The Cup Again

In Europe, which hasn't got its tennis legs back yet, the Davis Cup team to beat is France. It was easily the standout in the opening round of the European Zone eliminations last week.

Its pride & joy is Yvon ("Le Terrible") Petra, 30, a 6-ft.-7 terror. Le Terrible can rifle a serve with all the velocity of Tilden at his best. Petra spent 18 months in a German prison camp with his 6-ft. Davis Cup mate, Pierre Pellizza.

In four singles matches against Great Britain the Frenchmen didn't lose a set. But the whole show looked more like public-park tennis than Cup matches. Whoever wins the European Zone finals--France, Sweden or Yugoslavia--will still have a long way to go for a chance at the Australian cup holders.

The U.S., too, must first dispose of its American Zone rivals (the Philippines, Canada, Mexico) before it meets Europe's winner in August. The big U.S. tennis question was how 24-year-old ex-Coast Guardsman Jack Kramer would do after going through five invasions, and playing little tennis for two years.* Kramer answered it in Los Angeles last week by drubbing the U.S. wartime champion, Frankie Parker, 8-6, 6-1, 9-7. U.S. Davis Cup stock jumped.

Two days later, the U.S. named its Davis Cup varsity: Parker and ex-Navy-man Ted Schroeder (former U.S. singles and doubles champion) in singles, jug-eared Billy Talbert and calm Gardnar Mulloy in doubles. Kramer's conspicuous absence was all part of the long-range plan; he would go to England, play in the famed Wimbledon tournament, then rush back to become No. 1 on the U.S. squad.

The game to watch will be Kramer's at Wimbledon against Australia's flashy newcomer, Geoff Broun and Dinny Pails. Australia won the Cup seven years ago, because of the war has not had to defend it since.

* But he looked good in March 1944, when he beat Don Budge in Manhattan's Madison Square Garden, 6-3, 6-2.

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