Gustavo Kuerten

Gustavo "Guga" Kuerten (Portuguese: [ɡusˈtavu ˈkiʁtẽ]; born 10 September 1976) is a Brazilian former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals for 43 weeks, including as the year-end No. 1 in 2000. Kuerten won 20 ATP Tour-level singles titles, including three majors at the French Open in 1997, 2000, and 2001, as well as the 2000 Tennis Masters Cup. He also won eight doubles titles. Kuerten is regarded as one of the best Brazilian tennis players of all time. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2012. In 2016, Kuerten was a torch bearer for the Rio Olympics.

Professional career

As a junior player in South America, Kuerten won many of the most important tournaments in the region. He often played in an age group above his.

After two years as a professional, Kuerten rose to the position of No. 2 player in Brazil, behind Fernando Meligeni, and he had his then highest point by helping the Brazil Davis Cup team defeat Austria in 1996 and reach the competition's first division, the World Group.

Following his unexpected victory in the 1997 French Open – which was not only his maiden ATP Tour victory but also the first time he had reached a professional ranking final – Kuerten had a difficult year and a half, adjusting to his sudden fame and the pressure of being expected to win. 1998 was the worst year in his career that was not related to injuries. The pressure for him to become an "ambassador" for tennis in Brazil was made evident after his early defeat to a then unknown Marat Safin in the 1998 French Open: the entire body of Brazilian journalists that had been dispatched to Paris to cover the event immediately returned home, leaving the rest of the tournament unaccounted for in Brazil.