ON THE COURTS OF SAINT-CLOUD THE TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP

Mile LENGLEN wins an easy victory in singles over Miss Mac Kane
LACOSTE, after a thrilling battle, triumphs over Borotra

Tennis, henceforth, will have nothing to envy from football or athletics; like them, it attracts crowds, and it brings together not only the quiet crowd of fans for which it was so often criticized, but all those, and there are now many, who do not disdain to brave the heatwave to admire the beauty of a drive or the elegance of a smash, had gone to Saint-Cloud, under the tutelary shade, for the final of the two singles championships. There's a crowd for the finals, especially when they're played on a Saturday or Sunday, a crowd that's starting to get picky, judging the shots, getting indignant, as it always applauds feverishly, crowded into the stands that seem to thin it out; the court is nothing but a mirror without reflection.
The curious and the passionate await their favorites at work. And suddenly, names fly among the straw hats and light-colored cloches. Chances are discussed as if on the threshold of a boxing match; performances are mentioned, and statistics are almost published.

But here comes the first match.
Two white spots in the shadows. Pants tight at the waist, shirts cut wide open, leather sandals—these are the opponents, Borotra and Lacoste, separated by hairstyle alone. One proudly wears the small Basque beret, the emblem of his country; the other, slightly cramped by a white cap.

They begin. Borotra, faster, more nervous, carries the game in series like a rifle shot. Lacoste, more reserved, hunkers down at the back of the court and calmly counts his losses. He will soon recover. In the third game, Borotra has a lapse: Then his opponent takes over the game and, in turn, reels off the three sets that make him the French champion. He does this with patience, with perfect restraint of means; with the calm certainty of a man waiting for his moment and knowing it will come.
One phase of the match arouses unanimous enthusiasm. Lacoste serves Borotra a ball that the latter lofts back to the back of the court. Lacoste fishes it out and places it at the edge of the net. Borotra, an accomplished athlete, covers the fifteen meters in astonishing strides, picks up the ball, and puts it on the edge. Then, defeated, Lacoste picks her up and throws her back to his opponent, with the same composure, and the stands joyfully express their admiration.

We will now talk about Miss Lenglen.
Just as when we see her arrive on the court with a red handkerchief around her forehead, we already appreciate her victory. Miss Lenglen is the total mechanism of tennis; the pace, the gestures, the studied game, and we feel a certain compassion, with admiration all the same, for her always unfortunate opponents, like that charming Miss Mac Kane who lost the match, except for honor as a good, blonde British woman.

The heat claimed 252 victims in the United States. New York, June 6 (dep. P. Parisien.) The number of deaths caused by the intense heat currently prevailing in the Eastern and Central United States has reached 252. A number of people were struck down with madness and four died in the parks of New York last night.