René Lacoste

Lacoste started playing tennis at age 15 when he accompanied his father on a trip to England. His first participation in a Grand Slam tournament was the 1922 Wimbledon Championships in which he lost in the first round to Pat O'Hara Wood. The following year, 1923, he reached the fourth round at Wimbledon to be narrowly defeated by Cecil Campbell, and he competed for the first time in the U.S. Championships.

His breakthrough came in 1925 when he won the singles title at the French Championships and at Wimbledon, in both cases after a victory in the final against compatriot Jean Borotra. The following year, 1926, Lacoste lost his French title after a straight-sets defeat in the final to Henri Cochet. He did not compete at Wimbledon that year, but in September he won the U.S. National Championships title against Borotra. He was ranked No. 1 for 1926 by A. Wallis Myers, tennis correspondent of The Daily Telegraph, Bill Tilden, Suzanne Lenglen and Stanley Doust (Daily Mail).

In 1927, dubbed 'The finest year in tennis history' by E. Digby Baltzell, Lacoste was part of the French team that captured the Davis Cup from the United States, ending the latter's 6-year title run. The final was played at the Germantown Cricket Club in Philadelphia and Lacoste won both his singles matches against Bill Johnston and Bill Tilden. He played Tilden in two Grand Slam tournament finals that year and won both of them. At the French Championships he was victorious in five sets; at the U.S. National Championships he defended his title and denied Tilden his seventh U.S. title by winning in straight sets, although he survived setpoints in the first and third set and was down a break in the second. At Wimbledon, Lacoste lost a five-set semifinal to Borotra. He was ranked No. 1 by A. Wallis Myers, Émile Deve, U.S. ranking committee president, Marcel Berger, (L'Opinion [fr]), Jean Samazeuilh (Le Miroir des sports [fr]) and Henri Cochet.

In 1928 Lacoste lost his French title after a four-set loss in the final against Cochet. He took revenge by beating Cochet in the final of the Wimbledon Championships after having defeated Tilden in a five-set semifinal. The Challenge Round of the 1928 Davis Cup against the United States was played at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris on 27–29 July. The stadium was specifically constructed to host France's first defense of the Davis Cup. Lacoste lost the first rubber in a five-set match to Tilden but France won the remaining rubbers to defeat the challengers 4–1 and retain the cup. Lacoste did not participate in the 1928 U.S. Championships.

Between 1923 and 1928 Lacoste played 51 Davis Cup matches for France in 26 ties and compiled a record of 32–8 in singles and 8–3 in doubles.

The only major championship Lacoste played in 1929 was the French and he won his seventh, and last, Grand Slam singles title after a tight five-set final against Jean Borotra. Failing health, including respiratory disease, led to his withdrawal from competitive tennis in 1929. He would make a brief comeback at the 1932 French Championships, where he defeated reigning Wimbledon champion Sidney Wood in the third round, but lost in the fourth to Harry Lee. He was the non-playing captain of the French Davis Cup team in 1932 and 1933.

The Four Musketeers were inducted simultaneously into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1976. In his 1979 autobiography, Jack Kramer, the long-time tennis promoter and great player himself, included Lacoste in his list of the 21 greatest players of all time.

In 1928 Lacoste wrote a book which he titled 'Lacoste on Tennis.'

There are numerous explanations of why Lacoste was originally nicknamed "The Crocodile." A 2006 New York Times obituary about Lacoste's son, Bernard, provides an apparently authoritative one. In the 1920s, supposedly, Lacoste made a bet with his team captain about whether he would win a certain match. The stakes were a suitcase he had seen in a Boston store; it was made of alligator skin. Following his victory, the American press dubbed him "The Alligator." Later, René Lacoste's friend Robert George embroidered a crocodile onto a blazer that Lacoste wore for his matches.

Lacoste was primarily a baseline player who relied on control, accuracy, and deeply-placed groundstrokes to put pressure on his opponents. In addition he possessed an excellent passing shot and backhand slice. Nicknamed the 'Tennis Machine' for his methodical game and ability to avoid errors, he was known as a devoted and hard-working player, rather than a player with a great amount of natural talent. His style was a complete contrast to that of his fellow Musketeer Henri Cochet. Lacoste was a studious tactician who meticulously analysed his opponents and kept detailed notes on their strengths and weaknesses.