Guillermo Coria... Gone forever???

M

Milan

Rookie
Is Guillermo Coria gone forever? Every once in a while there is a threat on what racquet he is using (head) and a youtube clip of him practicing, but he has no playing activity for 2009. Is he finished? What a shame, the only guy who could actually go toe to toe with Nadal on Clay. He's beaten him and had some fabulous matches in 05 with Nadal at Monte Carlo and Roma.

Very sad to see him dissapear. I know privately, he split with Carla and supposedly she was with Zabaleta and/or Monaco (rumour). Alsom he has had mental problems since the French Open Match points as well as arm trouble which may or may not exist.

Any thoughts as to whether he will ever be even Top 50 in the world again or is he finished?
 
vbranis

vbranis

Professional
Very sad if he's done...he was a terrific player, fun to watch:cry:

If he would've converted those 2 MP's in the FO final, things sure would be different now.
 
blackfrido

blackfrido

Hall of Fame
wihamilton said:
Did he get suspended for doping? Or am I confusing him w/someone else.
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you are right, that's long ago. Apparently the vitamins he was using had some kind of.......something Coria sue the company last year and got from them couple of millions.
 
wihamilton

wihamilton

Hall of Fame
blackfrido said:
you are right, that's long ago. Apparently the vitamins he was using had some kind of.......something Coria sue the company last year and got from them couple of millions.
Click to expand...

Ah gotcha. Well at least he's got a nest egg if his career is over!
 
M

Milan

Rookie
haha i meant to say THREAD....

anyways... supposedly he received a few million when he sued the company who had illegal substances within their products which he did not know about, but he is allowed to play now and he just can't come back.

He trains and trains supposedly but he doesnt enter any tournaments.

extremely strange story
 
Ripster

Ripster

Hall of Fame
He made a brief comeback last year but ended up flaming out early against players he'd usually beat. The main problem was that he had the yips on the serve and he was throwing in 10-15 double faults a match.

Other than that though he looked great out there. He had Robredo on the ropes at Roland Garros and really outplayed him for most of the match in my opinion.

If he's going to make a comeback it'll probably be sometime during the spring clay court season. I'm really hoping he fixes his serve and gets back to where he was at - he's only 26 I believe.
 
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Fintendo

Fintendo

Semi-Pro
Coria was my favourite player when I was a young kid. I was devastated when he lost to that imposter Gaudio. I really wish he could make a comeback.
 
grafrules

grafrules

Banned
Stick a fork in him. Also it is completely insane to even think of him ever getting back to where he was at, even if you have some fantasies he can make a serious comeback. When he reached his peak in 2003-2005, which still was never good enough to be a top player on anything but clay or to win a French Open, the quality of competition was nothing like it is now. If he got back to his 2003-2005 level he could be a top 20 player and a top 5 player on clay perhaps, that is at max. Of course getting back to his 2003-2005 level isnt even realistic at this point so he couldnt even get to that level of success.
 
Fintendo

Fintendo

Semi-Pro
Ouch, how dare you say that about Willy. He'll be back you'll see, you'll ALL SEE!!! MWAHHHAAAAAAAHHAAAAAHHAAA!!!!!!!!!!
 
Ripster

Ripster

Hall of Fame
grafrules said:
Stick a fork in him. Also it is completely insane to even think of him ever getting back to where he was at, even if you have some fantasies he can make a serious comeback. When he reached his peak in 2003-2005, which still was never good enough to be a top player on anything but clay or to win a French Open, the quality of competition was nothing like it is now. If he got back to his 2003-2005 level he could be a top 20 player and a top 5 player on clay perhaps, that is at max. Of course getting back to his 2003-2005 level isnt even realistic at this point so he couldnt even get to that level of success.
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A fair post. Although in his peak years he did make a couple 4th rounds at the AO, as well as two quarterfinals at the US Open and a final in Miami. Grass wasn't his surface obviously, but he did have some nice results on hard courts.
 
