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Show EAST AGAIN SUPREME California Tennis Players Bow to Eastern Stars. Fitting That Richard Norris Williams Wil-liams II and William M. Johnston Should Meet in Final Championship Cham-pionship Contest. It looks as if the East. had once more regained her supremacy in the tennis world. The comets and meteors from fame on the courts have passed or are about to pass. A review of the season but recently closed, with Richard Norris Nor-ris Williams II of Philadelphia regaining re-gaining the national title he had lost the year before to William M. Johnston of California, and the men from the far West being repulsed all along the line would seem to augur such a thing. California sent its best to do battle with the East, and when it came down to a final round Johnston, the champion cham-pion from San Francisco was pitted against Williams of Philadelpiha, former for-mer champion, and it was fitting that these two should contest for the highest high-est honors on the courts, for both had previously shown their right to settle the question of supremacy. It took five desperately fought sets before Williams was hailed as champion cham-pion of 1916 ; five sets during which the Philadelphian coming from behind and ' I 1 . t William M. Johnston. growing ever stronger, ever more' confident, con-fident, actually hammered his dauntless daunt-less opponent into submission. The victory was not regarded so much a triumph for Eastern playing play-ing methods and court tactics over the Californian, in this particular instance, as it might have been had Williams' opponent been Maurice, McLoughlin, Lindley Murray or another of the ripping, rip-ping, tearing, net-storming men from the coast. The reason for this is plain, for Johnston himself is one of the soundest sound-est of players, both as to production of stroke and court generalship. He does not place his reliance on rushing the net at every opportunity, on tremendous tre-mendous service and vicious smashing but, rather, on a combination of all that is best in lawn tennis. The striking fact, as brought out in the season's big tournament play, is that the men whose game' is typically Californian did not meet with any conspicuous con-spicuous success in their campaign on eastern courts. McLoughlin succumbed V'.. X JS Richard Norris Williams II. to George Myers Church in the fourth round of the national championship at Forest Hills, while the spectacular Murray yielded to Johnston in straight sots in the semifinal round on the West Side Tenuis club courts. The younger generations of Cali-forinans Cali-forinans who have visited the East since the advent of McLoughlin. Johnston, John-ston, Murray and Griffin have not measured up to the standard set by their brilliant predecessors. Roberts and Davis hare shown streaks of brilliant bril-liant tennis aT times, but or. the whole their work has been disappointing, whih Johns. Warren and Hawks are of a dlstir.cllj lower grade. |