The Open Era
France · born Lillers, 1963 · left-handed · Wimbledon semi-finalist 1986 and Halle champion 1993
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2
Grass singles titles: Sydney 1985, Halle 1993
SF
Best Wimbledon result, 1986
5
Career-high singles ranking, September 1986
9
ATP singles titles, on hard, clay, grass and carpet
10
ATP doubles titles, including the 1984 French Open
Henri Leconte was born in Lillers, in northern France, in 1963. A left-hander who played fast, flamboyant attacking tennis, he won the French Open junior title and turned professional in 1980. His first singles title came in Stockholm in 1982, and in 1984 he won the French Open doubles with Yannick Noah.
His peak came in the mid-1980s: Wimbledon quarter-finals in 1985, semi-finals at Roland Garros and Wimbledon in 1986, and No. 5 in the world that September. In 1988 he reached the French Open final and lost to Mats Wilander. He won nine singles titles, on all four surfaces of the time, the last on grass at Halle in 1993. In 1991, ranked 159th after back surgery, he beat Pete Sampras in the Davis Cup final in Lyon and won the doubles with Guy Forget as France won the Cup for the first time in more than half a century. He retired in 1996 and has since worked as a commentator, including for Australian television.
| Wimbledon 1985 | Beat the second seed Ivan Lendl 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-1 in the fourth round, then lost the quarter-final to the eventual champion Boris Becker 7-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 |
|---|---|
| Wimbledon 1986 | Semi-finalist; lost to Becker 6-2, 6-4, 6-7, 6-3 after taking the third-set tiebreak. The two left the court with their arms round each other's shoulders |
| Sydney 1985 | Won the New South Wales Open on grass in December, beating Kelly Evernden 6-7(6), 6-2, 6-3 |
| Halle 1993 | Unseeded at the first Gerry Weber Open, he beat the top seed Andrei Medvedev 6-2, 6-3 in the final |
| Grass finals lost | Bristol 1986, singles, to Vijay Amritraj. Queen's Club 1990, doubles with Ivan Lendl, to Jeremy Bates and Kevin Curren 6-2, 7-6 |
| New South Wales Championships | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Men's singles New South Wales Open | |
| Halle | ||
| 1993 | Men's singles | |
Leading grass titles only: the grass majors, tour-level grass events since 1968 and the leading grass championships before 1968. †single source; ‡ sources disagree. Roll of champions
"It was one of these days when you feel like you can do anything."
The person behind the player.
Lyon, November 1991
He had back surgery that summer and was ranked 159th, but the captain, Yannick Noah, picked him for singles in the Davis Cup final against the United States. Before facing Pete Sampras he told Guy Forget: "Don't worry, I'm going to kick his ass". He won in straight sets and then won the doubles with Forget.
Source: Tennis MajorsReputation
Boris Becker called him "a player who makes shots that don't exist". Nick Bollettieri found him dangerous "because sometimes he doesn't even know what he's doing".
Source: Tennis MajorsRoland Garros 1988
After losing the 1988 French Open final to Mats Wilander, his remarks at the trophy ceremony were misunderstood and part of the Paris crowd booed him.
Source: Tennis MajorsWimbledon 1986
The semi-final against Becker was "fast and fiery" and "full of art as well as force", and when it was over the two left Centre Court with their arms round each other's shoulders.
Source: The Christian Science MonitorMelbourne
Since 2010 he has commentated on the Australian Open for the Seven Network, where his enthusiasm for French players, and his cry of "unbelievable!", won him a following. In 2017 he reached the semi-finals of BBC Celebrity MasterChef.
Source: WikipediaFree membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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