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rallyjunkie

rallyjunkie

Banned
Hope he is not done but he may be. Such a talent. Ever since he faked those cramps to give away set four in the FO final to Gaudio - a gesture of arrogance to show Gaudio that as soon as he got back to business in set five he'd finish the job - but a miracle happened and Gaudio hung tough and pulled it off. Coria knows that was his one and only shot to win a Slam and will be haunted by it every time he picks up a racquet. Nadal emerged the next year and Coria can only regret his strange decision to throw that fourth set to Gaudio. Remember how those cramps suddenly disappeared in the first game of set 5?
 
M

Milan

Rookie
grafrules said:
Stick a fork in him. Also it is completely insane to even think of him ever getting back to where he was at, even if you have some fantasies he can make a serious comeback. When he reached his peak in 2003-2005, which still was never good enough to be a top player on anything but clay or to win a French Open, the quality of competition was nothing like it is now. If he got back to his 2003-2005 level he could be a top 20 player and a top 5 player on clay perhaps, that is at max. Of course getting back to his 2003-2005 level isnt even realistic at this point so he couldnt even get to that level of success.
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I'll give it to you that Coria was a bit of a baby on the court but he was real fun to watch and I thought he was great for Tennis and one of my favorite players.

As for his quality I don't know what this idiot is talking about. Coria was number 3 in the world in 2004 which he was only 21 years old. He beat Fed on Clay, he beat Ancic and Berdych easily on Hardcourt, made finals of Miami in 2004, Quarterfinals of US Open 2 times. How can you say he wasn't a threat besides Clay??? Completely incorrect statement.

Also, the quality wasnt as high or competitive then? Federer, Roddick, Hewitt, Safin, Moya, Henman, Nalbandian were in their prime. Now, it is also very tough but because Nadal and Federer take everything. I think players are always getting better but do not exaggerate. Moya has gotten better since the 90's but so would Coria if he was in the hunt. He would be top 10 for sure.
 
Ronaldo

Ronaldo

Bionic Poster
Was there a rumour Coria's endurance and conditioning were chemically enhanced? He was the King of Clay IMHO.
 
C

Coria

Banned
Guys, I'm right here!!

I'm still working out and see myself beating Rafa in this year's French Final.
 
grafrules

grafrules

Banned
Milan said:
I'll give it to you that Coria was a bit of a baby on the court but he was real fun to watch and I thought he was great for Tennis and one of my favorite players.

As for his quality I don't know what this idiot is talking about. Coria was number 3 in the world in 2004 which he was only 21 years old. He beat Fed on Clay, he beat Ancic and Berdych easily on Hardcourt, made finals of Miami in 2004, Quarterfinals of US Open 2 times. How can you say he wasn't a threat besides Clay??? Completely incorrect statement.

Also, the quality wasnt as high or competitive then? Federer, Roddick, Hewitt, Safin, Moya, Henman, Nalbandian were in their prime. Now, it is also very tough but because Nadal and Federer take everything. I think players are always getting better but do not exaggerate. Moya has gotten better since the 90's but so would Coria if he was in the hunt. He would be top 10 for sure.
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Coria being briefly ranked as high as #3 only proves my point to how the field back then was nowhere near as tough as it is today. He never made a slam semi anywhere but the French Open, nor did he win a Masters title anywhere but the French Open. He only has 2 slam quarters outside of the French, and 1 of those he couldnt even beat Robby Ginepri to make that first non-French Open semifinal. Nor did he ever post a big win on any surface other than clay, and no Berdych and Ancic do not qualify as "big" wins for a top player. By the way Coria never beat Federer on clay even in his prime. Coria is 0-2 lifetime vs Federer on clay, and the matches were in 2004 and 2005. So get your facts in order before calling someone else an idiot.

Henman and Moya were not in their primes in 2004, and even if they were players like that would never rank as high as #5 or #6 in the world amongst todays group of players. The field is far tougher today and that is no exagerration at all. Now you have Federer, Nadal, Murray, Djokovic as the top 4. Back then you had Roddick, the up and down Safin, and Hewitt as the rest of the top 4 outside of Federer. There is no comparision at all. The top 4 then were something like 2-35 vs Federer.

