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Who were the Musketeers? Lacoste appeared
on the scene first in the mid-1920s. An inquisitive young man, he
mastered his competitive strategies by being a pioneer and charting Tilden's
matches, in en effort to break Tilden's "king of the court"
status. From 1920 to 1926, Tilden didn't lose a significant match
anywhere in the world. Lacoste, successful at playing a slow,
tantalizing game from the back court, was a champion when most events were
contested on a grass surface. An ancient Borg, perhaps?
Henri Cochet, a talented athlete, was
actually the first to defeat Big Bill. On Bill's home court at the US
Nationals in 1926, Cochet came from behind, hitting the lines in a fury of aggressive,
on-the-rise plays, taking away Tilden's bid for a seventh straight national
title. Later it was learned Bib Bill had twisted his knee during the
match. Nonetheless, this was the first of many hard-fought victories
for the deserving Frenchman.
Jean Borotra and Jacques Brugnon, the two
lesser know, but very valuable part of the foursome, also had important wins between
them. Borotra was nick-named the "Bounding Basque", because of his
acrobatic pranks in front of thousands during big matches. Once,
in a doubles match, he was struck on the head with a ball in a close
exchange and lay motionless for minutes, sending quite a stir through the
crowd. Moments later, he got to his feet and played better than
ever. Tilden despised his show-stopping antics, but lauded his competitive
skill. Brugnon, primarily a doubles specialist, was a chameleon,
completing an effective team when any one of his compatriots were in need.
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