Albert Costa

The glittering career of Albert Costa Casals saw him lift a Grand Slam trophy as well as an Olympic medal. The 46-year-old Spaniard, who was particularly strong on clay, also won the Davis Cup with his country. Starting as a promising junior player, Costa managed to fulfil his potential when he turned pro. The Spaniard, who began playing the sport at the age of five, displayed immense potential from an early age. He reached the French Open junior final and won the Orange Bowl in 1993. Later that year, he turned professional and quickly established himself as a strong clay court player. He won two challenger series events in 1994 and was named ATP Newcomer of the Year.

In 1995, Costa won his first top-level singles title at Kitzbuhel, astonishingly defeating the "King of Clay," Thomas Muster, in a five-set final. Muster's streak of 40 consecutive clay match wins and 11 successive final wins came to an end when he was defeated by Costa. Brimming with confidence, the Spaniard won three more titles in 1996. The following year, he won two more singles titles and was a member of Spain's World Team Cup-winning team.

He then went on to win two more singles titles in 1998, including the Tennis Masters Series event in Hamburg. That year, he also performed admirably at the French Open, where only a brilliant Marcelo Rios was able to stop him in the fourth round. However, he laid the groundwork for his future success on clay courts, as the Spaniard quickly established himself as one of the players to watch for in that surface. In 1999, he won three further titles.

The year 2000 turned to be extra special for the Spaniard. Costa was instrumental in Spain's first Davis Cup victory in that year. Then going into 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, he lost in the first round of men's singles. However, Costa impressively won a bronze medal in men's doubles with Alex Corretja.

His watershed moment came in 2002. Costa had not won a tour title since 1999 and was not regarded as one of the favourites entering the French Open that year. Seeded 20th, the Spaniard beat Richard Gasquet, Nikolay Davydenko and Andrea Gaudenzi to reach the fourth round.

Then, he produced one of the biggest shocks of the tournament, beating two time defending-champion and former world No. 1 Gustavo Kuerten in straight sets. In the quarterfinals, he defeated Argentina's Guillermo Canas in five sets. It was followed by a four-set semifinal, in which he defeated fellow Spaniard, former world No. 2 and long-time friend Alex Corretja.

Costa faced another Spaniard, future world No. 1, Juan Carlos Ferrero, in the final. Ferrero had been in excellent form in the lead-up to the Grand Slam, and was regarded as the overwhelming favourite going into the title clash. Costa, however, had other ideas. He won in four sets, 6-1, 6-0, 4-6, 6-3, to clinch his first and only Grand Slam title of his career. In the early exchanges, Costa annihilated Ferrero, who only managed to win a single game in the first two sets.

For most of his career, the right-handed player was known for his one-handed backhand. However, he could hit the ball with same accuracy and strength with both forehand and backend. Costa, who achieved his career-high singles ranking of World No. 6 in July 2002, retired from the sport in 2006.

Grand Slam singles record:

Australian Open: QF (1997)

French Open: W (2002)

Wimbledon: 2R (1996, 1998)

US Open: 4R (2001)