Gastón Gaudio
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Gastón Norberto Gaudio (; born 9 December 1978) is an Argentine retired
tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...
player. He won eight singles titles and achieved a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 5 in April 2005. Gaudio's most significant title win came at the
2004 French Open The 2004 French Open was the 108th edition of the tournament. Gastón Gaudio became the first men's Open Era Grand Slam title winner to save two match points in the final; the last time that had happened was 70 years earlier. Gaudio also became th ...
, the last French Open before the
Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Parera (, ; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 2 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He has been ranked List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis ...
era, when he defeated fellow Argentine
Guillermo Coria Guillermo Sebastián Coria (born 13 January 1982), nicknamed ''El Mago'' (''The Magician'' in Spanish), is an Argentine retired professional tennis player. He reached a career-high ATP world No. 3 singles ranking in May 2004. Coria achieved his ...
in five sets in the final.


Early life

Gaudio learned the game at the Temperley Lawn Tennis Club, and his first coach was
Roberto Carruthers Roberto Carruthers is an Argentine tennis coach and former professional player. Known as "Kiko", Carruthers competed during the 1970s and 1980s, most successfully as a doubles player. He won two doubles titles on the ATP Challenger Tour and featur ...
. He was the youngest of 3 children in his family. In addition to tennis Gaudio played football and rugby as a child and chose tennis to help out his parents financially when their business ran into economic problems.


Tennis career

Gaudio started playing tennis at the age of six. He finished as No. 2 in Argentine juniors in 1996 and turned professional the same year.


1996


1997


1998: Top 150

In 1998 he reached four ATP Challenger finals during the second half of the year and won three of them. He won in
Elche Elche ( ca-valencia, Elx) is a city and municipality of Spain, belonging to the province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. According to 2014 data, Elche has a population of 228,647 inhabitants,Diego Hipperdinger Diego Hipperdinger (born 17 January 1977) is an Argentine-Spanish former professional tennis player. A native of Olavarría in Argentina, Hipperdinger was based in Barcelona for much of his career. He originally competed on tour as an Argentine, ...
in July. He lost in
Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte (, ; ) is the sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population around 2.7 million and with a metropolitan area of 6 million people. It is the 13th-largest city in South America and the 18th-largest in the Americas. The metropol ...
to Brazilian Francisco Costa, and won in Santa Cruz with a victory over Ecuadorian
Luis Morejón Luis Adrián Morejón (born 28 March 1973) is a former tennis player Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a te ...
, both in August. He finished the year by winning in
Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...
defeating
Karim Alami Karim Alami ( ar, كريم علمي) (born 24 May 1973) is a retired tennis player from Morocco, who turned professional in 1990. The right-hander won two career titles in singles, both in 1996 (Atlanta and Palermo), and reached a career-high ...
and ranked world No. 138.


1999: Top 70

Gaudio won two consecutive Challengers in
Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...
and Espinho defeating
Jacobo Díaz ---- Jacobo Díaz Ruiz (born 11 July 1976) is a former professional male tennis player Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Eac ...
and
Markus Hipfl Markus Hipfl (born 26 April 1978) is a former professional tennis player from Austria. Career Hipfl had a noteworthy junior career. He won the Under-16s Orange Bowl in 1994 and was also a finalist in that year's European Championship. In 1996 he ...
, respectively. Gaudio's first notable performance was when he reached the third round at the French Open as a qualifier, so he won five matches total at the event, including coming back from two sets to love down in the second round against
Bernd Karbacher Bernd Karbacher (born 3 April 1968) is a German retired professional tennis player. His highest ATP singles ranking is world No. 22, which he reached on 17 April 1995. His career-high doubles ranking was world No. 163, achieved on 6 June 1994. D ...
to win, 6–7, 4–6, 6–3, 6–1, 6–4, then losing to world No. 6
Àlex Corretja Àlex Corretja i Verdegay (; born 11 April 1974) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. During his career, he was twice a major runner-up at the French Open (in 1998 and 2001), won the Tour Finals in 1998, reached a career-high singl ...
. He finished the year ranked No. 73.


