b. July 2, 1904, Paris, France d. Oct. 12, 1996, Saint-Jean-de-Luz

JEAN-RENE LACOSTE, French tennis player who was a leading competitor in the late 1920s. As one of the powerful Four Musketeers (the others were Jean Borotra, Henri Cochet, and Jacques Brugnon), he helped France win its first Davis Cup in 1927, starting its six-year domination of the cup. Later on he was better known for his successful sportswear company.

Lacoste, who was nicknamed "the crocodile," won the Wimbledon singles in 1925 and 1928, the French singles in 1925, 1927, and 1929, and became the first foreigner to win the U.S. championship twice (1926-27). With Borotra, he won the British doubles in 1925 and the French doubles in 1924, 1925, and 1929.

A methodical player, Lacoste would study every aspect of tennis before a match, and he would wait for an opponent to weaken. His best-known game was perhaps the 1927 U.S. championship, in which he drove Bill Tilden to exhaustion in the two-hour final. After winning the 1929 French championship, Lacoste retired. Decades later, sportshirts and other items of apparel with his "crocodile" emblem (although somehow changed to an alligator) became popular throughout the world. He and his fellow "musketeers" were elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1976.

b. June 11, 1895, Paris, Fr d. March 20, 1978, Paris

,TOTO BRUGNON, French tennis champion, one of the world's greatest doubles players, who formed a part of the "Four Musketeers" (the others were Jean Borotra, Henri Cochet, and René Lacoste) in the 1920s and early '30s.

Brugnon won the French singles championship in 1921, but he was most famous for his supremacy in doubles. He won four Wimbledon doubles championships (1926, 1928, 1932, 1933), twice with Cochet and twice with Borotra. He won five French doubles championships (1927, 1928, 1930, 1932, 1934), twice with Cochet and three times with Borotra, and in 1928 won the Australian doubles with Borotra. He also won the French mixed doubles (1921-26), playing with the brilliant Suzanne Lenglen. For six years he was captain of the French Davis Cup team (on team, 1921-34); the "Four Musketeers" held the cup from 1927 to 1932.

Brugnon's shy manner fit in well with the ebullience of Borotra, and they formed a popular tennis team, playing together until 1939; Brugnon played for the last time at Wimbledon in 1948. In 1976 Brugnon, with the other "Musketeers," was inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame.

Henri Cochet

b. Dec. 14, 1901, Lyon, Fr. d. April 1, 1987, Saint-Germain-en-Laye

French tennis player who, as one of the Four Musketeers (with Jean Borotra, René Lacoste, and Jacques Brugnon), helped establish the French domination of world tennis in the mid-1920s.

Cochet's father was the secretary of a local tennis court, and as a youth Cochet spent much time chasing balls and practicing in the club's off-hours. In 1921 he moved to Paris, where he won the indoor court championships and the 1922 French championships. With the other three "musketeers," he helped secure the Davis Cup for France six consecutive times (1927-32). In 1928 he became one of the top world players. Cochet also won the French championship five times (1922, 1926, 1928, 1930, and 1932) and Wimbledon twice (1927 and 1929).

One of Cochet's best-known matches was his defeat of Bill Tilden for the 1926 U.S. championship, preventing Tilden from winning the event for the seventh straight year. Cochet also won several doubles titles in the late 1920s. Although he turned professional in 1933, he was reinstated as an amateur in 1945. He and the other "musketeers" were elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1976. Cochet published a number of books about tennis and produced a film on the history of tennis, and in his later years he operated a sporting-goods store.

Jean Borotra

Prominent French tennis player of the 1920s. In 1927, as one of the Four Musketeers (the others being René Lacoste, Henri Cochet, and Jacques Brugnon), he helped France win the Davis Cup for the first time.

Nicknamed "the Bounding Basque" because of his quick dashes and energetic acrobatic play, Borotra won Wimbledon in 1924 and 1926, the Australian championship in 1928, and the French title in 1924 and 1931. He was also victorious in numerous Grand Slam doubles and mixed doubles matches. As an individual, he won a total of 19 Grand Slam titles. Borotra was celebrated by fans for his exuberant personality and his ever-present blue beret. Borotra played for the French Davis Cup team in 1922, 1924-37, and as late as 1947. He was elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1976.