South of France Championships

Lawn tennis was introduced to the French Riviera by English tourists, who decided to holiday on the Cote d'Azur after Queen Victoria vacationed there during the late 1800s. The Riviera season was usually December through to March with a number of events that would be staged in Nice. The South of France Championships in Nice was considered the best of these early continental tournament events. Other events founded around this time included the Nice Championships, the Nice Lawn Tennis Club Championships and later the Nice International. The Nice Lawn Tennis Club was founded in 1890 at Place Mozart. In 1895 the South of France Championships tournament began; the dates the event was held fluctuated between February, March and April annually. The club and championships changed location to Parc Imperial Avenue Suzanne Lenglen in 1923. It was one of the earliest events open to international players; the tournament survived for a period of 76 years until 1971. ==Finals==

The final round of a tournament, in which the winner of a single-elimination phase faces the previous year's champion, who plays only that one match. The challenge round was used in the early history of tennis (from 1877 through 1921) in some tournaments not all. The * indicates the challenger. Men's singles Women's singles (Incomplete roll) ==Records==

Men's singles Source: The Tennisbase included • Most titles: Laurence Doherty, (8) • Most consecutive titles: Laurence Doherty, (7) • Most finals: Laurence Doherty, (8) • Most consecutive finals: Laurence Doherty, (7) • Most matches played: Pierre Darmon, (39) • Most matches won: Pierre Darmon, (33) • Most consecutive match wins: Anthony Wilding, and Laurence Doherty, (19) • Most editions played: Georges Goven, (12) • Best match winning %: Laurence Doherty and Reginald Doherty (100%) • Longest final: Jacques Brichant v Bobby Wilson, result: 9–11, 6–3, 6–2, 7–9, 6–4 (63 games), (1957) • Shortest final: Armando Vieira v József Asbóth, result: 6–1, 6–1 (14 games) (1953) • Shortest final: Sergio Tacchini v Jean-Noël Grinda, result: 6–4, 4–0 retired (14 games) (1964) • Title won with the fewest games lost, Anthony Wilding, (12), (1908) • Oldest champion: Gordon Lowe, 38y 8m and 23d, (1923) • Youngest champion: René Lacoste, 19y 8m and 9d, (1924) ==See also==