The Amazing Guga Kuerten x Magnus Norman

[torrepr]

but the 2008's Nadal would pulverized Gugain many aspects. Kuerten says that his tennis was not based so much on physical appearance, but playing against Nadal requires a special revolutions in the field, and a final at Roland Garros 5 set would have been hell for Guga, I'm sure. Nadal the best clay court player of all time, and I do not think Guga would have taken any Roland Garros than Rafa had played, especially the last two....

[torrepr]

I think being honest, Kuerten knows himself that he could not do much with Nadal on clay, not even as his best performance. In 2008, tennis players like Djokovic or Federer could not unseat Nadal's systems, beating high topspin and the ball left-handed, and that is not saying by Guga. I think it is well to keep this great Brazilian player on the podium it deserves, but as he says "would have opportunities" to Nadal in 2005, or when he was a boy of 18 years.

[ludwig1300]

GUGA: the best backhand ever!

[evandrommla]

aprende ai como é que se joga oh pato !hauhauhauhaua

[Ramon424242]

The backhand winner at 6:24 is so fucking sick!!

[tom10552]

I read many of the comments on who would win between Nadal vs Kuerten. I think this depends on which Nadal plays which Kuerten. 2000 Kuerten vs 2005 Nadal, I will go with Kuerten in four. 2000 Kuerten vs 2006 Nadal, Nadal in five. 2000 Kuerten vs 2007 Nadal, Nadal in four. 2000 Kuerten vs 2008, 2010 Nadal, Nadal in straights. 2000 Kuerten vs injured 2009 Nadal, Kuerten in straights. Overall this match up is close.

[ManiPulatoR84]

@tom10552 "TMC 2000 - US Open 2001-Kuerten" was the best Kuerten... better than "general 2000 Kuerten" :P

[jotapeeventos]

guga,the best player of roland garros!!the best player of his generation on clay,the unfortunate hip injury, he would have done great duels with federer and nadal, was the only tennis player in history to defeat Sampras and Agassi in the same tournament,guga forever in my memory!!

[rgarrido1975]

Nonsense. It doesn't matter who would win a match between Kuerten and Nadal. Nadal is one of the best of all time (like Federer or Sampras). Kuerten was the best clay court player at his time and, for 1 year, he was the best tennis player in the world (against people like Sampras and Agassi). I think that's good enough for him and for us brazillian fans, isn't it?

[zackjr]

WHAT ??? Kuerten could not win even a set against Nadal ??? Man ... you're a lunatic. I think, in ten games, Nadal would win 6 or 7. That would be an amazing series. I could dream about that :(

If Kuerten is not the GREATEST IN CLAY, is the SECOND. And, that is AMAZING.

Thanks, Kuerten !!!!

More, the ForeHand of Guga is considered by most of specialist as the BEST EVER. That's really amazing.

[Keytaster]

I hate these one-sided compilations...

[chapaev36]

Evidently Norman failed to win a point in this match.

[dura1mater]

GUGA and NADAL best of five would settle the question.

My money is on GUGA. He's big enough to handle Nadal's crosscourt forehand and he can win easy points on his bigger serve.

Why does Becker get to give him his trophy? Becker doesn't know how it feels to win a French.

[nanananalalala]

@dura1mater its not about being being enough to handle nadals spin cus guga is only 2 inches longer than federer. its about having a single handed or double handed backhand when ur up against nadal. the best scenario would be being tall and having a double handed backhand (see delpo, soderling, tsonga). so especially in a 5 set match guga would be like federer chanceless. and im a big guga fan but theres no use in denying truth. one thing that guga has better than nadal is his game is more beaut

[dura1mater]

@nanananalalala Two inches is huge in height and when you talk about arm span it's even greater. Guga's backhand is good enough and better than delporto, tsonga, and soderling. And I'm a nadal fan too.

[nanananalalala]

@dura1mater i told u before its not about how tall u are, its about having a SINGLE HANDED or DOUBLE HANDED backhand. Ivo karlovic is the tallest tennisplayer ever and also has the best serve, but still he doesnt do shit against nadal. why? cus he has a single handed backhand. i know gugas backhand is ten times better than delpo soderling etc, but the prob is its single handed and thats where its imposs to handle that inhuman spin.

