Mr. Gorman Crawl's efforts to avoid defeat in his match with me in the
semi-finals of the Dartmoor and West Dorset Championship was, I think,
the finest exhibition of Lawn Tennis that has been seen for many a long
day, and I congratulate those who were so fortunate as to witness the
game. In the second set particularly, Mr. Crawl's play exhibited a
consistent accuracy combined with activity of resource and hard hitting
which, so far as I am aware, has rarely been equalled in the history of
the pastime. He frequently returned drives down the side lines and cross
volleys which I have always regarded as untakable, putting me in the
position of having to repeat those strokes several times before I could
make the ace. Even in the third set, Mr. Crawl certainly did not lose
heart, as many might have done; in fact he gained vigour to such an
extent that his play in the last games became not merely impetuous, but
frenzied. Had I not possessed an iron nerve, Mr. Gorman Crawl might have
snatched a game or two; and I feel sorry for my opponent when I recall
that he only made five points in the set, one of which was due to a net
cord stroke, and another to my accidentally treading on a ball. The
final scores, as set forth in the "Stop Press" columns of one of the
evening papers, were as follows:--
"Crawl beat Lowly ... 6--0. 6--0. 6--0,"
and if the reader reverses the statement he will know the correct
result. Mr. Gorman Crawl, after an exhibition which stultifies previous
conceptions of what is possible in the way of offensive and defensive
tactics, and which refutes once and for all the leading contentions in
Mr. Wail's monumental work on the game, was beaten by me in three love
sets.
The game opened by my serving a double fault. I then found that I was
using my Thursday's racket instead of Tuesday's. After a brief recess,
during which, as I am informed, Mr. Gorman Crawl took in his belt one
hole, the game proceeded. I served to my opponent's back hand, but,
contrary to all rules laid down by Mr. Wail, he unexpectedly returned
the ball to _my_ back hand. The result was that I failed to reach it. It
then occurred to me that I ought to make sure I had no gravel in my
shoes. I did this without leaving the court. When I had replaced my
footwear and was preparing to serve again, I saw that Mr. Gorman Crawl
was lying on the ground, apparently asleep. He started up, however, on
the score being called a second time, and the game proceeded.
Noticing that my opponent was standing a long way back, I now made a
display of hitting the ball hard and then dropped it just over the net.
Mr. Crawl did not notice what was happening till too late, and I not
only took the ace but had the satisfaction of noticing that my opponent
was breathing hard after his fruitless effort to reach the ball. I had,
so to speak, drawn first blood. I repeated the ruse with my next
service. Mr. Crawl, being now on the alert, reached the ball, but was
unable to stop himself, and charged into the net, and the score was
called "thirty all." A third time I brought off a drop serve; the ball
was returned and I then tossed it with an undercut stroke to the base
line. Mr. Crawl ran back, but the ball bounding high and with a strong
break he lost sight of it, and after some intricate manoeuvres, in
which he had the advantage of advice from the crowd, it eventually fell
on his head, and I scored the ace. I had now only to make one point to
reach the game, and I effected this by a high-kicking service that left
my opponent petrified.
During the set Mr. Crawl gradually got into his game, and, thanks to a
strong instinct of self-preservation, he succeeded in returning, when up
at the net, many of my drives at his chest and head which I had thought
were sure of their mark. His play in the last rally, when the score
stood at "5 games to 0 and 40 love" in my favour, called forth loud
applause, and I had to do all I knew to prevent him winning an ace which
might have resulted in his eventually capturing the game.
At this point an incident occurred which has been variously reported.
The facts are that, before embarking on the second set, Mr. Gorman Crawl
petitioned the referee that I should be required to remove my tie. The
tie referred to is my well-known tennis tie. It is a Mascot, as I
associate all my successes on the court during the past four years with
this tie. It is a large scarlet bow with vivid green and white spots the
size of halfpenny pieces, arranged astigmatically. Mr. Crawl said the
cravat held his eye and put him off his game, and complained that there
were so many spots in front of him that he did not know which was the
ball. I am glad to be able to add the testimony of such a first string
man as Mr. Gorman Crawl to the merits of the "Lowly Patent Tennis Tie"
(Registered No. 273125/1911, price _2s. 9d._, of all Gunsmiths and
Sports Outfitters). I explained to the referee that the tie was a
well-known patent and that, if he ruled it out and disqualified the tie,
a promising industry would be irretrievably ruined. The referee
naturally declined to take such a responsibility and ordered the game to
proceed, and we took our places on the course. When, however, I faced
Mr. Crawl I found that he had pulled down the sleeve of his shirt over
his hand and buttoned it round the handle of his racket. The effect was
most disconcerting, for the racket appeared to be part of his body--as
if, in fact, he had two elbow joints, and the face of the bat was the
palm of his hand. Moreover it was impossible to anticipate the direction
of his shots. When forty love had been scored against me I appealed to
the referee. The result of that interview was that M. Gorman Crawl
courteously unbuttoned his sleeve, and I with equal courtesy removed my
tie. The episode was greeted with loud applause, and for my part I felt
amply repaid for the sacrifice I had made by the gain in popularity.
I have already referred to the strenuous character of Mr. Gorman Crawl's
efforts in this set. The following is the rally for the third ace in the
fifth game, given in the notation invented by Mr. Wail, though not yet
generally adopted. The diagram will be found in the third volume of Mr.
Wail's book, _How to be always right_.