Wallace F. Johnson, playing magnificent tennis, eliminated Watson Washburn in one of the brainiest, hardest fought matches of the whole tournament.
Johnson was very steady and outlasted Washburn in the first set, which he won. Washburn then took to storming the net and carried off two sets decisively. The strain took its toll and he was perceptibly slower when the fourth set opened. Johnson ran him from corner to corner, or tossed high lobs when Washburn took the net. It proved too much for even Washburn to stand, and the Philadelphian won the next two sets and with it the match. Many people considered it a great upset. Personally I expected it, as I know how dangerous Johnson may be.
The Johnston-Richards match and my meeting with Shimidzu came on the third day. Fully 15,000 people jammed themselves around the court and yelled, clapped and howled their excitement through the afternoon. It was a splendidly behaved gallery but a very enthusiastic one.
Richards, eager to avenge his crushing defeat by Johnston at Seabright, started with a rush. "Little Bill" was uncertain and rather nervous. Richards ran away with the first two sets almost before Johnston realized what was happening. The tennis Richards played in these sets was almost unbeatable. Johnston nerved himself to his task and held even to 3-all in the third. Here he broke through and Richards, I think foolishly, made little attempt to pull out the set. The boy staked all on the fourth set. Johnston led at 5-3 but Richards, playing desperately, pulled up to 6-5 and was within two points of the match at 30-all on Johnston's service. It was his last effort. Johnston took the game and Richards faded away. His strength failed him and the match was Johnston's.
I hit a good streak against Shimidzu and ran away with three straight sets more or less easily.
Meantime one of the most sensational upsets of the whole
tournament was taking place on an outside court where Stanley W.
Pearson of Philadelphia was running the legs off N. W. Niles of
Boston and beating him in five sets.
"Little Bill" Johnston and I met the next day in what was the deciding match of the tournament, even though it was only the fourth round. Every available inch of space was jammed by an overflow gallery when we took the count. It was a bitter match from the first point. We were both playing well. In the early stages Little Bill had a slight edge, but after one set the balance shifted and I held the whip hand to the end.
The same day Dick Williams went down to sudden and unexpected defeat at the hands of J. O. Anderson of Australia in five well played sets. It was a typical Williams effort, glorious tennis one minute followed by inexcusable lapses. The Australian was steady and clever throughout.
The keen speculation as to the outcome of the tournament fell off after the meeting of Johnston and I, and with it a decrease in attendance. This ran very high, however, again reaching capacity on the day of the finals.
The round before the semi finals saw a terrific struggle between two Californians, Bob Kinsey and Willis E. Davis. Kinsey had defeated Davis in the Metropolitan Championship the week before and was expected to repeat, but Davis managed to outlast his team and nosed out the match. Kinsey collapsed on the court from exhaustion as the last point was played.