Fred Perry Asserts College Is Place To Discover Fundamentals of Tennis

"The place to get your permanent start in tennis is in college,' emphatically declared Fred Perry, suave British racquet star yesterday. "Get out and practice, know your fundamentals, and work on your weak shots. When you are practicing, forget about winning a match, and concentrate on your stroking."

The 29-year-old professional said that the most important thing to learn to do is to keep the ball in play. "The most difficult shot is the back hand," he added, "but the foreband drive, when mastered, will probably win more matches than anything else."

Indoor work during the winter is very helpful, Perry felt. The light is usually faultless, there is no wind, and the bounce is as good as it is outside.

Although the debonair Englishman was glad to give what advice he thought he could regarding college tennis, he was most interested in talking about tennis in general and his own and Don Budge's game in particular. He characterized his own style as that of a "defensive retriever," while Budge was a "power house." "I keep my opponent stretching and Don smashes the ball at his feet."

"The advantage of my system lies in that when I am off my game, I can lay back at the base line and just return the shots. When a player like Vines or Budge loses his stride for a day or so, there is nothing he can do."

"When the red-headed Californian has his serve working," Perry stated, "nobody can stop him. There is not a player in the game who can touch his cannon ball."

"There definitely is no quarrel between pro and amateur tennis," Perry continued. "On the contrary, if we are permitted to continue as we have been there will be a large increase in the amount of tennis played in this country."