It’s just amazing the people you run into at the majors especially during the latter stages when all the legends are typically invited to attend.
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Steffi Graf, Bjorn Borg and Guga Kuerten are just three of the countless former stars to be swarming the grounds and the players’ lounge and you can sometimes walk up to them and strike up a conversation.
I ran into Guga on Saturday after Serena Williams’ final and we talked about one of the biggest highlights of his career in Paris, one which didn’t involve him winning the trophy (which he won three times).
The Brazilian recalled the time he beat Roger Federer in straight sets in the third round at the French Open in 2004, en route to the quarters where he lost to David Nalbandian. The Swiss was No 1 in the world at the time while Kuerten was towards the end of his career.
“It was a great performance. At that time my tennis level wasn’t so good but that day I could play much better than I expected and somehow I was able to control Roger because if he plays his best I would have had no chance.
“So I had to pace him down a little bit and it worked well. Definitely it is my last great memory being out there on Philippe Chatrier. He was the No 1, a much better player than me at that time but on that court I still believed in myself.”
The former world No1 was happy to witness Williams capture a 20th grand slam singles trophy and believes she can beat Steffi Graf’s Open Era record of 22.
“I think so. She’s coming stronger and stronger every time and even like today, she messed around a little bit but still had the power to make up for it at the end.”