[dura1mater]

@nanananalalala I know what you mean. But Guga's backhand is no ordinary single handed backhand. Most single handed backhands like you said wouldn't hold up against Nadal's inhumane spin, but Guga's backhand is an exception. Check out Almagro or Robredo. They uses one hand and they can almost beat Nadal on clay. Guga's backhand is way better, plus he's more powerful so less shots will go to his backhand. Think about it.

[nanananalalala]

@dura1mater almagro and robredo have a great backhand yes, but when did any of them ever beat rafa? they came close in a 3 set match and in a 5 set match rafa didnt even lose a set.

whenever u would bet that money on their match i advice u not to bet a big amount then loll

[dura1mater]

@nanananalalala Like I sid they almost can beat him. Never said they could actually do it! LOL

[nanananalalala]

@dura1mater we were talkin about their chances in a 5 set match, hows it beating him almost when they cant get a set from him loll?

[dura1mater]

@nanananalalala You're right. Nadal would easily beat Almagro and Robredo in 5 sets. My point is that they could hold with him on points on clay with a one hand hander. And they are weaker players than GUGA. GUGA's backhand is much better than these guys plus he has a bigger serve and bigger shots and volleys and touch and has a heart fuels the whole stadium when he plays. He can definitely play five sets. He's won 3 times including beating three former winners one year.

[nanananalalala]

@dura1mater nadal would not easily beat them, he DID BEAT THEM EASILY in 5 set matches, always in straight sets. go look it up, nadal has met almagro and also robredo several times on clay in a five set match, and never he lost a set. so ur point that they could hold with him goes out of the door cus the results show they couldnt otherwise they atleast would have won a set. look ur just a big guga fan and thats great but lets keep it reasonable. nadal has 5 and only god knows how many more.

[FellipeSNK]

I think there're only two guys who could be favourite against Guga in a clay court match: Borg and Nadal

[smagox2010]

music is surreal, as guga. please tell me who sings that.

look at his feet, so skinny, how did he beat fededer in 2004?

guga, the last man to beat federer at rg except nadal !!!!!!

[tyruk]

No music in tennis videos.

Ever.

[vitormeza]

Guga was skill and technique in clay court. Just like Roger all around.

Nadal is just strenght, but the body just cant take it. Do you think its coincidende that Nadal is losing everything since Roland Garros 09? His body is at its limit. He pushes too much

[DaniloCarreiro]

um monstro....magnífico!!!!!!!!

[zeminoi]

Guga! One great player!

[LoveeddieMurphy]

Yes the 90s was good at the top of mens Tennis, But I think its tougher now and the problem is the majors from 04 have only been won by 6 players and many players are play great on all surfaces. The french last year was so fast and wimby has been slower since 02. And lets be clear Guga was good, But against Nadal he would not win a five set match on any surface.

[DestroyerAlexandros]

@LoveeddieMurphy Wimbledon has been slowed down post-2003 and is now as slow as clay. Hardcourts have also been slowed down even more. There is no Wimbledon or US Open anymore, it's all just a tennis tournament. There isn't any variety in tennis anymore. These are dark days for tennis - a lot of communistic shit going on. Luckily, the upcoming top juniors are all 1-handed-backhands and Wimbledon-ers

[thrillamf]

Kuerten had a lot of power for a skinny guy. Must be cos of his height.

[thrillamf]

Yeah, Del Potro is similar, he's also quite skinny, although not as skinny as Guga and has insane power in his ground strokes.

[acsupremo]

the french open is always the 'most boring' slam because of the lack of surprise. for example, if nadal lost, which until this year was nearly impossible, we all expected federer to take it and complete his career slam. all of the other players dont play the big points or players correctly or are andy roddick-esque on clay. fyi: andy roddick-esque is the lack of belief or talent on a certain surface to achieve any meaningful results.

[thrillamf]

@acsupremo

It's boring now cos it's dominated by Nadal and Federer always getting to the final. But in the past it was the most unpredictable slam. You had players like a 17 year old Michael Chang winning and also Kuerten was unseeded and not well known when he first won in 1997. It was always good to see the boring power servers get annihalated at the FO cos their serve had no effect on clay.

