A Farewell to Guga

If you're a Mediocre Minds veteran, you know of my love of tennis. I have written about the retirements of Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras. Those are household names, at least as far as American tennis goes. So the more casual tennis watchers among you may not know of Gustavo Kuerten.

The Brazilian's greatest successes occurred near the end of Sampras's great career and before the rise of Roger Federer. In that tiny slice, it is easy to mark lay claim that Kuerten's #1 world ranking and 3 French Open titles point at a void in tennis filled by a clay court specialist. And maybe there is some truth to it - after all, he never got past the quarterfinals of any other Grand Slam.

Kuerten - Guga, to his fans and friends - retired earlier today in a farewell match in the first round of the French Open. He has been battling a hip injury that has failed to respond to two surgeries. While he may not have been a personal hero like Agassi and Sampras were to me, you have to respect a man who plays through pain - and what excruciating suffering it must have been! - to go out on his own terms. And, yes, maybe it was all for himself; maybe he was just thinking about how HE wanted to end his tennis career. But whatever the intention, he gave tennis crowds a show in the last few weeks. Hobbled and barely a shadow of his former self, his display brought pride to the eyes of many tennis fans. Watching Kuerten play through his pain was one of the most important tennis moments we will see this year.

Tennis is a capricious sport. Don't let anyone tell you differently. Those who rule it one day fall faster than in any other sport. The difference between elite and past-the-prime is razor thin. It is a sport that has constantly reminded me of the frailty of our heroes.

Kuerten reminded me of a lion knowingly fighting in a situation where could not win. And I respect him for that.

He used to be Gustavo Kuerten to me. Now, I too call him Guga.