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[TBF]

116. Guga inducted into the Hall of Fame -

Oh how I loved watching Guga play - so much heart! And the best is that he gave all his trophies to his younger brother with severe cerebral palsy.


Here's the story -

NEWPORT, R.I. (AP)—Three-time French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten was elected Thursday to the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

The lanky Brazilian nicknamed “Guga” reached No. 1 in the ATP rankings and collected singles titles at Roland Garros in 1997, 2000 and 2001.

He showed up at the 1997 French Open unheralded, unknown and 66th in the rankings, but wound up being the second-lowest-ranked man to win a Grand Slam championship.

“I have to confess, in my first years playing tennis, I didn’t even know that the Hall of Fame existed,” Kuerten said Thursday at a news conference in Brazil. “It was something I really didn’t expect to happen. Now I know how important it is to be there.”

Kuerten, who couldn’t hold back the tears when he watched a video of his retirement in 2008, is working to bring the ATP World Tour Finals to Brazil beginning in 2014.

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He also wants to play an exhibition match against Roger Federer at the end of the year in Brazil...

more here: http://www.tennis.com/articles/templates/news.aspx?articleid=16792&zoneid=4