The ongoing Australian combination of Brookes and Patterson then moved to New York where they completely dominated the US Men’s Doubles Championship of September 1919. Their feat was not a small one since it is in fact the losers and then current title holders, William Tilden and Vincent Richards, who were subsequently to become two of the biggest names ever known to the sport of tennis.  The Australian domination of 1919 was cemented in place when Brookes and Patterson victoriously defended the Davis Cup against the British in Melbourne later that year.

Devoid of victory in 1919, the Americans were to re-stamp their authority the following year however. Their comeback can be singularly attributed to the talent, personality and strength of character of an individual called William Tilden. This man was to mark an indelible print on the sport for the next ten years. 

This was to be the beginning of an impressive seven consecutive victories in the Davis Cup, with what was to become the famous combination of “Big Bill ” Tilden and “Little Bill” Johnston. They were to win 32 out of 35 contested matches. In seven consecutive challenge rounds, they beat the Japanese in 1921, the Australians in 1922,23 and 24 and the French in 1925 and 26!

Big Bill Tilden imposed himself as world number one over the same period. In 1921 he won his “Grand Slam”. He started by winning the French Clay Court Singles Championships with commensurate ease. Two months later he went on to retain the Wimbledon Singles Title in a challenging match where he had to save a match point against him from the South African Norton. (This was actually the last year that a challenge round was played at Wimbledon, subsequent years requiring all players to submit to the knock out rounds). At Forest Hills he came up against Little Bill Johnston again, this time asserting his authority in a simple straight sets victory.

 Backhand volley

A Tilden service of 1919.

It was finally to be the French who were to successfully pick up the gauntlet. Whilst they lost to the Americans in the Davis Cup of 1926, Bill Tilden had lost his final match of the challenge round in four sets against a certain Rene Lacoste. This was his first defeat in six years and Bill seemed tired for the first time in his career. A week later, he then also lost the US Singles Title in a five set thriller to another Frenchman, Henri Cochet. Although he had been at the top of the game for so long, Big Bill was still only 33 years old. He wasn’t about to give up easily therefore and dreamt of having his revenge. He was to firmly remain a thorn in the side of the successful French Muskateers for several years to come.