Gustavo Kuerten, born September 10, 1976, is a retired former World number 1 tennis player from Brazil. He won the French open 3 times (1997, 2000 and 2001) and was the Tennis Masters Cup Champion in 2000, becoming the only player to defeat Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi in the same major tournament.
He is also the last player to have defeated Roger Federer in a round earlier than the quarter finals at a Grand Slam tournament, a feat he achieved at the 2004 French Open.
Kuerten suffered many problems with injuries which led him to miss a number of tournaments between 2002 and 2005. After a few failed attempts of comeback, he retired from top - level tennis in May 2008.
Kuerten is also known as 'Guga', as an affectionate knickname which is a common abbreviation of the name 'Gustavo' in Portuguese speaking countries.
He is a polyglot who speaks fluent Portuguese, French, Spanish and English. Guga was born in Florianopolis in Southern Brazil.
He began playing tennis when he was six, an early start to a life and career marked by family tragedy. His father, a former amateur tennis player, died of a heart attack in 1985 while umpiring a junior tennis match in Curitiba, when Kuerten was only eight years old.
His youngest brother suffered prolonged oxygen deprivation and consequently irreparable brain damage during birth, and as a result suffered from mental retardation and severe physical disability until his death in 2007. Kuerten was deeply affected by his brother´s daily struggles, later donating the entire prize money from one tournament he has won every year of his professional career so far to a hometown NGO that provides assistance to people suffering from similar disabilities.
