Sergi Bruguera
Sergi is a two-time former French Open Champion, world number three and Olympic silver medallist. Since his retirement in 2002, he has remained in peak physical condition (after matches he can be found doing push-ups and sit-ups in the locker-room) and at the age of 38 he is one of the most active players on the ATP Champions Tour.
He was Spain’s national junior champion in 1987 and made the decision to turn professional the following year. In his first full year on the tour, 1989, he won the Cairo Challenger title as a qualifier (defeating Jordi Arrese in the final) and reached the semi-finals in Rome. He finished 1989 ranked World No. 26, and was named the ATP's Newcomer of Year.
Over the next few years, Bruguera earned a reputation as a top clay court player, winning titles in Estoril, Monte Carlo, and Athens in 1991, and in Madrid, Gstaad, and Palermo in 1992. In 1993, following wins over Pete Sampras and Andrei Medvedev, Bruguera reached his first Grand Slam final at the French Open, where he faced two-time defending champion and the current World No. 1 Jim Courier. Courier was overwhelmingly favoured to win his third title, but ultimately Bruguera won a gruelling five-set final. The victory was one of five titles Bruguera captured that year. The following year, Bruguera defended his title at the French Open, defeating Courier and Medvedev once again, and then fellow Spaniard Alberto Berasategui in the final.
Bruguera won the men's singles silver medal at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. He was defeated in straight sets in the final by Andre Agassi. He reached the French Open final for the third time in 1997 and then ran into the unseeded Brazilian Gustavo Kuerten. Kuerten won in straight sets. That same year Sergi earned the ATP's Comeback Player of Year award after returning from an ankle injury the previous year and improving his ranking from World No. 81 to World No. 8.
