Article

  • The toast of the town in Paris, pre-Nadal

    11/19/08 8:30 AM | Kelli DeMario
    The toast of the town in Paris, pre-Nadal A formidable Argentine team hopes to become Davis Cup champions after finishing second best in 1981 and 2006.

    A weakened Spanish team must travel to Mar del Plata this weekend, minus the services of Rafael Nadal, still hampered by tendinitis. Argentina, a perfect 13-for-13 in Davis Cup ties played on home soil, seems the overwhelming favorite to win the best-of-five series.

    Homegrown hero and 2004 Roland Garros champion, Gastón Gaudio, hasn't decided if he wants to attend the final. An unlikely spectator during Argentina's semifinal dispatching of Russia in September, Gaudio fancies his country's chances to claim their first Davis Cup title. The former world #5 was offered an opportunity to provide live, color commentary for Canal 13, a job prospect he has yet to accept.

    Fraught with injury and periods of clouded introspection, the past few years have not been kind to the enigmatic man from Temperley. Gaudio found himself playing sporadically in European challenger events after his ranking slipped to #180 in 2007. A serious ankle injury sustained in Napoli forced the Argentine out of action once again, leaving him disappointed and disillusioned about the state of his career. Returns to competition came in fits and starts, none of them successful.

    Tennis illuminati fashion Gaudio, currently bereft of an ATP ranking, a compelling puzzle of sorts- equally talented and unpredictable. More than four calendar years have passed since he hoisted the French Open trophy, the last man to do so since Rafael Nadal's stranglehold on the title began. The memory of the 2004 final brings to mind a day when Gaudio had everything figured out, staging a miraculous comeback, down two sets to love.

    Ranked a respectable #44 coming into the tournament, Gaudio quietly made his way through to the second Sunday, overshadowed by bitter rival and tournament favorite, Guillermo Coria. Surrendering only one set en route to the finals, Coria was ready to fulfill a generation's worth of promise, procuring his first major title.

    The two combatants met in an epic, all-Argentine final. A shaky Gaudio needed nine tries to win his first game. At 0-6, 1-5, a despondent Gaudio told his coach, Franco Davín, he wanted to throw in the towel. The long-suffering Davín persuaded his moody charge to relax and enjoy the moment, regardless of the dire circumstance.

    Playing flawlessly to a two-set lead, Coria looked to have the title and his destiny firmly in hand. With the help and encouragement of a sympathetic crowd, Gaudio finally collected himself in the middle of the third set.

    Soon after, a shocking case of nerve-related cramping derailed Coria's momentum. Coria, gasping for breath at the tail end of the set, required a medical time-out and multiple treatments for his seizing legs. Those watching the match, including former French Open finalist, John McEnroe, wondered if the majority of Coria's complaints were mental, rather than physical in nature. Whatever the problem, a distressed Coria quickly dropped the third and fourth sets.

    The fifth set proved to be an emotional roller-coaster for both players, trading multiple breaks of serve. Coria, thoroughly betrayed by body and mind, served for the championship twice, unable to avoid relinquishing his slight lead. Gaudio, eager to accept his rival's gift-wrapped service breaks, now refused to lose.

    After more than three and a half hours of play, an exhausted Gaudio stood ready to receive, two championship points on Coria's serve. He only needed one. Securing the win and his first major title, Gaudio ripped his trademark backhand for a winner. The title he had wanted so much was finally his, childhood dream realized.

    Present-day Gaudio, who turns 30 in less than three weeks, waxes nostalgic about his brilliant run in Paris. He stops short of guaranteeing a return to tennis, choosing to remain noncommittal when pushed to designate a time frame. “It's now or never,” he explains. His loyal fans hope for the former, along with another wild ride to championship glory.

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Comments

Awesome! (Except for leaving out the part about Coria's two match points, one that Gaston saved with an epic one-hander and another in which Coria had a forehand down-the-line all lined up and he missed it just wide).

This might be my favorite match in tennis history, although Goran-Rafter might be ahead of it.

RickyDimon , 11/19/08 3:23 PM


Thank you Ricky. I debated about including the facts about Coria, but I decided against putting them in. Nobody had saved two CP's in 70 years!

Cheryl might be the one to include them as a Coria supporter, but I still carry the memory of Hamburg 2003 with me- no mention of his two CP's from me.

(That FH miss was legendary though- when Coria missed it, I knew it was over for him...)

Kelli , 11/19/08 4:23 PM


so sorry but two of you post very biased @@! ok coria lost in the finals but to me is like a fluke win. everybody know gaudio is crazy headcase, worse than safin. :D

elle , 11/19/08 6:51 PM


Of course Gaudio is a headcase, but that doesn't mean his win was a fluke. Consider the competition back then: GUILLERMO CORIA was dominant on clay. That's all that needs to be said. Also consider Gaudio's clay-court record in 2004 and 2005: it was awesome. Even though he was unseeded, he was one of plenty of players who had chances to win going into the 2004 French Open.

RickyDimon , 11/19/08 7:13 PM


yea he play decent on clay, but not so awesome when he got no master shields on clay. :/ so i call a fluke win.

elle , 11/19/08 7:21 PM



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