Sport: Unbeatable

The other 127 contestants who entered Wimbledon’s All-England men’s singles might as well have stayed home. There apparently was just no tennis amateur anywhere in the world who could give California’s 25-year-old Jack Kramer a workout. Before leaving the U.S., Kramer had taken the precaution of having lamp treatments for a gimpy “tennis elbow” and last week was in top trim.

So easily did he breeze through the first five matches that London’s Daily Telegraph headlined, “Kramer Loses a Set,” when he dropped one to Australia’s Dinny Pails in the semifinals. It was the only one of 22 sets he lost all week. Said the Daily Mail’s veteran tennis critic Stanley Doust: “I rate Kramer equal to Donald Budge, and better than Ellsworth Vines or Fred Perry.”

After waiting half an hour for Britain’s Royal Family to arrive for the final match, Kramer went to work on fellow Californian Tom Brown. It was not even close. Kramer’s big serve, with its high and tricky bounce, his skill at the net, his brilliant passing shots were all going like clockwork. It was all over in 45 minutes: 6-1, 6-3, 6-2, but Kramer was convinced that he had put on a lackluster show. Said he afterwards: “We were both excited and nervous before the match started because there was such a long wait. Anyhow, I’m glad Brown had a bad day too.”