2000: Top 25

2000 saw Gaudio establish himself on the main tour and win his only Challenger of the year in
Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the Nor ...
over countryman
Franco Squillari Franco Squillari (born 22 August 1975) is a former professional male tennis player from Argentina. He won 3 singles titles, reached the semifinals of the 2000 French Open and achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 11. Career As a ...
, 6–4, 6–7, 6–4. In addition to his Challenger title, Gaudio made the semifinals in
Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
, Santiago and, in his most impressive performance of the season, the
Monte Carlo Masters The Monte-Carlo Masters is an annual tennis tournament for male professional players held in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France, a commune that borders on Monaco. The event is part of the ATP Tour Masters 1000 on the Association of Tennis Professional ...
, where he defeated
Marat Safin Marat Mubinovich Safin ( rus, Мара́т Муби́нович Са́фин, , mɐˈrat ˈsafʲɪn, Ru-Marat-Safin.ogg; tt-Cyrl, Марат Мөбин улы Сафин; born 27 January 1980) is a Russian retired world No. 1 tennis player an ...
, Félix Mantilla,
Julien Boutter Julien Boutter (born 5 April 1974) is a former professional male tennis player from France. Career At the 2002 Australian Open, Boutter defeated No. 2 seed and former World No. 1 Gustavo Kuerten, despite being down two sets, 3–6, 4–6, 7–5, ...
, and
Juan Carlos Ferrero Juan Carlos Ferrero Donat (; born 12 February 1980) is a Spanish former world No. 1 tennis player. He won the men's singles title at the 2003 French Open, and in September of that year became the 21st player to hold the top ranking, which he h ...
without dropping a set, before losing to Slovakia's
Dominik Hrbatý Dominik Hrbatý (; born 4 January 1978) is a Slovakian former professional tennis player. Hrbatý reached the semifinals of the 1999 French Open – Men's singles, 1999 French Open, and achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 12 in ...
in a tough three-set match, 4–6, 7–5, 6–2. Gaudio also made the final of
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
, again playing against fellow-Argentine
Franco Squillari Franco Squillari (born 22 August 1975) is a former professional male tennis player from Argentina. He won 3 singles titles, reached the semifinals of the 2000 French Open and achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 11. Career As a ...
. Gaudio lost the final, 2–6, 6–3, 6–4, 4–6, 2–6, despite having beaten his opponent soundly in the Gstaad quarterfinals and in the
Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the Nor ...
finals earlier in the year (both on clay) and leading Squillari 2 sets to 1 in Stuttgart. Gaudio also represented Argentina in his first
Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
, losing to
Vladimir Voltchkov Vladimir Nikolayevich Voltchkov ( be, Уладзімір Мікалаевіч Валчкоў, ''Uładzimir Mikałajevič Vałčkoŭ''; russian: Владимир Николаевич Волчков; born April 7, 1978) is a Belarusian former profe ...
of Belarus, 6–7, 6–4, 1–6, in the first round. He finished the year ranked No. 34.


2001

Gaudio started his 2001 in poor fashion, losing his first four matches of the season to
Vladimir Voltchkov Vladimir Nikolayevich Voltchkov ( be, Уладзімір Мікалаевіч Валчкоў, ''Uładzimir Mikałajevič Vałčkoŭ''; russian: Владимир Николаевич Волчков; born April 7, 1978) is a Belarusian former profe ...
, former French Open finalist Andrei Medvedev, three-time French Open winner
Gustavo Kuerten Gustavo "Guga" Kuerten (; born 10 September 1976) is a Brazilian former world No. 1 tennis player. He won the French Open singles title three times ( 1997, 2000, and 2001), and was the Tennis Masters Cup champion in 2000. During his career he ...
, and, in his
Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. It is described by the organis ...
debut, Mexican
Bruno Echagaray Bruno Echagaray (born 8 May 1983 in Mexico City) is a former Mexican tennis player. He was the most known Mexican tennis player Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between tw ...
. Gaudio soon went back to his winning ways, however, reaching the final of
Viña del Mar Viña del Mar (; meaning "Vineyard of the Sea") is a city and commune on central Chile's Pacific coast. Often referred to as ("The Garden City"), Viña del Mar is located within the Valparaíso Region, and it is Chile's fourth largest city w ...
, losing to bitter rival and countryman
Guillermo Coria Guillermo Sebastián Coria (born 13 January 1982), nicknamed ''El Mago'' (''The Magician'' in Spanish), is an Argentine retired professional tennis player. He reached a career-high ATP world No. 3 singles ranking in May 2004. Coria achieved his ...
, 6–4, 5–7, 2–6. Gaudio would avenge that defeat to Coria in a hard-fought victory in the quarterfinals of
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
, which involved both players making rude gestures and insulting each other regularly. After this victory, Gaudio lost in the semifinals to
José Acasuso José Javier "Chucho" Acasuso (; born 20 October 1982) is a former professional male tennis player from Argentina. Like many of his fellow countrymen, he favoured clay. He was known for his strong serve and his hard groundstrokes off both side ...
, 3–6, 6–7. In the American hard-court swing after the
2001 Australian Open The 2001 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts at Melbourne Park in Melbourne in Australia. It was the 89th edition of the Australian Open and was held from 15 through 28 January 2001. Seniors Men's singles An ...
, he made the quarterfinals of the
Miami Masters The Miami Open (also known as the Miami Masters, and currently branded as the Miami Open presented by Itaú for sponsorship reasons) is a tennis tournament held at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. It is part of the men's ATP Tour Mas ...
, losing to 19th seed
Jan-Michael Gambill Jan-Michael Charles Gambill (born June 3, 1977) is an American former professional tennis player who made his professional debut in 1996. His career-high singles ranking is world No. 14, which he achieved on June 18, 2001. Best known for his unu ...
, 6–3, 5–7, 4–6. Along the way, Gaudio dismantled fifth seed Russian
Yevgeny Kafelnikov Yevgeny Aleksandrovich Kafelnikov ( rus, Евгений Александрович Кафельников, , jɪvˈɡʲenʲɪj ˈkafʲɪlʲnʲɪkəf, a=Ru-Yevgeny-Kafelnikov.ogg; born 18 February 1974) is a Russian former world No. 1 tennis p ...
, 6–4, 6–1, and toughed out a three-set slugfest against future French Open winner and 12th seed
Juan Carlos Ferrero Juan Carlos Ferrero Donat (; born 12 February 1980) is a Spanish former world No. 1 tennis player. He won the men's singles title at the 2003 French Open, and in September of that year became the 21st player to hold the top ranking, which he h ...
, 6–0, 3–6, 6–3. Although he did not manage to win his first title in 2001, Gaudio had some success, making a final, a semifinal and four quarterfinals (one of them at the prestigious
Miami Masters The Miami Open (also known as the Miami Masters, and currently branded as the Miami Open presented by Itaú for sponsorship reasons) is a tennis tournament held at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. It is part of the men's ATP Tour Mas ...
). In addition to this, he helped
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
return to the World Group with a perfect 5–0 record in his singles matches, which were all played in
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
on clay courts. The year was not great though; Gaudio lost a lot of early-round matches and an astounding 12 first-round matches, never making it past the first round of a Grand Slam. Because of his inability to win these early-round matches, Gaudio's ranking slipped from No. 34 at the beginning of the year to No. 48 at the end of 2001.


