It worked. Orwell had a set in the bag.
When Joyce did respond, mid-way through the second, he turned on a display of unforgettable tennis. He wasn’t Orwell and he wasn’t going to play like Orwell. He was Joyce. He would play like Joyce, and if he could play like Joyce at the top of his form he would be playing like no one else before or since.
He started hitting the ball deeper, taking control. All Orwell could do, forced further back, was defend, improvise and hope. The Irishman was not only seeing it well now but was lost in the sound—the sound of the play, of the crowd of onlookenpeepers and of his own voice, a muttering, dancing singsong of words and noises and thoughts and ideas and commentary. This is what he had done against SuperTom. It was like a tide of tennis rather than a match.
Joyce won the second set and swept through the third. He broke Orwell at 2–2 in the fourth and held the break. At 5–4 he was serving for the match.
With nothing left to lose, Orwell hit two beautiful cross-court returns and a viciously sliced drop shot to get a break point. He then won the game with a simple lob—it wasn’t deep, it had no spin. It was like a shot played by a child. He repeated the same play in Joyce’s next service game, this time with three forehand returns to Joyce’s feet, taking the match to a fifth set.
Orwell sat for a long time in his chair before coming back out on court. He knew Joyce’s odyssey would continue unabated. Orwell needed to find another way home. ‘I didn’t have to play better tennis,’ Orwell said later. ‘I was never going to play better tennis than Jim. The second and third sets proved that. What I had to do was play better points.’ In the fifth set he concentrated only on the important points. He identified them carefully and he played them like a demon.
For Joyce it must have been like hearing a beautiful piece of music, and every now and then having to stop and wait while a number of wildebeest were removed from the auditorium. Long, richly detailed passages of play would suddenly find themselves juddering to a halt while the doors were opened and Orwell’s animals were herded outside.
At 4–4 Orwell decided it was now or never. He crept forward and put the Joyce second serve away three successive times. He lost the next two points but crowded the serve again and belted the passing shot to secure the break. The end came soon after.
The players thanked their supporters; this was unusual for Joyce. ‘I take my hat off to them,’ he said. ‘And I hope they’ll be standing a few jars at O’Dwyers tonight. I’d like to thank that woman in bare feet over there—she knows why. We had a fine match, didn’t we, George? Ah yes, a bit of exercise and a fine thing too. Great play today, George. Here’s to you, man.’
Orwell spoke briefly and with some difficulty before leaving ‘for tests’.
‘Thank you,’ he said. ‘It is a great thing to be up here with James Joyce. I’d like to suggest that when the heroes and highlights of this tournament are recalled, attention also be given to remembering the monsters, the failures, the infamy and the disgrace…’ Orwell struggled to continue, but was assisted from the court. His words, painfully expressed yet defiant and clear, provided a sombre conclusion. There was some unease in the stadium as his wife, Sonia, collected his belongings, thanked the crowd and left.
Sports historians may be interested to know that Orwell’s possessions consisted of the men’s singles trophy, a piece of paper inscribed with his children’s story and a six-month-old slip from Ladbrokes, backing the following for a win:
Mixed doubles: Tallulah Bankhead and whoever.
Men’s doubles: Beckett and Duchamp.
Women’s doubles: Mansfield and Hodgkins.
Women’s singles: Akhmatova.
Men’s singles: Winston.
Results
MEN’S SINGLES
QUALIFYING ROUND
H. Green (Eng) d. R. Firbank (Eng) 6–4, 7–6, 2–6, 6–4
J. Masefield (Eng) d. T. M. Rattigan (Eng) 4–6, 3–6, 7–6, 7–6, 10–8
J. Hasek (Czech) d. C. Day-Lewis (Ire) 7–6, 7–6, 7–6
A. Ribeiro (Por) d. H. Crane (USA) 2–6, 6–3, 2–6, 6–3, 6–1
R. P. Warren (USA) d. A. Blok (Rus) 6–1, 4–6, 6–4, 6–4
A. Hitchcock (Eng) d. J. Cheever (USA) 6–4, 7–6, 3–6, 6–2
J. E. Rodo (Urg) d. L. Durrell (Eng) 6–4, 3–6, 6–2, 6–0
J. E. Rivera (Col) d. A. Burgess (Eng) 6–3, 6–3, 6–7, 6–7, 7–6
J. Berryman (USA) d. F. Capra (USA) 7–6, 7–6, 6–4
P. Eluard (Fra) d. A. Powell (Eng) 3–6, 2–6, 6–3, 6–0, 6–2
H. Villa-Lobos (Bra) d. R. M. Helpmann (Aust) 7–5, 5–7, 7–5, 5–7, 10–8
N. Kazantzakis (Gre) d. G. Greene (Eng) 2–6, 6–3, 6–3, 7–5
E. Lubitsch (Ger) d. I. B. Singer (Pol) 6–4, 6–7, 7–5, 2–6, 6–2
B. Spock (USA) d. J. R. R. Tolkien (S. Afr) 6–4, 0–6, 6–3, 6–2
S. Lewis (USA) d. H. MacDiarmid (Scot) 1–6, 6–2, 4–6, 7–6, 6–3
A. A. Milne (Eng) d. P. E. Borduas (Can) 7–5, 6–4, 3–6, 6–1
J. B. Morton (Nark and Eng) d. M. Beckmann (Ger) 6–3, 6–4, 3–6, 6–2
S. Romberg (Hun) d. W. R. Reich (Ukr) 0–6, 6–3, 6–2, 6–0
J. Prevert (Fra) d. A. B. Paterson (Aust) 6–4, 6–7, 7–5, 6–3
E. Muir (Scot) d. N. Lindsay (Aust) 6–4, 6–3,
