Guillermo Coria facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Guillermo Coria

Country (sports)	Argentina
Residence	Venado Tuerto, Argentina
Born	(1982-01-13) 13 January 1982 (age 43) Rufino, Argentina
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Turned pro	2000
Retired	28 April 2009
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Coach	Gustavo Luza (2000) Mariano Monachesi (2001) Franco Davín (2002–2003) Alberto Mancini (2003–2004) Fabián Blengino (2004) Gabriel Markus (2004) José Perlas (2004–2005) José Higueras (2006) Horacio de la Peña (2006) Hernán Gumy (2007–2008) Martin Rodríguez (2009)
Prize money	$5,915,620
Singles
Career record	218–114 (65.7%)
Career titles	9
Highest ranking	No. 3 (3 May 2004)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	4R (2003, 2005)
French Open	F (2004)
Wimbledon	4R (2005)
US Open	QF (2003, 2005)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals	RR (2003, 2004, 2005)
Doubles
Career record	10–25 (28.6%)
Career titles	0
Highest ranking	No. 183 (1 March 2004)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	1R (2003)
Wimbledon	1R (2004)

Guillermo Sebastián Coria (born January 13, 1982) is an Argentine former professional tennis player. He was nicknamed El Mago, which means The Magician in Spanish. He reached his highest singles ranking of world No. 3 in May 2004. Guillermo Coria was especially good on clay courts, winning eight of his nine major singles titles on this surface. During his best years in 2003 and 2004, many people thought he was the best clay-court player in the world.

He played in the final of the 2004 French Open, a very important tournament. He lost this match to his fellow Argentine player, Gastón Gaudio, even though he was ahead by two sets. Later in his career, injuries and a loss of confidence made it hard for him to play his best. He retired from tennis in 2009 when he was 27 years old.

Guillermo Coria's Tennis Journey

Guillermo Coria became a professional tennis player in 2000. He finished the years 2003, 2004, and 2005 as one of the top ten players in the world. He was known for being one of the fastest players on the tennis tour. He often showed amazing skills in tournaments played on clay courts. His way of playing was like a "counter-puncher," meaning he was great at returning shots and turning defense into offense.

Between 2003 and 2005, he was often called the "King of Clay." This was because he reached six out of eight possible finals in important clay-court tournaments called Masters events. He also reached the semifinals of the French Open in 2003 and was very close to winning the final in 2004.

Early Days as a Junior Player

As a young player, Guillermo Coria was ranked world No. 2 in singles and world No. 5 in doubles. He won the Orange Bowl tournament for players aged 16 and under in 1997. In 1998, he reached the finals of the Orange Bowl for players aged 18 and under, where he played against Roger Federer.

In 1999, Coria won the boys' singles title at the French Open. He didn't lose a single set in that tournament! He beat his friend, David Nalbandian, in the final. A month later, at Wimbledon, he reached the semifinals in singles. But in doubles at the same tournament, Coria and Nalbandian teamed up to win the boys' doubles title.

A Challenge and a Comeback

In April 2001, Guillermo Coria faced a challenge when a test showed a banned substance. He said it was from a contaminated multivitamin he was taking. After looking into it, the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) reduced his ban from two years to seven months. This meant he could return to playing tennis in March 2002.

Because of this seven-month break, his world ranking dropped from No. 32 to No. 97. So, 2002 was a year for Coria to rebuild his career. He worked hard and finished that year ranked world No. 45.

Becoming the "King of Clay" (2003–2005)

2003: Starting His Clay Court Reign

In 2003, Coria really showed he was a top clay-court player. He reached the finals in Buenos Aires and at the Monte Carlo Masters. He then won his first big Masters Series title in Hamburg.

At the French Open, he beat the famous player Andre Agassi in the quarterfinals. Later that year, in July, Coria won three clay-court tournaments in just three weeks! These were the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart, the Generali Open in Kitzbühel, and the Orange Prokom Open in Sopot. He won all three without losing a single set. He ended 2003 ranked No. 5 in the world.

2004: The French Open Final

In 2004, Coria won the clay-court tournament in Buenos Aires again. He also reached his first Masters final on a hard court in Miami. During that match, he had pain from kidney stones and had to stop playing.

Three weeks later, Coria won his second Masters Series title at the Monte Carlo Masters. He had now won five clay-court tournaments in a row and had a winning streak of 26 matches on clay! On May 3, 2004, he reached his highest ranking of world No. 3. He continued his clay-court winning streak to 31 matches before losing to Roger Federer in the Hamburg Masters final.

