The Four Musketeers (tennis)

Last updated November 01, 2024

The Four Musketeers, (French : Les Quatre Mousquetaires) named after a 1921 film adaptation of Alexandre Dumas' novel,^[1] 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.^[2]^[3] 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.^[1]

The Musketeers

The Musketeers were:

Jean Borotra (1898–1994)^[4]^[5]
Jacques Brugnon (1895–1978)^[6]
Henri Cochet (1901–1987)^[7]
René Lacoste (1904–1996)^[8]

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).^[9] 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.^[10] 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 and Jack Crawford on the international tennis scene in the first half of the 1930s.^[11]

Career statistics

Key
W	F	SF	QF	#R	RR	Q#	DNQ	A	NH

(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.

(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											18 / 27
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.^[12] 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.^[13] 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.

A second group of New Musketeers,^[2] 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.^[14] In 2008, France boasted four Top 20 players, a feat never before achieved since computer rankings were established in 1973.^[1] This configuration of the same four players in the Top 20 has been reproduced in mid-2011, in early 2012 and early 2016.

Related Research Articles

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Jean René Lacoste was a French tennis player and businessman. He was nicknamed "the Crocodile" because of how he dealt with his opponents; he is also known worldwide as the creator of the Lacoste tennis shirt, which he introduced in 1929, and eventually founded the brand and its logo in 1933.

Henri Jean Cochet was a French tennis player. He was a world No. 1 ranked player, and a member of the famous "Four Musketeers" from France who dominated tennis in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

Jean Laurent Robert Borotra was a French tennis champion. He was one of the "Four Musketeers" from his country who dominated tennis in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Borotra was imprisoned in Itter Castle during the latter years of World War II and subsequently fought in the Battle for Castle Itter.

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The 1926 French Championships was a tennis tournament that took place on outdoor clay courts at the Croix-Catelan of the Racing Club de France in Paris, France. The tournament ran from 2 June until 14 June. It was the 31st staging of the French Championships and the second Grand Slam tournament of the year.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cochet–Tilden rivalry</span>

This was a tennis rivalry played between the French player Henri Cochet, and the American player Bill Tilden. In their respective careers the met each other on the court 35 times from 1926 until 1939 it ended with Tilden leading in head to head matches 23-12. In Major championship matches their rivalry ended with Cochet leading Tilden 4-3.

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References

1 2 3 Chris Bowers, "The New Musketeers", Davis Cup News, February 27, 2009
1 2 "French foursome remains fearsome", ESPN.com , January 22, 2009
↑ Grasso (2011), pp. 104–105
↑ Christopher Clarey (18 July 1994). "Jean Borotra Is Dead at 95; One of Tennis's '4 Musketeers'". The New York Times .
↑ Grasso (2011), p. 45
↑ Grasso (2011), pp. 50–51
↑ Grasso (2011), p. 66
↑ Grasso (2011), p. 167
↑ Wilson (2014), p. 80–87
↑ Collins, Bud (2010). The Bud Collins History of Tennis (2nd ed.). [New York]: New Chapter Press. p. 716. ISBN 978-0942257700.
↑ "French Tennis". The Sydney Morning Herald . National Library of Australia. 2 December 1933. p. 15.
↑ "Roland-Garros – History of the Stadium". www.rolandgarros.com. French Tennis Federation (FFT).
↑ "FRANCE REVELS IN JOIE DE VICTOIRE", Washington Post, December 1, 1991
↑ "Les copains se prennent au jeu" Archived 2011-06-16 at archive.today , L'Équipe, October 28, 2008

Sources

Grasso, John (2011). Historical Dictionary of Tennis. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0810872370.
Wilson, Elizabeth (2014). Love Game : A History of Tennis, from Victorian Pastime to Global Phenomenon. London: Serpent's Tail. ISBN 978-1846689109.

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[Bowers-1] 1 2 3 Chris Bowers, "The New Musketeers", Davis Cup News, February 27, 2009

[Tandon-2] 1 2 "French foursome remains fearsome", ESPN.com , January 22, 2009

[FOOTNOTEGrasso2011104–105-3] Grasso (2011), pp. 104–105

[4] Christopher Clarey (18 July 1994). "Jean Borotra Is Dead at 95; One of Tennis's '4 Musketeers'". The New York Times .

[FOOTNOTEGrasso201145-5] Grasso (2011), p. 45

[FOOTNOTEGrasso201150–51-6] Grasso (2011), pp. 50–51

[FOOTNOTEGrasso201166-7] Grasso (2011), p. 66

[FOOTNOTEGrasso2011167-8] Grasso (2011), p. 167

[FOOTNOTEWilson201480–87-9] Wilson (2014), p. 80–87

[collins-10] Collins, Bud (2010). The Bud Collins History of Tennis (2nd ed.). [New York]: New Chapter Press. p. 716. ISBN 978-0942257700.

[11] "French Tennis". The Sydney Morning Herald . National Library of Australia. 2 December 1933. p. 15.

[12] "Roland-Garros – History of the Stadium". www.rolandgarros.com. French Tennis Federation (FFT).

[Drozdiak-13] "FRANCE REVELS IN JOIE DE VICTOIRE", Washington Post, December 1, 1991

[14] "Les copains se prennent au jeu" Archived 2011-06-16 at archive.today , L'Équipe, October 28, 2008

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