Roland-Garros
The Forgotten Numbers

Mark Winters

Rafael Nadal and Chris Evert are the Roland-Garros standards having claimed, respectively, 14 and 7 French singles titles. But the passage of time has resulted in many historic accomplishments falling into a "Chasm ."

This story which delves into a collection of men's and women's feats that have become Roland-Garros' "Forgotten Numbers."

The French championships began in 1891. Initially the tournament was open only to players who were members of French tennis clubs. That changed in 1925 when all amateurs were allowed to participate. The decision led the International Tennis Federation to recognize the tournament, as a Major.

It is ironic that the inaugural men's champion was British. His first name is actually unknown. But to his credit H. Briggs was a Paris resident and a member of the Club Stade Français.

Francoise "Adine" Masson, daughter of Tennis Club de Paris co-founder, Armand Masson, won the first women's singles title in 1898 eventually collecting five in all.

Their names were as captivating as their play. These were the 4 musketeers: Jean Laurent Robert Borotra, Jacques Marie Stanislas Jean Brugnon, Henri Jean Cochet and Jean René Lacoste. They dominated tennis in the 1920s.

But before the "Four Mousquetaires" there were players with names that were almost as elegant. André Pierre Aurèle Gaston Vacherot was the men's winner from1894 to '96.

Then, Paul Aymé, who was born in 1869, won four straight championships, the last in 1900.

Vacherot returned to the winner's circle in 1901 and was followed in 1902 by his younger brother Marcel Gustave Arsène Vacherot who defeated Max Décugis in the title round.

There is no indication whether the Vacherot brothers captivating names matched a flowing playing style. But one thing is certain—Max Décugis' ability earned him "Rarely Recognized" importance in Roland-Garros history.

He went on to win the men's singles a total of eight times, runs that included 1903- 1904, 1907- 1909, and 1912-19 14.

Winning a tournament requires a combination of "Being in form" and occasionally, a dusting of good fortune. Winning both the singles and the doubles is an altogether different matter, which makes Décugis' doubles run from 1902 through 1909 record scintillating.--as were the triumphs of 1911–1914. He claimed his thirteenth and final doubles championship in 1920.

Given what she accomplished in her lifetime, it is almost incidental that Jeanne Matthey was the women's winner from 1909 until 1912. She also earned doubles victories in each of those years beginning with countrywomen Kate Fenwick and followed three-times with Daisy Speranza. In 1909 she emptied the Roland-Garros trophy shelf winning the mixed doubles with Décugis.

With the onset of WWI, she became a Red Cross nurse.and was wounded several times. The most critical of the injuries was to her right arm which ended her tennis career In recognition of her service, she received The Medal of Honor for Public Assistance in 1927.

As a player, Matthey was blessed with resourceful competitiveness .and her resolve was one of the reasons she became involved in the Resistance during WWII. Working as a messenger, she was captured. After being tortured by the Gestapo and refusing to reveal the names of those in her group, she was sent to a German concentration camp.

After being released in 1945, a skeletal Matthey made her way back to France. In 1952, she was appointed a Knight in the National Legion of Honor. Six years later, she became an Officer. By 1962 she had risen to the rank of Commander. The honor, France's highest order of merit, was established in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte.

Returning to Roland-Garros in 1972 and being asked how she was doing, Matthey revealed that thanks to her war wounds "she was in many pieces."

She was 86 years old at the time and lived another eight years in Paris. She had earned historic status not only at Roland-Garros but throughout France.

A player isn't stadium name worthy unless the performer is extraordinary and/or exceptional. Suzanne Lenglen was both. She duplicated Matthey's four-straight women's singles titles taking home trophies from 1920 to 1923. She was champion again in 1925 and 1926.

In doubles, she teamed with Élisabeth d'Ayen Macready to double in 1920 and did the same in back-to-back years with Geramine Pigueron. She closed her double doubling with Didi Vlasto, another countrywoman, in 1923.

In mixed doubles, her Roland-Garros sweeps deserve the standalone designation. They included her victory with Décugis in 1920 and the triple with Brugnon from 1021 to 1923.

Then there was Maurice Germot... The gifted Frenchman left other Roland-Garros doubles players standing in his shadow. A nine-time champion between 1906-1914, he collected his tenth doubles title in 1920.

Roy Emerson claimed, the doubles title six years in a row with an illustrious collection of Australian "Mates." In 1960, he teamed with Neale Fraser; in 1961 Rod Laver was his partner. Fraser returned to the trophy sharing in 1962. In 1963, Manuel Santana, a Spaniard became Emerson's "mate". The next year, Ken Fletcher was part of the winning tandem. Fred Stolle completed Emerson's glorious run in 1965.

When it came to women's doubles, Françoise Dürr, who was born December 25, 1942, won five straight championships from 1967 to 1971. She used a never seen before grip with her right index finger pointing up the handle of the racquet, an oddity that confirmed her elite Roland-Garros reputation. Martina Navratilova was a similar with 5 wins from 1984 until 1988. Gigi Fernandez did the same between 1991 and 1995.

Navratilova tops the women's doubles list with seven championships--one more than Simonne Mathieu--another for whom a stadium, as well as the women's doubles championship trophy, was named. She earned six.

Jean-Claude Barclay and Dürr were three-time mixed doubles winners in 1968, 1971 and 1973. But Ken Fletcher and Margaret Smith (who didn't become Margaret Court until 1967) established the Roland-Garros benchmark earning consecutive championships from 1963 to 1967.

You may have never heard of him, but when totaled up, Max Décugis finished his career with eight singles, thirteen doubles and seven mixed trophies in his Roland-Garros collection. His total of 28 is staggering.

Lenglen, with six singles, four doubles and five mixed doubles titles, is the woman's leader with 15 in all.

Each of the accomplishments that has been discussed, no matter the era, is noteworthy because playing on Terra Battue in Paris is not only demanding but can also be consuming, which makes the exploits, particularly those of Décugis and Lenglen the champions of Roland-Garros' "Forgotten Numbers."