2 Responses to mexico00chela_puerta

1. Voo de Mar says:

   April 5, 2025 at 12:27 pm

   Points won by each set: | 31-30, 47-46 |
   Points won directly behind the serve:
   30 % Chela – 29 of 95
   25 % Puerta – 15 of 59

   Between early 70s and early 90s, Argentinian tennis fans had regular reasons to be happy; after the great Vilas and a very good Clerc, there were players who seemed to have a potential to enjoy careers at least at Clerc’s level (Jaite, Perez-Roldan, Mancini)… then came a big crisis in the mid 90s when # the best new Argentinian player was Hernan Gumy [highest rank no. 39]. The end of the 90s restored the strength of the Argentinian tennis. Puerta belonged to the most successful South American players (born in the second half of the 70s) in the first year of the new millennium. His final against Chela it was the 11th all-Argentinian main-level final of the Open Era (the first eight between Vilas and Clerc), the tenth was also co-created by Puerta as he defeated Squillari in Palermo ’98. Before the Mexican Open, Chela [129, qualifier] was rather anonymous in the Western world except South America because he had played 28 Challenger events (the vast majority on that continent) collecting two titles (in Ecuador and Peru)… His shocking victory in the second round over the former (future) French Open champion it was a huge boost of confidence. The two-set final was very tight: Puerta [128] led 4:3* in the 1st set, between 4:3 and the tie-break of the 2nd set he had his chances to break in three successive games, leading 40/15, 40/0 and 30/0 respectively. Chela fought off six set points in total (each of them quickly), and finished the contest with two service winners. Chela was the tallest among the new wave of Argentinian players, he possessed the biggest serve and the most aggressive ground-strokes which made him a similarly dangerous player on clay- and hardcourts. He didn’t fulfil his potential though, finished his career as a strong candidate to the title “the best player to never participate in a big semifinal” (3 major quarterfinals, 8 Masters 1K quarterfinals).

   Chela’s route to his maiden title (4th main-level event):
   [ S.Prieto 4-6, 6-1, 6-1; Lisnard 6-4, 6-1 ]
   1 Byron Black 6-2, 6-3
   2 Gustavo Kuerten 3-6, 7-6(8), 6-4 – 2 m.p.
   Q Markus Hantschk 6-3, 7-6(3)
   S Stefan Koubek 7-6(2), 6-3
   W Mariano Puerta 6-4, 7-6(4)

   Serve & volley: Chela 0/1, Puerta 0

   …before Mexico City, Chela hadn’t won a main-level match (first round ’99 defeats in Kitzbuhel, San Marino, Washington).

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2. Voo de Mar says:

   April 5, 2025 at 1:01 pm

   # Comparison of Argentinians in the Top 100 of the ATP ranking in the end of three different years:

   1990
   14 – Perez-Roldan, 35 – Davin, 36 – Jaite, 63 – De la Pena
   …127 – Mancini (no. 9 in 1989)

   1995
   58 – Frana, 62 – Gumy

   2000
   14 – Squillari, 21 – Puerta, 34 – Gaudio, 61 – Zabaleta, 62 – Calleri, 63 – Chela, 88 – Canas

   Even though the 22-year-old Puerta and one year younger Chela were ranking neighbours [128 vs 129] at the time of their final,
   they were at different stages of their careers – Puerta was beginning his third season as a regular ATP player
   while for the “freshman” Chela that triumph in Mexico meant he’d enjoy the ATP status for the rest of the year
   (he played two more Challengers that season anyway)

   They both were banned for taking illegal substances: Chela for three months in 2001, Puerta for nine months in 2003

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