By Randy Walker
@TennisPublisher
There is much anticipation of a potential match between brothers – the Bryan Brothers vs. the Murray Brothers – this week as the USA takes on Great Britain in the Davis Cup first round in Glasgow, Scotland. Bob and Mike Bryan may take on Andy and Jaime Murray in the pivotal doubles match this coming Saturday.
While this would be a very rare occurrence it has happened before and, ironically, it has happened before during a USA vs. Great Britain Davis Cup Series back in 1903.
The following is an excerpt from my Davis Cup writings on the famous 1903 Davis Cup matches at the Longwood Cricket Club in Brookline, Massachusetts – the third ever staging of the competition and the first time that a nation other than the United States won the Cup.
Following the successful staging of the 1902 Davis Cup in Brooklyn, N.Y., the general feeling was that the British would again challenge for the Cup. The matches were played in good spirits and sportsmanship. The conditions were fair and the matches were played in front of large enthusiastic and appreciative galleries. The famed Doherty brothers – Reggie and Laurie – enjoyed their visit to America and seemed keen for another shot at winning the Cup after their defeat in 1902. Thus, it was not to great surprise that on February 20, 1903 G.R. Mewburn of the English Lawn Tennis Association officially dispatched a challenge for the Davis Cup to the United States National Lawn Tennis Association.
The landscape of American tennis was changing in 1903 as Dwight Davis, the Cup’s founder and one of the nation’s leading players, had mostly given up competitive play. Malcolm Whitman, his Harvard and Davis Cup teammate, also had moved on from playing competitively.
Bill Larned, the two-time reigning U.S. champion, was chosen to again represent the U.S. team, but, somewhat surprisingly, Robert Wrenn was selected as the second singles player over Beals Wright and Holcombe Ward, who both ranked higher than Wrenn in the USNLTA rankings. Wrenn and his brother George got the nomination as the doubles team, which was not a surprise. Britain countered with the Doherty brothers and Harold Mahoney as the third player on the team. The series was set for August 4, 5, 6 at the Longwood Cricket Club just outside Boston, the site of the first-ever series three years earlier.
On the first day of play, a shocking – and quite tactical – development occurred when Reggie Doherty defaulted his match to Larned. A badly strained right shoulder prevented him from posting in his match and British team captain William Collins resorted to accepting the defaulted loss to Larned over replacing Doherty with Harold Mahoney as he would be obligated to have Mahoney play in the reverse singles match on the third day as well. A physican had advised against Doherty playing in the singles, but with rest, could recuperate.
The match that did take place was Robert Wrenn taking on Laurie Doherty in Doherty’s first solo appearance in Davis Cup and, as the New York Times reported, “the reports of his prowess had not been exaggerated.” Doherty won 6-0, 6-3, 6-4 to tie the series at 1-1 to make up for his older brother’s default.
Wrenn was able to win only eight points in the first set and struggled getting his first serve in. Doherty often attacked Wrenn’s second serve and came to the net to win many points.
“There was never a moment, however, in which the American appeared to have the Englishman on the defensive,” wrote the Times. “Doherty always seemed able to pick out the most vulnerable portion of the opposing court and by a swift drive either held his opponent off or passed him. It was fine tennis and it demonstrated that the former American champion had not risen to the same pinnacle as the present holder of the title from the land across the sea.”
Doherty’s strong deep drives, occasional deep lobs, smashing overheads and accurate passing shots overwhelmed Wrenn. Doherty’s serve was not seen as being particulary fast, but his consistency is placing his first serve in – with great accuracy placing the balls in the corners, caused Wrenn many problems.
“The real brilliancy of the younger Doherty, who is familiarly known as the “Little Do” in his country, lay in the length and the force of his drives and in the marvelous accuracy of his passing stroke,” reported the Times. “Practically, the Englishman never deviated from these strokes during the entire three sets.”
With the score tied at 1-1, the conversation immediately shifted to whether Reggie Doherty would be fit enough to pair with his brother for the doubles. Would Collins be forced to play Mahoney in place of Reggie?
In a stroke of good fortune for Doherty and the British team, a steady rain hovered over Boston and the Longwood Cricket Club, causing for a postponement of play for two days, allowing for Reggie Doherty’s strained arm to continue to rest and heal.
“This proved to be gratifying news for even the most ardent supporters in the American tennis ranks did not wish to have a victory that was tinged by any speculation as to what might have been the result had other conditions prevailed” wrote the New York Times.
So as the sun finally shined over the Longwood Cricket Club, a battle of brothers would ensue for the pivotal doubles point of the series. The Doherty brothers – Reggie and Laurie – took on the Wrenn brothers – Robert and George. It was a unique happening in the Davis Cup for one set of brothers to face off against another. A set of brothers would not pair again for the U.S. Davis Cup team for exactly 100 years, when Bob and Mike Bryan made their debut in 2003.
The duos had played the previous summer, during the Dohertys pre-Davis Cup match tour of New England. The Doherty’s won a four-set decision in the Eastern championships at Longwood.
Reggie showed little sign of his injured right arm throughout the match. Each team exchanged service holds until the 11th game of the first set when the Doherty’s broke George Wrenn’s serve and served out the first set. George Wrenn’s serve again proved vulnerable in the second set, being broken again at 4-4. Reggie Doherty, however, was not able to serve out the second set in the next game, allowing the Wrenns a temporary reprieve. Five games later, it was Robert Wrenn would surrendered serve, allowing Laurie Doherty to serve out the second set 9-7.
Holding a two-sets-to-love lead, the Dohertys slipped a bit in the third, perhaps tiring, perhaps feeling complacent. They appeared to be content in letting the third set go and take full advantage of the 10-minute rest period between the third and fourth sets that was customary.
The Wrenns jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the fourth and appeared ready to make a move and turn the tide in the match, but after Reggie Doherty lost his serve in that second game of the fourth set, the English brothers reeled off four straight games to take a 4-2 lead and held on to win the fourth set 6-3, clinching the match and the important 2-1 lead.
“(The Wrenns) were in excellent form but they were defeated by men who slightly outclassed them and were their superiors in steadiness and accuracy of stroke,” reported the New York Times.
Faced with the dilemma of having to win both singles matches to prevent the Cup from being handed to non-American hands for the first time, Bill Larned and Robert Wrenn played furiously on adjoining courts against Reggie Doherty and Laurie Doherty, respectively.
Both matches extended to five, thrilling sets, but most of the attention among the spectators was focused on Larned and Reggie Doherty, which was seen to be the feature match. It would be the match that would decide the balance of the series – and in a somewhat controversial circumstance.
At 4-4 in the final set, Larned earned a break point opportunity that would give him the chance to serve out the match. After missing his first serve, Reggie Doherty’s second serve landed dangerously close to the line. Larned, believing the ball out and a double-fault, began to walk to the other side of the court to serve for the match. The linesperson failed to call the ball out. The referee decided that the point should be replayed. Doherty wins the point and goes on to hold serve.
“This took the snap out of Larned’s game at once” wrote the New York Times, “and after that Doherty had little difficulty in winning.”
Doherty’s 6-3, 6-8, 6-0, 2-6, 7-5 victory clinched the victory for Britain as Wrenn and Laurie Doherty were still tangled in the middle of the fifth set on the adjacent court.
Wrenn continued to fight hard for pride and country but was unable to salvage another point for the United States, losing 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-8, 6-4
The Cup was wrestled out of American arms for the first time.
