In 1997, Gustavo Kuerten made Roland Garros history.
The Brazilian became the lowest-ranked French Open champion in the Open Era after defeating 16th seed Sergi Bruguera 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in the championship showpiece.
Remarkably, Kuerten was ranked 66th at the event, defeating three Grand Slam champions en route to glory in the French capital.
Who will win this year’s French Open?
The second Slam of the year…
How did the Brazilian maestro pull off such an astonishing feat?
Gustavo Kuerten’s 1997 Roland Garros campaign
Kuerten swept past Ctislav Doseděl in the 1997 Roland Garros Men’s Singles first round, defeating the Czech player 6-0, 7-5, 6-1.
The Brazilian then defeated Jonas Bjorkman – a winner of nine Grand Slam doubles titles.
Kuerten’s excellent form continued with victory against fifth seed and 1995 French Open champion Thomas Muster.
Kuerten, the clear underdog, defeated Muster 6-7, 6-1, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.
The 66th seed then defeated 1999 French Open finalist Andrei Medvedev, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2, 1-6, 7-5.
In the quarter-finals, Kuerten’s extraordinary run continued.
The three-time major winner knocked out third seed and two-time Grand Slam singles champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov.
The occasion represented Kuerten’s third consecutive five-set match at the event. He defeated Kafelnikov 6-2, 5-7, 2-6, 6-0, 6-4.
Kuerten then defeated qualifier Filip Dewulf, setting up a final against two-time French Open champion Sergi Bruguera.
Kuerten dominated proceedings on Court Philippe Chatrier, winning the title with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over the Spaniard.
The occasion represented only the third time in the history of the tournament that the men’s singles title was won by an unseeded player.
The only other players to achieve the feat are France’s Marcel Bernard in 1946 and Sweden’s Mats Wilander in 1982.
Gustavo Kuerten’s three French Open titles
Kuerten became a household name after triumphing at the 1997 event, and continued to achieve success thereafter.
The Brazilian won the French Open on two more occasions, defeating Magnus Norman in the 2000 final and Alex Corretja in the 2001 final.
Kuerten also achieved the world number one ranking on December 4, 2000. He is the only Brazilian in tennis history to achieve the world number one ranking in singles.
Kuerten retired from his playing career in 2008, playing his final event at Roland Garros.
In the first round, Kuerten was defeated by Paul Henri-Mathieu, 6–3, 6–4, 6–2
Prior to his defeat to Henri-Mathieu, Kuerten expressed his love for the Parisian event in an interview with CNN.
It means everything. It is here that everything happened to me. I have a love relationship with this tournament, since the first time I came here and over the years I think everything came together, the tournament, the fans and I, all having this love affair.
I have so much respect for the tournament. For me it is the most important tournament in the world.
All these years on the tour, I always worked out my schedule towards Roland Garros.
