Australian Open 1998

It was a reminiscence of Roland Garros 1990 when 30-year-old Andres Gomez, known for many years as one of the best players, unexpectedly won a major title. Eight years later in Melbourne, Petr Korda [7] was 30-year-old too, he had been playing tennis of his life since Autumn 1997 and in the Aussie Open final he overwhelmed a big favorite – Marcelo Rios. The gifted Chilean a few months later became the No. 1 in the world, and up to this day he’s been the only player who was at the top of the tennis pyramid not having a title under his belt in the end of career. The future (1999) champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov withdrew as well as ’92 semifinalist Richard Krajicek and two-time former champion (1992-93) Jim Courier. The defending champion Pete Sampras came to Melbourne after two months without a training (left ankle injury), and paid for it in the quarterfinals. Read more
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