Triple champion Gustavo Kuerten, still recovering from the effects of two hip operations, slumped to his worst defeat in 10 years at Roland Garros on Tuesday when he was dumped out of the first round of the French Open.
The 28-year-old Brazilian, the champion in Paris in 1997, 2000 and 2001, lost 6-3, 6-0, 4-6, 6-1 to Spain’s David Sanchez, his earliest loss at the tournament since 1996 when he also exited at the first-round stage on his debut.
Kuerten, the darling of the Paris crowd, was unseeded this year after a seven-month absence from the tour following a second hip operation in September, and his world ranking of 94 saw him relegated to the unfamiliar surroundings of Court Two.
Despite rallying in the third set, Kuerten, with just two wins from five tournaments coming into the second grand slam of the season, looked a pale shadow of his old self.
He sent down an embarrassing 83 unforced errors in his defeat in two hours and four minutes, a statistic that throws into question whether ”Guga” will ever be able to recover his former brilliance. — Sapa-AFP