Check out the Latin Americans who won Roland Garros
Latin Americans have rarely managed to conquer the clay courts of Paris, but some of them have succeeded in the quest.
Few have been the Latin Americans who have conquered this competition. Photo: Pexels
LatinAmerican Post| Juan Manuel Londoño
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Leer en español: Conoce a los únicos latinos que han ganado el Roland Garros
Roland Garros, also known as the French Open, is one of the most important events in the world of tennis. Latin Americans have rarely managed to conquer this tournament, but 4 legends have. Did you know them all?
Guillermo Vilas
This Argentine won 4 Grand Slam tournaments throughout his career, including a French Open in 1977 . On that occasion, he faced the French Brian Gottfried and won 6–0, 6–3 and 6–0.
Vilas had a peculiar personality, he was known for his love to rock and poetry , an athlete imbued with the spirit of his time. With more than 900 victories as a professional, Vilas has a statue in his honor in Buenos Aires.
El más grande del tenis argentino ya tiene su estatua en el "Paseo de la Gloria". Gracias eternas, Guillermo Vilas. pic.twitter.com/nSCTeN3ooq
— VarskySports (@VarskySports) September 18, 2014
Gaston Gaudio
Another Argentine tennis player. The greatest moment of Gaudio's career came when he won the French Open in 2004. It was a rather peculiar final, as Gaudio faced his compatriot Guillermo Coria , the favorite to win it all. Despite losing the first set, Gaudio would win with a final score of 0–6, 3–6, 6–4, 6–1, 8–6.
Gaudio is a peculiar case since his highest ranking was number 5 in the world, he never reached the number 1 . The Argentine finished his career with 270 victories and 196 defeats.
¡FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS GATO! Gastón Gaudio cumple 41 años. Actual capitán de Copa Davis. Tenista profesional durante 15 años (1996-2011). Logró 8 títulos en singles, entre ellos el abierto de Roland Garros en 2004, y otros 3 en dobles. Gigante. pic.twitter.com/Cjj6rLd1j5
— TyC Sports (@TyCSports) December 9, 2019
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Gustavo Kuerten
Kuerten is considered, along with Guillermo Vilas, one of the best Latin American tennis players in history, and with good reason. The Brazilian managed to win the French Open on three different occasions, in 1997, 2000 and 2001 .
Due to various injuries, his career went into decline starting in 2002 . Gustavo missed several important events and his performance was inconsistent. Finally, he had to retire permanently from the sport at the age of 31.
Kuerten was the first Brazilian to win a Grand Slam title and to this day he is recognized as an influential athlete in his country . In 2012 he entered the Tennis Hall of Fame and in 2016 he was asked to carry the Olympic torch of his country.
FOTO: El ex número uno del mundo Gustavo Kuerten ingresó al Salón de la Fama del Tenis pic.twitter.com/yD2YQEJX
— CANCHA (@reformacancha) July 15, 2012
Andrés Gémez
The most outstanding tennis player in the history of Ecuador. Gómez won the Roland Garros in 1990 , beating none other than the American Andre Agassi in four sets. The final score for this match was 6–3, 2–6, 6–4, 6–4.
His highest ranking in the ATP was fourth , and throughout his career, Gómez accumulated 531 singles victories and 376 doubles victories.
In an interview with ATP, Gómez mentioned the following in relation to his victory in the French Open: “I awaited that tournament that made the difference in my career, and it happened in Paris. I was looking for it for a long time and finally it was obtained ”.
— Andres Gomez (@AndresGomezGogo) June 7, 2020
Could it be that this year one more latino will be added to this list?