Gustavo Kuerten (Brazil)

Gustavo Kuerten (Brazil)

Age: 26 Lives: Florianopolis, Brazil Plays: Right-handed Grand Slam titles: Three (French Open 2001, 2000, 1997) Seed:15
At Roland Garros:
Year  2002 2001  2000 1999 1998  Performance  4R W W QF 2R  Year 1997 1996       Performance W 1R
W: Winner SF: Semi-finalist QF: Quarter-finalist R: Round
'Guga' loves Paris and Paris loves Guga after his three successes at Roland Garros, after the most recent of which, in 2001, he drew a giant love-heart in the clay to show his appreciation of the French crowd. So good is his record at the clay-court grand slam that last year's run to the fourth round was a disappointment. A shock first-round loss in Rome earlier this month will not have helped Kuerten's confidence but with his waspish baseline shots and grace about the court, the Brazilian is still capable of beating anybody on his favourite surface. A fourth-round loser here last year, he finished 2002 outside the top 10 for the first time since 1988. Struggling since hip surgery more than a year ago.