Sport: Out Go the French

The French Davis Cupsters were overconfident and undertrained. In Paris last week, they squeezed past Yugoslavia in the first two matches, then lost the rest. France’s No. 2 star, Pierre Pellizza, looked so pitiful that he was withdrawn midway through the competition. The No. 1 star, balding, 6 ft. 7 in. Yvon Petra got too tired in his final match to run after the ball. The score: Yugoslavia 3, France 2.

The steady Yugoslavs, winners of the last European zone playoffs in 1939, became a good bet to repeat next week in the finals against steady Sweden. Other over-the-border tennis:

¶ Mexico’s Davis Cup brother act—Rolando and Armando Vega—took a deep breath and blew Canada out of the running without losing a set. The U.S. team, which swallowed the underweight Filipinos in the other American zone Davis Cup playoff, must now tangle with the Vegas.

¶ At Wimbledon, red-haired Pauline Betz of the U.S. Wightman Cup team slammed drive after drive past 23-year-old Jean Bostock, best of Britain’s women players. The U.S. team did not lose a set in seven matches.