[joashweeren]

Guga looks similiar to Fed when he's in full flow

[foreverguga]

I believe that a fit Gustavo Kuerten is the best/ most talented claycourt player ever to walk on a tennis court. He's career was destroyed by injuries and still he managed to win 3 FO events.

Look at the curve on that drop shot at 0:24, who else can do that?

I will always remember him.

Best backhand ever

[tefaum00]

2:06 Norman look likes Murray

[tradingbr]

true that

[IvanAndreevich]

Holy crap after watching Nadal and Federer track down the shots of today, Norman looks VERY SLOW

[JanRos123]

normans acceleration is great, but his topspeed isint that fast

[filipinoguy49]

um. RAFA!!!!!!!! lol. gugas backhand is fucking badass tho

[aggbala]

tennis was much more fun to watch 10 years ago cus there was no one that was like nadal and federer...the big tournaments became predictable

[SuperKenken007]

Did you predict that Soderling would win against Rafa?

[nassim21]

i think this is possible, federer is not federer of 2003-2007

[MaratSafinVideos]

Or maybe because there was more depth?

Today we have a good top 3 and everybody else is pretty pathetic.

Nadal shouldn't be winning slams on hard, that's just plain ridiculous.

[tennisjedi007]

thank you , i have been saying that for years. 90's was so much deeper at the top. today there is rafa, and roger and thats it. chang, agassi, sampras, edberg, guga , goran, marat, lleyton, cedric, rios, corretja, kraijeck, it goes on and on. who is today, james blake, give me a break. thanks for understanding tennis

[MaratSafinVideos]

along with Moya, Costa, Medvedev, Kafelnikov....so many players.

RG used to be a really interesting tournament. Not anymore.

In fact, I don't think it will ever reach those heights ever again.

[acsupremo]

Nadal has a game that succeeds on hard- sometimes. against Fed he has an edge with his top spin and movement. Federer also doesnt push players off the court with sheer power to the level of DelPo. against other players like Djokovic or DelPo, he fails miserably on the surface because they have an answer for his forehand and backhand. His movement is also half the level it use to be.

[tchuchi]

Unfortunately, the match comment is missing

[alveranter]

No one really appreciated Magnus Norman in Sweden back then, not as much as we should have done at least. Guess we were so fed up with Grand Slam victories that he was just an average guy. Nowadays, he would have been GOD! Pity he was injured and had to quit..

[saulocpp]

Magnus and Gustavo share the very same hip problem. Gustavo even had medical assistance from Magnus's doctor some years ago. Roland Garros Final in 2000 was probably the greatest match I watched from both players.

[Japanair333]

Yeah..you are right.I really like Norman

[LeeTennisCourtProd]

Love the transition from defense (or at least neutral) to offense that is characteristic of all the truly great clay court-ers.

[chico3576]

Not sure whether we, Brazilians, will see other tennis player as talented as Guga over here again.

[supertrex2]

kuerten backhand is not eastern?

[foreverguga]

no it's extremely western.

Tennis is not the same without him.

My true idol.. he lives forever in my heart

[juansa74]

good for him

[pedrinpurple]

guga...one of the best players ever...

brasil porraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

[saltysar]

Grande Gustavin.....e noa eh que tu deu certo na paradin....da um toque se tiver na ilha....abracao....

[mint1mint2]

love guga, norman was a war horse as well, if he didnt have so many serious health problems he would of won a few slams for sure. thnx 4 the entertainment guys!

[welsjager007]

gugas style is awesome, not only his backhand, i also love his forehand- i have never seen a player with such an open stance

[optimumbrasil]

That´s why he got the hip injury....

[Galimah]

Im from Sweden and Guga was my favorite. His SuperB backhand was like watching poetry in motion.

[AFelipeRJ]

isso é GUGA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

vai ser dificil... aparecer outro tenista deste nível no Brasil....

o rei do saibro...

[Rikard200]

You should upload the whole match. Without music.

[kpinheiro]

Whole match?! lol

Dude, You can find this match in some P2P networks.

