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Show RACQUET STARS READYFOR MEET Representatives From Ail Farts Of World to Tangle for Net Championships NEW YORK. Dec. 25 The premier tennis players dl the world is represented repre-sented by the UnMed States and Australasia Aus-tralasia teams will meet on the turf courts at Auckland. New Zealand, during dur-ing the Doming week in ihe fifteenth Struggle for the Davis cup. The tro-j phy, emblematic of the world's team' tennis chi nrploiifdiip, occupies Die1 un'que position of being t lie most fre-quently fre-quently competed for International I sport prize In the history of amateur I athletic contests. Donated In 1900 b) Dwight F. Davis, at that time American Amer-ican double champion wiih Holcombe Ward, the trophy has been battled fori fourteen limes in ihe past 20 years. Dunn? this period Australasian teams j lave won It six times; British Isles'; players live times and United Stale combinations three times. FAST MATCHES. In 'he coming matches, which will I conshu of four singles contests and' one doubles match, the United States; will appeal In ihe role of challenger and the Australasians as defenders.! Four Americans composing the 1920 team arrived at Auckland, December! 15. the party consisting of William T. 1 Tilden of Philadelphia; William M. Johnston of San Francisco; Watson M. Wash bin 11 of New York, and Sam uel Hardy of Chicago. The defend-inR defend-inR quarter so far as Is known In this! iouiiiry, win prouaniv dc composed ot Gerald Patterson, Norman Brookes, R V Thomas and H. O'Hara Wood. The actual alignment ol players will noi I bo announced until shortly before t,, I matches. It is expected that Tlldcn and Johnston will bear the brunt of ; the American attack while Patterson and Brookes will bo the Australasian ' players. Close followers of tennis are ln-lollned ln-lollned to be optimistic regarding the j outcome of the matches believing Lha: 1 in Tilden. world's singles champion, land Johnston, former American champion, cham-pion, who is rated Just a stroke or jtwo below Tlldcn at the present time. , the United States bas an invincible pair Watson Is a formidable relief player in case either of the stars become be-come indisposed while Hardy, who in reality is captain and manager of the team, can play a superlative game if occasion demands. Patterson Is the power in the Australian team play ing a game somewhat similar to, thai of Maurlc McLoughlin, when lli- lat-I lat-I ter was al Ihe top of his tenuis form. Brookes, undoubtedly one of the preat eat players of ull times, Is well ad-1 ad-1 vanced In years from a playing stand-j stand-j point and cannot be expected td carry the burden of two slnsles matches and one doubles match in three days, if ha pairs with Patterson In doubles he will not appear in the singles It may he, however, that Brookes und Patterson will devote their efforts to tho singles and leave the doubles contest to Thomas Thom-as and Wood, who make a most formidable for-midable team. VAST DATA A study of the vast amount of data which has accumulated in connection! I with 14 years of play for the Davis cup shows that not including the preliminary pre-liminary rounds of the 1920 matches. 68 players representing nine nations I have participated in ih play for the International tenuis trophy. f this ! number the British Isles has used IS , and the L ulled States 17. Australasia Australa-sia is third with ten and Frauce, Bel-(glum Bel-(glum and South Africa follow with I five each. All lold Hi players look 'part ln 233 matches which went to a , decision and one match resulted hi a I tie. The veteran Brookes holds the indi Idual honors having bwen a member ,of the Australasian team ln eight different dif-ferent years. During this period be ; played I I matches of which he won 36. The lale Anthony Wilding, a compeer of Brookes who was killed during the I world war, holds second honors for 1 during liis seven years of competition ! he played 37 matches of which he won 27. J. C. Perke, the English veteran ranks third with matches and 12 victories. W. A. Larned and M. E. McLoughlin, two outstanding stars of American tennis, aro tied with 20 matches each. Lamed has a .sli.lly better winning average with 13 victories victor-ies to McLou(;hliu's 12, The latti r'8 defeat of both Wilding and Brookes in 1911, when the Australasians wen; at the height, of their court career, however, was undoubtedly the greatest great-est individual teat in the annals of International tennis. |