Top 10 for sure!?! Roddick ended last year barely in the top 10 and he is a much better player than prime Coria on every surface except clay.
 
Rhino

Rhino

Legend
ndtennis said:
yea i dont know. seems like guys just cant make that comeback (i.e. Talyor Dent) miss that guy too
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At least Taylor Dent was at the Australian Open. I'd like to see Coria play some tournaments this year and eventually enter Roland Garros.
 
Bretto

Bretto

New User
blackfrido said:
you are right, that's long ago. Apparently the vitamins he was using had some kind of.......something Coria sue the company last year and got from them couple of millions.
Click to expand...

Just go ahead and blame it on the vitamin company, Guillermo.
 
West Coast Ace

West Coast Ace

G.O.A.T.
Bretto said:
Just go ahead and blame it on the vitamin company, Guillermo.
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Said vitamin company did blink in court.

"Bambi, come back!"

I'm surprised people are talking about endurance. His problem is his serve is too weak and unreliable. Maybe someone should start an under 5'8" men's pro tour. He'd rule! :)
 
V

viktorkwan

Rookie
It's a shame that Coria has totally fallen off the radar.....

It's interesting with the comment that Carla has left him for Zabaleta and/or Monaco...

But even if he makes a full comeback, it would be very difficult for him to be in the Top 10 again. Players now are stronger and faster than they were back in his heyday.

Chances are he'll always do better at clay court tournaments, and we all know the chances of him winning those against the currenct crop of clay players are very low.

Thanks for the memories....for making a total clown of himself during the Davis Cup tie between Argentina and Australia back in 2005 I think, and for the unbelievable tight armour-looking ridiculous Adidas top that he wore a few years back...
 
King of Aces

King of Aces

Banned
Milan said:
Is Guillermo Coria gone forever? Every once in a while there is a threat on what racquet he is using (head) and a youtube clip of him practicing, but he has no playing activity for 2009. Is he finished? What a shame, the only guy who could actually go toe to toe with Nadal on Clay. He's beaten him and had some fabulous matches in 05 with Nadal at Monte Carlo and Roma.

Very sad to see him dissapear. I know privately, he split with Carla and supposedly she was with Zabaleta and/or Monaco (rumour). Alsom he has had mental problems since the French Open Match points as well as arm trouble which may or may not exist.

Any thoughts as to whether he will ever be even Top 50 in the world again or is he finished?
Click to expand...

They say Nadal destroyed his career. Once Coria got beaten by Rafa he then lost his will to win anymore.
 
grafrules

grafrules

Banned
For Coria losing the 2004 French Open final may well have been the pivotal point that set his emotional state and career on a permanent downward trajectory. However Nadal's emergence and eclipsing him as the Worlds top clay courter immediately in 2005 the year after that crushing dissapointment was almost certainly the icing on the cake. The two combined made him realize ever then he almost certainly missed his only shot in that 04 final and the pain and emotional turmoil of that realization probably proved too much.
 
Ripster

Ripster

Hall of Fame
viktorkwan said:
It's a shame that Coria has totally fallen off the radar.....

It's interesting with the comment that Carla has left him for Zabaleta and/or Monaco...

But even if he makes a full comeback, it would be very difficult for him to be in the Top 10 again. Players now are stronger and faster than they were back in his heyday.

Chances are he'll always do better at clay court tournaments, and we all know the chances of him winning those against the currenct crop of clay players are very low.

Thanks for the memories....for making a total clown of himself during the Davis Cup tie between Argentina and Australia back in 2005 I think, and for the unbelievable tight armour-looking ridiculous Adidas top that he wore a few years back...
Click to expand...

The current crop of clay court players in my opinion is not very impressive. Aside from Nadal I don't see anyone really threatening 2003-2005 Coria. Assuming he were to get back to that form of course and I think if he were able to cut down on the double faults and just get his serve in that tiny little box he'd be on the right track.
 
thalivest

thalivest

Banned
Ripster said:
The current crop of clay court players in my opinion is not very impressive. Aside from Nadal I don't see anyone really threatening 2003-2005 Coria. Assuming he were to get back to that form of course and I think if he were able to cut down on the double faults and just get his serve in that tiny little box he'd be on the right track.
Click to expand...

