Henri Leconte

Henri Leconte (born 4 July 1963) is a French former professional tennis player. He reached the men's singles final at the French Open in 1988, won the French Open men's doubles title in 1984, and helped France win the Davis Cup in 1991. Leconte's career-high singles ranking was world No. 5.

Henri Leconte
Henri Leconte in 2011
Country (sports) France
ResidenceGeneva, Switzerland
Born (1963-07-04) July 4, 1963
Lillers, France
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Turned pro1980
Retired1996
PlaysLeft-handed (one-handed backhand)
Prize money$3,440,660
Singles
Career record377–269
Career titles9
Highest rankingNo. 5 (22 September 1986)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open4R (1985)
French OpenF (1988)
WimbledonSF (1986)
US OpenQF (1986)
Other tournaments
Tour FinalsRR (1985, 1986, 1988)
Grand Slam CupQF (1990, 1992)
Doubles
Career record200–141
Career titles10
Highest rankingNo. 6 (18 March 1985)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian OpenQF (1990)
French OpenW (1984)
Wimbledon2R (1985, 1987)
US OpenF (1985)
Team competitions
Davis CupW (1991)

Biography and career

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 at Bologna, 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 with Yannick Noah to win the men's doubles title at the French Open in 1984. In 1985, Leconte and Noah reached a second Grand Slam doubles final at the US 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 and Wimbledon, 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 the World Team Cup that year.

In 1988, Leconte reached the men's singles final at the French Open beating Simon Youl, Bruno Orešar, Horacio de la Peña, Boris Becker, Andrei Chesnokov and Jonas Svensson. In the final, despite strong support from the French crowd, Leconte could not overcome two-time former champion Mats Wilander who defeated him in straight sets.

In 1991, Leconte was involved in the Davis Cup final for a second time. France again faced the US, and this time Leconte defeated Pete Sampras in straight sets in a critical singles rubber, and also teamed with Guy Forget to win the doubles rubber, as France upset the heavily favoured U.S. team 3–1.

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 with Guy 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 in Halle. He also won his final doubles title that year at Indian Wells.

Leconte retired from the professional tour in 1996, having won a total of nine career singles titles and ten doubles titles. Playing on the ATP Champions Tour for over-35's, he formed a doubles partnership with the Iranian player Mansour Bahrami.

He is now the manager of an event company (HL Event) based in Belgium and opened a tennis academy in Fès, Morocco, in 2006.

Since 2010, Leconte has appeared on Australian television as a commentator on the Seven Network's coverage of the Australian 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 compatriot Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, whose winning shots he routinely described as "unbelievable!"[1]

In 2014, Leconte appeared as a commentator for the 2014 Australian Open. One match he commentated was the third-round match between Frenchmen Gilles Simon and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. He has since appeared regularly as a commentator for matches involving French players in the men's draw.

Grand Slam singles performance timeline
Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
Tournament19801981198219831984198519861987198819891990199119921993199419951996SRW–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

Trivia

He participated in 2005 in the second season of La Ferme Célébrités, a TV reality game show. In 2007, his son Maxime also participated in the TV reality game show Secret Story, the French version of Big Brother. He also appeared as a contestant on BBC Celebrity Masterchef 2017, reaching the semifinals.

Major finals
Leconte at the 2015 Australian Open

Singles: 1 (0–1)
Result Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Loss1988French OpenClaySweden Mats Wilander5–7, 2–6, 1–6

Doubles: 2 (1–1)
Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win1984French OpenClayFrance Yannick NoahCzechoslovakia Pavel Složil
Czechoslovakia Tomáš Šmíd		6–4, 2–6, 3–6, 6–3, 6–2
Loss1985US OpenHardFrance Yannick NoahUnited States Ken Flach
United States Robert Seguso		7–6(7–5), 6–7(1–7), 6–7(6–8), 0–6

Doubles: 2 (1–1)
Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 1991 Indian Wells Hard France Guy Forget United States Jim Courier
Spain Javier Sánchez		 6–7(1–7), 6–3, 3–6
Win 1993 Indian Wells Hard France Guy Forget United States Luke Jensen
United States Scott Melville		 6–4, 7–5