2002: First ATP title

Gaudio had a decent start to his 2002 campaign, making the third round of the Australian Open and the quarterfinals of Indian Wells Masters as well as the round of 16 at Miami Masters. Continuing on from his successful
Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. It is described by the organis ...
debut, in 2002 Gaudio defeated
Ivo Karlović Ivo Karlović (; born 28 February 1979) is a former Croatian professional tennis player. His height of 211 cm (6 ft 11 in) makes him the joint tallest ranked tennis player in history, along with Reilly Opelka. He has won eight ATP sin ...
in the fifth match to secure a semifinal place for Argentina. Gaudio also won the first tournament of his career in
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
without dropping a set. Gaudio defeated world No. 1 and US Open champion
Lleyton Hewitt Lleyton Glynn Hewitt (born 24 February 1981) is an Australian former world No. 1 tennis player. He is the most recent Australian man to win a major singles title, with two at the 2001 US Open and 2002 Wimbledon Championships. In November 200 ...
in the semifinals, and then dismissed Spaniard and French Open winner of the same year
Albert Costa Albert Costa i Casals (; born 25 June 1975) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. He is best remembered for winning the Men's Singles title at the French Open in 2002. Tennis career Costa began playing tennis at the age of five. He ...
, 6–4, 6–0, 6–2, in the final. Gaudio followed up his maiden title with another in
Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bal ...
a week later. Gaudio made the fourth round of the French Open, losing to
Juan Carlos Ferrero Juan Carlos Ferrero Donat (; born 12 February 1980) is a Spanish former world No. 1 tennis player. He won the men's singles title at the 2003 French Open, and in September of that year became the 21st player to hold the top ranking, which he h ...
, 7–6, 1–6, 7–6, 2–6, 4–6, while leading 4–1 in the final set. After Roland Garros, Gaudio made the final in
Gstaad Gstaad ( ; ) is a town in the German-speaking section of the Canton of Bern in southwestern Switzerland. It is part of the municipality of Saanen and is known as a major ski resort and a popular destination amongst high society and the internatio ...
and the semifinals in
Kitzbühel Kitzbühel (, also: ; ) is a medieval town situated in the Kitzbühel Alps along the river Kitzbüheler Ache in Tyrol, Austria, about east of the state capital Innsbruck and is the administrative centre of the Kitzbühel district (). Kitzbühel ...
, losing on both occasions to
Àlex Corretja Àlex Corretja i Verdegay (; born 11 April 1974) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. During his career, he was twice a major runner-up at the French Open (in 1998 and 2001), won the Tour Finals in 1998, reached a career-high singl ...
. In the
Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. It is described by the organis ...
semifinals against Russia, Gaudio was leading 5–1 in the fifth set against
Yevgeny Kafelnikov Yevgeny Aleksandrovich Kafelnikov ( rus, Евгений Александрович Кафельников, , jɪvˈɡʲenʲɪj ˈkafʲɪlʲnʲɪkəf, a=Ru-Yevgeny-Kafelnikov.ogg; born 18 February 1974) is a Russian former world No. 1 tennis p ...
and had a match point, which was overruled by umpire
Jorge Dias Jorge is a Spanish and Portuguese given name. It is derived from the Greek name Γεώργιος ('' Georgios'') via Latin ''Georgius''; the former is derived from (''georgos''), meaning "farmer" or "earth-worker". The Latin form ''Georgius'' ...
in Kafelnikov's favour, who then went on to take the set 8–6 and the match. He finished the year ranked No. 21.


