European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 15, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Bill Tilden americans first male Wimbledon Champ by Alexander Mcnab new York times seventy years ago Bill Tilden transformed himself from a Tennis player into a Tennis Champion. He spent four months of the Winter of 191920 on the private indoor court of the insurance executive . Jones in Providence r.i., learning How to hit an offensive backhand ground stroke in practice matches with Jones son Arnold. The following july Tilden then 27 and at last armed with the Complete All court game he believed essential for ultimate Success became the first american Man to win Wimbledon. Two months later in september 1920, he won the first of six consecutive . Championships. In All Tilden won three Wimbledon and seven . Singles titles and played on seven victorious . Davis cup teams. In a 1950 associated press poll that picked the Best performer of the half Century in each sport Tilden won in Tennis by a greater margin than babe Ruth in baseball red Grange in football Jack Dempsey in boxing and Bobby Jones in Golf. He also arguably was the greatest author of Tennis instruction books of those 50 years if not of All time. He certainly was the greatest among world class players who wrote their own material instead of relying on ghostwriter. In his 1925 classic match play and the spin of the Ball Tilden summarized the lesson of his Providence Winter Quot if there is a Hole in your game plug it by intensive  match play was the third of the four instruction books Tilden wrote he died in 1953. All of the books Are out of print. That is a shame because the entire body of his instruction writing is unmatched by any Champion before or since. When discussing stroke mechanics Tilden was a fanatic for proper footwork and weight Transfer believing that every shot should be hit with the body sideways to the net and the weight moving Forward. Today with such open stance Back foot wonders As Andre Agassi and Thomas Muster bashing their Way into the final rounds of the French open Tilden a advice would be considered hopelessly outdated. And it  Surprise him at All though he could defend himself elegantly. In fact he did Quot the although Bill Tilden preferred the Flat drive off both forehand and backhand he developed spins chops and slices. More than a Mere striker of the Ball he was a tactician. Champion of today owes his game to the champions of yesterday just As he will add his bit to the Champion of tomorrow. It is the fashion of the moment to View with patronizing contempt As slightly obsolete the game of any player who has been in the Tennis world for a decade. As for anything older than that the Modem youngster either knows nothing or considers it a dead  Tilden could be timelessly simple on stroking though. Quot just swing your Racquet head through the Ball at the place you want it to go Quot he wrote. What he did Best was explain in Clear prose How to think on the court. His most famous dictum was straightforward Quot never change a winning game. Always change a losing  for Tilden Quot Tennis is essentially a game of brains and matches Are won by the men who use their brains to direct their  Quot never play any stroke in Tennis without a definite idea of what you Are trying to do with it Quot he wrote. Quot the average player merely hits the Ball Content if he puts his shot in court and Seldom having a very Clear Conception of what he is striving to do with it. A great match player is always one shot ahead of the one he is  Peter Burwash the former Canadian Davis cup player who is now an internationally renowned teaching pro is a big fan of Tilden s work. A what stands out Are the tactics a he said. Quot for example what the key Points and key games  Tilden was the first to stress the importance of the fifth Point of a game and the seventh game of a set As turning Points. About the former when the score is 15-40,30-30 or 4015, he wrote Quot Here you Are playing a Point which in two cases actually Means the game while in the other Case you Are both fighting for a very important  Tilden a ideas on other elements of the game Are just As sound today As when he first put them on paper. On keeping your Cool a no matter what the score May be against a player if he is still master of himself he has a  on your Competition Quot never give your opponent a Chance to make a shot he  on forcing errors a nothing destroys a Man s Confidence Breaks up his game and ruins his fighting spirit like errors. The More shots he misses the More he worries and ultimately the worse he  on anticipation Quot never await your opponents return with mind a Blank. Ask yourself what you would do in his place and prepare to meet that  and finally on How