Prospect

Where is the U.S. going to find its next great tennis star? Watching the play of a pink-faced, cowlicked 16-year-old last week, Davis Cup Selection Committee Chairman James H. Bishop thought he had found the answer. As Hamilton Farrar ("Ham") Richardson of Baton Rouge, La. went about winning the National Junior championship with one of the most stylish all-court games seen this year, Jim Bishop pronounced him "the best [tennis] prospect in a quarter of a century."

That took in a lot of territory, and other U.S. tennis scouts might not be ready to go so far, just yet. Nonetheless, as Ham Richardson raced through the National Junior field at Kalamazoo, Mich., there was plenty to watch. Slim (155 Ibs.), tall (5 ft. 11 1/2 in.), and still growing, Ham had a solid service, a clean, running forehand that took the ball on the rise, Fred Perry fashion, and a flat, whistling backhand (at present, his best stroke), apparently so effortless that his placements with it seemed almost accidental. He could volley and drop-volley with a skill that juniors seldom have had time to learn.

After disposing of a couple of California hopefuls in the early rounds, Ham beat New Jersey's Pablo Eisenberg,/- 18, with 6-1, 6-1 ease. In the final, against Californian Whitney Reed, 17, he won again, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.

Drill the Forehand. Ham Richardson has been playing serious tennis for four years. He picked up a racket one day, while his older brother was taking a lesson from a Baton Rouge pro named Jim Bateman. Bateman took one look at the twelve-year-old's swing, declared him a natural. After that, Ham gave up baseball and settled down for a few tennis lessons himself. After five lessons, Bateman packed him off to Chicago to play in a "13-and-under" tournament; Ham was runnerup.

A year after that he won his first national title, the boys' doubles. His engineer-father sent him to Tulane Coach Emmett Pare for more drill, with special attention to his forehand. The drill paid off. In 1948, Ham entered six singles tournaments, won them all.

Last summer the doctors found that, like Tennis Star Billy Talbert, Ham suffers from diabetes. They put him on insulin. This year, with the help of his insulin, Ham has been unstoppable among the juniors, a menace to his seniors. In the men's division of the Western tournament at Indianapolis, last July, he took Davis Cup Squadman Herb Flam, the ultimate winner, to match point in the quarter-finals before losing.

Blast Him Off? Later, somebody asked Ham if he wanted an exhibition match with Ted Schroeder. "Sure," said Ham, who is not burdened with modesty, real or false. "Shall I string him along or blast him off the court?" As requested, he blasted an off-form Schroeder, 6-4, 6-3. Ham was not surprised; in a practice match last year, he had gone up against an unsuspecting Pancho Gonzales, and had beaten 1949's U.S. champion too.

The U.S. would see more of Ham. Though he was only 16, his victory in the National Junior qualified him for admission to the National Men's Singles at Forest Hills. Ham would be there.

/-Whose father, Cellist Maurice Eisenberg, named his son for world-famous Cellist Pablo Casals (TIME, June 12 et seq.). After the match, Cellist Eisenberg rushed to congratulate Dr. Roger W. Richardson, Ham's father. Said Eisenberg: "Ham is the Casals of tennis."

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