Austin, Perry & Hughes

Not since 1919 has a British Davis Cup team reached the challenge round. When the British Davis Cup team played the U. S. at Stade Roland Garros, Paris, last week, it was almost a foregone conclusion that little dignified Herbert Wilbur (''Bunny") Austin, Frederick Perry and Perry's Irish doubles partner, George Patrick Hughes, would speedily lose a majority of their five matches. Their opponents were Sidney B. Wood Jr., who won the British championship at Wimbledon fortnight ago; his good friend Francis Xavier Shields who defaulted to him in the Wimbledon finals; and George Lott Jr. & John Van Ryn, Wimbledon doubles winners, often called the best team in the world.

Wood, off his game the first day, lost to Austin but Shields beat Perry. When Lott & Van Ryn disposed of Perry & Hughes, the result seemed more than ever a foregone conclusion. The next day Wood, who had beaten him easily at Wimbledon, lost to Perry 6-3, 8-10, 6-3, 6-3. In the last match, balloon-trousered Bunny Austin came up against Shields, speedily defeated his large and impressive opponent whom he had never beaten before, 8-6, 6-3, 7-5. The conclusion reached by spectators was, however, that Austin, Perry & Hughes would surely lose to France in the challenge round this week.

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