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Hello Larri: Guga Reunites With Passos
This is great to see. I really miss Guga and want to see him go out at the top in his own terms and not through injuries.
I hope to see Mark vs Guga in many finals in 2007 with Mark winning all the major battles 
Hello Larri: Guga Reunites With Passos
Photo: Fernando Willadino By Tennis Week
10/04/2006
Gustavo Kuerten is reuniting with a pivotal figure from his past in an effort to reclaim his game and tennis future. The three-time Roland Garros champion announced he has resumed working with former coach Larri Passos in his native Brazil.
The pair previously worked together for 15 years — from 1989 to 2005 — enjoying a productive partnership in which Kuerten claimed 20 titles, including the three French Open crowns, the Tennis Masters Cup championship in Lisbon and secured the top spot which he held 43 weeks.
The 30-year-old Kuerten, who had worked with Argentine Hernan Gumy during his 18-month separation from Passos, announced the reunion at a press conference at his fashion store, Guga Kuerten, in his home town of Florianopolis.
"We are starting our journey again, this long time partnership. I felt the need to have the best option to get me back to the top level and the person who knows me better, whom I trust the most and who always made me play tennis happily is Larri," said Kuerten, whose continued recovery from a series of hip surgeries and injuries have limited him to only one ATP tournament this season. "It was good working with Hernan. He was important for me at that time, but I was most of the time injured and I felt the need to change, to get my motivation back."
An extremely loyal person, Kuerten's support team features family members and close friends. Kuerten's mother, Alice, is president of the Gustavo Kuerten Institute. His older brother, Rafael, helps lead his management staff. His father, Aldo, passed away in 1985 while umpiring a junior match and Passos served as a surrogate father figure to Guga.
"We were always talking to each other and he always made it clear that the doors were open for me," Kuerten said of Passos. "After the Davis Cup tie against Sweden I called him, went to his academy — Larri Passos Tenis Pro — and we immediately went to the court. I knew, that if he could fit me in his schedule that he has nowadays, he would do everything he could to see me playing well and happy on court again. I know he can get the best out of me, but I think that this time that we were apart was important for both of us. It was a time of learning and growth."
The charismatic Kuerten, one of tennis' most popular players, underwent his second arthroscopic surgery on his hip on September 21, 2004 at the Center of Sports Medicine in Pittsburgh. Bone spurs blocking Kuerten's hip movement were removed and the anterior capsule of the hip was tightened to strengthen the joint’s stability, however Kuerten has still been hampered by hip problems and rumors have circulated for some time that he will consider calling it quits at the end of this year if he cannot fully regain his health. Injury-induced inactivity has caused Kuerten's rank to fall to No. 1,130 with his lone ATP match a 6-3, 3-6, 4-6 loss to 313th-ranked compatriot Andre Ghem at the Costa Do Sauipe, Brasil event in February. Kuerten was limited to a 6-10 record last season.
Kuerten conceded he does not know when he can return to the ATP Tour on a full-time basis, but plans to continue working with physical therapist, Nilton Petrone, who previously helped soccer stars Ronaldo and Romario return from injury. The former World No. 1 said his body is the best barometer in signaling when he can play again. Reuniting with Passos may well represent his final shot at pursuing his tennis career.
"For me it is a very happy moment to be back with Larri. I am back with him because I want to overcome myself," Kuerten said. "I always went after my goals and I learnt it from Larri. (I am) obstinate and this means the moment of great fight and effort I am going through. My utmost goal is to play the way I used to, to practice the way I used to and when I am ready go to the tour and face the top players. I have not set a date. My body will let me know when I am ready. I believe and I have the right to believe in this inner force that there is inside of me. We are all together here trying to find a way to have this result, to be successful the same way as before. I have to be calm, patient and believe in our work."
Passos, who earlier this year started working with WTA tour player Tamira Paszek, from Austria, who, at 15, recently won her first tour title in Portoroz, said he did not hesitate in answering Guga's call.
"When he called me and said he wanted to talk to me and asked if he could bring his racquets, I knew he wanted to play tennis," Passos said. "We have always had a special relationship and knowing his commitment to tennis, to work hard and give his best, of course I said 'yes.' When you love someone you have no hard feelings, you always want the best for that person."
Passos revealed the pair have already begun practicing together. Passos is en route to Austria where he plans to continue working with Paszek before returning to Brazil in November. While Passos is training Paszek, Kuerten will work with local pros at Passos' academy and consult with his coach over the phone. When the WTA season ends in November, Paszek, Kuerten and Passos will all train at Passos' academy.
"We already practiced for a few days and I am very happy with what I saw, but only him will be able to tell when he is ready," Passos said. "I always believed in him, that he would turn things around, we have to go day by day. Everybody, our team, is working with a good energy to see this happening again. In elections time in Brazil all I can say is that we won the first round off, we were successful and we are gonna try to win the second one."
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"Nothing in life is easy. You have to fight. It is just another set back... One thing I know is that I’m going to take care of it and go again. It’s the only thing that I can do. It’s the only thing I want to do. " - Mark
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