Amongst the extensive list of French Open men’s singles champions, just one Brazilian has become a Grand Slam winner in Paris.
Gustavo Kuerten, nicknamed ‘Guga’, turned professional in 1995 and helped his country reach the Davis Cup World Group a year later.
Kuerten stormed to the 1997 French Open final in his second appearanceGettyIt was also in 1996 that he made his major tournament debut with a first round loss to the tenth seed Wayne Ferreira at Roland Garros.
But Kuerten’s next appearance ended in historic fashion as he placed Brazil on the tennis world map by lifting the coveted silverware.
After beating Ctislav Dosedel, Jonas Bjorkman, Thomas Muster and Andrei Medvedev, the then 20-year-old was into the quarter-finals.
Kuerten was losing 2-1 to Yevgeny Kafelnikov but won all six games in the fourth set and triumphed in the fifth for a last four spot.
Filip Dewulf, a qualifier, was then beaten to send the South American prodigy into the final against the two-time champion Sergi Bruguera.
And it was an occasion where previous experience wasn’t enough for glory as the up and coming Kuerten won 6-3 6-4 6-2.
Guga became the first Brazilian to win a men’s singles major, and first unseeded Grand Slam champion since Mats Wilander 15 years prior.
When recalling the winning point, a Bruguera backhand into the net, Kuerten revealed his emotional reaction to Roland Garros.
“It’s like a release, a full feeling of happiness,” he said. “We did it, and we deserved it at the same time.”
Kuerten couldn’t defend his title in 1998 and settled for a quarter-final exit before the turn of the millenium.
Kuerten beat Bruguera to become the first Brazilian major winnerGetty He became champion at Roland Garros despite being unseededGettyHowever, he opened the 2000’s in style by winning his second French Open crown after a pre-last eight run where he dropped just one set.
This time it was Magnus Norman he beat with a 6-2 6-3 2-6 7-6 [8-6] scoreline that knocked the legendary Andre Agassi of the throne.
Kuerten had seemingly found his groove at Roland Garros as he won the Grand Slam tournament for a second consecutive year in 2001.
Alex Corretja made his second appearance in the final but missed out on the trophy yet again as his opponent won 6-7 [3-7] 7-5 6-2 6-0.
Unfortunately for Kuerten, this would be the final major success of his career as injury issues began to deliver dips in performance.
Another five French Open entries would follow, with his last coming in a 2008 first round defeat to Paul-Henri Mathieu.
Kuerten won his third and final French Open title four year after the firstGettyIt was Kuerten’s final ever tennis match before retirement, with his post-playing career taking an interesting route.
The Center of Arts of Santa Catarina State University in his birthplace of Florianopolis accepted him onto a drama course.
Kuerten was reported by the BBC to have needed security during his admission test due to his popularity as former Brazil no.1.
He commenced his studies in February 2009 and had the backing of a former student given his work ethic on the test court.
Speaking to O Globo, they said: “Guga’s choice makes more people recognise and respect the potential of theatre and, consequently, those who do theatre.
“Unfortunately, this is how it is, Guga is famous and the fact that the three-time Roland Garros champion chose theatre as a learning experience makes people better understand theater.
“Anyone can do theatre and Guga, if he puts in the same effort he put into training for tennis, will do well in the course.”
Kuerten finished 2000 as the world no.1 so has plenty of knowledge regarding what it takes to sit top of the rankings in men’s tennis.
He beat fellow stars Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi to the summit, even though his three Grand Slams fall short of their combined 22.
Guga named both in his personal list of legends with Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, as per the Express.
The notable absence is Novak Djokovic, who has won a record 24 Grand Slam titles and is widely regarded as the greatest player ever.
However, Kuerten explained why he selected the aforementioned six, even if it came at the expense of one of the sport’s superstars.
Djokovic was not named in Kuerten’s list of best playersAFP“Why? Because of my origins,” he said. “My brother with a poster of Borg and me with a poster of McEnroe.
“I can speak today and people will listen to me thanks to these two players.”
Kuerten added: “Sampras was from another galaxy. Agassi was a more provocative type who went beyond tennis and reached people.”
In 2012, Kuerten was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, which also includes Agassi, Borg, McEnroe and Sampras.
He was also a torch bearer at the Rio Olympics four years later, with the former French Open star clearly held in high regard in Brazil.
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