Tuesday, January 29, 2008

CORIA AND GAUDIO

Four years ago, back in the days before Rafael Nadal came to regard the red clay of Roland Garros as his own personal playpen, Guillermo Coria came within a point of winning the Roland Garros championship before bowing to Gaston Gaudio in an all-Argentine final.

Times have changed and today both Coria and the 183rd-ranked Gaudio, both at different stages of the comeback trail, skidded out of the Vina del Mar tournament on red clay.

Playing his first tournament in nearly 18 months after a lengthy layoff due to shoulder surgery, back problems and a confidence crisis, Coria returned to the site of his first career tournament title and lost to 11th-ranked Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.

While Coria was at least competitive in his comeback bid, Gaudio was humbled by Spain's Santiago Ventura, 6-3, 6-0.

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