Sport: Champions at Forest Hills

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This year at Wimbledon, with Perry out of the way, von Cramm had a chance to become the world's No. i amateur by beating Donald Budge in the final. But he failed, 3-6, 4-6, 2-6. A fortnight later they met again—in the Davis Cup interzone final, with the matches between the U. S. and Germany standing at two all— in a match which, as an exhilarating display of two great tennis machines was not so much a contest as a cumulative spectacle. It made a gloriously crowded hour of Wimbledon history. With both men constantly attacking, it seemed to the crowd as if every hard-hit rally had its incredible gets, its finishing shots whipped back for aces. "How pleased we all were," said a reporter for the London News, "with the admiring gasp of 'Oh Baby!' that burst from Budge when von Cramm left him standing with an astonishing stop-volley from the centre of the court." When after splitting four sets, Budge worked up from 1-4 in the fifth set to 7-6, the well-behaved Wimbledon audience crumpled as von Cramm, having saved five match points, finally had to yield, 6-8, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 8-6. There were many spectators who agreed with the London News Chronicle that they had seen "the greatest match of all time."

Although the fact that Gottfried von Cramm came to the peak of his deft, flawless game along with two players so formidable as Perry and Budge may keep him at No. 2 as long as Budge remains an amateur, this misfortune has helped him to become another kind of champion even more impressive to the tennis public. He is by far the most gracious loser in the game. In the Davis Cup interzone final in _1935, he and Kay Lund had Wilmer Allison & John Van Ryn at match point four times. As von Cramm served and came in for the volley, he just checked himself from hitting Van Ryn's high return, let it sail out. The umpire called match point for Germany again. Von Cramm walked up to the umpire to explain that his racket had touched the ball, a piece of Quixotry that cost Germany the match. And when he had come within an ace of his first Wimbledon championship only to be nosed out by Budge this year, his remark at the net was typical: "I played the best tennis in my life, and if you can beat me, it is a pleasure to lose."

Gottfried von Cramm speaks some French and Italian and a reasonably fluent English, is equally amiable in any of them. Although umpires may insist on pronouncing his full name as resonantly as possible, his fellow players call him Gottfried or Cramm. He likes dancing, field hockey, swimming, hiking, the cinema, Wagner and after tournaments, night clubs and champagne. He also likes to race his Opel limousine from Berlin to Oelber. Independently rich, he is currently the only outstanding amateur who is certain not to turn professional, may thus some day be unquestionably the world's best amateur. From Forest Hills, he plans to go on to California. He will go alone, for this year he and the Baroness, who used to knit and read during his matches, are divorced.