Gustavo Kuerten - The Star Who Revived Tennis in South America
Born on 10th September, 1976, in Florianopolis, Brazil, Gustavo Kuerten first laid his hands on a tennis racquet at the age of six. With the encouragement of his father Aldo, a non-professional tennis player, Kuerten set about to develop his game in the hope of ascending to the very pinnacle of the sport. Yet at the tender age of 8, Kurten was deprived of an important source of mentorship when Aldo died of a heart attack. Subsequently it was Larri Passos, a Brazilian tennis instructor, who took over the mantle of Kuerten’s counsellor when he turned 14. Passos saw enough promise in the teenager to assure his family that it would be worth allowing him to embark on the journey towards a professional career in the sport. Kuerten’s flourishing association with Passos would last for fifteen years, during which time his protégé turned professional in 1995 and then rose to the supreme end of the World Tennis Rankings in December 2004.
In 1997, two years subsequent to turning professional, Kuerten, nicknamed “Guga”, was ranked no.2 in his native Brazil. The same year he won the French Open at Roland Garros. It was a monumental victory that made Guga the first Brazilian to have landed a Grand Slam title since decades. After the initial triumph the Brazilian’s 1998 season was less than smooth, with Kuerten unable to find winning form, probably buckling under the pressure of expectation. In 1999, a resurgent Kuerten made it to the quarter finals of the French Open as well as the Wimbledon. In 2000, the Brazilian returned to retain his crown at his favourite surface - the clay courts of Roland Garros. He overcame the likes of Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras on the battle to reach the final, where he beat Sweden’s Magnus Norman to take the French Open trophy for the second time in his career. Kuerten ended the 2000 season ranked number one in the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) world rankings, becoming the first South American to have done so since 1973. In 2001 Kuerten emulated the 2000 success with panache after landing his third French Open title and in the process joining the likes of all-time greats such as Bjorn Borg, Mats Wilander and Ivan Lendl who also have three or more French Open titles to their names. The same year he also reached the U.S. Open quarter finals.
The Brazilian’s progress after his last French Open title was thwarted by recurring fitness issues and in 2005 he plummeted below 100 in the ATP world rankings for the first time since turning professional in 1995. Kuerten announced his intentions to retire from the professional tennis at the beginning of the 2008 campaign. During his final year as a professional, Guga managed to clinch his first ATP Masters Series showdown after a notably dry spell, induced by a nagging hip injury.
After Kuerten won the French Open trophy in 2001, the Brazilian endeared himself to the spectators by carving out a heart on the clay as a token of his acknowledgement of their support. In 2007 Kuerten lost his younger brother Guilherme, who died of complications arising from cerebral palsy. His brother’s life long struggle with the affliction had a profound effect on the Brazilian who has devoted a significant amount of his fortune to an NGO (Non Government Organisation) that serves individuals suffering from the ailment.
In August 2000, the Brazilian star inaugurated the Institute Guga Kuerten to assist the disabled. Since its inception the organisation has aided in excess of 16,000 people in Santa Catarina and accumulated a funding of $ 1,439,000. As a youth, Kuerten sought inspiration from the late, unparalleled Brazilian Formula One hero, Ayrton Senna and iconic footballer Pele. In 2001, the Brazilian tennis ace appeared on a postage stamp and in 2003 he was presented the country’s Cross of Merit. It was Kuerten who hoisted the Olympic Torch in Rio de Janeiro in 2004.
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