2003: Top 20

There were no titles for Gaudio in 2003, but he was involved in two controversies, the first of them involved compatriot
Guillermo Coria Guillermo Sebastián Coria (born 13 January 1982), nicknamed ''El Mago'' (''The Magician'' in Spanish), is an Argentine retired professional tennis player. He reached a career-high ATP world No. 3 singles ranking in May 2004. Coria achieved his ...
in the
Hamburg Masters The Hamburg European Open (formerly ''German Open Tennis Championships'') is an annual tennis tournament for professional players held in Hamburg, Germany and part of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Tour. Before 2021, it was a mal ...
. They were part of an all-Argentine semifinal lineup, the others being
David Nalbandian David Pablo Nalbandian (; born 1 January 1982) is an Argentine retired professional tennis player who played on the ATP Tour from 2000 until his retirement in 2013. He reached the highest ranking in singles of world No. 3 in March 2006. Nalban ...
and
Agustín Calleri Agustín Calleri (, ; born 14 September 1976) is a retired professional male tennis player from Argentina. His nickname is ''Gordo'' which means ''Fat'' in Spanish. He is known as a hard-hitter and he prefers playing on clay. Calleri served as ...
. Gaudio and Coria played in one semifinal, and Coria won the first set and Gaudio the second. Coria took an injury timeout for cramps. After the timeout, Coria, after breaking serve at the change of ends beat his left breast while staring at his opponent, which Gaudio took as an insult. Coria proceeded to win the last set 6–0, and there was allegedly a confrontation after the match in the locker room. The other was the
Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. It is described by the organis ...
in the semifinals against Spain in
Málaga Málaga (, ) is a municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 578,460 in 2020, it is the second-most populous city in Andalusia after Seville and the sixth most pop ...
, where the two top Argentine players
Guillermo Coria Guillermo Sebastián Coria (born 13 January 1982), nicknamed ''El Mago'' (''The Magician'' in Spanish), is an Argentine retired professional tennis player. He reached a career-high ATP world No. 3 singles ranking in May 2004. Coria achieved his ...
and
David Nalbandian David Pablo Nalbandian (; born 1 January 1982) is an Argentine retired professional tennis player who played on the ATP Tour from 2000 until his retirement in 2013. He reached the highest ranking in singles of world No. 3 in March 2006. Nalban ...
were unavailable due to injury. An out-of-form Gaudio was called up along with
Agustín Calleri Agustín Calleri (, ; born 14 September 1976) is a retired professional male tennis player from Argentina. His nickname is ''Gordo'' which means ''Fat'' in Spanish. He is known as a hard-hitter and he prefers playing on clay. Calleri served as ...
,
Mariano Zabaleta Mariano Zabaleta (born 28 February 1978) is a retired professional male tennis player from Argentina. He had an unusual but effective service motion. His best shot was his forehand and his favourite surface was clay. Zabaleta's career highlights ...
, and
Lucas Arnold Lucas Arnold Ker (; born 12 October 1974) is an Argentine former professional tennis player. Arnold Ker started playing tennis in the Olivos Tenis Club of Buenos Aires, under coach Malcolm Campbell. He is the younger brother of Patricio Arnold ...
. Although Gaudio had a 4–0 singles record from the first round and quarterfinals coming into the semifinals, Spain won 3–2, with Gaudio losing both of his singles matches. In the first rubber against
Juan Carlos Ferrero Juan Carlos Ferrero Donat (; born 12 February 1980) is a Spanish former world No. 1 tennis player. He won the men's singles title at the 2003 French Open, and in September of that year became the 21st player to hold the top ranking, which he h ...
, he lost 14 games in a row in a 4–6, 0–6, 0–6 defeat. In the fifth and deciding rubber against
Carlos Moyà Carlos may refer to: Places ;Canada * Carlos, Alberta, a locality ;United States * Carlos, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Carlos, Maryland, a place in Allegany County * Carlos, Minnesota, a small city * Carlos, West Virginia ;Elsewhere ...
, he lost, 1–6, 4–6, 2–6, and was roundly criticized back in Argentina for these performances. "When I returned to Buenos Aires after playing Davis Cup in Moscow and Málaga, you had the impression it was my fault and that hurt me," he said. He finished the year ranked No. 34.