Career finals

Singles: 16 (9–7)
Result No Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Win 1. 1982 Stockholm, Sweden Hard (i) Sweden Mats Wilander 7–6(7–4), 6–3
Loss 1. 1983 Kitzbühel, Austria Clay Argentina Guillermo Vilas 6–7(4–7), 6–4, 4–6
Loss 2. 1983 Sydney Indoor, Australia Hard (i) United States John McEnroe 1–6, 4–6, 5–7
Loss 3. 1984 Memphis, United States Carpet (i) United States Jimmy Connors 3–6, 6–4, 5–7
Win 2. 1984 Stuttgart Outdoor, Germany Clay United States Gene Mayer 7–6(11–9), 6–0, 1–6, 6–1
Win 3. 1985 Nice, France Clay Paraguay Víctor Pecci 6–4, 6–4
Loss 4. 1985 Sydney Indoor, Australia Hard (i) Czechoslovakia Ivan Lendl 4–6, 4–6, 6–7(6–8)
Win 4. 1985 Sydney Outdoor, Australia Grass New Zealand Kelly Evernden 6–7(6–8), 6–2, 6–3
Loss 5. 1986 Bristol, United Kingdom Grass India Vijay Amritraj 6–7(6–8), 6–1, 6–8
Win 5. 1986 Geneva, Switzerland Clay France Thierry Tulasne 7–5, 6–3
Win 6. 1986 Hamburg Masters, Germany Clay Czechoslovakia Miloslav Mečíř 6–2, 5–7, 6–4, 6–2
Win 7. 1988 Nice, France Clay France Jérôme Potier 6–2, 6–2
Loss 6. 1988 Hamburg Masters, Germany Clay Sweden Kent Carlsson 2–6, 1–6, 4–6
Loss 7. 1988 French Open, Paris Clay Sweden Mats Wilander 5–7, 2–6, 1–6
Win 8. 1988 Brussels, Belgium Carpet (i) Switzerland Jakob Hlasek 7–6(7–3), 7–6(8–6), 6–4
Win 9. 1993 Halle, Germany Grass Ukraine Andriy Medvedev 6–2, 6–3

Doubles: 19 (10–9)
Result No Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1. 1981 Bologna, Italy Carpet (i) United States Sammy Giammalva Jr. Czechoslovakia Tomáš Šmíd
Hungary Balázs Taróczy		 7–6, 6–4
Win 2. 1982 Nice, France Clay France Yannick Noah Australia Paul McNamee
Hungary Balázs Taróczy		 5–7, 6–4, 6–3
Loss 1. 1982 Bournemouth, England Clay Romania Ilie Năstase Australia Paul McNamee
United Kingdom Buster Mottram		 6–3, 6–7, 3–6
Win 3. 1982 Basel, Switzerland Hard (i) France Yannick Noah United States Fritz Buehning
Czechoslovakia Pavel Složil		 6–2, 6–2
Win 4. 1982 Vienna, Austria Carpet (i) Czechoslovakia Pavel Složil United States Mark Dickson
United States Terry Moor		 6–1, 7–6
Loss 2. 1983 Monte-Carlo Masters, Monaco Clay France Yannick Noah Switzerland Heinz Günthardt
Hungary Balázs Taróczy		 2–6, 4–6
Win 5. 1983 Aix-en-Provence, France Clay France Gilles Moretton Chile Iván Camus
Spain Sergio Casal		 2–6, 6–1, 6–2
Loss 3. 1984 Philadelphia, United States Carpet (i) France Yannick Noah United States Peter Fleming
United States John McEnroe		 2–6, 3–6
Win 6. 1984 French Open, Paris Clay France Yannick Noah Czechoslovakia Pavel Složil
Czechoslovakia Tomáš Šmíd		 6–4, 2–6, 3–6, 6–3, 6–2
Win 7. 1984 Kitzbühel, Austria Clay France Pascal Portes United Kingdom Colin Dowdeswell
Poland Wojtek Fibak		 2–6, 7–6, 7–6
Win 8. 1984 Stockholm, Sweden Hard (i) Czechoslovakia Tomáš Šmíd India Vijay Amritraj
Romania Ilie Năstase		 3–6, 7–6, 6–4
Loss 4. 1985 US Open, New York Hard France Yannick Noah United States Ken Flach
United States Robert Seguso		 7–6, 6–7, 6–7, 0–6
Win 9. 1988 Nice, France Clay France Guy Forget Switzerland Heinz Günthardt
Italy Diego Nargiso		 4–6, 6–3, 6–4
Loss 5. 1988 Monte-Carlo Masters, Monaco Clay Czechoslovakia Ivan Lendl Spain Sergio Casal
Spain Emilio Sánchez		 0–6, 3–6
Loss 6. 1990 Queen's Club, England Grass Czechoslovakia Ivan Lendl United Kingdom Jeremy Bates
United States Kevin Curren		 2–6, 6–7
Loss 7. 1991 Indian Wells, United States Hard France Guy Forget United States Jim Courier
Spain Javier Sánchez		 6–7, 6–3, 3–6
Loss 8. 1992 Toulouse, France Hard (i) France Guy Forget United States Brad Pearce
South Africa Byron Talbot		 1–6, 6–3, 3–6
Win 10. 1993 Indian Wells, United States Hard France Guy Forget United States Luke Jensen
United States Scott Melville		 6–4, 7–5
Loss 9. 1994 Halle, Germany Grass South Africa Gary Muller France Olivier Delaître
France Guy Forget		 4–6, 7–6, 4–6

References
  1. "Henri Leconte in Fine Form in the Commentary Box During the Australian Open". Herald Sun. Published and accessed January 27, 2010.
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