By Bill Nichols

That old thing about which arrived first, the chicken or the egg has never really been decided.

An equally posing problem concerns National Clay Court tennis champion Clark Graebner. Which came first, tennis stardom or maturity for the 24-year-old netter.

Graebner, in town yesterday with Davis Cup captain Donald Dell, is having the best year of his career, capped by his victory Sunday in the "clay courts" at Milwaukee.

"RIGHT NOW, CLARK is the best tennis player in the country," Dell said. "Not last month and maybe not next month, but right now he is the best."

To hear Dell say that about the former Lakewood High star is heartening for Clevelanders, but somewhat surprising. Graebner was ranked fourth nationally when the winter circuit began, a drop from third in 1967.

"I laid off tennis for about four months after the U.S. Nationals last year," Clark said. "I began playing in South Africa, although not in good shape and lost out early.

"I LOST IN THE FIRST round of an eight-man tournament in Richmond, Va., but since then I have reached either the finals or semifinals of every tournament."

"I’m playing the most consistent tennis of my life. And I’m in great shape. I do a lot of running. I run nearly every day.

"I think my victory in the clay courts was very important to me because I proved I could win a big one. I’ve played in the finals of several tournaments this past year and didn’t win any.

"I CAN"T REALLY SAY WHY. I don’t know if my opponents played their best against me or that maybe I was jinxed in the finals.

"I thought about all of this when I faced Stan Smith at Milwaukee Sunday.

"The victory was very good for me," Graebner added.

Dell, who is his first year as Cup captain, has seen Graebner and Lt. Arthur Ashe go unbeaten in five Davis Cup matches.

"HE is the most cooperative player on the team," Dell said of Graebner.

"WHEN I WAS named captain I was advised not to select Clark by a lot of people, including George MacCall (former captain).

MacCall kicked Graebner off the Davis Cup team two years ago. The Clevelander had a reputation as a player who was hard to get along with, both on and off the court.

"Clark would lose a point, a set or a match and make excuses for it," Dell explained.

"People are only concerned with the final result and not excuses. I tried to get this across to Clark.

"IN FACT, I told the entire Davis team the team was more important than any individual.

"Clark has always played on natural talent, but it has not been enough. HE is not working harder tan I've ever seen him. I believe he has matured. He has never said no to anything I've asked him to do. A year ago he would have told me to drop dead.'

"Donald has the intangible ability to get his message across about the importance of winning. He can make you do something even if you don't want to," Graebner explained.

GRAEBNER, a sales representative with the Hobson Miller Paper Co. of New York, says that this will be his last year on the circuit."

"I'm willing to listen to professional offers, but I will do the thing that pleases my employer, my family and pro sponsors," he said when asked about his future.

Graebner wants someday to be captain of the Davis Cup team and what he has learned from Don Dell will certainly groom his for the job.