At the French Open, Coria played incredibly well, only losing one set on his way to the final. He beat top players like Carlos Moyá and Tim Henman. However, in the final, he was unexpectedly defeated by his fellow Argentine, Gastón Gaudio. Coria had won the first two sets easily and was close to winning the third. But then, he started having leg cramps and struggled to move. Even with the cramps, he had chances to win the match in the fifth set, but he couldn't quite do it. Many fans believe this tough loss affected his game afterward.

2005: More Clay Finals and a New Challenge

After the 2004 French Open, Coria reached five more finals. He lost four of them to the rising star, Rafael Nadal. One of the most famous matches was the Rome Masters final in 2005. This match lasted almost 5 hours and 20 minutes and is considered one of the greatest clay-court matches ever played. Coria fought hard, saving championship points, but Nadal eventually won in a very close fifth-set tiebreak.

The only final Coria won in 2005 was in Umag, Croatia. He joked that this small tournament felt like a fifth Grand Slam to his family because his wife was from Croatia. Coria had a very consistent 2005 season, reaching the fourth round or better at every Grand Slam tournament.

However, during his win in Umag, he started to have trouble with his serve. This is called "service yips," a psychological issue that makes it hard for a player to hit the ball correctly when serving. It became more noticeable at the US Open, where he made many double faults. This problem with his serve made his performance drop as the year went on.

Between 2003 and 2005, Coria had an amazing record on clay, winning 90 matches and losing only 13. This included his 31-match winning streak.

Later Years: A Gradual Decline (2006–2009)

2006: Losing His Form

Guillermo Coria's service yips got worse in 2006. Even so, he reached the third round of the Australian Open. He even beat Novak Djokovic at the Miami Masters without making any double faults.

At the Monte-Carlo Masters, Coria showed great fighting spirit, coming back from far behind to win matches, even with many double faults. But he was then easily beaten by Rafael Nadal. After this, Coria won fewer matches. He had to withdraw from the French Open and Wimbledon to deal with personal issues and an elbow injury. He stopped playing on the ATP Tour for 17 months after retiring from a match at the US Open.

2007–2008: Injuries and a Comeback Attempt

Coria tried to return to tennis in October 2007 but had to stop due to a back injury. He finally came back to the main tour in January 2008 in Chile. He showed some good signs but lost his first match. In February, he won his first ATP match in 19 months.

He made his first Grand Slam appearance since 2006 at the French Open. He played a tough match against Tommy Robredo, a strong player, and almost forced a fifth set. This gave some hope for his return.

However, Guillermo Coria never fully recovered from the service yips that had affected his game. This problem kept his ranking much lower than his previous top-ten position. On April 28, 2009, he announced his retirement from professional tennis, saying he "didn’t feel like competing anymore."

How Guillermo Coria Played

Guillermo Coria was a very skilled tennis player with excellent technique. He was known for being a strong "baseliner," meaning he played most of his shots from the back of the court. He was especially good on clay courts. He had amazing speed, which made him one of the best defenders on the tour. He could hit great shots even while running.

He had powerful and balanced groundstrokes (shots hit after the ball bounces). He also often used "drop shots," which are soft shots that barely go over the net. His serve was not his strongest weapon, especially later in his career. Because of the service yips, he would often make many double faults. Sometimes, he would hit a very slow second serve just to avoid a double fault.

Even though he wasn't very tall and didn't have super powerful shots, Coria was incredibly consistent and smart on the court. These skills helped him become a top player, especially on clay.

Coria also had one of the best "return games" in men's tennis history. This means he was fantastic at returning his opponent's serves. He is ranked No. 1 for winning points on first serves and for winning return games. His amazing return game often helped him win matches even when his own serve was struggling.

Personal Life

Guillermo Coria was named after another famous Argentine tennis champion, Guillermo Vilas. He started playing tennis at the age of three, learning from his father, Oscar, who was a tennis coach. His mother, Graciela, is a housewife. He is the oldest of three brothers.

Coria went to preschool with David Nalbandian in Argentina; they were born only 12 days apart. Growing up, he looked up to tennis stars like Andre Agassi and Marcelo Ríos. He enjoys playing soccer and is a big fan of the River Plate team.

Guillermo Coria married Carla Francovigh on December 27, 2003. They have a son named Thiago, born on April 12, 2012, and a daughter named Delfina, born on October 4, 2013.

