Centre Court

Henri Cochet plays tennis as though the game were an argument couched in a difficult idiom which he alone had mastered. His placements have the brilliance, the finality of condescending epigrams. With such epigrams he might perhaps have punctured the crude bombast of Wilmer Allison's speedy serve last week, had he not flown over to Paris for Rene Lacoste's wedding to the French golf champion, Mile Simone Thion de la Chaume. When he returned to the centre court at Wimbledon, Cochet argued like a tired attorney. He won the first two games, but after that the debonair and biting edge of his game disappeared. Allison, stubborn, strong, insistent, won the first set 6-4 and then the second, by the same score. In the last, with the score 5-3 and 40-30 against him, Cochet patted a slow return, sighed as it fell into the net, walked forward to shake hands.

There was once a time when the implausible but inspired rhetoric of Tilden's tennis could overwhelm brilliance like Cochet's. But everyone understood that this time had long since passed when Tilden took the centre court at Wimbledon last fortnight. Tilden could still sail unbeaten through many a major tournament, but he had tried unsuccessfully to win at Wimbledon since his last (1921) singles victory there. Last week, after Cochet was beaten, it appeared that Jean Borotra would take care of Tilden. Borotra was playing better than ever before when they met in the semifinals.

Borotra won the first set, 6-0. It was a bitter match and the crowd sided against Tilden. In the second set, Tilden began to find fault with the linesmen, stared suggestively at the umpire, made repeated requests for quiet as the crowd cheered Borotra. Tilden won the second set and lost the third, 4-6. Borotra, saving himself for the last, dropped the fourth with out winning a game. When the score reached 4-all in the last set, Tilden drew Borotra to the net and played his backhand until the Frenchman, reaching for a passing shot, lost his footing and sprawled heavily on the side line. Once, when he needed the fifth set to win, a Wimbledon crowd would hardly have needed to wait while Tilden won it. They waited last week, while Borotra drew even at Sall and then while Tilden, his long shadow falling across the court like a hammer as he served, ran out two games and won, 7-5.

Allison's serve had been his best weapon against Cochet, as Tilden's had against Borotra. The final too was a test of serves and Tilden has always had the best serve in the world. He took the first set with a burst of aces, 6-3. Allison made a match of it in the second set, but Tilden served five love games to win at 9-7. In the presence of the King, Queen and Prince George, who is President of the all England Club which runs Wimbledon, Tilden won the last set and match 6-4. At 37 he had climbed back to a pinnacle whither no man ever returned after nine year--champion of the world.

P:. Under the stands which surround the Centre Court are the locker rooms for players, a lavatory for Royalty, and a small room with bath attached on the door of which is written: "The Lady Champion." This room has been occupied solely by Helen Wills Moody since 1927. Last week carrying two rackets she left this room, walked onto the Centre Court, trounced Elizabeth Ryan, 6-2, 6-2, returned to her private bath. Next day, she and Miss Ryan beat Edith Cross and Sarah Palfrey for the doubles championship, 6-2, 9-7.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.