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Gaudio wanted to quit final, says Vilas
Guillermo Vilas said that Gaston Gaudio was on the brink of quitting the final against Guillermo Coria.
Guillermo Vilas, the last Argentinian to win the French Open title in 1977, said that Gaston Gaudio was on the brink of quitting the final against Guillermo Coria on Sunday before he launched a stunning fightback to take the title to end his country's long wait for a Grand Slam crown.
Unseeded Gaudio beat his third-seeded compatriot 0-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, 8-6 in a dramatic 3hr 31min final at Roland Garros but after losing the first 11 of the match's 12 games, he cut a forlorn figure on the Philippe Chatrier court.
"He said he couldn't believe he was playing like that and said he had had enough," claimed Vilas who said the temperamental Gaudio made the threat after the fourth game of the second set.
"He was lost and working really slowly. He was confessing."
Vilas, who was also the last Argentinian man to win a Grand Slam title of any sort at the 1979 Australian Open, praised Gaudio who he first saw as a junior playing at his club in Buenos Aires.
In an emotional post-final speech, Gaudio had praised Vilas saying that it was because of him that he became a tennis player.
"His coach taught at my club and he asked me if he could bring this 11-year-old kid to play," said Vilas.
"I know his story. In the past, he has threatened to quit. He was looking for shots in the bottom of the ocean. He has been through a lot and I told him to look for the answer.
"He found the answer today at Roland Garros at the age of 25."
Vilas believes there will be more and more Argentinians making an impression at Grand Slam level.
The country provided three of the men's semi-finalists and one in the women's event at the French Open which ended on Sunday.
"They were very impressive throughout the tournament and every year they are getting better," he said.
"They have no limits."