2004: French Open title & top 10

2004 started slowly for Gaudio, but he eventually reached the final in Barcelona, losing to
Tommy Robredo Tomás Robredo Garcés, known as Tommy Robredo (, ; born 1 May 1982), is a Spanish former professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking was world No. 5, which he reached in August 2006 as a result of winning the Hamburg Masters ea ...
in five sets, then posted two victories in the
World Team Cup The World Team Cup was the international men's team championship of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). The inaugural edition of the tournament was contested in 1975 in Kingston, Jamaica and was called the Nations Cup. No tourname ...
over
Martin Verkerk Martin Willem Verkerk (born 31 October 1978) is a retired professional Dutch tennis player. He reached the final of the 2003 French Open – Men's singles, French Open in 2003 and achieved a career-high singles ranking of No. 14 in September 200 ...
and
Lleyton Hewitt Lleyton Glynn Hewitt (born 24 February 1981) is an Australian former world No. 1 tennis player. He is the most recent Australian man to win a major singles title, with two at the 2001 US Open and 2002 Wimbledon Championships. In November 200 ...
. Gaudio came into the
French Open The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ven ...
ranked 44th and was unseeded for the tournament. In the first round, he upset top-10 player and compatriot
Guillermo Cañas Guillermo Ignacio Cañas (; born November 25, 1977), often referred to as Willy Cañas, is a retired tennis player from Argentina. He was born in Buenos Aires and named after Argentine tennis star Guillermo Vilas. Cañas won the 2002 Canada Maste ...
over two days in five sets. Then he won another five-set match against
Jiří Novák Jiří Novák (; born 22 March 1975) is a Czech former professional tennis player. He was born in Zlín, Czechoslovakia but resides nowadays in Monte Carlo, Monaco. Career Novák turned professional in 1993 and won seven singles and 18 doubles ...
. Gaudio dropped only one more set en route to the final, as he defeated
Thomas Enqvist Thomas Karl Johan Enqvist (born 13 March 1974) is a Swedish former professional tennis player. He reached the final of the 1999 Australian Open – Men's singles, 1999 Australian Open and won a total of 19 singles titles, including three ATP Tou ...
,
Igor Andreev Igor Valeryevich Andreev (russian: link=no, И́горь Вале́рьевич Андре́ев, BGN/PCGN: ''Andreyev'', ISO 9: ''Andreev'', ; born 14 July 1983) is a Russian former professional tennis player. He won three ATP Tour singles ti ...
,
Lleyton Hewitt Lleyton Glynn Hewitt (born 24 February 1981) is an Australian former world No. 1 tennis player. He is the most recent Australian man to win a major singles title, with two at the 2001 US Open and 2002 Wimbledon Championships. In November 200 ...
, and
David Nalbandian David Pablo Nalbandian (; born 1 January 1982) is an Argentine retired professional tennis player who played on the ATP Tour from 2000 until his retirement in 2013. He reached the highest ranking in singles of world No. 3 in March 2006. Nalban ...
to set up an unprecedented all-Argentine final with world No. 3, then-reigning "King of Clay", and pre-tournament favourite
Guillermo Coria Guillermo Sebastián Coria (born 13 January 1982), nicknamed ''El Mago'' (''The Magician'' in Spanish), is an Argentine retired professional tennis player. He reached a career-high ATP world No. 3 singles ranking in May 2004. Coria achieved his ...
. In the final, Gaudio defeated Coria, 0–6, 3–6, 6–4, 6–1, 8–6. Gaudio became the first Argentine to win a
Grand Slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...
since
Guillermo Vilas Guillermo Vilas (; born 17 August 1952) is an Argentine former professional tennis player. Vilas was the No. 1 of the Grand Prix seasons in 1974, 1975 and 1977, and won four Grand Slam tournaments, one year-end Masters, nine Grand Prix Super Se ...
in 1979, and the first man ever to win a Grand Slam after losing the first set 6–0. He became the fifth-lowest-ranked player to win a Grand Slam, the first man in the open era to win a Grand Slam having saved match points in the final. Gaudio reached the top 10 in the ATP Entry rankings for the first time. Gaudio had achieved his childhood dream by winning at Roland Garros. He stated that his father, Norberto, who overcame a life-threatening illness, as the biggest inspiration for him. Gaudio would not reach another Grand Slam quarterfinal for the remainder of his career. In fact, the 2004 French Open was the only occasion he progressed past the fourth round of a grand slam tournament.The French Open's tradition of unlikely winners
''World Tennis Magazine'', 26 May 2012 Gaudio did not play
Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...
and returned to the tour in July. He made 3 finals in 3 weeks: in
Båstad Båstad () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Båstad Municipality, Scania County, Sweden, with approximately 5,000 permanent residents. It is however one of Sweden's most typical summer resorts. The population is presumably more ...
losing to his friend
Mariano Zabaleta Mariano Zabaleta (born 28 February 1978) is a retired professional male tennis player from Argentina. He had an unusual but effective service motion. His best shot was his forehand and his favourite surface was clay. Zabaleta's career highlights ...
, in
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
losing to compatriot Guillermo Cañas in 5 sets, and in
Kitzbühel Kitzbühel (, also: ; ) is a medieval town situated in the Kitzbühel Alps along the river Kitzbüheler Ache in Tyrol, Austria, about east of the state capital Innsbruck and is the administrative centre of the Kitzbühel district (). Kitzbühel ...
losing to
Nicolás Massú Nicolás Alejandro Massú Fried (; born 10 October 1979), nicknamed ''El Vampiro'' (Spanish, 'the vampire'), is a Chilean former professional tennis player. A former world No. 9 in singles, he won the singles and doubles gold medals at the 200 ...
. He also made his first appearance at the
Tennis Masters Cup The ATP Finals is the season-ending championship of the ATP Tour. It is the most significant event in the annual ATP calendar after the four majors as it features the top-eight singles players and top-eight doubles teams based on their results th ...
, where he lost all 3 matches in the Round Robin stage. He finished the year ranked world No. 10. It was also a golden age in tennis for Argentina as an unprecedented 3 Argentine players finished in top 10 (
Guillermo Coria Guillermo Sebastián Coria (born 13 January 1982), nicknamed ''El Mago'' (''The Magician'' in Spanish), is an Argentine retired professional tennis player. He reached a career-high ATP world No. 3 singles ranking in May 2004. Coria achieved his ...
finished No. 7,
David Nalbandian David Pablo Nalbandian (; born 1 January 1982) is an Argentine retired professional tennis player who played on the ATP Tour from 2000 until his retirement in 2013. He reached the highest ranking in singles of world No. 3 in March 2006. Nalban ...
finished No. 9).