and Why to play the game Quot play Tennis without fear of defeat and because its fun and you enjoy it or done to play it at All. There is no disgrace in  Tennis rackets or Are they by Alexander Mcnab new York times maybe it is simply coincidence but As Tennis rackets have become stiffer and lighter More and More players have begun searching for ways to make their rackets play More comfortably. True you can swing lighter and stiffer rackets More easily and they can deliver More punch to your shots. But you May sometimes feel a harsh sensation As you hit the Ball. Howard Brody physics professor at the University of Pennsylvania has done extensive research on Tennis and Tennis rackets. He has distinguished three responses you can feel from your Racket during and right after Contact. The responses Are related to the area of the Racket that players generally refer to As the a Sweet spot Quot or the Quot Sweet zone Quot an area usually found in the Center or just below the Center of the Racket head. The terms physicists use for this zone Are a Center of percussion Quot Center of vibration and Quot Node Quot an almost vibration free spot on an otherwise vibrating object. The first response Brody noted is the initial Shock and Jar of Impact when the Racket recoils to conserve momentum. You feel Shock in your hand and Arm unless you strike the Ball precisely at the Center of percussion in the Racket head. The second response involves the lingering vibrations in the Racket Frame which you feel unless you strike the Ball precisely at the rackets Node. Quot the Node is close to the Center of percussion a Brody said. Quot if you hit one you Are close to the  both make up the Quot Sweet spot Quot area. Quot if you hit near the tip you get both vibrations and Shock and  the third response involves the lingering vibrations of the strings which occur even on Quot Sweet spot Quot hits. You hear these vibrations As much As feel them. Current thinking is that of the three responses too much Shock is the culprit in Arm injuries and Tennis Elbow. Too Many vibrations Are More of an annoyance though they can be distracting enough to prevent you from playing your Best. By making four easy modifications you can improve the feel of your Racket. First have your Racket re Strung at a lower tension. Looser strings will give you More Power and depth on your shots with the same amount of Effort. Thus you done to have to put More Wear and tear on your Arm by swinging harder to try to hit harder. The Ball stays on the strings longer when they Are looser. A the longer dwell time Means that the Shock of the Ball being hit is spread Over a longer time a Brody wrote in Tennis science for Tennis players University of Pennsylvania press 1987. Quot in other words when the strings Are softer at lower string tension the Arm does not feel the Shock of hitting the Ball As  string too loosely though and you la lose All control Over your shots. Second add some Lead tape to the head of your Racket. Wood rackets weigh about 14 ounces Strung. The average weight of today a Graphite composite models is 12 to 121/2 ounces. You can swing a Light Racket faster but when it collides with the Ball unless you hit the Quot Sweet spot Quot the Ball will push the Racket around and Shock occurs. By adding some weight to the head you stabilize the Racket at Impact. The results Are More solid shots and less stress on your Arm. For $4, you can buy 36 inches of Lead tape. About two inches of tape weigh one Gram or about one Twenty eighth of an ounce. You can place the tape either at the top of the inside of the Frame from the 10 of clock to the 2 of clock position visualizing the Racket head As the face of a clock with 12 of clock at the Topor on each Side of the Frame at the 3 of clock and 9 o clock positions. The former approach will give you More Power on shots hit near the tip. The latter will do a better Job of increasing the rackets resistance to twisting on off Center hits. In either Case the greater mass in the head will help Damp Shock better. Is a Racket with Lead tape More difficult to swing. Yes but this is something you should get used to quickly. Third try a vibration Damper which costs $3 to 3>b. The Damper is a Small rubber disk foam Cylinder or other device Andre Agassi uses a rubber band. You insert it usually Between the two Center main or vertical strings just below the Bottom Cross string. There is a misconception about what these Small plugs do. They quiet string vibrations turning the sound of Impact from a Ping into a Dull thud. They do not Damp the Shock of Impact or the vibrations of the Frame. Fourth and last consider replacing the grip on you Racket with one of the new padded synthetic grips. Page 16 a a a the stars and stripes Friday june 15,1990