Brazilian tennis great Gustavo Guga Kuerten will retire in June, said the Brazilian tennis great on Friday.
"The other day, (Jim) Courier called me and asked me. 'how is it knowing you going to retire,' he said that in the beginning," stated Guga, the former world No. 1 of the ATP for 43 weeks in 2001.
"It is good to have your freedom and not having to show up for practice," he added. "I am going to try to relax, meet up with friends and go to the lake. If I am able to find something that gives me the same satisfaction of being on the court, then I will be fine."
On Thursday night, the netman lost in his home town tournament of the Santa Catarina Challenger to his compatriot Franco Ferriero. It was his last game as a pro on Brazilian soil.
The player will end his farewell tournament in France at Roland Garros, where he won three times.
After Paris, Guga will need to find something to do to fill up his spare time. For this reason, he has been in contact with Courier, another former world No. 1, who retired from the sport in 2000.
The 31 year-old Guga will be retiring after suffering from a chronic injury in his quadriceps. Despite the pains, he is toughing it out so that he can complete his farewell tour and give his thanks to all his fans worldwide. As of now, he is ruling out any possibility of playing in the veterans' tour.
"I don't plan on playing in the veterans' tournament, but you never know. It is still early to decide. When I am 45 and am still able to play, maybe I'll think about it, as long as I don't have to play against Pete Sampras," said Kuerten jokingly.
Next week, Guga will begin his tour in Europe as he enters the Masters Series of Monte Carlo.
After his loss in the Santa Catarina Challenger, Guga claims that it will take some time to soak up all the emotions that he lived on Thursday night.
"It may take weeks, months or even years for me to fully appreciate all these emotions," added the athlete.
(Xinhua News Agency April 19, 2008)