Tennis player Mathieu Montcourt, ranked # 119, was found dead outside his Paris apartment at about 1:00 a.m. Tuesday morning. Preliminary autopsy reports show that the 24-year-old player suffered a cardiac arrest. Further tests for any drugs or medicines in Montcourt’s body have been carried out, with results expected this weekend. (via Reuters.)

His colleague Rafael Nadal – who had played with Montcourt since their junior days – was one of the first to respond publicly, via his website: “This morning I woke up to one of the worst news anyone can receive. I heard about the death of my friend Mathieu Montcourt and I am still in shock, I can’t believe it.”

Part of the close-knit French Tennis Federation (FFT), Montcourt’s colleagues – “Les Blues” – are understandably shocked by his unexpected death. (My translation via L’Equipe unless otherwise noted.)

Laurent Recouderc: “It’s just impossible. We cried together, cracked up together, traveled the world, too many memories. A guy who never gave up. I’m thinking very much of his family, his girlfriend and his grandfather who loved him so much.”

Richard Gasquet: “C’est violent! I’ve known Mathieu since the age of nine. Everyone has their little problems, but when something like this happens, it puts it in perspective.”

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga: “Mathieu and I shared the same room for two years, at INSEP [a high-performance training center]. We did so much together – he was full of ambition. Since this morning, whenever I think of him I have tears in my eyes.”

Sébastien Grosjean: “My thoughts are with his family in these hard times. He was a really nice guy and a very hard worker. It’s really sad. I trained with him many times over the past few years.”

Fabrice Santoro: “He was truly a good person and I don’t know what else to say. It’s very sad.”

Alize Cornet: “I am extremely shocked by the passing away of Mathieu. Honestly, I haven’t fully realized yet that he is no longer with us, that I will no longer bump into this really nice boy that I was in the habit of seeing at certain tournaments. I’d like to express my support during this terrible ordeal to his family and those close to him. . .Rest in peace, Mathieu and courage to those that remain.”

Patrice Dominguez, the FFT’s Technical Director and possibly the last person to speak to Montcourt (Montcourt had spent the evening at his home), said that the hard-working player had top 50 potential: “He is a player we considered could get into the top 50 or 60 within the next two years. He was someone who was really well liked. He was someone who was always one of the best under 12s, best under 16s, best juniors. He was always a fighter, and was a player we liked to watch.” (via CBS Sports)

Mélanie Maillard, a psychologist with the FFT, gives some insight into his personality: “He was an original par excellence – with a big “O” – courageous, unique. His family called him “Matou” like a cat who is sweet but can also grab its opponent in his claws. For quite some time he said that luck was maybe turning in his favor.”

Montcourt, who lost to Radek Stepanek in the second round of this year’s French Open, had since played in four Challenger level events, including a semi final effort in Rijeka, Croatia last week. Perhaps he was trying to play as much as possible before this Monday, when his five week suspension for betting on matches went into effect. The Court of Arbitration for Sport found that Montcourt had wagered a total of $192 on 36 tennis events in 2005. Montcourt claimed that he never bet more than $3 on a match, and never on his own matches – his statements were confirmed by the ATP (via CBS Sports)

Obviously Montcourt’s death is very sad, regardless of the timing, but it does seem unfair that he’s now the “player who died while banned for betting.” Especially since the infractions were minor.

SI’s Jon Wertheim also points out how “downright creepy” it is that Montcourt is now the second tennis player to recently suffer an untimely death after being banned for betting. Italian player Federico Luzzi was suspended for much of 2008 for gambling on matches, and was diagnosed with leukemia upon returning to tour in October. He passed away soon after. Players including Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer paid tribute to Luzzi at the Rome Masters event this April.

Even with the no-shows (Williams sisters) and early upsets (Jankovic, Dementieva), GTT still managed to catch plenty of tennis babes on the grounds of this year’s BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. Enjoy!

Hantuchova is FreakyFritter’s favorite. . .

. . .as is Maria Kirilenko

. . .and he likes Dulko, too!

[flv:http://www.gototennisblog.com/wp-content/uploads/videos/kirilenko_tsonga_warmup.flv http://www.gototennisblog.com/wp-content/uploads/kirilenko_tsonga_warmup.jpg 525 295]

Here’s Maria doing her alluring resistance band routine – there’s a hunk bonus at the end!

 

Fellow bloggers: Thanks to everyone who asked to use our photos! Please feel free to use them – we would appreciate a link back to our post, if you do.