Reality check. Federer was 2-0 vs Coria on clay even back in his prime of 2003-2005. Davydenko who is still a top 5 player beat Coria at the 2005 French Open when he wasnt even close to the player he is now. There are many current players who would be a big threat to even 2003-2005 Coria on clay, and 2009 Nadal would not merely threaten him but most times maul the 2003-2005 Coria on clay. Nadal makes the current clay court field look weak by his dominance, like Federer did for many years on other surfaces. You obviously have a grossly inflated opinion of Coria like you do all your other favorites (eg- Djokovic, Kuznetsova). No surprise there. For the record even your beloved Djokovic would probably take the 2003-2005 Coria on clay.

If you want to talk about a weak clay court field Coria couldnt even win the French in an insanely weak clay court field in 2003 and 2004 since he couldnt beat players like Martin Verkerk and Gaston Gaudio.
 
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thalivest

thalivest

Banned
Milan said:
What a shame, the only guy who could actually go toe to toe with Nadal on Clay. He's beaten him and had some fabulous matches in 05 with Nadal at Monte Carlo and Roma.
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Coria's only win over Nadal on clay was in 2003 which is completely irrelevant. He couldnt even beat him in 2 attempts in 2005 when Nadal was only starting to emerge and still nowhere near the player he has been in 2008-2009. The Monte Carlo match wasnt fabulous, most of Federer's 4 set final losses to Nadal on clay were closer than that and I hardly hear anyone calling them fabulous. The Roma match was great, but Federer came even closer to beating an improved Nadal in the same final one year later. The reality is Federer is even a better clay courter than prime Coria and he is no rival to Nadal on clay. Coria was never someone good enough to go toe to toe with prime Nadal on clay.

Any thoughts as to whether he will ever be even Top 50 in the world again or is he finished?
Click to expand...

Stick a fork in him. He is done.
 
anointedone

anointedone

Banned
viktorkwan said:
It's a shame that Coria has totally fallen off the radar.....

It's interesting with the comment that Carla has left him for Zabaleta and/or Monaco...

But even if he makes a full comeback, it would be very difficult for him to be in the Top 10 again. Players now are stronger and faster than they were back in his heyday.

Chances are he'll always do better at clay court tournaments, and we all know the chances of him winning those against the currenct crop of clay players are very low.

Thanks for the memories....for making a total clown of himself during the Davis Cup tie between Argentina and Australia back in 2005 I think, and for the unbelievable tight armour-looking ridiculous Adidas top that he wore a few years back...
Click to expand...

I agree with all you said. At his 2003-2005 level he might make some quarterfinals of the big clay court events with some decent draws, that is it, and lose early rounds everywhere else. Overall that would put him as a top 30 player I guess. That is even in the very unlikely event he ever could return to his 2003-2005 form or even close to it which seems nil.

There is no point of him even thinking of returning at this point. His time has passed, and best to move on with his life.
 
P

PERL

Guest
anointedone said:
At his 2003-2005 level he might make some quarterfinals of the big clay court events with some decent draws, that is it, and lose early rounds everywhere else. Overall that would put him as a top 30 player I guess. That is even in the very unlikely event he ever could return to his 2003-2005 form or even close to it which seems nil.
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You could say that of a player like Robredo (QF at RG in ’05 and ’07, 4th round in ‘06). Coria was better than that. He used to dismantle Robredo. Outside of Nadal and Fed, he could have beaten anyone on clay, including Monfils or Almagro last year. Look at his h2h against guys like Gonzalez or Ferrer as well.
 
