.jpg) Henri Leconte in 2011 | |
| Country (sports) |  France |
|---|---|
| Residence | Geneva, Switzerland |
| Born | (1963-07-04)4 July 1963 (age 62) Lillers, France |
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) |
| Turned pro | 1980 |
| Retired | 1996 |
| Plays | Left-handed (one-handed backhand) |
| Prize money | $3,440,660 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 377–269 (58.4%) |
| Career titles | 9 |
| Highest ranking | No. 5 (22 September 1986) |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| Australian Open | 4R (1985) |
| French Open | F (1988) |
| Wimbledon | SF (1986) |
| US Open | QF (1986) |
| Other tournaments | |
| Tour Finals | RR (1985,1986,1988) |
| Grand Slam Cup | QF (1990,1992) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 200–141 (58.7%) |
| Career titles | 10 |
| Highest ranking | No. 6 (18 March 1985) |
| Grand Slam doubles results | |
| Australian Open | QF (1990) |
| French Open | W (1984) |
| Wimbledon | 2R (1985,1987) |
| US Open | F (1985) |
| Team competitions | |
| Davis Cup | W (1991) |
Henri Leconte (French:[ɑ̃ʁiləkɔ̃t]; born 4 July 1963) is a French former professionaltennis player. He reached the men's singles final at theFrench Open in 1988, won the French Open men's doubles title in 1984, and helped France win theDavis Cup in 1991. During his career, he won singles titles on all four major court surfaces: hard, clay, grass and carpet. Leconte's career-high singles ranking was world No. 5.
Leconte first came to the tennis world's attention as an outstanding junior player who won the French Open junior title in 1981. He turned professional that year and won his first career doubles title atBologna, and his first top-level singles title the following year, 1982, in Stockholm. Leconte played in the Davis Cup final for the first time in 1982, when France was defeated 4–1 by the United States.
Leconte teamed up withYannick Noah to win the men's doubles title at the French Open in 1984. In 1985, Leconte and Noah reached a secondGrand Slam doubles final at theUS Open, where they finished runners-up. Leconte reached his career-high doubles ranking of world No. 6 in 1985. In singles in 1985, Leconte reached the quarterfinals of the French Open andWimbledon, the latter run of which included a dazzling win over world no. 2,Ivan Lendl, in the fourth round.
1986 saw Leconte reach two Grand Slam singles semi-finals at the French Open and Wimbledon, and attain his career-high singles ranking of world No. 5. Leconte also played on the French team that won theWorld Team Cup that year.
In 1988, Leconte reached the men's singles final at the French Open beatingSimon Youl,Bruno Orešar,Horacio de la Peña,Boris Becker,Andrei Chesnokov andJonas Svensson. In the final, Leconte could not overcome two-time former championMats Wilander who defeated him in straight sets.[1]
In 1991, Leconte was involved in the Davis Cup final for a second time. France again faced the US, and this time Leconte defeatedPete Sampras in straight sets in a critical singles rubber, and also teamed withGuy Forget to win the doubles rubber, as France upset the heavily favoured U.S. team 3–1.[2]
In total, Leconte played for France's Davis Cup team for a total of 13 consecutive years, compiling a 41–25 record. He compiled a doubles record of 17–5 and was undefeated withGuy Forget (11 wins), winning his last 14 doubles matches (from March 1985 to July 1993).
Leconte won his final top-level singles title in 1993 inHalle. He also won his final doubles title that year atIndian Wells.
Leconte retired from the professional tour in 1996, having won a total of nine career singles titles and ten doubles titles. Playing on theATP Champions Tour for over-35's, he formed a doubles partnership with the Iranian playerMansour Bahrami.
He is now the manager of an event company (HL Event) based in Belgium and opened a tennis academy inFès, Morocco, in 2006.
