ROLEX MONTE-CARLO MASTERS
© Agence Realis Monaco many great successes despite the premature death of Reggie in 1910 , followed by his brother nine years after .
ANTHONY WILDING : A CHARMING ‘ HERO ’ OF TENNIS
A
New
Zealander naturalised as a British citizen inherited the similar talents and class of the Doherty brothers . Anthony Wilding won four Monte-Carlo Masters in a row , from 1911 until 1914 , conquering the audience with his skill as well as by his charm . It made him the first real star of tennis in the ‘ Great Gatsby mode ’. His career promised to be outstanding but World War I made his dream fade and pushed him to join the British Army . A fatal decision because he died while fighting in France , in May 1915 . Nevertheless , his reputation as a great player is still alive , since he had achieved five extra victories at Wimbledon and was ranked as the winner in two Australasian Championships ( ancestor of the Australian Open ).
Olympics in 1920 and in the South of France Championships in 1923 .
HENRI JEAN COCHET : A FRENCH ‘ PLAYER- ATHLETE ’
After having breathed ‘ tennis air ’ since his childhood , his father being a groundskeeper at Lyon tennis club , Henri Cochet became a true practised ‘ athlete ’ predominating between the late 1920 ’ s and early 1930 ’ s . ‘ Henri Cochet can beat everybody when his shots are working and be beaten by everybody when they are not ,’ pointed out René Lacoste practicing with him , Jacques Brugnon and Jean Borotra the so-called tennis ‘ Four Musketeers ’. Cochet stepped on the podium three times at the Monte-Carlo Masters respectively in 1928 , 1929 and 1931 collecting acknowledgments including winning six straight Davis Cup championships from 1927 until 1932 . His success made him tennis ’ number one player in those years .
FRANCIS GORDON LOWE : A NOBLE MATCH PLAYER
The podium remained in British hands for three more years , in 1920 , 1921 and 1923 . All thanks to Sir Francis Gordon Lowe , 2nd Baronet , a skilled tennis player who also stood out in the Australasian Championships in 1915 , in the World Covered Court Championships , in the Summer
NICOLA PIETRANGELI : THE WINNING ITALIAN STYLE OF THE LATE AMATEUR ERA
In 1961 , the Monte-Carlo Masters was led by the still considered greatest Italian player of all time , Nicola Pietrangeli who is currently based in the Principality . Known for his style , strength and exceptional in-
© Lijian Zhang
The final match between Fabio Fognini ( Italy ) and Dušan Lajović ( Serbia ) at the 2019 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters
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