Gustavo Kuerten
It was only two years ago that observers were wondering aloud whether Guga was a one-slam wonder. Coming out of nowhere to win the French Open in 1997, the Brazilian was bounced from Roland Garros by a teenage qualifier named Marat Safin in 1988, and, as the tournament favourite in 1999, lost limply the quarterfinals to eventual runner-up Andrei Medvedev. But with his convincing back-to-back wins in Paris in 2000 and this year, Kuerten has firmly established himself as the best clay-courter of his generat
ion.
Great accomplishments in sports breed not only admiration, but also rising expectations. The obvious question about Kuerten's future was posed by the always provocative Yevgeny Kafelnikov after his quarterfinal loss to Guga in Paris last week. Can he do the job at the other major tournaments?
Up to now, Kuerten's record in the non-clay Slams has been far from brilliant. Apart from quarterfinals at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open ? both in 1999 ? early-round defeat has been his fate.
The last three Roland Garros titlists to have won the tournament at least three times ? Mats Wilander, Ivan Lendl and Bjorn Borg -- all distinguished themselves at the other Grand Slam events, winning at least multiple non-French Slams. If it is fair to say that Pete Sampras is not the greatest player of all time because he has never reached a French Open final, regardless of his other achievements, then it is also allowable to submit that Guga should not be mentioned in the same breath as the likes of B
org, Lendl and Wilander until he does the job in at least one of the other three majors.
Kuerten has the game to rise to the big occasions at the other three majors. He proved that by winning a hard court title in Indianapolis last year, besting Safin in a nail-biting final. More impressive still, the Brazilian swept past Norman, Kafelnikov, Sampras and Agassi indoors in Lisbon to win the 2000 Master's Cup and clinch the season-ending number one.
Somewhat unfortunately, Kuerten has elected to skip Wimbledon this year, preferring to take a surfing holiday in Bahia and rest some niggling injuries. While we understand his need to rest, we hope it is not a case of resting on his laurels. Assuming the challenge of the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open is the logical next step in what has been a remarkable and still young career.
Jennifer Capriati
I will spare you the details of Capriati's amazing journey -- a story tailor-made for a TV movie if there ever was one -- from teenage phenomenon to juvenile delinquent to out-of-shape underachiever to champion. The media has treated us to countless variations on this theme since her surprise Australian Open title earlier this year, and Jennifer's French Open title only served to spawn still more breathless narrations of this triumph of the human spirit.
What matters in tennis terms is that Capriati, if she is able to keep her fitness and motivation at a high level for the next few years, is showing every indication of becoming a mini-dynasty in the women's game. The American has been able to combine power, accuracy, speed, will to win and tactical smarts in a way that is unique on the tour. Even when she is not playing her best tennis, as was the case in her Roland Garros final victory over a determined Kim Clijsters, she is able to find a way to get he
rself into a winning position.
The big question mark hanging over Capriati's rise to prominence is: can she keep it up? At 25, she is not a geezer, but is older than her most serious competition in the elite of women's tennis (Hingis, the Williams sisters, Davenport -- by three months -- and Mauresmo). The rest of 2001 will prove crucial to judging the success of her assault on the bastion of the sport's best.
Already, some worrying signs have begun to appear. Citing fatigue, Capriati has withdrawn from a grass-court tune-up event next week in the Netherlands. Rumours were also circulating that Capriati had withdrawn from Wimbledon, but the reports were firmly denied by a tournament official. And we are entering the stage of the season for which Venus Williams has been peaking, and which she dominated last year.
As the season changes from spring to summer, the bounces become lower and the surfaces slicker, it would not be surprising if the names in the men's and women's tennis headlines change as well.