William Laurentz
William Laurentz ( born February 26, 1895 in Paris, † March 7, 1922 ) was a French tennis player.
Life
Laurentz celebrated his first success at the age of 16, when he in 1911 the multiple Wimbledon champion Anthony Wilding defeated in the finals of the French Indoor Championships. In the same tournament he was also successful in doubles with André Gobert. 1912 and 1913 he won the Mixed Competition at the French national championships on the side of Daisy Sperenza.
After the First World War Laurentz stepped up to the tournament of Wimbledon, but there could never prevail. While he already was eliminated in the first round in singles in 1919 and 1921, he came 1920 to the third round before; against his fellow countryman Jacques Brugnon he had to then, however, in four sets to admit defeat.
His greatest success was the victory in the hard-court world championships in Paris in 1920, and at the World Indoor Championships in Copenhagen the following year. In doubles, he was with Gobert 1920 and 1921 also successful in the hard-court world championships. 1919 and 1920, he was regarded as one of the ten best tennis players in the world in 1921 as the best French tennis player. In the Davis Cup in 1912 and played Laurentz could win from seven games a single and two doubles.
Laurentz died unexpectedly in March 1922 at the age of only 28 years in Paris, from blood poisoning after a flu.
Bill Tilden Laurentz described in his book of 1920 as an outstanding player who disponer especially over a richly varied serve. His volleys and overhead strokes are sometimes very good, but he also often strip themselves doing simple error. Laurentz was an instinctive tennis player without a sophisticated match plan anginge its games and in which much depended on his day form; one day he could beat the best players, and lose the next against the worst.