Hi all! We’ve arrived in the land of golf visors and prime rib specials and are looking forward to a spectacular day of tennis at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Which means that we won’t be watching Federer vs. Giquel in the vertigo-inducing main stadium, but hanging out at the side courts watching the supporting players work their magic. A glance at Saturday’s order of play reveals some intriguing matchups:

Gasquet vs. Llodra in an all Frenchie flair-fest.

Gabashvili vs. Tsonga – don’t know much about the Russian, but I’d watch Tsonga play Norm Chryst if I had to.

Hewitt vs. Gonzalez – might as well catch both of these guys in action before they retire on us.

Bellucci vs. Verdasco – it’s not exactly the Aussie Open semifinals, but I want to see if Fernando’s game is still hot.

Mirza vs. Pennetta – Mirza’s been training in Las Vegas lately, and I’ll be curious to see how she stands up to the consistent Italian.

Barrois vs. Cornet – no idea who Barrois is, but I want to see Cornet hit live.

Paszek vs. Kleybanova – this should be a good contest. And I have to see Kleybanova’s funky-ass strokes up close.

Andreev vs. Gulbis - along with Hewitt vs. Gonzo, this is probably going to be the hardest fought men’s match of the day. And I should catch Gulbis now, before he becomes too “big” for the side courts.

Ljubicic vs. Ancic – heck, they’re both great players and they’re playing on a teeny-tiny court. Let’s just hope I don’t get my teeth knocked out by an errant serve.

Bethanie Mattek-Sand/Mashona Washington vs. Kuznetsova/Mauresmo – first of all, I missed Bethanie’s marriage announcement – click here to read about her new hubby (who gave her a 5.5 carat engagement ring – wonder if she’ll wear that monster on court?). Second of all, this should be a really fun doubles match.

Simon Aspelin/Jamie Murray vs. Del Potro/ Nalbandian – Good doubles players in Murray and Aspelin and an interesting pairing of the two Argentines – I thought they hated each other after last year’s Davis Cup final. Will Nalbandian “accidently” serve a ball into del Potro’s butt? Count on GTT to get the scoop on this and much more from the Indian Wells Tennis Garden!

Besides match updates and exclusive photos here at GTT, look out for my tournament review over at wonder-blog Down the Line on Monday.

Photo: REUTERS/Michael Fiala

"Vaffanculo!"

Actually, it was another finger that got Flavia Pennetta in trouble today during Italy vs. France first round Fed Cup action in Orleans.  The Italian, who was playing Amelie Mauresmo in the opening rubber, flew off the handle during the second set tie breaker. The chair umpire overruled a call on her passing shot, declaring it out and giving Amelie a match point at 7-6. Pennetta, who later admitted that she “lost control” of herself, gave the umpire a naughty gesture and a few rough words. Mauresmo apparently took more offense than the umpire did and went on to double fault, lose the tie break, and then squander a 4-1 lead in the third set. Pennetta won the match! Nicolas Escude, France’s team captain, cried “RED CARD!” and according to Reuters, is filing an official protest.

Amelie Mauresmo explained afterward:

“She (Pennetta) should have been kicked out of the court. When (Zinedine) Zidane headbutts (Marco) Materazzi (in the 2006 World Cup soccer final) he’s kicked out. It’s crystal clear. To me (this decision) is unacceptable. . .I lost my rhythm because we had to wait (for play to resume) but I’m not looking for excuses.”

Amelie, I’m sure if Flavia headbutted you or the chair ump, she would have been kicked out. But come on, you were up 4-1 in the third! Did the memory of that rude gesture really come back to haunt you five games later? Sorry, you are looking for excuses for what really is an inexcusable loss. . .sigh. . .

Alize Cornet made matters worse for the French team, losing 1-6, 6-2, 6-8 to Francesca Schiavone, a player who hadn’t won a main draw match in 2009. Ouch! And now the young Frenchwoman needs to go out tomorrow and kick Flavia’s butt to keep her team alive. It’s a tough task, given that France has lost to Italy the past two times they’ve played, but it could be a career-transforming experience for the Alize. Allez, girl!

Side note: Why is doubles played last in Fed Cup? It’s so much more interesting in that key third rubber position that Davis Cup uses. Plus, for French fans – Dechy/Bremond would have a great chance over Errani/Vinci.

Click here for some livestreaming links if you want to catch more France vs. Italy drama.