The Four Musketeers (tennis)
The Four Musketeers, (French: Les Quatre Mousquetaires) after a popular 1920s film adaptation of Alexandre Dumas' classic,[1] were French tennis players who dominated the game in the second half of the 1920s and early 1930s, winning 20 Grand Slam titles and 23 Grand Slam doubles.[2] They also led France to six straight Davis Cup wins, 1927 through 1932, in an era when Cup matches enjoyed a prestige similar to today's FIFA World Cup finals. At its creation in 1927, Tournoi de Roland-Garros's trophy was named the Coupe des Mousquetaires in honour of the quartet.[1]
The Musketeers were:
- Jean Borotra (1898-1994)
- Jacques Brugnon (1895-1978)
- Henri Cochet (1901-1987)
- René Lacoste (1904-1996)
While Brugnon was primarily a doubles specialist, Borotra, Cochet, and Lacoste won many singles titles. Between them, they won 3 United States Championships at Forest Hills, 6 consecutive Wimbledon titles from 1924 through 1929, and 10 titles in 11 years at the French Championships, 1922 through 1932 (until 1925, though, the tournament was only open to French nationals). The only player capable of challenging their dominance was the great 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, Jack Crawford, and Don Budge on the international tennis scene.
Legacy
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,[2] (Nouveaux Mousquetaires or néo-Mousquetaires) coined in L'Équipe and adopted by the French press, refers to the present-day squad of star players headlined by Gilles Simon, Richard Gasquet, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and Gaël Monfils.[3] In 2008 France boasted four Top-20 players, a feat never before achieved since computer rankings were established in 1973.[1]
Notes
- ^ a b c Chris Bowers, "The New Musketeers", Davis Cup News, February 27, 2009
- ^ a b "French foursome remains fearsome", ESPN.com, January 22, 2009
- ^ "Les copains se prennent au jeu", L'Équipe, October 28, 2008