Puerta's impressive comeback
Today’s Roland Garros men’s final (the first all-lefty since 1946) was a joy to watch. 19-year old Rafael Nadal beat Mariano Puerta [3-1 6-7 (6), 6-3, 6-1, 7-5] to win the French Open. Steven Wine did a fine reporting for the AP, for those of you who missed the match, or want to read more about it:We were really sorry to watch Puerta lose though. Leaving Nadal’s arrogant look aside (which is to be expected from a teenager who beat Roger Federer on the semi-finals, on the day of his 19th birthday), we were rooting for Puerta for another, far more important reason: the Argentinian’s background raises his accomplishment to heroic proportions.
Banned for nine months after testing positive for clenbuterol at the Vina del Mar tournament in Chile in October 2003, he was ranked 440th last August — his current ATP rank is 21 (talk about a comeback).
Some choice quotes from “Puerta continues comeback in Paris”, after beating Guillermo Canas on June 1st to enter the semi-finals:
Despite the setback of sitting out so much ATP Tour action, Puerta insisted Wednesday’s win at Roland Garros did not give him any added satisfaction, and he insisted his focus was fully trained on the future.And from “Yet another comeback for Puerta on his way to the final”, after beating Nikolay Davydenko on June 3rd:
“I don’t feel bitter about what happened, I don’t waste my time thinking about the past,” he said. “I have overcome what I went through. It allowed me to be stronger.
“When I was not playing, I went through some very tough times. It was strange not to be allowed to play tennis. I worked very hard to come back.”
“I had two years when I was almost out of the circuit,” Puerta said. “I can’t believe that on Sunday I’m going to play the final of Roland Garros. I don’t even know how to explain that.”In his first Grand Slam final in his nine-year career, Puerta, who considers clay his favorite surface, had assumed an offensive role for almost the entire span of the match, being constantly on the attack (and a joy to watch); but, “hampered by a sore thigh and weary from consecutive 3 1/2 -hour five-setters in the previous two rounds” (as Steven Wine points out), and also thanks to some unsuccessful final strikes (he’s got to work that one — lost quite a few points where he could “kill” the opponent), he lost to a super fast and magnificent, on his defensive tasks, Nadal.
Puerta’s suspension began in October 2003 after he tested positive for clenbuterol, a drug whose effects resemble those of anabolic steroids by promoting muscle growth. An investigative panel determined a doctor prescribed the drug to Puerta to treat asthma.
Now, at 26, he’s playing the best tennis of his life.
“I work really hard, six, seven hours a day. I don’t stop. Sunday also,” Puerta said. “When I came back, I was prepared for very tough moments, to play anywhere. I was ready to sacrifice. I never complained about anything. I was humble and prepared to overcome any barrier.”
Mariano Puerta won at least one fan today, and if he keeps it up that way, the best is yet to come for his career.
Further studying
- ATP Tennis Player Profile
- Yahoo! Tennis Player Profile
- Topix.net News Tracker
- Yahoo! Photo Gallery - Men’s Final (look at the first 4-5 pages — post photo taken from Y! Sports)
