Gustavo Kuerten
Gustavo Kuerten ( born September 10, 1976 in Florianópolis, Santa Catarina ) is a retired Brazilian tennis player.
- 2.2.1 Siege
- 2.2.2 finals
Career
Without the financial help of his grandmother in Germany, Olga locks, Gustavo Kuerten had to climb probably not make it to the professional. As state support was missing, the family had to pay for even the most athletic training her tennis talent. As a six- year-old father of Aldo, after his early death of Brother Raphael trained to Gustavo played in the junior rankings at number six. In 1994 he turned professional team. Not only in individual tournaments in the 18 -year-old fell on. An excellent doubles player, he won with Nicolas Lapentti the Junior tournament of the French Open in 1994. In the world rankings, he was led to number 421, managed in 1995 to make it into the Top 200 Without a real top result he climbed in 1996 to 88th place
His breakthrough came at the French Open in 1997, when he ran as an unseeded No. 66 in the world rankings and won the tournament. In the 3rd round he met the former Clay Court King and French Open Champion 1995, Thomas Muster, whom he defeated in five sets 6:7, 6:1, 6:3, 3:6, 6:4. A further round of Ukrainian Andriy Medvedev lurked, which the major clay court tournament already won three times at the Hamburg Rothbaum. Kuerten sat down again in five sets with 5:7, 6:1, 6:2, 1:6, 7:5 by. In the quarterfinals, he defeated the defending champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov after 1:2 sentence residue with 6:2, 5:7, 2:6, 6:0, 6:4, to later in the final of the two-time French Open champion Sergi Bruguera smooth with in three sets 6:3, 6:4, 6:2 to defeat. Thus Kuerten is next to Mats Wilander in 1982 and Gaston Gaudio 2004, the only male player who won the French Open title as unseeded. At the World Championships in Hannover, he traveled as a ranked third parties.
Kuerten was especially successful on clay. He won three times the most important clay court tournament in the world, the French Open. He also won in 2000, the Tennis Masters Cup, becoming the number one world ranking. After two hip surgeries he had to pause for long.
After launching its own line of clothing to Kuerten tried again in 2007 to establish in the world rankings. Since 2006, he also worked again with his former coach Larri Passos many years together, with whom he had celebrated the greatest success. After Kuerten had to give 2008 the Frenchman Paul -Henri Mathieu beaten 3:6, 4:6, 2:6 in the first round of the French Open, the Brazilian ended after 13 years of his professional career.
In 2012, he was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
He lives in Morro das Pedras, a district of Florianópolis.