Guillermo Coria
| File:Coria profile 1.jpg | |
| Country (sports) |  Argentina |
|---|---|
| Residence | Venado Tuerto, Argentina |
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) |
| Turned pro | 2000 |
| Plays | Right; Two-handed backhand |
| Prize money | $5,817,486 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 216-106 |
| Career titles | 9 |
| Highest ranking | No. 3 (May 3, 2004) |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| Australian Open | 4th (2003, 2005) |
| French Open | F (2004) |
| Wimbledon | 4th (2005) |
| US Open | QF (2003, 2005) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 9-22 |
| Career titles | 0 |
| Highest ranking | No. 183 (March 1, 2004) |
| Last updated on: August 11, 2006. | |
Guillermo Sebastián Coria (born January 13, 1982 in Rufino, Santa Fe Province), nicknamed El Mago (The Magician in Spanish), is a professional tennis player from Argentina. He was named after tennis champion and countryman Guillermo Vilas.
Career
Coria turned professional in 2000, finishing 2003, 2004 and 2005 as a top ten. He is one of the fastest players in the Association of Tennis Professionals, consistently showing great performances on clay courts tournaments and is often a major threat at the French Open. His playing style is a counterpuncher.
Coria tested positive for nandrolone in April 2001 and was initially suspended two years. Coria claimed that the only supplement he was taking was a multivitamin made by a NJ supplements company. His family had a private lab test the multivitamin, which found them contaminated with steroids. Subsequently, the ATP reduced his suspension to only the seven months that had already passed. Coria sued the company for more than $10 million in lost prize money and endorsements and settled after the third day of the trial for an undisclosed amount. [1]
Coria reached the semifinals of the French Open in 2003 before getting upset by Martin Verkerk's booming serves. In 2004, as a favorite to win the title, he reached the final, beating among others former #1 Carlos Moyà; but was unexpectedly defeated by unseeded compatriot Gastón Gaudio in an unprecedented all-Argentinean final, 0-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, 8-6. Coria had won the first two sets convincingly before succumbing to leg cramps, at times barely able to move. Coria played on, went two breaks of serve ahead in the fifth set and even had two points to win at 6-5 because of Gaudio's shaky play. But in the end, Gaudio prevailed in a thrilling finish.
Coria is considered one of the best clay court players never to win the French Open, perhaps only surpassed by Àlex Corretja.
In August 2004, he had suffered a shoulder injury, which required surgery shortly before the Houston Masters Cup, in which he performed poorly.
Coria has appeared in several finals since the French Open defeat, but did not win another title until July 31st 2005, when he won in Umag, Croatia. Afterwards, Coria joked that the small tournament was considered a fifth Grand Slam in his family, because his wife Carla hails from Croatia. Coria had a surprisingly consistent 2005 season, where he reached the fourth round or better in every Grand Slam, having previously been considered somewhat out of his element on surfaces other than clay.
El Mago attended preschool with David Nalbandian in Argentina. He is a well known River Plate fan (he sometimes celebrates winning matches with Chilean soccer player Marcelo Salas).
Coria's level during 2006 seriously dropped, losing in the first round at several tournaments. He withdrew from the 2006 French Open and from Wimbledon to rehabilitate. In August 2006 he hired Horacio de la Peña as his tennis coach.
In 2007, Coria was scheduled to return on April 30 at the Ostrava Challenger in the Czech Republic, but withdrew due to injuries.
Coria contemplated retirement from professional tennis after a series of injuries and subsequent loss of belief in his own ability. Sources say he is 'down and out' and wants to return but says 'it's a long road back and I'm lost on the wrong road....without a map' (rough translation).[citation needed]
Coria made his return in a Challenger in Belo Horizonte Brazil on 10/22/07. He lost the first set 6-3 to fellow Argentine Juan Pablo Brzezicki and subsequently retired with a back injury. He had been leading in the first set 3-1.
Coria finally returned to the main ATP circuit in the Movistar Open in Chile on January 28, 2008. He showed positive signs of recovering his form, but was still defeated in the first round by Pablo Cuevas 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.
