Gaston Gaudio's 2004 Roland Garros triumph, 20 years on

The daily routine that had earned him a place in the biggest match of his career was suddenly under threat. Gastón Gaudio, then the No. 44 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, had beaten his compatriot David Nalbandian in the 2004 Roland Garros semi-finals. The Argentine then had a taste of life in the spotlight, as did his team, which was led by coach Franco Davín.

“More than 20 people, family and friends, were going to come and we had a discussion with Gastón. The idea was that nobody should come because that would take us out of the limelight,” Davín recalled in a conversation with ATPTour.com. “We thought it was important to maintain the peace and quiet he had been enjoying so that he felt confident before such an important match.”

Was his dream of playing in a Grand Slam final at his favourite tournament about to come true without his parents and brother and sister in the stands? Would none of the people who had always supported him be there as he bid for Argentina’s biggest tennis title in 25 years?

“For example, in terms of dinner, if everyone came then we’d have to reserve for more people and that could mean the food came out late or that we wouldn’t be able to eat where we wanted,” Davin said. “And those details, which can seem so small, distract you in matches as important as the one Gastón was about to play. It was better to maintain the same structure.”

They were already feeling overwhelmed with the amount of attention Gaudio had received since becoming Guillermo Coria’s opponent in the final of the tournament. Davín remembers a scrum of at least 50 journalists outside his accommodation, the Hotel California, waiting for the surprise Grand Slam final debutant.

“In the days before, we were used to not having anyone at the hotel. But after he won the semi-final it was all very stressful,” explained Davín, who was accompanied at the event by fitness coach Federico Aguírrez and a friend of Gaudio’s. “There was so much commotion and noise. Gastón found that difficult emotionally.”

Their days in Paris had already endured too many changes – they were now packed with interviews and more attention than they had ever had to deal with in their lives – to welcome more people to the party for the final. So they decided to ask family and friends not to travel, to isolate and to stick with the habits that had gotten them so far.

Their routine included everything from playing backgammon in their free time and during bouts of insomnia to listening to U2 before every match – particularly ‘Where the Streets Have No Name’. “They would play the U2 songs before going on court,” Davin recalled.

Not to mention the dinners every night at ‘Le Carpaccio’, where they would order penne all’arrabbiata or pizza with a fried egg in the middle; the quiet strolls around Paris to combat nerves; or the hours of time spent in the tournament locker rooms, where Gaudio spent most of his time watching TV.

Even with their routines from the previous 15 days, it was difficult for Gaudio to control his nerves before the final.

“Coria looked unbeatable. He was a very hot favourite before the tournament and Gaudio wasn’t,” Davin said. “That often plays on your mind when you’re going to play a match like that. Also, Coria won an impeccable first set, with no mistakes.”

Coria, at 22 years of age, looked destined to become the first Argentine since Guillermo Vilas in 1977 to win Roland Garros. Apart from being the World No. 3, he was a semi-finalist at the tournament the previous year (l. to Verkerk). Gaudio, then 25, had never even played in a Grand Slam quarter-final before that event, where he even had to go through qualifying. The difference in context between the two players provided good reason for the 2-0 set lead Coria took in that year’s final in Paris.

But Gaudio, who was trying to win his third tour-level title and his first since Mallorca in 2002, was not about to give up the ghost.

“He was a player with a lot of character, a lot of self-belief, and he managed to turn that match around. Losing it would still have been a great tournament,” Davin said. “He could have settled for that, but he didn’t and he rescued it. Also, the next year he won five tournaments, played in the Masters [Nitto ATP Finals], was the World No. 5 and proved that what happened at Roland Garros was no fluke.”

That Sunday 6 June 2024, his understudy forced a deciding set in which he went from 1-3 down to 4-4 and had to defend two match points on Coria’s serve at 5-6. Gaudio soaked up the pressure. After three hours and 31 minutes, he had won 0-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, 8-6. He launched his racquet into the air and it landed in one of the boxes. The Argentine looked at his team emotionally in the stands and ran to embrace them. Moments later, he hoisted the biggest trophy of his career.

“Mum, dad, I love you!” Gaudio said at the trophy ceremony, before his speech was interrupted by tears. “They’re not here because I told them not to come just in case, but they’re in my heart. I love them.”

Protecting his routines and isolating himself, despite missing his loved ones at the time of his biggest achievement as a tennis player, paid dividends. There was nothing missing from the celebrations though. His coach Franco, his fitness coach and his friend Martín celebrated the result as if it were their own.

“It was a very special match for Gastón, of course, but also for me. Each game tells a different story,” Davin said. “I still have a great relationship with Gastón. It’s not necessary for the anniversary of the match to arrive for us to remember it.”

Did you know?

To date, only nine players outside of the Big Four (Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray) have won at least one Grand Slam title since 2004. Two of them are Argentine — Gastón Gaudio (2004 French Open) and Juan Martín del Potro (2009 US Open) — and they were both coached by Franco Davín.