2005: Top 5

Gaudio consolidated his top-10 ranking in 2005, by winning five tournaments and his record of 42–8 on clay is second only to Nadal. He also reached his career-high ranking of No. 5 in April. Gaudio and Coria were at the centre of another dispute at the
World Team Cup The World Team Cup was the international men's team championship of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). The inaugural edition of the tournament was contested in 1975 in Kingston, Jamaica and was called the Nations Cup. No tourname ...
where Gaudio said, "Let's be truthful, this isn't a team, because there's someone who makes decisions choosing the best for himself. I can understand that a player gets tired and decides to rest before Paris. I also did so on Tuesday against the Czechs but not in the most important match of all. Coria and I were the best team and if we were a real team this wouldn't have happened." He lost in the fourth round of Roland Garros to
David Ferrer David Ferrer Ern (; ; born 2 April 1982) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. A three-time Davis Cup champion with Spain Davis Cup team, Spain, Ferrer has won tournaments at all levels on the ATP Tour (ATP Tour 250, ATP 250, ATP Tour ...
after leading 4–0 in the fifth set and losing six consecutive games. When leading in the fifth set, Gaudio said to Ferrer's coach at one point, "Don't worry; I'm not going to win today." Gaudio also qualified again for the
Tennis Masters Cup The ATP Finals is the season-ending championship of the ATP Tour. It is the most significant event in the annual ATP calendar after the four majors as it features the top-eight singles players and top-eight doubles teams based on their results th ...
, where he made the semifinals, defeating
Mariano Puerta Mariano Rubén Puerta (; born 19 September 1978) is an Argentine former professional tennis player. He reached a career-high ATP world No. 9 singles ranking in August 2005. His career highlight of reaching the final of the French Open in 2005 ...
and
Fernando González Fernando Francisco González Ciuffardi (; born 29 July 1980) is a Chilean former professional tennis player. During his career he made it to at least the quarterfinals of all four Grand Slam tournaments. He played his only major final at the ...
, but losing to
Nikolay Davydenko Nikolay Vladimirovich Davydenko ( rus, Никола́й Влади́мирович Давыде́нко ; born 2 June 1981) is a Ukrainian-born Russian former professional tennis player. He achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 3 i ...
in the round-robin stage, before losing to
Roger Federer Roger Federer (; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players#Weeks at No. 1, world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 310 weeks, in ...
, 0–6, 0–6, in the semifinals. He finished the year ranked world No. 10 for the second consecutive year. For the second consecutive year, 3 Argentines finished in the top 10 (Nalbandian finished No. 6, Coria finished No. 8).


