Let me state now I do not approve of Hawkes' style. His footwork is wrong, hopelessly wrong and I fear that unless he corrects it, it may keep him from attaining the place his natural abilities promise. "Austral," the famous critic, describes him as "having the genius of the game."
Jack Hawkes has an exaggerated American twist service that, since he is a left-hander, places an unnecessary strain on his heart muscles. It carries terrific twist but little speed and does not Pay him for the amount of energy he expends.
His forehand drive is excellent, fast, deep, and well placed, yet in making this he steps away from the ball, again wasting energy. His backhand is a poke and very unreliable. To save it he runs around everything possible, again causing unnecessary exertion. His volleying is brilliant while his overhead is magnificent.
Hawkes' waste of energy has cost him many a match, yet for all the inherent defects in his game he is so clever in using what he has, his tactics are so good for so young a player that I believe he will be one of the leading players of the world in a few years. Under the watchful eyes of Norman Brookes I foresee Hawkes changing his footwork to at least a reasonable copy of the old master.
J. O. ANDERSON
This young player is again a promise rather than a star. He is a big, rangy, hard-hitting type like Gerald Patterson. He is crude, at times careless and unfortunately handicapped in 1920 and 1921 by a severe illness that only allowed him to resume play in the middle of the latter year. His ground strokes are flat drives fore and backhand. His forehand is a particularly fine shot. He hits it with a short sharp snap of his arm that imparts great speed and yet hides the direction. His backhand is defensive. His volleying clever, accurate but soft. His overhand severe and reliable. His service flat, fast and dangerous.
He needs finesse, experience and season, with which he may well become one of the greatest players as the fundamental potentialities are there.
NORMAN PEACH
The steady baseline game of England has its exponent in Australia in Norman Peach. He has a beautiful driving game, with adequate but not severe service, that one finds so much in England. At times Peach will advance to the net but his volleying and overhead are secondary to his baseline game. He is not a great tennis player but is certainly one of high standard of play. He is just below the first flight in Australia.
R. V. Thomas is one of the finest doubles players in the world as is amply attested by his win of the world's title in 1919 with Pat O'Hara Wood and their two successive wins of the Australian Championship in 1919-20. Thomas with his hard-hitting off the ground, and his brilliant volleying is a fine foil for Pat Wood's steady accuracy.