[TheEveryThink]

-1 for you hahaha

[Rikard200]

So Norman diden´t win a single point? =/

[kpinheiro]

lol... Yeah! He lost all points... =)

[Sold1DayAuctions]

Guga was the best ballstriking clay-courter ever. I've seen a lot of tennis, but never anyone who can hit backhand winners on the run cross-court. Frankly, I didn't think it was possible. Norman and Guga are great players that injuries killed their careers, just like mine, except I never went that far, so it didn't hurt as bad looking back.

Federer would still win as many tournaments. He is the greatest fast court player ever. He wouldn't beat Guga on clay, except on rare occasions.

[89Pleasek]

No offence but Nadal would eat Kuerten alive on clay. And I'm not even a Nadal fan to say it. Nadal's fh topspin to Kuerten's bh would cause him as much trouble as to Federer. There's a reason why Nadal lost like, what, 5 matches on clay in a 6 year span beating Federer, Coria, Ferrero, Djokovic and others several times hardly losing a set.

[foreverguga]

@89Pleasek

Nadal has a huge amount of flaws in his game but he gets away with it because he runs faster and longer than anybody else. Coria always pushed him into a tough match but Nadal won almost all of them based on endurance and will power.

and LOL @ Nadal eating Kuerten on clay. Nadal never eats anyone, it is always a marathon match that he wins after 4 hours of counterpunching

[89Pleasek]

I'm not defending anyone, especially Nadal whom I don't like too much. But this is a fact, Kuerten would not stand a chance against a prime Nadal on clay. He'd be really lucky to take a set off him. And Coria always pushed him because he was a great player in his best years 2003-2005 and Nadal's 2005 was the first year really when he reached a high level. Never lost to him though even as a teenager.

[foreverguga]

@89Pleasek

a fit Kuerten demolished Coria on clay multiple times and a half injured Kuerten pushed Federer into trouble on clay. Kuerten is one of the only players with a positive head to head record vs Federer. He never got to play vs Nadal, that one match was played when he was injured and 5 years after his best period.

I just hate it when ppl think nobody has a chance vs Nadal, because he always wins in crappy hard fought battles

[89Pleasek]

Kuerten played 3 times vs Federer but all before he reached his godmode level. Ask a non-Guga fan and a non-Nadal fan who do you think would win a prime Nadal or a prime Kuerten on clay. I bet almost everyone will say Nadal. He's making nearly all his oponents look like hopeless kids, the only player who could really go toe to toe with Nadal is Federer even though he's losing most of his matches on clay vs the Spaniard. All of them (except FO 2008) have been really close ones.

[foreverguga]

Not too many people have enough knowledge about tennis to compare an injury free Kuerten to any player. But many ATP trainers and players have stated that Guga's backhand belongs to the world top. And that Kuerten in 2000 is a whole different player than the years after. He's only been at his peak for a few months

People will vote for Nadal because of numbers. He has tough matches in any slam first round and after the FO quarters too

Stamina is what separates him from the rest, not technique

[89Pleasek]

We're not talking about who wins how. I know Nadal relies on his stamina and I don't like that cause it sorta kills the beauty of the sport. But it doesn't change the fact that he would not lose to Kuerten on clay. I mean come on, Nadal lost 4 matches on clay in the last 5 years and only lost 1 match on clay when he was fit since 2005, the 2007 Hamburg masters. Really bro, Kuerten would be just another oponent for Nadal. The guy is an animal

[torrepr]

@foreverguga First of all, Rafa is the best clay court player of all time. like it or not.

Second of all, Rafa is already considered by many as one of the best players in history and at Wimbledon as the U.S. Open he could beat almost all his rivals in a brilliant and easy way except for Nole which he drop a set but dominated with great mastery the rest of the match, period.

[Foreverguga1]

@torrepr

to be honest I don't think you play tennis at a decent level if you come up with BS like that.

Nadal's technique is one big flaw that is compensated by a big biceps and the stamina of a professional doped up cyclist. Guga had much more potential but his career was plagued by injuries.

Federer is the best overal player ever. Kuerten is the most talented claycourter ever, but he didn't manage to get the best out of it. Nadal is the hardest worker ever

[torrepr]

@Foreverguga1 let's talk abou their(Guga/Rafa) achievements on clay;

who has more titles?

who has more Masters 1000?

who has more Roland Garros?

who has won 81 consecutive matches on clay?

