[v74ClzKY]

Coria had one other great opportunity the year before. But he lost in straight sets to Verkerk in a stunning upset.

[Kimeoffessyr]

if memory serves, the previous year, coria found a way to lose the semi-final to mr accidental finalist 2003 - yup martin verkerk. just more heartache that coria must associate with the french open.

the sadist in me considers the french open and wimbledon the equal best of the slams for this very reason. there are so many players who dream and yearn to lift these trophies. some finally do, and a part of me sees my dreams fulfilled by theirs. but the many who don't, and have sleepless nights over it, make me realise just how special these 2 slams in particular are.

[DeilMikina]

Coria had one other great opportunity the year before. But he lost in straight sets to Verkerk in a stunning upset.

During the second set (or was it the first?) Coria threw his racquet (I think) and it hit a linesperson. He was going to be defaulted (or so it seemed) but Verkerk asked the chair ump to let the match continue. Coria was humbled by the request and practically gave Verkerk the match after that. Though it should be said that Verkerk's serve-and-volley game threw Coria off his game completely, thus the racquet throwing. Same thing happend to him against Henman in 2004. Tim was up a set and a break and then seized up. I always felt Coria was lucky to get out of that match, his clay court credentials notwithstanding.

[Vagtlaldo]

During the second set (or was it the first?) Coria threw his racquet (I think) and it hit a linesperson.

Now THIS would've been an automatic contender in our racquet tossing contest.

[freddystone]

Coria was involved in what was nearly a physical confrontation on court... I believe it was the U.S. Open? But I can't remember the details.

I think it was against Massu?

It was one of the greatest moments in tennis history.

[ultramDoctoo]

I'm right there with you tinamarie. I started rooting for Gaudio but I also felt that Coria would one day (maybe the next year) win one. Everytime I see/hear that match talked about (like the top 5 chokes on the tennis channel), I feel his pain all over again and I wish he could have somehow won that one.

TA

If I remember correctly Gaudio even said that in his speech when he won. That was some match!

[patrycjakolekk]

Coria was involved in what was nearly a physical confrontation on court... I believe it was the U.S. Open? But I can't remember the details.

I think it was against Massu?

It was one of the greatest moments in tennis history.

There was also a memorable spat with Lleyton at Davis Cup. Coria accused Lleyton of abusing him on court, and complained about the names Lleyton was calling him. Lleyton said Guillermo was spitting at his people.

After the match, Coria said, somewhat seriously it seemed, that he wanted to "kill him". I'm guessing he didn't ask any of Carla's friends for help with that. Otherwise, Becs might still be single.

[freddystone]

There was also a memorable spat with Lleyton at Davis Cup. Coria accused Lleyton of abusing him on court, and complained about the names Lleyton was calling him. Lleyton said Guillermo was spitting at his people.

After the match, Coria said he wanted to "kill him". I'm guessing he didn't ask any of Carla's friends for help with that. Otherwise, Becs might still be single.

I had forgotten about that one.

Still, the USO incident with Massu sticks out. They actually brought security onto the court, if I remember correctly. It was drama queen heaven.

[viagraman]

If I had Carla waiting for me in an air conditioned hotel room, I might be tempted to default a match as well.

Coria seemed kind of like a prima donna to me. His game was okay...on clay. One of the funniest matches I ever saw was him against Agassi at the Aussie Open. Agassi seriously ran him back and forth for about 2 hours, and by the 3rd set, Coria just gave up. Defaulted the match and went back to the wonderful AC of his hotel room.

I think Agassi did that to a lot of people. I really never cared for Agassi (never got over his spoiled-brat, obnoxious early phase), but I really admired his hyper-fit late career phase. Around that time, it seemed like in every major tournament, some young guy would come out and try to run back and forth on the baseline with Agassi. And often, it would be a really even match for a couple of sets. But by then, the other guy was totally gassed, and Agassi would just keep running for a couple more sets and the beat the guy like a rug.

[retrahdggd]

Strange that after that fantastic final, Coria and Gaudio just disappeared.

I'm sad for Coria, I really enjoyed watching him play and while I did root for Gaudio in the final that day it was so hard to watch Coria lose it. There was something bizarrely poetic about that day for me, I guess because it hold so much memories.