Henri Rochon

Major Accomplishments

Won the Canadian Open men’s singles title in 1949.
Held the No. 1 ranking in Canada in 1947 and 1949 and remained in the Top 10 over three decades between 1946 and 1965.
Davis Cup team member from 1946-1953, 1955, 1956.

Biography

Henri Rochon was a well respected player during the post WWII era. He arrived on the tennis scene during the mid-1940s when his level of play was at its peak. He starred on the 1946 Davis Cup team with fellow Canadians Brendan Macken, Don McDiarmid and Laird Watt. Rochon competed for his country for eight years in the Americas Zone until 1953 and then came back in 1955 and 1956, as a playing captain. He helped his team win big matches against Cuba (1951) twice against Mexico (1952, 1953) and the West Indies (1955, 1956).

Rochon won the prominent Canadian Open (Rogers Cup) in 1949 as he defeated countryman Lorne Main in four sets 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2. He was also a three-time finalist at the Canadian Open. The year before he won the title, he lost in the final against American William Tully in straight sets 6-4, 7-5, 6-0. Then in 1950 he lost to fellow Davis Cup team member Brendan Macken. It would be five years until Rochon would see himself in another Canadian Open final as he was up against yet another tough Canadian competitor, Bob Bédard. Rochon lost to fellow Québécois, 8-6, 6-2, 6-1.

“One recalls nostalgically, even wistfully, the Niagara-on-the-Lake era, which defined a place and a period, or the halcyon days of the postwar decade, 1947-56, when men such as Henri Rochon, Lorne Main, and Brendan Macken dominated the Canadian Championships and kept Canada’s name respected abroad,” (Peter Ustinov, Advantage Canada).

Rochon was also an international success as he appeared in the US National Championship 14 consecutive times in singles starting in 1945. His greatest result came in 1951 when he reached the fourth round and found himself up against the No. 5 seed Tony Trabert. They each had won a set and they were on a level playing field, but Rochon was unable to keep it up as he dropped the match in four sets. He also recorded victories over Australian Don Candy in five sets and Britain’s No. 1 Roger Becker. He only competed in the Wimbledon Championship once in 1952 where he won two rounds before losing to England’s Tony Mottram.