Kuerten can rise again at French Open

13 April 2012

Gustavo Kuerten may not be sure if he will play at Wimbledon this year but there is no doubt that the 24-year-old Brazilian will dominate the French Open which starts in Paris on Monday.

Clay court expert Kuerten won his second French title last year and will be clear favourite in Paris this time, despite losing his first match on clay for a year - to Spain's Juan Carlos Ferrero - in the Italian Open earlier this month.

A repeat victory will be difficult, but not rare. Sweden's Bjorn Borg claimed back-to-back wins in 1974 and 1975 and then four in a row ending in 1981.

Three other players, Ivan Lendl, Jim Courier, and Sergi Bruguera have also managed to win two in a row.

Kuerten gave his confidence a huge boost by beating both Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi to win the Masters in Lisbon in December and even though Agassi could give him problems on clay, Sampras has no great record at Stade Roland Garros.

Equally, Kuerten has yet to inspire on grass, where Sampras rules after winning seven titles at Wimbledon.

One of the questions Kuerten will be asked frequently in Paris is whether he will enter Wimbledon this year.

Kuerten has played there with little success four times and objects to the seeding system at the All England Club which has previously followed grass court potential rather than the world rankings.

It looks likely he will opt out of the tournament this year by diplomatically claiming that long-standing injury niggles would benefit from a rest.

Agassi, who has won all four Grand Slam titles to prove his value on any surface, believes that unless players play in all the major championships they cannot truly aspire to be among the world's greats.

But Kuerten is not alone in his thinking.

Some other high-ranking clay court specialists including Kuerten's recent victor Ferrero may also miss Wimbledon.

Ferrero is now the sport's most consistent player. He beat Kuerten in Rome and won 15 matches in a row, but his absence will be another blow to the All England Club. Meanwhile, Tim Henman will be playing in Paris for the first time without a coach following his split with David Felgate last month.

The British No 1, seeded 11th this time, has a poor record, having failed to reach further than the third round.

He also has to wipe out the memory of his defeat in Hamburg to the 96th-ranked Lars Burgsmueller of Germany which left him saying: "I couldn't have played worse. I am staggered - it was appalling."

In the women's singles, Martina Hingis bids to win the tournament for the first time.

The 20-year-old has previously upset the Parisian crowds with displays of petulance in losing two finals, most notably after losing against top-seed Steffi Graff two years ago.

Venus Williams saw her off in the quarter-finals last year when Mary Pierce became champion.

Pierce has pulled out through injury this time, leaving Amelie Mauresmo as France's only realistic hope.

But she was beaten in Rome by the form player in the women's field, 18-year-old Yugoslav Jelena Dokic, who went on to win the Italian title.

Dokic's tiresome father Damir will be back courtside to cheer her on after completing a six-month ban imposed by the Women's Tennis Association for behaviour which saw him thrown out of three tournaments in the last two years - including Wimbledon and the US Open.

With him back, Parisians would love Mauresmo to gain revenge.

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Kuerten can rise again at French Open

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