THE CUP COMES HOME
Vic Seixas and Tony Trabert are two Americans who know all about playing tennis in Australia. They've made four long trips there in quest of the Davis Cup which Australia carried away from U.S. shores in 1950. Three times Vic and Tony had sad trips home—without the Cup. But last week, before capacity Challenge Round crowds of 25,578 in Sydney's White City Courts, the Americans made good on their fourth try.
Australia's Lew Hoad served up eight double faults, foot faulted three times as Trabert led off with a 6-4, 2-6, 12-10, 6-3 victory the first day—sweet revenge for the heartbreaker he dropped to Hoad in the 1953 Challenge Round.
Seixas, under a two-year voodoo spell worked by Ken Rosewall's magic backhand (Seixas lost eight of nine matches and six straight to Rosewall), conjured up some of his own medicine: a relentless attack on Ken's forehand to win, 8-6, 6-8, 6-4, 6-3. That night U.S. Captain Bill Talbert, who had predicted a 5-0 American sweep, said happily "I am proud of my boys."
The next day—Tuesday—the Americans captured the deciding point for the U.S. with victory in the doubles, and the boys got ready to pack up the Cup.
PHOTO
RONNY JAQUES
VIC SEIXAS AND TONY TRABERT TOOK CONFIDENCE AND EXPERIENCE ON TRIP
PHOTO
UNITED PRESS
TRABERT BEAT HOAD TO PUT THE U.S. AHEAD