After retiring, Coria coached his younger brother, Federico Coria, who is also a tennis player. As of 2016, Guillermo Coria has been traveling around Argentina. He manages a government program called "Our Tennis," which aims to promote the sport and find new talented young players.

Equipment

Guillermo Coria used a tennis racquet called the Prince O3 Tour. His racquet strings were Luxilon Big Banger Original 16 String. His clothing sponsor was Adidas.

Important Finals

Grand Slam Finals

Singles: 1 (1 Runner-up)

Result	Year	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	2004	French Open	Clay	Gastón Gaudio	6–0, 6–3, 4–6, 1–6, 6–8

Masters Series Finals

Singles: 7 (2 Titles, 5 Runner-ups)

Result	Year	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	2003	Monte-Carlo Masters	Clay	Juan Carlos Ferrero	2–6, 2–6
Win	2003	Hamburg Masters	Clay	Agustín Calleri	6–3, 6–4, 6–4
Loss	2004	Miami Masters	Hard	Andy Roddick	7–6(7–2), 3–6, 1–6, ret.
Win	2004	Monte-Carlo Masters	Clay	Rainer Schüttler	6–2, 6–1, 6–3
Loss	2004	Hamburg Masters	Clay	Roger Federer	6–4, 4–6, 2–6, 3–6
Loss	2005	Monte-Carlo Masters	Clay	Rafael Nadal	3–6, 1–6, 6–0, 5–7
Loss	2005	Italian Open	Clay	Rafael Nadal	4–6, 6–3, 3–6, 6–4, 6–7(6–8)

ATP Career Finals

Singles: 20 (9 Wins, 11 Losses)

Result	W/L	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	1.	Feb 2001	Viña del Mar, Chile	Clay	Gastón Gaudio	4–6, 6–2, 7–5
Loss	1.	May 2001	Mallorca, Spain	Clay	Alberto Martín	3–6, 6–3, 2–6
Loss	2.	Sep 2002	Costa do Sauipe, Brazil	Hard	Gustavo Kuerten	7–6(7–4), 5–7, 6–7(2–7)
Loss	3.	Feb 2003	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Clay	Carlos Moyá	3–6, 6–4, 4–6
Loss	4.	Apr 2003	Monte-Carlo, Monaco	Clay	Juan Carlos Ferrero	2–6, 2–6
Win	2.	May 2003	Hamburg, Germany	Clay	Agustín Calleri	6–3, 6–4, 6–4
Win	3.	Jul 2003	Stuttgart, Germany	Clay	Tommy Robredo	6–2, 6–2, 6–1
Win	4.	Jul 2003	Kitzbühel, Austria	Clay	Nicolás Massú	6–1, 6–4, 6–2
Win	5.	Jul 2003	Sopot, Poland	Clay	David Ferrer	7–5, 6–1
Win	6.	Oct 2003	Basel, Switzerland	Carpet (i)	David Nalbandian	w/o
Win	7.	Feb 2004	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Clay	Carlos Moyá	6–4, 6–1
Loss	5.	Apr 2004	Miami, United States	Hard	Andy Roddick	7–6(7–2), 3–6, 1–6, ret.
Win	8.	Apr 2004	Monte-Carlo, Monaco	Clay	Rainer Schüttler	6–2, 6–1, 6–3
Loss	6.	May 2004	Hamburg, Germany	Clay	Roger Federer	6–4, 4–6, 2–6, 3–6
Loss	7.	Jun 2004	French Open, Paris	Clay	Gastón Gaudio	6–0, 6–3, 4–6, 1–6, 6–8
Loss	8.	Jun 2004	's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands	Grass	Michaël Llodra	3–6, 4–6
Loss	9.	Apr 2005	Monte-Carlo, Monaco	Clay	Rafael Nadal	3–6, 1–6, 6–0, 5–7
Loss	10.	May 2005	Rome, Italy	Clay	Rafael Nadal	4–6, 6–3, 3–6, 6–4, 6–7(6–8)
Win	9.	Jul 2005	Umag, Croatia	Clay	Carlos Moyá	6–2, 4–6, 6–2
Loss	11.	Sep 2005	Beijing, China	Hard	Rafael Nadal	7–5, 1–6, 2–6

Images for kids

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  Guillermo Coria, nicknamed El Mago (The Magician).

See also

In Spanish: Guillermo Coria para niños