The Four Musketeers (tennis)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Template:Short description

File:Les Quatre Mousquetaires.jpg
Jacques Brugnon and Henri Cochet together in doubles in 1930 (top), Jean Borotra, « le Basque bondissant » (the bounding Basque), in 1931 (below-left), René Lacoste in 1929 (below-right).

The Four Musketeers, (Template:Langx) named after a 1921 film adaptation of Alexandre Dumas' novel,<ref name="Bowers">Chris Bowers, "The New Musketeers", Davis Cup News, February 27, 2009</ref> were French tennis players who were top competitors of the game during the second half of the 1920s and early 1930s, winning 18 Grand Slam singles titles and 13 Grand Slam doubles.<ref name="Tandon">"French foursome remains fearsome", ESPN.com, January 22, 2009</ref>Template:Sfnp They also led France to six straight Davis Cup wins, 1927–32, in an era when Cup matches enjoyed a prestige similar to today's FIFA World Cup finals. At its creation in 1927, the men's French Open trophy was named the Coupe des Mousquetaires in honour of the quartet.<ref name="Bowers"/>

The Musketeers

The Four Musketeers were:

While Brugnon was primarily a doubles specialist, Borotra, Cochet, and Lacoste won many singles titles. Among them, they won three United States Championships at Forest Hills, six consecutive Wimbledon titles from 1924 through 1929, and 10 titles in 11 years at the French Championships from 1922 through 1932 (up to and including 1924, though, the tournament was only open to members of French tennis clubs, therefore wasn't a major tournament until 1925).Template:Sfnp From 1926 until 1930, either Lacoste or Cochet was ranked No. 1 in the world, and in 1926 and 1927 all four musketeers were ranked in the top-10.<ref name="collins">Template:Cite book</ref> The only player capable of challenging their dominance was the American Bill Tilden (world number-one from 1920 until 1926, when Lacoste took over the position). The Musketeers were finally eclipsed by the arrival of Ellsworth Vines, Fred Perry and Jack Crawford on the international tennis scene in the first half of the 1930s.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Fifth Musketeer

After Lacoste's withdrawal from competitive tennis in 1929, due to failing health, including respiratory disease he was replaced on the French Davis Cup team by Christian Boussus, earning him the nickname "Fifth Musketeer".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Grand Slam finals

Grand Slam singles finals involving the Four Musketeers.