anointedone

anointedone

Banned
PERL said:
You could say that of a player like Robredo (QF at RG in ’05 and ’07, 4th round in ‘06). Coria was better than that. He used to dismantle Robredo. Outside of Nadal and Fed, he could have beaten anyone on clay, including Monfils or Almagro last year. Look at his h2h against guys like Gonzalez or Ferrer as well.
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Robredo is not making hardly any big clay court event quarterfinals anymore. Last year he lost in the round of 32 or round of 16 of 3 of the 4. He has only been in the quarters or better in 6 of the 16 over the last 4 years so he fails to reach that round less often than he does. In Coria's cases I meant he would average around that round, which is alot better than Robredo is doing and has done. Out of todays players on clay, Robredo would clearly be behind Nadal, Federer, Djokovic, Davydenko, Ferrer, Almagro, Nalbandian, and probably several others so he isnt even close to one of the best of todays field on clay. Coria would be higher up than Robredo of course but he would never beat Nadal, hardly ever beat Federer, and split alot of the meetings with those others I mentioned, probably quite often losing to Djokovic and Davydenko especialy though.

Monfils the headcase made the semis of the French Open since he was playing out of his mind at last years French Open, or perhaps more to the point kept his head screwed on for once to exploit his talents. Playing like he did there he would most likely have beaten a prime Coria at last years French too. He is even quicker than Coria, and Coria doesnt have the power to hit him through him so Coria would be pretty much screwed. After all Verkerk and a pre-prime Davydenko were able to beat prime Coria at the French as thalivest mentioned. Almagro vs Coria on clay? I dont know, Almagro is a headcase so the results would probably be mixed with Coria winning often but Almagro winning on his "zone" days.

Ferrer was not nearly as good a player in 2005 when he last played Coria as he has been the last 2 years. Gonzalez is much more a hard court player than a clay courter even though he has the odd good result on clay, so I wouldnt dispute prime Coria beating him most times but Gonzalez is an even more occasional quarterfinals than Robredo.
 
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P

PERL

Guest
anointedone said:
Robredo is not making hardly any big clay court event quarterfinals anymore. Last year he lost in the round of 32 or round of 16 of 3 of the 4. He has only been in the quarters or better in 6 of the 16 over the last 4 years so he fails to reach that round less often than he does. In Coria's cases I meant he would average around that round, which is alot better than Robredo is doing and has done. Out of todays players on clay, Robredo would clearly be behind Nadal, Federer, Djokovic, Davydenko, Ferrer, Almagro, Nalbandian, and probably several others so he isnt even close to one of the best of todays field on clay. Coria would be higher up than Robredo of course but he would never beat Nadal, hardly ever beat Federer, and split alot of the meetings with those others I mentioned, probably quite often losing to Djokovic and Davydenko especialy though.

Monfils the headcase made the semis of the French Open since he was playing out of his mind at last years French Open, or perhaps more to the point kept his head screwed on for once to exploit his talents. Playing like he did there he would most likely have beaten a prime Coria at last years French too. He is even quicker than Coria, and Coria doesnt have the power to hit him through him so Coria would be pretty much screwed. After all Verkerk and a pre-prime Davydenko were able to beat prime Coria at the French as thalivest mentioned. Almagro vs Coria on clay? I dont know, Almagro is a headcase so the results would probably be mixed with Coria winning often but Almagro winning on his "zone" days.

Ferrer was not nearly as good a player in 2005 when he last played Coria as he has been the last 2 years. Gonzalez is much more a hard court player than a clay courter even though he has the odd good result on clay, so I wouldnt dispute prime Coria beating him most times but Gonzalez is an even more occasional quarterfinals than Robredo.
Click to expand...

I was picking Robredo for a range of a few years, not only the last year when he slightly but surely dropped. He was stable for a good period of time. Robredo is top 30 at this point and this is the rank you would attribute to Coria in your first message. So overall I thought it was a good comparison. Maybe Coria would be ranked even lower now because his game required a lot of stamina and fitness. But at his best, he would definitely be ranked higher than that and we agree in fact.
Ferrer peaked in 2007 especially due to better hardcourts results and lost in the 3rd round at RG that year. He was a quarterfinalist in ’05 (5 sets win over Gaudio) and ’08. His overall results on clay are not that better today or the last two years, maybe slightly better. Anyway he was a better player overall in 2007 than in ‘05, more precisely he was the same player with better self belief I think.
Coria could not overpower anyone on the tour. He relied on speed but also hands, touch and angles. Monfils is about clueless in terms of touch and very average in terms of strategy. One thing is for sure : it would have been a spectacular cross country race as well as a tennis match. I’d pick Coria.
By the way Coria has beaten Gonzalez (the archetypal power player) on hardcourts everytime they met. Just to say that if he was a top player on clay, he was also good enough on hard, reaching the quarters at the USO without a serve tells something about his skills.
I’m not even a fan of Coria but time passing, we tend to underrate or forget what players have accomplished and overrate today’s field. Don’t get me wrong, the sport and the players will always be improving but not that dramatically. Coria had two shots to win RG : Verkerk was a fluke but nearly unstoppable, an unidentified flying object until he crumbles under pressure in the final. And then Gaudio well we all know… It’s called destiny I guess. A master without a throne. And of course we won’t see much more from him.
 
