Trabert, Larsen to Meet for French Tennis Title: Maureen Connolly Also Enters Championship Round at Paris, Daily Racing Form, 1954-05-28

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Trabert, Larsen to Meet For French Tennis Title Maureen Connolly Also Enters Championship Round at Paris By ROBERT AHIER United Press Sports Writer PARIS, France, May 27. — Tony Trabert, of Cincinnati, Ohio, and Art Larsen, of Sah Leandro, Calif., made the mens singles "final in the French International tennis championships an Ail-American affair today, while Maureen Connolly, of San Diego, Calif., gained the tile round in the womens singles. Trabert, who was seeded No. 2, turned back Budge Patty, former Californian now living in Paris, 6-1, 7-5, 6-4, after Larsen had gained the championship round with a straight set victory over Enrique Morea, of Argentina, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4. Miss Connolly, with a superb display of driving and volleying, easily defeated Syl-vanna Lazzarino, of Italy, 6-0, 6-1. Curly-haired "Little Mo" will meet Mrs. Ginette Bucaille, of France, for the womens crown. Mrs. Bucaille defeated her fellow countrywoman, Mrs. Nelly Adamson, 6-2, 6-4, in the other semi-final. Trabert, displaying top form, stormed the net from the start to overpower Patty, whose volleying once was rated as one of the finest in the world. Patty, the 1950 French and Wimbledon champion, battled gamely, but just couldnt match the brilliant play of the ex-sailor from Cincinnati. Larsen, getting off expert lobs and drop shots, completely disrupted Moreas strategy in the other semi-final. The Argentine appeared nervous, but won the first game despite a double-fault. Both held service until the score reached 3-3, when Larsen broke his opponents service to forge ahead, and then held his own service to lead, 5-3. Morea, with his powerful service, won the next game, but Larsen then held his own service, winning out when Morea smashed an easy chance into the ne. The rangy Californian got off to a 3-0 lead in the second set and Morea battled back to trail, 3-4. But Larsen then held his service and on a brilliant passing shot ; broke Moreas service to win the set. Morea 1 l ~ , * i t i r got off to a 3-1 lead in the third set before Larsen began luring his opponent to the sidelines or up to the net, only to place the ball far out of his reach. Larsen won the next four games and then broke Moreas service for the set and match. Miss Lazzarino had no chance against Miss Connolly, but the pretty Italian girl won the cheers of the shirt-sleeved capacity crowd of 12,000 in the boiling concrete stands of Roland Garros Stadium when she won her sole game of the match after Miss Connolly had won 11 games in a row. The California miss looked invincible as she swept the court from left to right with powerful, well-placed forehands and backhands, followed up with near-perfection shots to the net for the final kill.


Persistent Link: https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1950s/drf1954052801/drf1954052801_2_5
Local Identifier: drf1954052801_2_5
Library of Congress Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/unk82075800