U.S. Team Trounces Englishmen 5-0, Takes On Australians in December

The U.S. Davis Cup team crushed England's European champions in five straight matches this weekend and showed that they are ready to take on Australia's cup-holders in the challenge round this December.

After Chuck McKinley and Dennis Ralston won the doubles in four sets from Mike Sangster and Bobby Wilson Friday, McKinley and Frank Froehling completed the shut-out by winning singles matches yesterday.

The best news for the U.S. came when Froehling blasted Sangster, 6-1, 4-6, 6-0, 6-4 in Saturday's singles. The decisive victory over Sangster, one of the world's finest players, showed that Froehling will be a definite candidate for one of the two singles berths when the U.S. plays Australis.

McKinley trounced British hard-courts champion Billy Knight, 8-6, 6-2, 6-3. Since the Cup matches were played on hard courts at Bournemouth, England, Knight played instead of Wilson, who is higher ranked in world competition but is not as strong a hard-court player as Knight.

Before challenging Australia for the Cup in December, the Americans must play India in a November match. The U.S. is expected to have little trouble defeating the Indians.