY CONFIDENCE TO GET INTO FRONT RANK as Volleyer; but Lack of Faith in His Game Makes Him Erratic Tennis Player. This is another of a series of stories in which Vincent Richards is analyzing the playing ability of the men chosen for States Davis Cup squad. BY VINCENT RICHARDS, this year’s United International Tennis Star and Former Davis Cup Ace. one of the best American twist services in tennis, a forehand J GILBERT HALL, South Orange, N. J., better known as Gil, has D at times capable of overpowering almos ability as a volleyer which t any opponent, and makes him feafed when he has d approaching shots to come up behind. suChBfiOdesgirée these weapons Hall has never risen to a place in the first 10, and his chances of making the Davis Cup team seem dubious. For one thing, he hasn't more important, in my estimation, yet masterad his backhand. But, is Hall's lack of confidence. If he only had confidence in himself he wouldn't have such difficulty solving his backhand problem, and he wouldn’t lose many of the matches he does. I have known Hall many years, | and have played with him often. | I have seen him absolutely un-| beatable, and have played against him at such times. I remember an exhibition we played a few vears ago on the indoor courts at fongwood Cricket Club. Gil set pace that might have blown g‘llden or Lacoste off the courts. % hadn't had a racket in my Mands in months, but even if I had been in form I don't know whether I could have stood Hall | off. He was smacking that ball| into the corners for placements| before I could get started, and when he came to the net I simply couldn’t pass him. He made vol- leys that stood the gallery on its he{:dls true Hall plays better indoors than out, but I have seen him go great guns on turf and clay also. Even Big Bill Tilden couldn’t do anything against him one day on Rip's courts in New York in a practice match. And last ar, with Fritz Mercur as his partner, all won the national clay court dou- bles championship. Not a Money Player. If Gil only could sustain the form he shows at his best, he would make the first 10 easily. But it happens time after time that after a beautiful match he will take a licking from a second- | Tate player. Gil doesn't seem a money gll:y!r—thlt is, he isn't able to produce best when it means the most. | When that twist service, with one of the craziest bounds to your backhand you ever looked at, is going right, and Hall is pumping the ball into the cor- ners with his forehand and rushing in behind it to the net for heart-breaking volleys, you think he is a world beater. And then you see him next day and he is hitting every forehand all over the lot and putting all his volleys into the net The reason I can't explain, Gil is such a modest chap that he can't even think he is ’ood. much less tell any one he is. If he beats anybody good, he will say he was lucky and mean it. He just hasn't confidence in himself. I suppose the weakness in his backhand is partly responsible, but there are plenty of stars who have been one-sided players and yet have gone high up the ladder. ‘The thing is explained more by Hall's temperament. If only he could win two or three big matches in & row in an important tournament that might be the making of him and act as a steady- ing influence for good. Hall would then be impressed with the fact that the other man has his weaknesses, too, and Gil would have more wholesome respect for his own game, * Needs Faith in Himself. That is what he needs, to have faith in himself and his game and believe it good enough to beat the other fellow’s. When Gil goes into & match think the other man has it over him he is licked before he starts. For confidence is half the battle in tennis, as well as in every other field of endeavor. There is no one who would like to see Hall go yp the ladder more than I, for I have yet to meet a better sports- man. Last year Gil had opportunity to practice with the Davis Cup squad at Philadelphia, but this is the first time he has been named as a member of the squad from which the team will be picked. Perhaps this will bolster Gil's confi- dence and make him believe in