player – Tennisarchives.com

General First nameJean-Pierre (Jean)
LastnameSamazeuilh
GenderMale
CountryFrance
Date of birth1891-01-17
Place of birthBordeaux, France
Date of death1965-04-13
Place of deathMérignac, Gironde, France

About

Jean Samazeuilh, as he was known, was the brother of fellow lawn tennis players Jacques and René Samazeuilh. They were three of the six children of Joseph Samazeuilh, a banker, and Marguerite Samazeuilh (née Seignouret). An all-round sportsman, Jean Samazeuilh was runner-up in the 100 metres race at the French Athletics Championships in 1911. He was also a keen rower and canoeist, and a member of the south-western section of the French Alpine Club (Club alpin français). The holder of a degree in philosophy, Jean Samazeuilh worked for several years as a sports journalist.
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Writing in 1921, William ‘Big Bill’ Tilden noted the following about Jean Samazeuilh, whose surname he always spelled incorrectly: “The new French national champion of 1921 who defeated Andre Gobert most unexpectedly in the challenge round, is an interesting player of the mental type. He is anything but French in his game. His style is rather that of the crafty American or English player than the hard-hitting Frenchman.

“Samazieuhl is an exponent of crafty patball. His service is a medium pace slice, well-placed but not decisive. His ground strokes are a peculiar stiff arm chop, varied at times with an equally cramped drive, yet his extreme mobility allows him to cover a tremendous amount of court, while his return, which is well disguised, is capable of great angles. His volleying is reliable but lacks severity and punch. He makes excellent low volleys, but cannot put away shoulder high balls while his overhead is not deadly.

“It is Samazieuhl’s clever generalship and his ability to recover seemingly impossible shots that win matches for him. He is a comparatively new tournament player, and should improve greatly as he gains confidence and experience.”

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