Since 2010, Leconte has appeared on Australian television as a commentator on theSeven Network's coverage of theAustralian Open. There, he obtained a cult following as a result of a zany exhibition doubles performance, and his passionate and often parochial commentary, especially for compatriotJo-Wilfried Tsonga, whose winning shots he routinely described as "unbelievable!"[3]
In 2014, Leconte appeared as a commentator for the2014 Australian Open. One match he commentated was the third-round match between FrenchmenGilles Simon and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. He has since appeared regularly as a commentator for matches involving French players in the men's draw.[citation needed]
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | DNQ | A | NH |
| Tournament | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | SR | W–L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | A | LQ | A | A | A | 4R | NH | 3R | 3R | 1R | 3R | A | 1R | A | 2R | A | A | 0 / 7 | 8–7 |
| French Open | 1R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 2R | QF | SF | 1R | F | A | QF | 2R | SF | 1R | 1R | A | 1R | 0 / 15 | 27–15 |
| Wimbledon | Q | 2R | 1R | 2R | A | QF | SF | QF | 4R | A | 2R | 3R | 3R | 4R | 1R | 1R | A | 0 / 13 | 26–13 |
| US Open | A | A | 1R | A | 3R | 4R | QF | 4R | 3R | A | 2R | A | 3R | 1R | A | A | A | 0 / 9 | 17–9 |
| Win–loss | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 13–4 | 14–3 | 8–4 | 13–4 | 0–1 | 8–4 | 3–2 | 9–4 | 3–3 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0 / 44 | 78–44 |
He participated in 2005 in the second season ofLa Ferme Célébrités, a TV reality game show. In 2007, his son Maxime also participated in the TV reality game showSecret Story, the French version ofBig Brother.He also appeared as a contestant on BBC Celebrity Masterchef 2017, reaching the semifinals.
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| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 1988 | French Open | Clay |  Mats Wilander | 5–7, 2–6, 1–6 |
| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1984 | French Open | Clay | Yannick Noah |  Pavel SložilTomáš Šmíd | 6–4, 2–6, 3–6, 6–3, 6–2 |
| Loss | 1985 | US Open | Hard | Yannick Noah |  Ken FlachRobert Seguso | 7–6(7–5), 6–7(1–7), 6–7(6–8), 0–6 |
| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 1991 | Indian Wells, US | Hard | Guy Forget | Jim Courier Javier Sánchez | 6–7(1–7), 6–3, 3–6 |
| Win | 1993 | Indian Wells, US | Hard | Guy Forget | Luke JensenScott Melville | 6–4, 7–5 |
| Result | No | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1. | 1982 | Stockholm, Sweden | Hard (i) | Mats Wilander | 7–6(7–4), 6–3 |
| Loss | 1. | 1983 | Kitzbühel, Austria | Clay |  Guillermo Vilas | 6–7(4–7), 6–4, 4–6 |
| Loss | 2. | 1983 | Sydney Indoor, Australia | Hard (i) | John McEnroe | 1–6, 4–6, 5–7 |
| Loss | 3. | 1984 | Memphis, United States | Carpet (i) | Jimmy Connors | 3–6, 6–4, 5–7 |
| Win | 2. | 1984 | Stuttgart Outdoor, West Germany | Clay | Gene Mayer | 7–6(11–9), 6–0, 1–6, 6–1 |
| Win | 3. | 1985 | Nice, France | Clay |  Víctor Pecci | 6–4, 6–4 |
| Loss | 4. | 1985 | Sydney Indoor, Australia | Hard (i) | Ivan Lendl | 4–6, 4–6, 6–7(6–8) |
