Guillermo Coria

An absolute magician of tennis, or El Mago as he is called by his countless fans in Spanish, was Argentine tennis player Guillermo Coria. He played the sport at the professional level for nine years, and in that time, he managed to achieve some magnificent feats. El Mago won nine career titles in total and was ranked third in the world in 2004.  Coria was a player who used pace to his advantage. He would always be the fastest on the court and his style of play was that of a counter-puncher.

The Argentine did not have an ideal start to his career after he turned pro in the year 2000. Only one year later, he was banned from the sport for seven months as the illegal substance nandrolone was found in his body after a drug test. The initial punishment was a two-year ban but thankfully for the Argentine, the sentence was cut short. A ban from the sport usually does not work out well for a player. Several cases have seen a player’s career effectively ending after they have been handed a long ban. That was not the case for El Mago.

The Argentine came back stronger than ever, with a newfound determination to reach as high as he can in tennis, and he passed that test with flying colours. From 2003 to 2005, Coria was called the King of Clay. Although he did not win the French Open, he did reach the final of the competition in 2004. Coria delivered a brilliant performance in the 2003 French Open as well where he beat his idol, Andre Agassi, in the quarter finals. El Mago would be eliminated in the semis but he had announced his arrival as a top quality clay player.

The Argentine went all the way to the final of the French Open in 2004 but just fell short of victory. He lost the final to the legendary Roger Federer but he had delivered his best performance in that tournament. Before the loss to Federer, El Mago was on an unbelievable winning streak on clay courts. He had won 31 consecutive matches until the Federer game. It took the best in the world and possibly the greatest tennis player of all time to beat the Argentine on clay. That indeed is a testament to his skill and quality as a tennis player.

Coria knew that he had to build his reputation as the king of clay once again after the loss in the 2004 French Open final. In 2005, he reached five clay court competition finals. Unfortunately for him, the timing could not have been any worse. He lost four of those five finals, and three of the defeats came at the hands of who is now the greatest clay court player of all time, Rafael Nadal.

El Mago’s form, unfortunately, started to drop from the 2006 season. His service yips were becoming a massive issue and he just could not keep his game. In 2007, he suffered a serious back injury and was never the same again. He tried to make a comeback in 2008, but El Mago’s time in the court had come to an end. He officially retired in 2009.

Grand Slam singles record:

Australian Open: 4R (2003, 2005)

French Open: F (2004)

Wimbledon: 4R (2005)

US Open: QF (2003, 2005)