Rafa Nadal is the best clay court player of all time...

Guga's injuries only forced his early retirement!!!!

[fiatjaf]

@torrepr

How does the number of titles says something about one's skills?

Nadal haven't even played against Kuerten to win those titles.

[Foreverguga1]

@torrepr

There you go again. You are referring to an amount of wins because you fail to judge someones tennis skills. You have no eye for talent because you know nothing about tennis. A number says nothing about skills or talent.

Sorry dude but you're not even smart enough to reply to. I wonder if you even know who Gustavo Kuerten is, how many injuries he's had, or how you should play tennis. I wonder if you even play tennis at all.

Whatever

[torrepr]

@Foreverguga1 NO, there you go again.. and with this I'm going to finish this meaningless conversation with a stupid like you that the only thing you can do is hate Rafa. Rafael Nadal is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time; his success on clay has earned him the nickname "The King of Clay", and has prompted many experts to regard him as the greatest clay court player of all time... im not saying that This is said by great former tennis players, press, many media etc...

[torrepr]

@Sold1DayAuctions NEVER, Roger Federer is much better tennis player than Kuerten even in clay...

[manvir13]

@torrepr i am a big fan of federer and guga.....guga beat fed at his prime on clay at french open while he was dealing with hip issues...both are great players

[reefric]

Im brazilian and it is sad to see guga forced to retire,he´s probably one of the nicest guys in the world..no arrogance whatsoever in him.

[marceloqawsedrf]

Guga and Norman:

Great tennis players, Great Men.

Not only a great clay court player.

Some months before win the first Roland Garros in 1997, already won a match against Agassi in the synthetics (6-4/6-3).

I´d like to see more tennis players like Guga, Safin, Agassi and Sampras in their best against Federer. Fore sure Federer was not able to win so tournments as he win.

[ikazooka]

Guga was great, but you can't compare to nowadays. Besides, you can't say that Federer's opponents are not skilled tennis players, hell. The tennis game evolves over time and so do the players, so comparing is useless.

[azeezmadu]

Guga is the king of clay but he has a hip injury in both side and he made surgery also but no cure thats why he given retirement and 3 or 4 years not playing this is his main reason.

[benecastro]

Beleza ,tipo de coisa que vemos com sorriso na boca.

[therabbit27]

Guga is a top man. Hadn't he been plagued by injuries he would've achieved even more. He was good on each surface aside from grass. I regard him the best claycourt player ever. Very stylish, sometimes magical.

[tjilluhman]

Actually he didn't play Wimbeldon cause he didn't want to wear white clothing.

[nfor304]

he did play wimbledon, several times, and in 2001 made it to the quater finals

[Foreverguga1]

@therabbit27

me 2. He has a special place in my heart. The drop shot at the beginning of this video is typical Guga brilliance. Not even Federer plays drop shots like that. It pisses me off when people call Nadal the best player ever because of his results. It's poor technique with a lot of power and stamina.

Guga is a magician and an artist

[spkanghus]

guga é foda!

[xedvux]

Please upload the match without the music!

I want to hear the players and crowds.

[r0kep0ke]

I second that

[r0n12]

That was a GREAT match.

ps.: the background song ruined the video.

[albferraz]

Roger learned that backhand after that big loss against Guga in 2004...

[orelero]

I remember this game. Was incredible.

Both were damn good.

Clay, sun, sweat...

I'm a big fan of Kuerten but @ 0:10, Federer made exactly the same backhand during the last Master Cup.

[foreverguga]

Same quality and effect, but the approach is different.

[jahblessu]

wat horrible song for that match.....oh dear oh dear

[foreverguga]

0:10 Nobody else in the world has a similar drop shot or backhand.

He gave tennis an extra dimension, I miss him a lot. It really hurts me when people say that Nadal is the best claycourt player of all time because Kuerten is a lot more talented. He only had a couple of years to prove it.

[frankoslav]

I regard Gustavo Kuerten as the best claycourt player ever because back then you had some great clay courters like Kafelnikov,Rios,Moya,Ferrero..­. and nowadays you have Nadal who just has to manage himself to the final and then defeat Federer