Antoine Gentien (13 June 1905 – 2 September 1968) was a French

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

player whose career lasted from 1921 to 1951. He was the son of

Antoinette Gillou Antoinette is a given name, that is a diminutive feminine form of Antoine and Antonia (from Latin ''Antonius''). People with the name include: Nobles * Antoinette de Maignelais, Baroness of Villequier by marriage (1434–1474), mistress of Ch ...

and the nephew of

Kate Gillou Catherine Marie Blanche "Katie" Gillou (17 February 1887 – 1 January 1964) was a French tennis player in the first decade of the 20th century. Gillou won the French Women's Singles Championship in each of 1904, 1905, 1906 and 1908, having lo ...

. Katie was four times French (closed) singles champion. Antoine was friends with

Suzanne Lenglen Suzanne Rachel Flore Lenglen (; 24 May 1899 – 4 July 1938) was a French tennis player. She was the inaugural world No. 1 from 1921 to 1926, winning eight Grand Slam titles in singles and twenty-one in total. She was also a four-time World ...

. He won several tournaments in France, but at the French Championships his best result was reaching the quarterfinals in 1927. He made his

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

debut in 1923 and lost in round one. Gentien made his debut at the

French Championships The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ven ...

in 1925 and lost in round two. He lost in round one at the French in 1926. In 1927 Gentien had one of the best wins of his career when he beat

Jean Borotra Jean Laurent Robert Borotra (, ; 13 August 1898 – 17 July 1994) was a French tennis champion. He was one of the "The Four Musketeers (tennis), Four Musketeers" from his country who dominated tennis in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Borotra wa ...

at the French Championships, making the Bounding Basque run all over the court and lobbing Borotra if he came to the net. Gentien lost in the quarterfinals to

Pat Spence Patrick Spence (11 February 1898 – 22 November 1983) was a South African tennis player. He was born in Queenstown, South Africa. He competed mainly in Great Britain and found his form in hard court tournaments. He notably won the mixed double ...

. Gentien lost in round two of Wimbledon. At the first French Championships held at Roland Garros in 1928, Gentien lost in the last 16 to Jack Crawford. He lost in round one of Wimbledon. He lost early at Roland Garros and Wimbledon in 1929 and Roland Garros in 1930. He lost in round three of Roland Garros in 1931 and reached round three of Wimbledon, where

Fred Perry Frederick John Perry (18 May 1909 – 2 February 1995) was a British tennis and table tennis player and former world No. 1 from England who won 10 Majors including eight Grand Slam tournaments and two Pro Slams single titles, as well ...

beat him. Perry beat him in an early round at Roland Garros in 1932 and

Sidney Wood Sidney Burr Wood Jr. (November 1, 1911 – January 10, 2009) was an American tennis player who won the 1931 Wimbledon singles title. Wood was ranked in the world's Top 10 five times between 1931 and 1938, and was ranked World No. 6 in 1931 and ...

beat him in round three at Wimbledon. In 1933, Gentien reached round three at Roland Garros (losing to

Daniel Prenn Daniel Prenn (7 September 1904 – 3 September 1991) was a Russian Empire-born German, Polish, and British tennis player who was Jewish. He was ranked the world No. 6 for 1932 by A. Wallis Myers, and the European No. 1 by "American Lawn Tennis" ...

) and Wimbledon (losing to Crawford). At Roland Garros 1934 Gentien lost in round three to

Harry Hopman Henry Christian Hopman Order of the British Empire, CBE (12 August 1906 – 27 December 1985) was an Australian tennis player and coach. Early life Harry Hopman was born on 12 August 1906 in Glebe, New South Wales, Glebe, Sydney as the third c ...

and at Wimbledon lost in round two to

Roderich Menzel Roderich Ferdinand Ottomar Menzel (; 13 April 1907 – 17 October 1987) was a Czech-German amateur tennis player and, after his active career, a writer. Birth Roderich Menzel was born in Reichenberg in Bohemia (today Liberec in the Czech Republi ...

. At Roland Garros in 1935, Gentien lost in round two to

Adrian Quist Adrian Karl Quist (23 January 191317 November 1991) was an Australian tennis player. Biography Adrian Quist was born in Medindie, South Australia. His father was Karl Quist, who had been a noted interstate cricketer, and owned a sporting goods ...

. At Wimbledon he lost in round three to

Enrique Maier Enrique 'Bubi' Maier (December 31, 1910 – August 22, 1981) was a male Spanish tennis player who was mainly active in the 1930s. Biography Maier became Wimbledon champion in the mixed doubles in 1932 when, partnered with Elizabeth Ryan, they d ...

. Gentien lost in round one of the French Championships in 1936, but in 1937 reached the last 16 (losing to

Christian Boussus Christian Boussus (5 March 1908 – August 2003) was a left-handed French tennis player who found success in the 1920s and 1930s. Tennis career He started playing amateur tennis in the late 1920s by entering one of his first tournaments at the ...

). He continued playing at the French championships until 1950. Gentien had one of the longest spans ever in the French Open men's singles (

Bernard Destremau Bernard Destremau (; 11 February 1917 – 6 June 2002) was a French tennis player, tank officer, diplomat and politician. Biography Born in Paris into a military family, the third son of a WW I cavalry general, his success in accommodating comp ...

had a 29-year span between 1934 and 1963).

Bibliography

* ''Aventures d'un joueur de tennis'' (1953)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gentien, Antoine 1905 births 1968 deaths French male tennis players