Guga8217; convinced he can win again

Paris, May 22: The flowing locks have been trimmed, the bandana and the Brazil shirt now spend a little more time in the wardrobe. But Gu...

Paris, May 22: The flowing locks have been trimmed, the bandana and the Brazil shirt now spend a little more time in the wardrobe. But Gustavo Kuerten8217;s sunny demeanour has returned after wins in Monte Carlo and Rome and he is now plotting a new assault on the red clay of Roland Garros.Two years ago the affable South American arrived at the French Open as a virtual unknown, ranked 66 in the world, and promptly carried off the title in an extraordinary tournament which culminated in a straight sets final win over two-time champion Sergei Bruguera of Spain.

Kuerten8217;s easy-going manner and ready smile won him legions of fans, who followed him round the Roland Garros complex, beating drums and chanting Guga8217;.

Last year, his status as defending champion didn8217;t last long as he fell at the second hurdle to Russian rising star Marat Safin in a classic five-setter, although Kuerten did add tournament wins in Stuttgart and Majorca to his titles collection.

But this year threatens to be the crowd pleaser8217;s bestyet with the Brazilian having struck a rich vein of form in recent weeks, save for a quarter-final hammering in Hamburg at the hands of defending French Open champ Carlos Moya.

Within days he had bounced back to take the Italian Open with a win over Australia8217;s Pat Rafter, having knocked out world number one Yevgeny Kafelnikov on the way.

Kuerten is up to eight in the world rankings and is convinced he can once again be king of Roland Garros. Moya endorsed that view when he described Kuerten as 8220;the strongest clay court player right now.8221;

The Brazilian feels his attitude to the game and life in general has matured in recent months after a difficult period last year which followed a Davis Cup defeat at home to Spain.

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But Kuerten took revenge in style this year, winning all his matches as Brazil saw off the Spaniards in Spain. The 23-year-old, who undertakes regular charity work back in Brazil and who has a mentally handicapped brother, says he is all the stronger for having finally digested his 1997triumph, which was his first ever singles title.