2006: 250 career wins

Gaudio was not able to keep up his level of play to the standards he set from mid-2004 to 2005. His best performances for 2006 included semifinals in
Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , also , nah, Acapolco), is a city and major seaport in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semicircular bay and has bee ...
and the
Monte Carlo Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is ...
Masters. He finished the year ranked at No. 34. Ranked in the top 10, Gaudio started 2006 off well at the French Open, where he lost in the fourth round in four sets to Russia's
Nikolay Davydenko Nikolay Vladimirovich Davydenko ( rus, Никола́й Влади́мирович Давыде́нко ; born 2 June 1981) is a Ukrainian-born Russian former professional tennis player. He achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 3 i ...
. Gaudio lost at the second round in Wimbledon to
Irakli Labadze Irakli Labadze ( ka, ირაკლი ლაბაძე, tr, ; born June 9, 1981) is a Georgian retired professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking was World No. 42, which he attained in July 2004. He is the first Georgian playe ...
(a qualifier) and lost his 2006 US Open third-round match to
Marc Gicquel Marc Gicquel (born 30 March 1977) is a former professional male tennis player from France. Tennis career Gicquel turned pro in 1999. He made his ATP Tour singles debut at the 2002 Open 13 – Singles, 2002 Open 13 tournament on hard courts in ...
.


2007

Gaudio started 2007 poorly and lost eight consecutive matches stretching back to 2006, before recording a victory over
Luis Horna Luis Horna Biscari (; born 14 September 1980, in Lima) is a former tour professional tennis player from Peru, who turned professional in 1998. Known by his nickname "Lucho", he won 2 career singles titles, reached the quarterfinals of the 2004 ...
, who retired from the match with a strained
hamstring In human anatomy, a hamstring () is any one of the three posterior thigh muscles in between the hip and the knee (from medial to lateral: semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris). The hamstrings are susceptible to injury. In quadrupeds, ...
. Gaudio followed up with a conventional win against
Juan Pablo Guzmán Juan Pablo Guzmán (born January 29, 1981) is a professional tennis player and coach from Argentina. In 2007, Guzmán won the ATP doubles title in Amersfoort with Juan-Pablo Brzezicki where the Argentine duo defeated Robin Haase and Rogier Wa ...
, before losing to former world No. 1
Juan Carlos Ferrero Juan Carlos Ferrero Donat (; born 12 February 1980) is a Spanish former world No. 1 tennis player. He won the men's singles title at the 2003 French Open, and in September of that year became the 21st player to hold the top ranking, which he h ...
in the quarterfinals of
Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , also , nah, Acapolco), is a city and major seaport in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semicircular bay and has bee ...
. At the French Open, he won his first-round match against
Marc Gicquel Marc Gicquel (born 30 March 1977) is a former professional male tennis player from France. Tennis career Gicquel turned pro in 1999. He made his ATP Tour singles debut at the 2002 Open 13 – Singles, 2002 Open 13 tournament on hard courts in ...
(he lost to him the previous year) in five sets. He was to face former world No. 1,
Lleyton Hewitt Lleyton Glynn Hewitt (born 24 February 1981) is an Australian former world No. 1 tennis player. He is the most recent Australian man to win a major singles title, with two at the 2001 US Open and 2002 Wimbledon Championships. In November 200 ...
, seeded 14th for the tournament, and won the first two sets, 6–4, 6–3. Despite the lead, however, Hewitt fought back and won the next three sets, thus the match. As a result, Gaudio's ranking dropped to No. 99. In late 2007, Gaudio's ATP ranking had fallen to No. 180. During the second part of the year, he started to play clay-court Challenger events in Europe to attempt to rebuild his career, but he suffered an ankle injury while playing in the
Napoli Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
Challenger.


2008

Gaudio only played two matches during the entire season. He came back in January 2008 at a Challenger event in Miami, Florida. He lost in the opening round, 0–6, 3–6, to
Kei Nishikori is an inactive Japanese professional tennis player. He is the second male Japanese player to have been ranked in the top 5 in singles (after Jiro Sato), and the only one to do so in the Open Era. Nishikori first reached his career-high singles ...
. Later in the month, Gaudio continued his comeback attempt at the Movistar Open in Viña del Mar, Chile. Granted a wild card into the main draw of the tournament, Gaudio lost to Santiago Ventura, 0–6, 3–6, in the first round. He did not play another match for the remainder of the 2008 season. Gaudio finished the 2008 season unranked as a result of not winning a single match over a period of 12 months, causing his ranking points to fall to 0 by September 22, 2008.


