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New No. 1 Kuerten sets sights on being best in tennis
Posted: Sunday June 11, 2000 03:43 PM
PARIS (Reuters) -- Gustavo Kuerten believes his second French Open success underlined his status as one of the tennis elite. "This really shows people that I am one of the top guys," he said after his 6-2, 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 triumph over Magnus Norman in Sunday's final. "It shows people that I am one of the guys and that I am here to stay," he emphasized against a backdrop of drum-banging Brazilian fans. Kuerten won the French title as an unknown 20-year-old in 1997 when he beat three former champions en route to the silverware, while ranked a lowly 66th. That victory made him the first male Brazilian grand slam title winner and put him on the tennis map. "The two wins are different, you can't really compare them," Kuerten said. "The first time...I mean, here was where I first started showing people my game, showing the way that I play and all this. "It was here that I started living my dream. "This time is different and special. To put my name again here in the records, in history, it tells people that I am one of the players who can stay around for a long time. "Maybe people say that, okay, I won that time in '97 and that's it, I am finished ... but this shows that I'm really one of the top players, I've got my credits." Kuerten said that he suffered different pressure both times. "When you are unknown then there is pressure -- exactly because nobody knows you it makes things a bit more difficult. "But this time there was so much expectation. That also helped in a way, I think I used it [reputation] to get out of some bad situations in matches. "I mean, [Pete] Sampras has to play like this many times in Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. You can always leave the pressure a little bit for the others too, try to put yourself in control of the situation." The victory lifted Kuerten above Norman into top spot in the ATP Tour's Champions' Race -- their rankings race, and Kuerten said he was also looking forward to improving his ranking in the entry system on which the ATP base seedings for tournaments. "I think I deserve to move higher. I played so well this tournament." His next goals are the Davis Cup and the Olympics. "They are now my two goals. We are in the semis of the Davis Cup already, I am so happy about that. "And I look forward to playing well in the Olympics, too. Hopefully I can do very well there, it is an important tournament for me. I'm already happy to just be there to be part of the whole group, to watch some of the other sports. "I think that's going to be my most important tournament to end this year."
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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