Argentines aim to reclaim lost pride

LONDON, May 24: David Nalbandian and Gaston Gaudio will have more than personal pride at stake when they walk through the gates of Roland Garros next week.

While Gaudio ended 27 years of Argentine frustration by triumphing at the French Open in 2004, the last 12 months have been miserable for Argentine tennis.

Mariano Puerta had hoped to give the South American nation a second success in as many years when he faced Spanish teenager Rafael Nadal in the 2005 Paris final.

Instead of grabbing the headlines with his on-court tactics, Puerta made history for all the wrong reasons.

A urine test he submitted after his four-set loss to Nadal started a course of events which culminated with Puerta receiving a record eight-year ban for a second doping offence.

Argentina has also had to stomach the drug suspensions given to former top-10 player Guillermo Canas last August and Mariano Hood, who also failed his test in the French capital last year.

The drugs stories have overshadowed the playing achievements of Nalbandian and his peers and the country's players are determined to restore national honour with their on-court prowess in Paris.

''I think that I can be one of the guys who is going to fight for the title for sure,'' said world number three Nalbandian, a semi-finalist two seasons ago.

''I am very confident in my game, playing better every time.

I know that I can beat anybody.'' That confidence stems from Nalbandian being one of only two players to have beaten world number one Roger Federer in the past 12 months.

The 24-year-old snapped the Swiss maestro's incredible streak of 24 consecutive final victories last November when he clawed back from two sets down to win the season-ending Masters Cup.

Along with French Open champion Nadal, Nalbandian is one of the few players on the ATP tour who can boast a winning record against Federer.

''As I am the third ranked, I think I can beat them,'' said the Cordoba resident.

''I never played against Nadal but I played against Federer many times and I beat him. So I think I can do it and this is what motivates me.'' While there is no doubting Nalbandian's talent, his weakness lies in his inability to live up to expectations at the four majors. After making a surprise run to the 2002 Wimbledon final on his debut appearance, his best showings have been three semi-finals in 13 subsequent grand slam events.

Gaudio could also gatecrash the Federer-Nadal show but he has been struggling to recapture the form that carried him to the 2004 title.

He has reached just two semi-finals this year and has lost to players such as the 80th-ranked Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo and world number 131 Olivier Patience.

Despite his poor string of results, Gaudio has preserved his place in the top 10 and aims to get through the draw again.

''No one talked about me in the French Open when I won it, I didn't expect to win it, so I hope I can do that again,'' said Gaudio, who became the first player from his country to win the title since Guillermo Vilas in 1977.

If he or any of his compatriots should succeed, they will go some way towards healing Argentina's dented pride.

REUTERS