The newly elected International Hall of Famer Gustavo Kuerten was here at the Sony Ericsson Open this past weekend and at his press conference I asked him the simple question, Why do you love playing tennis?
“Why do I love playing tennis,” Guga asked himself again, for a slight pause to contemplate the unexpected query and then he began his response. “Because the relation, I think love – you have maintaining. It’s not you just love and it is like this…every day you have like a flower. You have to go there, put some water, have to appreciate it, what’s around it. I start to understand the game and loving the competition around and being myself at the court. Traveling. The only hard thing for me on tennis – it’s massive competition as everybody is trying to reduce now. We are playing too much for too long all the time. This is hard, especially for a Brazilian who has to be out of the continent for 80% of the year. But even the relation with the crowd, how to appear in the central court with thousand, thousand of people. Every single thing I was able to adapt myself. I just like and then love and it’s maintaining like this. Hopefully it can continue. I don’t play more than three, four matches a year because my physical condition. But still, once I’m in the tennis court, always great feels.”
4 comments
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Dan Markowitz · March 27, 2012 at 6:11 pm
What is Guga’s physical condition now? Are his hips still fragile?
Scoop Malinowski · March 27, 2012 at 6:44 pm
He says his health (hip) only permit him to play 3-4 matches a year. Someone else told me he is very involved in numerous tennis and school related projects in Brazil, numerous.
Steve · March 28, 2012 at 1:56 pm
Scoop,
Do you know if he injured his hip over time or did it just happen one day?
Scoop Malinowski · March 28, 2012 at 4:05 pm
Pretty sure it was gradual Steve.