 | |
| Country (sports) |  France |
|---|---|
| Residence | Boulogne-Billancourt, France |
| Born | (1985-03-04)4 March 1985 Paris, France |
| Died | 6 July 2009(2009-07-06) (aged 24) Boulogne-Billancourt, France |
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) |
| Turned pro | 2002 |
| Retired | 2009(due to death) |
| Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
| Prize money | $327,057 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 5–10 |
| Career titles | 0 |
| Highest ranking | No. 104 (22 June 2009) |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| Australian Open | 1R (2008) |
| French Open | 2R (2006,2007,2009) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 1–2 |
| Career titles | 0 |
| Highest ranking | No. 314 (30 July 2007) |
| Last updated on: 7 July 2009. | |
Mathieu Montcourt (French pronunciation:[matjømɔ̃kuʁ]; 4 March 1985 – 6 July 2009[1]) was a professional Frenchtennis player. At the2006,2007, and2009 French Opens, he lost in the second round, toLleyton Hewitt,Jarkko Nieminen, andRadek Štěpánek respectively.
In 2002, Mathieu had played a fewFutures tournaments and won only one doubles match in Futures aside with Jean Baptiste Robin. His best singles Futures result was making the second round 3 times out of 6, losing toJan Weinzierl,Nicolas Mahut andRoman Valent, respectively. He didn't play any other events aside from Futures events. Montcourt only played one doubles match in 2003, losing in the first round of a Futures tournament. Montcourt's singles participation in Futures tournaments slightly improved; as for, he went from a 3–6 2002 record to making a semifinal of a Futures event. He still, however, played exclusively in Futures tournaments.
Mathieu Montcourt's success became greater in singles, having had won aFutures title early in 2004 in Italy, beatingAndrey Golubev in the final; however the highest person he beat was ranked 407, just inside the top 500. He lost in the finals of one Futures tournament and oneChallenger tournament later that year.
In doubles, Mathieu made his first doubles semifinal, where again with Jean Baptiste Robin, he lost inIran toBenedikt Dorsch and Marko Neunteibl. He lost in the quarterfinals of another tournament in Iran, where he made his Challenger singles final, partnered by Ludwig Pellerin, falling toJuan Ignacio Cerda andJasper Smit in straight sets. 2005 saw Montcourt make his firstFutures doubles final; losing it in March in 3 sets to Lesley Joseph andEvgeny Korolev, alongside Jean Baptiste Robin. However, singles tournaments were brightened by 1 Futures win in two Futures finals, beating Tobias Clemens in the final, and making the semifinals of twoChallengers and one Futures tournament, losing once to future top 50 starPhilipp Kohlschreiber in a Challenger, the last tournament that Montcourt played that year atReunion Island (he also lost in the semifinals of Rome).
In 2006, Montcourt won through to back-to-back April semifinalFutures and performances and then went on to play his first major match by receiving a Wildcard into the2006 French Open. He won, beatingMarcos Daniel and then lost to a seeded player the former world number oneLleyton Hewitt, 5–7, 3–6, 3–6. He then went on to make the finals of theCordenons Futures event. In doubles, he won three 3-set matches to win his first title withGregory Carraz, beating Tomasz Bednarek andFrank Moser in the final of aChallenger event inRennes.
In 2007, Mathieu participated in an early-in-the-yearChallenger event in singles, winning it over South AfricanRik de Voest. He beat world number 54Max Mirnyi in anInternational Series tournament in Austria. He then lost atRoland Garros to the seededJarkko Nieminen in the second round. In addition, Mathieu participated in a doubles Grand Slam event withGregory Carraz, losing toŁukasz Kubot andOliver Marach. Since Roland Garros, he has not won any singles match of any type, and has lost in the first round of four Challengers and one International Series tournament. He did, however, win one doubles match atUmag, Croatia (the most recent and International Series tournament that he lost in), beatingMarko andNovak Djokovic, but lost in the next round. He was partnered byÉdouard Roger-Vasselin.
In 2008, he was fined $12,000 and suspended for eight weeks (later reduced to six) starting on 11 August by theATP for betting on tennis matches between June and September 2005.[2] He did not bet on his own matches.[3]
On 6 July 2009, Montcourt was found dead outside his home inBoulogne-Billancourt, Paris by his girlfriend. A police source said on 9 July 2009, after a preliminary autopsy, that Mathieu suffered a cardiac arrest. Further tests, that could detect the presence of any drugs or medicines in the body, were carried out.[4][5] The results of those tests have not been released to the public. On 5 November 2009, Court No. 3 of the Centre National d'Entraînement at Stade Roland Garros was renamed le Court Mathieu Montcourt, in honor of the player who trained there regularly.[6]
| Legend (singles) |
|---|
| Grand Slam (0) |
| Tennis Masters Cup (0) |
| ATP Masters Series (0) |
| ATP Tour (0) |
| Challengers (3) |
| Futures (3) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent in the Final | Score in the Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 9 August 2004 | L'Aquila, Italy | Clay |  Andrey Golubev | 6–2, 6–1 |
| 2. | 24 October 2005 | Rodez, France | Hard |  Tobias Clemens | 6–3, 6–2 |
| 3. | January 2007 | Durban, South Africa | Hard |  Rik de Voest | 5–7, 6–3, 6–2 |
| 4. | 7 April 2008 | Bergamo Italy | Clay |  Antonio Veić | 6–2, 7–5 |
| 5. | 23 June 2008 | Reggio Emilia, Italy | Clay |  Pablo Andújar | 2–6, 6–2, 6–4 |
| 6. | 28 July 2008 | Tampere, Finland | Clay |  Flavio Cipolla | 6–2, 6–2 |
