16/07/2012 14:58 CEST - Hall of Fame

Hall of Fame: Saudade do Guga

Gustavo Kuerten

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It was spring in 1997 and the French Open was in full swing, but the tournament's TV rights were owned by the Italian state broadcaster RAI that was hardly showing any matches as they preferred to show the cycling race Giro d'Italia. The internet was just starting so it wasn't possible to go online and watch tennis in streaming. Luckily in many areas of Italy it was possible to see France 2, the channel that was showing the Roland Garros in France.

As a kid I found myself watching the tournament without understanding the commentary, but I nonetheless realised that I was watching something extraordinary. It was hard for me to understand the names of the players pronounced in a French accent, so I couldn't understand if the player I was admiring was Kurten or Kirten. In reality his name was Gustavo Kuerten from Florianopolis, Brazil. Pretty soon tennis fans all over the world started to call him Guga.

In the traditional atmosphere of Newport, Rhode Island, that unknown player that went on to have an extraordinary career was being inducted into the tennis Hall of Fame. This is an honour bestowed only to the greatest tennis players.

Guga entered the 1997 French Open ranked 66th in the world, but he defeated all the clay court specialists of the time in epic matches that often went the distance. In the third round he defeated Thomas Muster, winner in Paris in 1995, then Medvedev, finalist in 1999, and the defending champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov. In his semifinal, Kuerten dominated Belgian qualifier Dewulf. He also dominated against 2 time Roland Garros winner Sergi Bruguera in the final.

Kuerten was instantly loved by Parisian fans as he used to display all of his emotions often drawing hearts on the clay courts at the end of his matches to thank the crowd for their support. His beautiful one-handed backhand combined with his infectious “joie de vivre” typical of Brazilians made him irresistible to fans the world over.

In his career Kuerten won the Roland Garros again in 2000 and 2001 after his legendary triumph in 1997. He also won the end of year Masters in Lisbon (played indoor) defeating Pete Sampras in the semifinal and Andre Agassi in the final. After he won the Masters he became world number 1 on the 4th of December 2000.

After his third success in Paris in 2001 he started to have problems with his hip, an injury that marked the beginning of the end of his career. His last big result was in Paris when he reached the quarterfinals in 2004, even if he was still fighting against his injuries, defeating the world number one Roger Federer in straight set. Kuerten is still the last player to have defeated the Swiss in a Grand Slam before the quarterfinals stage.

In 2008 he decided to end his career on that very same court. He lost in the first round and cried when he waved farewell to the fans that had shared so many amazing moments with him.

Kuerten now lives in Brazil with the same enthusiasm for life where he passes his time surfing and teaching tennis to kids. Since he retired it was clear that there was not going to be another one like him in today's world of tennis. The circuit is now dominated by pressure and anxiety and the chances for players to have fun have just vanished. This is why I already miss him, I have saudade do Guga.

Luca De Gaspari