himself. If Hall does find self-confiderice and (Next: Junior Coen). (Copyright, 1930, by North Ami News- Daver Alliancey o H. SMITH IS VICTOR [N SAVANNAH OPEN Jones Falters on Final Round to Finish Stroke Behind Youthful Pro. BY DILLON L. GRAHAM, Associatsd Press Sports Writer. AVANNAH, Ga, February 22— Horton Smith, golf wizard from Detroit, continued his par-shat- tering play through the final two rounds here today to post a 278 for the 72 holés and win a 1l-stroke vic- tory over Bobby Jones, national open king, in the $3,000 Savannah open. ‘The youngster turned in cards of 70 and 71 for the two rounds today, and these scores, with the 71 Thursday and the brilliant 66 yesterday, gave him the victor’s share of $1,000. . * _ Smith clung close to par and shot | steady golf throughout the three-duy[ grind. His 66 Priday was punctuated with brilliant shots. After breaking the course record with | & great 65 on his morning round, the | Atlanta barrister faltered on the final round and took a 72. His 137 today, with his 142 of the opening two rounds, gave him a final score of 179. Cruickshank Wins $500. Seven strokes behind the leader was ‘Bobby Cruickshank of Purchase, N. Y., who took second prize money of $500. ‘The little Scotchman scored a 69 on the final round to pull himself into a preferred position. His 142 of today, ‘;it;\“u! yesterday, gave him a gross o . Smith registered 10 birdies as he made his way over the final 36 holes, ‘while the runner-up, Bobby Jones, had | 13 birdies and an eagle. However, most of Bobby's great shots were made on his record-breaking morning round. ‘The cards of the leaders: Morning round— PO Gusaan Nossa~ wwowaan wuoEss POSOREEH Y Gananan e PIOT 4 4 4 5 4 Jones, in . 3 Lee Fowler of the East Lake Country | Club of Atlanta was second low scorer | among the Simon Pures. He had a 72- hole total of 154—148—302. He received & silver loving cup. | Bobby Jones was presented with a shotgun for his low score among the amateurs. Here's how the low scorers shared in | the money today and their 72-hole scores: Horton” Smit Smith Bobdy Cruickshank nosa. 500.00 330.00 | 330.00 | 19 71318 $1.000.00 | e T 5588322222 Sinmawe 32354 Johnny Parrell Jeft Adams .. Barron o Herman Wnifty Co: Harry Cooper MORTIMER WINS FOURTH | auuZagsrsesaNe S22 R 33233 NATIONAL RACKETS TITLE, BOSTON, February 22 (#)—Stanley . Mortimer of Tuxedo, N. Y., won his | ourth national rackets championship here today by defeating Clarence C. Pell, veteran New York star, in a spir- dted five-game match at the Tennis and acquet Club. The scores were 15—7, —15, 4—15, 15—6, 18—15. 149 BANGTAILS NAMED TO COMPETE IN DERBY LOUISVILLE, Ky., February 22 (#).— One hundred and forty-nine thorough- , cream of the 3-year-old racing crop, have been nominated for the fifty-sixth renewal of the Kentucky by, to be run here over the historic Churchill Downs course on Saturday, | the tournaments to Straight Off the Tee BY WALTER R. McCALLUM. HESE few days of Springlike weather of the past week have found the Capital clan falling for the golf racket in great numbers and not suffering s little bit from the lengthy lay-off eaused by the bad weather which stretched from early in January to beyond the middle of February. The courses are soggy and soft and the putting greens are bumpy, but the golfers are so happy to get out to play sans a couple of sweaters and a wind breaker that even the unconditioned courses look good to them. And the 501 is far from bad, for par has been knocked for a loop by at least two rlhnn during the past week. er B. Stevinson, the affable and popuiar District champion, who seems to have the knack of keeping his game gof without practice, has had s cwg‘e of remarkable scores during the week, registering a 69 over the Columbia course on Thursday, following & 72 over the same layout Wednesday. Albert R. MacKenzie, J. B, mu-piy. E B Eynon, jr., and Fred McLeod bought tl'}xle ag. wbmle fluflnhson's 72 was pur- chases A4 lurphy and McLeod. Murphy himself had a 74. Sandy Armour, the Congressional pro, shattered the par for his.home course by two strokes last Thursday in a game with Page Hufty. Armour