2009

In January, Gaudio reached the quarterfinals of
Iquique Iquique () is a port city and commune in northern Chile, capital of both the Iquique Province and Tarapacá Region. It lies on the Pacific coast, west of the Pampa del Tamarugal, which is part of the Atacama Desert. It has a population of 191,468 ...
Challenger, where he retired without completing a single game. It was his first match played after a few days short of an entire year. In February 2009, he received a wild card into the main draw for the
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
tournament, an ATP World Tour 250 event in his home country. Gaudio lost to
Daniel Gimeno Traver Daniel Gimeno Traver (; born 7 August 1985) is a professional Spanish tennis player who turned pro in 2004, when he was eighteen years old. He reached the final of Casablanca in 2015 and has won 12 Challenger Tour events, achieving a career- ...
of Spain in the first round, 2–6, 6–4, 2–6. He received another wild card into the main draw in the
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
tournament, an ATP World Tour 500 event, where he won his first match on the world tour since the
2007 French Open The 2007 French Open (Roland Garros) was held in Paris, France from 27 May through to 10 June 2007. Rafael Nadal became the first man to win the tournament 3 times consecutively since Björn Borg, 1978–81; and maintained his unbeaten run at Rol ...
by defeating
Diego Junqueira Diego Junqueira (; born December 28, 1980) is a professional tennis player who plays left-handed (with a double-handed backhand) from Argentina. His highest rank was world no.68, achieved on March 9, 2009. Junior career Diego "Chuky" Junqueira d ...
of
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
, 6–4, 3–6, 6–4, before losing his second-round match to
Tommy Robredo Tomás Robredo Garcés, known as Tommy Robredo (, ; born 1 May 1982), is a Spanish former professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking was world No. 5, which he reached in August 2006 as a result of winning the Hamburg Masters ea ...
, 6–7, 1–6. Gaudio won a tournament after almost four years at the
Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...
Challenger. He beat Portuguese
Frederico Gil João Frederico Limpo Franco Gil (born 24 March 1985), known as Fred Gil (), is a retired Portuguese professional tennis player, who currently competes in the ITF Men's Circuit. He is ranked no. 432 in the world by the Association of Tennis Prof ...
, 6–2, 1–6, 6–3, in the final. Gaudio was awarded a wild card into the 2009 French Open, where he was beaten by Czech
Radek Štěpánek Radek Štěpánek (; born 27 November 1978) is a Czech former professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking was world No. 8 and best doubles ranking was world No. 4. Štěpánek's biggest achievements are reaching two Masters 1000 ...
in the first round, 3–6, 4–6, 1–6. In October, he made the final of the
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
Challenger, losing to training partner
Horacio Zeballos Horacio Zeballos Jr. (; born 27 April 1985) is an Argentine professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking is world No. 39 achieved in March 2013 and his career-high doubles ranking is world No. 3 achieved in September 2019. In dou ...
. Gaudio finished the 2009 season ranked at No. 167.


2010

In an interview on the Argentine program Vertigo, Gaudio revealed that he had received psychiatric treatment for clinical depression during his time away from tennis. After a poor start in 2010, he won the San Remo Challenger, defeating countryman
Martín Vassallo Argüello Martín Miguel Vassallo Argüello (born 10 February 1980) is a retired professional male tennis player from Argentina. His career-high ATP singles ranking is World No. 47, achieved in April 2009 shortly after reaching the semifinals of Acapulco ...
, 7–5, 6–0. In an unlikely turn of events, Gaudio returned to the French Open to play in the qualifying. He posted an impressive victory over American
Lester Cook Lester Cook (born April 24, 1984) is an American former professional tennis player. As a junior, he was top 5 in the country in the 18 and under division, finishing 4th place at the prestigious Kalamazoo Hard Court Nationals and 3rd in the Inte ...
in the first round but was taken out by Thiago Alves in straight sets in his next match. Gaudio announced his retirement from tennis on 30 August 2011, although his last match played was on 2 August 2010 at the
Kitzbühel Kitzbühel (, also: ; ) is a medieval town situated in the Kitzbühel Alps along the river Kitzbüheler Ache in Tyrol, Austria, about east of the state capital Innsbruck and is the administrative centre of the Kitzbühel district (). Kitzbühel ...
Challenger where he lost in the first round, more than a year prior.


Career statistics


Grand Slam singles performance timelines


Finals: 1 (1 title)


Year-end championship performance timeline


Records


Open Era records

* This record was attained in the
Open Era The racket sport traditionally named lawn tennis, invented in Birmingham, England now commonly known simply as tennis, is the direct descendant of what is now denoted real tennis or royal tennis, which continues to be played today as a separate sp ...
of tennis. * Records in bold indicate peer-less achievements.


Notes


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gaudio, Gaston Argentine male tennis players Argentine people of Spanish descent Argentine people of Galician descent French Open champions Hopman Cup competitors Living people Olympic tennis players of Argentina People from Lomas de Zamora People from Temperley Tennis players from Buenos Aires Tennis players at the 2000 Summer Olympics 1978 births Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's singles