Result Year Championship Surface Winner Finalist Score
Win 1924 Wimbledon Grass Template:Flagicon Jean Borotra Template:Flagicon René Lacoste 6–1, 3–6, 6–1, 3–6, 6–4
Win 1925 French Championships Clay Template:Flagicon René Lacoste Template:Flagicon Jean Borotra 7–5, 6–1, 6–4
Win 1925 Wimbledon Grass Template:Flagicon René Lacoste Template:Flagicon Jean Borotra 6–3, 6–3, 4–6, 8–6
Win 1926 French Championships Clay Template:Flagicon Henri Cochet Template:Flagicon René Lacoste 6–2, 6–4, 6–3
Win 1926 Wimbledon Grass Template:Flagicon Jean Borotra Template:Flagicon Howard Kinsey 8–6, 6–1, 6–3
Win 1926 U.S. Championships Grass Template:Flagicon René Lacoste Template:Flagicon Jean Borotra 6–4, 6–0, 6–4
Win 1927 French Championships Clay Template:Flagicon René Lacoste Template:Flagicon Bill Tilden 6–4, 4–6, 5–7, 6–3, 11–9
Win 1927 Wimbledon Grass Template:Flagicon Henri Cochet Template:Flagicon Jean Borotra 4–6, 4–6, 6–3, 6–4, 7–5
Win 1927 U.S. Championships Grass Template:Flagicon René Lacoste Template:Flagicon Bill Tilden 11–9, 6–3, 11–9
Win 1928 Australian Championships Grass Template:Flagicon Jean Borotra Template:Flagicon Jack Cummings 6–4, 6–1, 4–6, 5–7, 6–3
Win 1928 French Championships Clay Template:Flagicon Henri Cochet Template:Flagicon René Lacoste 5–7, 6–3, 6–1, 6–3
Win 1928 Wimbledon Grass Template:Flagicon René Lacoste Template:Flagicon Henri Cochet 6–1, 4–6, 6–4, 6–2
Win 1928 U.S. Championships Grass Template:Flagicon Henri Cochet Template:Flagicon Frank Hunter 4–6, 6–4, 3–6, 7–5, 6–3
Win 1929 French Championships Clay Template:Flagicon René Lacoste Template:Flagicon Jean Borotra 6–3, 2–6, 6–0, 2–6, 8–6
Win 1929 Wimbledon Grass Template:Flagicon Henri Cochet Template:Flagicon Jean Borotra 6–4, 6–3, 6–4
Win 1930 French Championships Clay Template:Flagicon Henri Cochet Template:Flagicon Bill Tilden 3–6, 8–6, 6–3, 6–1
Win 1931 French Championships Clay Template:Flagicon Jean Borotra Template:Flagicon Christian Boussus 2–6, 6–4, 7–5, 6–4
Win 1932 French Championships Clay Template:Flagicon Henri Cochet Template:Flagicon Giorgio de Stefani 6–0, 6–4, 4–6, 6–3
Loss 1932 U.S. Championships Grass Template:Flagicon Ellsworth Vines Template:Flagicon Henri Cochet 6–4, 6–4, 6–4
Loss 1933 French Championships Clay Template:Flagicon Jack Crawford Template:Flagicon Henri Cochet 8–6, 6–1, 6–3

Career statistics

Template:Performance key

(OF) only for French club members

Combined performance timeline (best result)

  • Since the year of first slam win.
1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 SR
Grand Slam tournaments Template:Nowrap
Australian A A A A W A A A A A 1 / 1
French OF W W W W W W W W F 8 / 9
Wimbledon W W W W W W SF SF 4R A 6 / 9
U.S. QF QF W W W A 1R 1R F A 3 / 8

Legacy

The success of The Four Musketeers in winning the 1927 Davis Cup against the United States was directly responsible for the decision by the French Tennis Federation to build the Roland Garros venue at Porte d'Auteuil.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The four men were national icons in France and all of them lived to be at least 83 years old, basking in glory for many years after their retirement from tennis. They were simultaneously inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1976.

The New Musketeers, (Nouveaux Mousquetaires or néo-Mousquetaires) was first used to refer to the group of players in the 1980s and '90s who enjoyed the country's greatest success since the end of World War II.<ref name="Drozdiak">"France revels in joie de victoire", Washington Post, 1 December 1991</ref> Yannick Noah won the French Open in 1983, Henri Leconte reached the final of the same tournament in 1988, and the two teamed up to win the men's doubles at Roland Garros in 1984. Leconte and Guy Forget then won France's first Davis Cup for almost sixty years in 1991, captained by Noah.

File:Les Quatre Nouveaux Mousquetaires.jpg
The New Musketeers (from top to bottom and left to right : Gasquet, Simon, Monfils and Tsonga) during the period 2008–2009.

A second group of New Musketeers,<ref name="Tandon"/> as coined in L'Équipe and adopted by the French press, refers to the 21st century squad of star players headlined by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Gaël Monfils, Richard Gasquet and Gilles Simon.<ref>"Les copains se prennent au jeu" Template:Webarchive, L'Équipe, October 28, 2008</ref> In 2008, France boasted four Top 20 players, a feat never before achieved since computer rankings were established in 1973.<ref name="Bowers"/> This configuration of the same four players in the Top 20 has been reproduced in mid-2011, in early 2012 and early 2016.

See also

References

Template:Reflist

Sources Template:Refbegin

Template:Refend

Retrieved from "https://wiki.sarg.dev/index.php?title=The_Four_Musketeers_(tennis)&oldid=454297"