Grand Slam singles finals
Runner-ups (1)
| Year | Championship | Opponent in Final | Score in Final |
| 2004 | French Open |  Gastón Gaudio |
6-0, 6-3, 4-6, 1-6, 6-8 |
ATP Masters Series singles finals
Wins (2)
| Year | Championship | Opponent in Final | Score in Final |
| 2003 | Hamburg | Agustín Calleri |
6-3, 6-4, 6-4 |
| 2004 | Monte Carlo |  Rainer Schüttler |
6-2, 6-1, 6-3 |
Runner-ups (5)
| Year | Championship | Opponent in Final | Score in Final |
| 2003 | Monte Carlo |  Juan Carlos Ferrero |
2-6, 2-6 |
| 2004 | Miami |  Andy Roddick |
7-6, 3-6, 1-6, Ret. |
| 2004 | Hamburg |  Roger Federer |
6-4, 4-6, 2-6, 3-6 |
| 2005 | Monte Carlo | Rafael Nadal |
3-6, 1-6, 6-0, 5-7 |
| 2005 | Rome | Rafael Nadal |
4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-7 |
Titles (9)
Singles titles (9)
|
|
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score |
| 1. | Feb 12, 2001 |  Viña del Mar
|
Clay | Gastón Gaudio
|
4-6, 6-2, 7-5 |
| 2. | May 12, 2003 | Hamburg
|
Clay | Agustín Calleri
|
6-3, 6-4, 6-4 |
| 3. | Jul 14, 2003 | Stuttgart
|
Clay | Tommy Robredo
|
6-2, 6-2, 6-1 |
| 4. | Jul 21, 2003 |  Kitzbühel
|
Clay | Nicolás Massú
|
6-1, 6-4, 6-2 |
| 5. | Jul 28, 2003 |  Sopot
|
Clay | David Ferrer
|
7-5, 6-1 |
| 6. | Oct 12, 2003 | Basel
|
Carpet | David Nalbandian
|
W/O |
| 7. | Feb 16, 2004 | Buenos Aires
|
Clay | Carlos Moyà
|
6-4, 6-1 |
| 8. | Apr 19, 2004 |  Monte Carlo
|
Clay | Rainer Schüttler
|
6-2, 6-1, 6-3 |
| 9. | Jul 31, 2005 |  Umag
|
Clay | Carlos Moyà
|
6-2, 4-6, 6-2 |
Singles runner-ups (11)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score |
| 1. | 7 May, 2001 | Mallorca, Spain | Clay | Alberto Martín
|
6-3, 3-6, 6-2 |
| 2. | 16 September, 2002 | Costa Do Sauipe, Brazil | Hard |  Gustavo Kuerten
|
6-7(4), 7-5, 7-6(2) |
| 3. | 24 February, 2003 | Buenos Aires, Argentina
|
Clay | Carlos Moyà
|
6-3, 4-6, 6-4 |
| 4. | 21 April, 2003 | Monte Carlo, Monaco | Clay | Juan Carlos Ferrero
|
6-2, 6-2 |
| 5. | 5 April, 2004 | Miami, U.S. | Hard | Andy Roddick
|
6-7(2), 6-3, 6-1 ret. |
| 6. | 17 May, 2004 | Hamburg, Germany | Clay | Roger Federer
|
4-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 |
| 7. | 7 June, 2004 | French Open | Clay | Gastón Gaudio
|
0-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, 8-6 |
| 8. | 21 June, 2004 | 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands | Grass |  Michaël Llodra
|
6-3, 6-4 |
| 9. | 18 April, 2005 | Monte Carlo, Monaco | Clay | Rafael Nadal
|
6-3, 6-1, 0-6, 7-5 |
| 10. | 9 May, 2005 | Rome, Italy | Clay | Rafael Nadal
|
6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(6) |
| 11. | 19 September, 2005 | Beijing, China | Hard | Rafael Nadal
|
5-7, 6-1, 6-2 |
Singles performance timeline
| Tournament | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | Career WR |
Career Win-Loss |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | - | 2R | - | 4R | 1R | 4R | 3R | 0 / 5 | |
| French Open | 2R | 1R | 3R | SF | F | 4R | - | 0 / 6 | |
| Wimbledon | - | 1R | - | 1R | 2R | 4R | - | 0 / 4 | |
| U.S. Open | LQ | - | 3R | QF | - | QF | 1R | 0 / 5 | |
| Grand Slam Win Ratio | 0 / 2 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 20 | |
| Grand Slam Win-Loss | |||||||||
| Indian Wells Masters | - | - | - | 3R | QF | 4R | - | 0 / 3 | |
| Miami Masters | - | 3R | 3R | 4R | F | 3R | 3R | 0 / 6 | |
| Monte Carlo Masters | - | SF | 1R | F | W | F | QF | 1 / 6 | |
| Rome Masters | - | 2R | - | 3R | - | F | 1R | 0 / 4 | |
| Hamburg Masters | - | - | - | W | F | QF | 1R | 1 / 4 | |
| Canada Masters | - | - | - | 1R | 1R | 1R | - | 0 / 3 | |
| Cincinnati Masters | - | 1R | 2R | QF | - | 2R | - | 0 / 4 | |
| Madrid Masters | - | - | LQ | - | - | 3R | - | 0 / 2 | |
| Paris Masters | - | - | 1R | 3R | - | 2R | - | 0 / 3 | |
| Tennis Masters Cup | - | - | - | RR | RR | RR | - | 0 / 3 | |
| ATP Tournaments Played | 4 | 16 | 16 | 21 | 15 | 23 | 14 | N/A | 109 |
| ATP Finals Reached | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 0 | N/A | 20 |
| ATP Tournaments Won | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | N/A | 9 |
| Hard Win-Loss | N/A | 68-47 | |||||||
| Clay Win-Loss | N/A | 132-45 | |||||||
| Carpet Win-Loss | N/A | 6-6 | |||||||
| Grass Win-Loss | N/A | 10-8 | |||||||
| Overall Win-Loss | N/A | 216-106 | |||||||
| Year End Ranking | 88 | 44 | 45 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 116 | N/A | N/A |
LQ = lost in qualifying draw WR = Win Ratio, the ratio of tournaments won to those played