Paris native Mathieu Montcourt died on 6 July 2009 at the age of 24, as a result of a heart attack. He attained a career-high World No. 104 in May 2009, shortly after reaching the Roland Garros second round for the third time (also 2006-07). He won three ATP Challenger Tour titles and three at ITF Futures events. Rafael Nadal, a childhood friend and rival, said: "I am under shock for this. I can't believe it. I [had] known Mathieu since we were kids. We competed together at all the international junior events, such as Les Petit As, Copa Borotta and of course afterwards once becoming professionals." The French Tennis Federation said: "[He] was a charming person, a strong personality and an independent character, who was appreciated by all the French and international tennis players. His sudden death fills the entire tennis community with deep sadness." Patrice Dominguez added: "Mathieu was a young hope, who was climbing up the Rankings. He was a hard-working player, very serious and healthy. He was an extremely kind boy, open minded and always very curious. We are devastated and our thoughts go out to his family."