| Win | 4. | 1985 | Sydney Outdoor, Australia | Grass |  Kelly Evernden | 6–7(6–8), 6–2, 6–3 |
| Loss | 5. | 1986 | Bristol, United Kingdom | Grass |  Vijay Amritraj | 6–7(6–8), 6–1, 6–8 |
| Win | 5. | 1986 | Geneva, Switzerland | Clay | Thierry Tulasne | 7–5, 6–3 |
| Win | 6. | 1986 | Hamburg, West Germany | Clay | Miloslav Mečíř | 6–2, 5–7, 6–4, 6–2 |
| Win | 7. | 1988 | Nice, France | Clay | Jérôme Potier | 6–2, 6–2 |
| Loss | 6. | 1988 | Hamburg, West Germany | Clay | Kent Carlsson | 2–6, 1–6, 4–6 |
| Loss | 7. | 1988 | French Open, Paris | Clay | Mats Wilander | 5–7, 2–6, 1–6 |
| Win | 8. | 1988 | Brussels, Belgium | Carpet (i) |  Jakob Hlasek | 7–6(7–3), 7–6(8–6), 6–4 |
| Win | 9. | 1993 | Halle, Germany | Grass |  Andriy Medvedev | 6–2, 6–3 |
| Result | No | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1. | 1981 | Bologna, Italy | Carpet (i) | Sammy Giammalva Jr. | Tomáš Šmíd Balázs Taróczy | 7–6, 6–4 |
| Win | 2. | 1982 | Nice, France | Clay | Yannick Noah |  Paul McNamee Balázs Taróczy | 5–7, 6–4, 6–3 |
| Loss | 1. | 1982 | Bournemouth, England | Clay |  Ilie Năstase | Paul McNamee Buster Mottram | 6–3, 6–7, 3–6 |
| Win | 3. | 1982 | Basel, Switzerland | Hard (i) | Yannick Noah | Fritz BuehningPavel Složil | 6–2, 6–2 |
| Win | 4. | 1982 | Vienna, Austria | Carpet (i) | Pavel Složil | Mark DicksonTerry Moor | 6–1, 7–6 |
| Loss | 2. | 1983 | Monte-Carlo Masters, Monaco | Clay | Yannick Noah | Heinz Günthardt Balázs Taróczy | 2–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 5. | 1983 | Aix-en-Provence, France | Clay | Gilles Moretton |  Iván CamusSergio Casal | 2–6, 6–1, 6–2 |
| Loss | 3. | 1984 | Philadelphia, United States | Carpet (i) | Yannick Noah | Peter FlemingJohn McEnroe | 2–6, 3–6 |
| Win | 6. | 1984 | French Open, Paris | Clay | Yannick Noah | Pavel SložilTomáš Šmíd | 6–4, 2–6, 3–6, 6–3, 6–2 |
| Win | 7. | 1984 | Kitzbühel, Austria | Clay | Pascal Portes | Colin Dowdeswell Wojtek Fibak | 2–6, 7–6, 7–6 |
| Win | 8. | 1984 | Stockholm, Sweden | Hard (i) | Tomáš Šmíd | Vijay Amritraj Ilie Năstase | 3–6, 7–6, 6–4 |
| Loss | 4. | 1985 | US Open, New York | Hard | Yannick Noah | Ken FlachRobert Seguso | 7–6, 6–7, 6–7, 0–6 |
| Win | 9. | 1988 | Nice, France | Clay | Guy Forget | Heinz Günthardt Diego Nargiso | 4–6, 6–3, 6–4 |
| Loss | 5. | 1988 | Monte-Carlo Masters, Monaco | Clay | Ivan Lendl | Sergio CasalEmilio Sánchez | 0–6, 3–6 |
| Loss | 6. | 1990 | Queen's Club, England | Grass | Ivan Lendl | Jeremy BatesKevin Curren | 2–6, 6–7 |
| Loss | 7. | 1991 | Indian Wells, United States | Hard | Guy Forget | Jim CourierJavier Sánchez | 6–7, 6–3, 3–6 |
| Loss | 8. | 1992 | Toulouse, France | Hard (i) | Guy Forget | Brad Pearce Byron Talbot | 1–6, 6–3, 3–6 |
| Win | 10. | 1993 | Indian Wells, United States | Hard | Guy Forget | Luke JensenScott Melville | 6–4, 7–5 |
| Loss | 9. | 1994 | Halle, Germany | Grass |  Gary Muller | Olivier Delaître Guy Forget | 4–6, 7–6, 4–6 |
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | French Sportsperson of the Year 1991 (withGuy Forget) | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | ATP Comeback Player of the Year 1992 | Succeeded by |