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Jimmyk459

Jimmyk459

Rookie
Hey guys... I just found this article on him. It talks about this upcoming season. Here it is:
 
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nickynu

nickynu

Semi-Pro
Wow reading through this thread it seems there is some real ignorance being displayed about how good Coria was. Anybody who doubts it get the tapes fro the Clay masters series finals. Some of the points Vs Nadal will take your breath away. I can remember I was stringing a racket whilst it was on live and it took 3 hours to string as I could hardly take my eyes off it.

Credit where its due guys he was an absolute sensation, and to acheive what he did with that serve makes his all round game even better.
 
navratilovafan

navratilovafan

Banned
Coria never impressed me that much. He really lucked out to peak at the right time and still wasnt able to win a French Open. He became the best clay courter in 2004 only because of Ferrero's illness, Ferrero from 2001-2003 was far better than Coria from 2003-2005 and when they played in 2003 on clay at Ferrero's peak Coria was overwhelmed by Ferrero's much bigger game. So a healthy Ferrero and Coria never takes over that role. Also Kuerten would have still been at his peak until atleast 2004, maybe 2005 on clay had it not been for his hip surgery. So without the unexpected health problems of Ferrero and Kuerten, Coria is #3 at best on clay in 2004. Yet even with such a weak field with no great clay courters at their peak Coria still couldnt win the biggest clay court event out there.

Of course in 2005 Nadal came, Federer became more consistent on clay, and it was all over for good for Coria. I think he lost his game mostly due to a broken spirit coming to the realization that guys better than him on clay were emerging, and one on a whole different plane from him in Nadal, and the fun was over, and that his one big shot he would ever have he had already blown in that 2004 final. Coria was only briefly the worlds top clay courter (and still far from a dominant one even that year) since that was the year after Ferrero went down for good with illness and before Nadal's emergence on the surface.
 
Ronaldo

Ronaldo

Bionic Poster
Seems amazing that Rafa has held up so well when his predecessors fell to injury or the yips, eh?
 
Ripster

Ripster

Hall of Fame
thalivest said:
Reality check. Federer was 2-0 vs Coria on clay even back in his prime of 2003-2005. Davydenko who is still a top 5 player beat Coria at the 2005 French Open when he wasnt even close to the player he is now. There are many current players who would be a big threat to even 2003-2005 Coria on clay, and 2009 Nadal would not merely threaten him but most times maul the 2003-2005 Coria on clay. Nadal makes the current clay court field look weak by his dominance, like Federer did for many years on other surfaces. You obviously have a grossly inflated opinion of Coria like you do all your other favorites (eg- Djokovic, Kuznetsova). No surprise there. For the record even your beloved Djokovic would probably take the 2003-2005 Coria on clay.

If you want to talk about a weak clay court field Coria couldnt even win the French in an insanely weak clay court field in 2003 and 2004 since he couldnt beat players like Martin Verkerk and Gaston Gaudio.
Click to expand...

I never said I was a fan of Kuznetsova. I said she was talented and had a terrible record in finals.

Did you watch any of the '05 Coria/Nadal matches? Nadal had two tight wins over Coria 6-3, 6-1, 0-6, 7-5 in Monte Carlo and 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 in Rome. I highly doubt he would get mauled by Nadal if they both played in their prime today.

You're discrediting a great clay court player.
 
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