Max Decugis

Maxime Omer Mathieu Décugis, sometimes spellt Decugis (; 24 September 1882 – 6 September 1978) was a French tennis player. He won the French Championships eight times (a French club members-only tournament before 1925). He also won three Olympic medals at the 1900 Paris Olympics and the 1920 Antwerp Olympics, with a gold medal in the mixed doubles partnering Suzanne Lenglen.

Life

Decugis' father was a merchant at Les Halles, the company's name was Omer Décugis et fils, however the accent mark on the é is missing from Max Decugis' birth certificate, and appears inconsistently in later English-speaking sources. The origin of the family name Décugis, spelled with accented é in an 1842 source, is "from Cuges-les-Pins."

In 1905, he married Marie Flameng, the daughter of painter François Flameng, in Paris. After the death of Marie in 1969, Max married Suzanne Louise Duval in October.

Career

Decugis won the French Championships in 1903, 1904, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1912, 1913, and 1914 (also 14 times in doubles and seven times in mixed). The interruption of World War I denied Decugis the opportunity to defend his 1914 title. Decugis was also a four-time runner-up, having lost the final in 1902, 1906, 1920, and 1923. He won the International German Championship in 1901 and 1902.

In major tournaments, Decugis reached the semifinals of both the 1911 and 1912 Wimbledon Championships and the 1913 and 1914 World Hard Court Championships (WHCC) and the final of the World Covered Court Championship (WCCC) in 1919. He won the mixed doubles title at the WHCC on four occasions (1912, 1913, 1914, 1921) and at the WCCC on two (1913, 1919).

In May 1910, Decugis twice defeated Anthony Wilding at Wiesbaden, first in the final of the Wiesbaden Cup in four sets, followed by a victory in the final of the Wiesbaden Championship in three straight sets.

A. Wallis Myers of The Daily Telegraph ranked Decugis as world No. 10 in both 1913 and 1914.

Grand Slam finals Doubles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up) ResultYearChampionshipSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore Win 1911 Wimbledon Grass André Gobert Major Ritchie Anthony Wilding 9–7, 5–7, 6–3, 2–6, 6–2 Loss 1912 Wimbledon Grass André Gobert Charles P. Dixon Herbert Roper-Barrett 6–3, 3–6, 4–6, 5–7

World Championships finals

Singles (1 runner-up)

ResultYearChampionshipSurfaceOpponentScoreLoss 1919 World Covered Court Championships Wood Andre Gobert 3–6, 2–6, 2–6

Doubles: (2 titles)

ResultYearChampionshipSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreWin 1913 World Covered Court Championships Wood Maurice Germot Curt Bergmann Heinrich Kleinschroth 7–5, 2–6, 7–9, 6–3, 6–1Win 1914 World Hard Court Championships Clay Maurice Germot Arthur Gore Algernon Kingscote 6–1, 11–9, 6–8, 6–2

Mixed doubles: (6 titles, 2 runner-ups)