Guga Supports Newly-Elected Brazilian Board
Guga Supports Newly-Elected Brazilian Board
Photo By Daniel Benassi By Tennis Week
12/20/2004
Gustavo Kuerten is still recovering from hip surgery, but he's eager to help
the Brazilian Tennis Federation regain its health. The three-time Roland
Garros champion, who underwent arthroscopic hip surgery on September 21st,
announced he will play for the Brazilian Davis Cup team in a show of support
for newly-elected Federation president Jorge Lacerda da Rosa and the new
board of directors.
Former Brazilian Tennis Federation president Nelson Nastas was removed from
his post by a Brazilian court order issued on December 7th and replaced him
with Sergio de Carvalho, who owns tennis academies in the country until new
elections were held. On December 17th, Lacerda da Rosa, the opposition leader
to former president Nastas, was elected along with a new board of directors.
The 28-year-old Kuerten, who was highly critical of Nastas, endorsed the
election of the new president and board as "the best news of the year for
Brazilian tennis."
"I think it was worth the wait. It is the best news of the year for the
Brazilian tennis," said Kuerten in comments translated by his communications
director, Diana Gabanyi. "I truly believe in this group and if they work
well, seriously, on the development of the sport, I think we will be able to
see some results in the next years. They can count on me 100 percent to play
Davis Cup, to help on projects and whatever they might need. I might not be
able to play in the first tie, but will definitely be on the team from the
second tie on."
Former Federation president Nastas has been charged with embezzling about
$41,000 allocated to the Federation from the Brazilian government and using
the money for his personal interests.
Nastas has been under fire since March when several top Brazilian pros,
including Kuerten, publicly campaigned against the corruption within his
administration. Chaos and controversy surrounded the federation as Kuerten, a
passionate Davis Cup player throughout his pro career, Flavio Saretta and
Andre Sa led a collection of players who refused to represent Brazil in its
Americas Zone Group I Davis Cup tie against Paraguay April 9-11th in Bahia,
Brazil as a protest against Nastas' administration and the Federation's
failure to develop young players and give current team members a greater
voice in Davis Cup decisions.
"I am doing this because of the disagreements of the team with the
administration of the national Federation. We have been trying to talk to
Nelson (Nastas) for a long time and the results that we were expecting, weren
’t reached. I felt it was time to make something," Kuerten said at the time
of his Davis Cup boycott. "It has been seven years that I won my first French
Open title, I was number one in the world for more than 40 weeks and not much
was done for the sport in our country. But for Brazilian tennis and the
future players, I had to choose this way seeing that the current
administration has made little effort to develop tennis and help the young
players."
Expressing optimism about the Federation's future, the former No. 1 recently
returned to Brazil after undergoing rehab on his right hip in the Pittsburgh.
During his arthroscopic surgery in September, bone spurs blocking Kuerten's
hip movement were removed and the anterior capsule of the hip was tightened
to strengthen the joint’s stability. Dr. Marc Philippon, a member of the
surgical team that conducted the procedure, prescribed a rehab program that
could span four to six months.
Since the surgery, Kuerten has been splitting time between Philippon's
Pittsburgh rehab center and his Florianopolis home. The 40th-ranked Kuerten
said his doctor is pleased with his progress and believes he is currently on
pace to resume practice in January.
"Dr. Marc Philippon is very happy with my development, and he thinks it is
going faster and better than he expected. If everything keeps going well, I
will be practicing in mid January," Kuerten said.
Related Stories: Brazilian Federation President Bounced From Office
Guga Not Rushing Rehab
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