When I played junior tennis and singles for Cedartown (Ga.) High School in the early eighties, I wore a red shirt with a green reptile on the breast and considered myself the utmost of cool. Little did I know then that this clothing had been inspired by one of the greatest of all French players, Rene “The Crocodile” Lacoste.

“The American press nicknamed me ‘The Crocodile’ (Le Crocodile or l’Alligator in French) after a bet that I made with the Captain of the French Davis Cup team,” Lacoste said. “He had promised me a crocodile-skin suitcase if I won a match that was important for our team. The American public stuck to this nickname, which highlighted my tenacity on the tennis courts, never giving up my prey! So my friend Robert George drew me a crocodile which was embroidered on the blazer that I wore on the courts.”

There are, of course, no crocodiles in France, although there are 23 species in warm climates worldwide, including the southernmost sections of the Southeastern U.S. according to Crocodilians, a web site that claims to be “the internet’s longest running crocodile resource.”

With Andy Roddick today making a pretty penny to wear the Crocodile, I wonder if Lacoste might have some sartorial mojo at work on him. Doubtful on such a fast hard court as they’ve put down in Winston-Salem, but we’ve seen what Andy’s mojo has done before.

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