Textbook Gaudio into first semi final
By Nyree Epplett
Wednesday, June 2, 2004
Gaston Gaudio’s backhand is made of the stuff you find in textbooks. Honed on the slow clay courts of Buenos Aires, it slides off his racquet and skims down the line or rolls across court and disappears into thin air.
And on Court Suzanne Lenglen Wednesday, it laid the groundwork for the demise of former World No1 Lleyton Hewitt.
“Like Sampras served like that, I play my backhand like that,” explained the wily Argentine who routinely disposed of the Aussie 12th seed in straight sets 6-3 6-2 6-2 to move into his first ever Grand Slam semi final.
It was the unseeded Gaudio’s most stunning victory of the tournament to date. Hewitt, a two-time Grand Slam singles champion, simply failed to find the answers to the exceptional claycourt prowess of his opponent, and was blown away by the gloriously fluid one-handed stroke.
“His backhand is one of the best single-handed backhands out there,” lamented Hewitt. "I tried hanging in there and I tried a few different things...
"His defense was so good. He didn't give me a lot of chances to attack. He's a class player on this surface.”
Enroute to his historic victory, Gaudio reveled in the cool and blustery conditions, controlling the dual from the outset with a near flawless display of superior shotmaking. He made just 19 unforced errors to Hewitt's 43 and broke the Aussie seven times.
“I’m especially happy because I played much better than the other day. I knew if I kept focused, particularly at the key times, that I would be able to win,” said Gaudio, adding that he would have laughed off the notion of making the Roland Garros final one month ago. His previous best at a Grand Slam came two years ago here, when he reached the fourth round.
“You gonna be kidding. That’s impossible!” said Gaudio, who has been forced to revise his original goal of making it to the second week here. “And now to win the tournament like a dream, I was dreaming about it,” said the 25-year-old.
Hewitt struggled to get as much depth or bite on his shot as the Argentine, and rarely strung together enough points to bother the Gaudio from the backcourt. His flat, counter-punching style played right into the hands of the 44-ranked Argentine. He kept the Aussie scampering with his heavily angled balls, and succession of glorious drop shots. He threaded his near-perfect one-handed topspin backhand down the line and cross court over and over again to frustrate Hewitt.
Hewitt broke the steady Gaudio just twice, in the first game of the match (Gaudio broke straight back to love, 1-1) and then again in the fourth game of the third set.
At 3-3 and 40-0 on serve in the first set, the 12th seed looked like he might make a match of it. But four consecutive errors, including a sitter backhand at the net, and a shaky double fault sealed his fate, and he floated a backhand long to hand Gaudio a 4-2 lead. Hewitt missed a break point at 30-40 in the next game when the Argentine played a precise drop shot and upped the velocity on his serve and groundstrokes.
“I thought I could have been a little more nervous but in fact I was not all,” said the Argentine, who won 20 of 21 points at the net. “I’m not used to go so much to the net,” he chuckled.
Gaudio ran all over the Aussie in the second set, racing to a 5-1 lead before the Aussie had time to blink.
Hewitt staged a minor resurgence of sorts in the third, but it was too little and too late, and the Argentine broke the Aussie one more time in the seventh game (5-2). He won the contest on his next serve when a Hewitt forehand floated wide.
It is the second time in nearly as many weeks that Gaudio has beaten Hewitt, after inflicting a three-set defeat at the World Team Cup.
Gaudio was one of four Argentines to advance to the quarter finals at Roland Garros (a new Grand Slam record for the nation). He now meets the winner of the Gustavo Kuerten v David Nalbandian quarter final in a match he compares to the final of the first division Spanish soccer league.
“They’re (Nalbandian and Kuerten) the Galacticos (Real Madrid) and I’m the Valencia. They have a special talent and in the top 10.”
Source: www.rolandgarros.com
By Nyree Epplett
Wednesday, June 2, 2004
Gaston Gaudio’s backhand is made of the stuff you find in textbooks. Honed on the slow clay courts of Buenos Aires, it slides off his racquet and skims down the line or rolls across court and disappears into thin air.
And on Court Suzanne Lenglen Wednesday, it laid the groundwork for the demise of former World No1 Lleyton Hewitt.
“Like Sampras served like that, I play my backhand like that,” explained the wily Argentine who routinely disposed of the Aussie 12th seed in straight sets 6-3 6-2 6-2 to move into his first ever Grand Slam semi final.
It was the unseeded Gaudio’s most stunning victory of the tournament to date. Hewitt, a two-time Grand Slam singles champion, simply failed to find the answers to the exceptional claycourt prowess of his opponent, and was blown away by the gloriously fluid one-handed stroke.
“His backhand is one of the best single-handed backhands out there,” lamented Hewitt. "I tried hanging in there and I tried a few different things...
"His defense was so good. He didn't give me a lot of chances to attack. He's a class player on this surface.”
Enroute to his historic victory, Gaudio reveled in the cool and blustery conditions, controlling the dual from the outset with a near flawless display of superior shotmaking. He made just 19 unforced errors to Hewitt's 43 and broke the Aussie seven times.
“I’m especially happy because I played much better than the other day. I knew if I kept focused, particularly at the key times, that I would be able to win,” said Gaudio, adding that he would have laughed off the notion of making the Roland Garros final one month ago. His previous best at a Grand Slam came two years ago here, when he reached the fourth round.
“You gonna be kidding. That’s impossible!” said Gaudio, who has been forced to revise his original goal of making it to the second week here. “And now to win the tournament like a dream, I was dreaming about it,” said the 25-year-old.
Hewitt struggled to get as much depth or bite on his shot as the Argentine, and rarely strung together enough points to bother the Gaudio from the backcourt. His flat, counter-punching style played right into the hands of the 44-ranked Argentine. He kept the Aussie scampering with his heavily angled balls, and succession of glorious drop shots. He threaded his near-perfect one-handed topspin backhand down the line and cross court over and over again to frustrate Hewitt.
Hewitt broke the steady Gaudio just twice, in the first game of the match (Gaudio broke straight back to love, 1-1) and then again in the fourth game of the third set.
At 3-3 and 40-0 on serve in the first set, the 12th seed looked like he might make a match of it. But four consecutive errors, including a sitter backhand at the net, and a shaky double fault sealed his fate, and he floated a backhand long to hand Gaudio a 4-2 lead. Hewitt missed a break point at 30-40 in the next game when the Argentine played a precise drop shot and upped the velocity on his serve and groundstrokes.
“I thought I could have been a little more nervous but in fact I was not all,” said the Argentine, who won 20 of 21 points at the net. “I’m not used to go so much to the net,” he chuckled.
Gaudio ran all over the Aussie in the second set, racing to a 5-1 lead before the Aussie had time to blink.
Hewitt staged a minor resurgence of sorts in the third, but it was too little and too late, and the Argentine broke the Aussie one more time in the seventh game (5-2). He won the contest on his next serve when a Hewitt forehand floated wide.
It is the second time in nearly as many weeks that Gaudio has beaten Hewitt, after inflicting a three-set defeat at the World Team Cup.
Gaudio was one of four Argentines to advance to the quarter finals at Roland Garros (a new Grand Slam record for the nation). He now meets the winner of the Gustavo Kuerten v David Nalbandian quarter final in a match he compares to the final of the first division Spanish soccer league.
“They’re (Nalbandian and Kuerten) the Galacticos (Real Madrid) and I’m the Valencia. They have a special talent and in the top 10.”
Source: www.rolandgarros.com