missed two or three holeable gu"‘ in his round of 71, but he more made up for the misses by holing a flock of lengthy putts. ~ Hufty said “Spark Plug,” Sandy's elongated aluminum putter, was working very well, . At all the other local courses the golfers have been out in great num. bers. Washington, which usually is in fine condition in the Spring, has had a large quota of mashie slingers tramping over its rolling layout, thankful for the weather which finally has made golf available to them after such a lengthy enforcéd lay-off. And _incidentally, Chairman McClenahan of the greens committee is authority for the state- ment that there wuf be no radical course changes during the early sea- son, such as were talked of last Fall, At that time it was roposed_ that the seventh green be regult and the ditch at the left of the seventeenth 45 | hole be roofed over near the bend where the second shot usually is played. Neither of these changes u'ye m;7 pioc- pect for the early part of 1930, Dr. McClenahan says, and the Washington course will be played this year as it was played last year. The only major change on the Virginia layout has been widening of the fairway at the geven- teenth by fllling in the ditch w&n the seventeenth and fifteenth falrways. A large group of Washington golfers today are playing over the course of the Princess Anne Country Club, at Virginia Beach. Something like 60 players from the Capital left Washington by boat Friday night and will return tomorrow morning. A few of those who are on the trip are Dr. J. T. McClenahan, E. M. Willis, Paul V. Keyser, R. J. Mor- man, R. G. Hunt, Harry D. Cashman, E. B. Looker and Willlam Throckmor- ton of Washington; Richard P. David- son, Henry Ravenel and Robert Stead, jr., of Chevy Chase . D. Steele, R. B. King and C. T. Da; Many of the local golf professionals attended a dinner last Monday night at the Lord Baltimore Hotel and discussed be staged by the Middle Atlantic Professional Golfers’ Association during 1930. Warner Mather | of Baltimore 1 be opra“dent_ of the association during 1830, Claggett Stevens, who used to be g‘ony iygesur"z m&:t Blnn?ck- urn, g0 al a8 club- maker and assistant professional about March 15. A brother of Stevens is as- :Jlfl’x‘bm Ppro and clubmaker at the Manor Gene Larkin, assistant pro at Chevy Chase, who lnww is at the Highland Park Golf Club, Lake Wales, Fla., prac- tices every d-x and is working himsel! into good condition to retain his Mary- land State open champianship, accord- ing to Bob Barnett, &e Chevy Chase Club pro who hears from Larkin every few days. Larkin and Eiwood Poore, another Chevy Chase pro, left May 17. "The st of nominations includes 116 * colts, 23 geldings and 10 fllies. for Lake Wales shortly sfter Christmas and in Fiorida te inglarch. HAS ELECTION TUESDAY | e X To elect officers and plan the sea- son's activities a meeting of the Wash- | Monument, Potomae, Rock Creek and | DaViS, dsughter of Dwight F. Davis, ington Public Parks Tennis Association | other public Gil Has Baffling Twist Service and Much Ability | Y be htld Tuesday night at 8 o'clock PUBLIC PARKS NET BODY [, oce of nober mewty, were | DAVIS DAUGHTER, NIECE, | som-snsi of tse Phitopine nation tary-treasurer 8¢ the association, in the tournament today. Alice Davis defeated Mrs. Schroeder, ENTER SEMI-FINALS e MANILA, Februafy 22 (P).—Alice | gerenguer, 6—0, 6—1. Mrs. Pelisa Ochoa, defending cham- on, also entered the semi-finals, de- eating Mrs. Moore, 6—3, 6—3. Representatives of Henry, Montrose, Governor General of the Philippines, 0 00 ariome” land Allta Davis, his niece, entered the ter the league are asked to attend. ROSEDALE SOCCERISTS PLAY MARLBORO TODAY UPPER MARLBORO, Md., February 22—Upper Marlboro's stalwart soccer team will entertain the Rosedale eleven of Washington on the fair grounds here tomorrow afternoon at 2:30 o'clock. In their last meeting Marlboro was the winner, 1 to 0. Marlboro lost its first game of the uug last Sunday when it bowed to ::!t.m M mll Cit; M‘n;.:! '&l:‘fwe [onum Y. t eliminated Matiboro from the Roiand Cup elimination competition, for which all Maryland elevens are eligible.