Blanco: From beating Sampras to producing champs

CHENNAI: Paris has been largely forgettable for Pete Sampras. The 14-time Grand Slam champion's 2001 trip probably figures high on the list of French Open memories that he would like to efface. The then 24 year-old Galo Blanco, one of the lesser Spanish lights who had gained notoriety after his shock win over Pat Rafter in the opening round of the 2000 US Open, sent Sampras whimpering out in the second round in just about two hours. While one would like to assume that broaching the idea of recounting the fleeting moments of glory would be met with a sunny smile followed by a mellifluous narration, Blanco who's currently accompanying his 19 year-old Russian ward Karen Khachanov for Chennai Open to the city, chooses to be anything but predictable. "I'm a coach now, no longer a player. It was really long time ago and I remember very little of it. Sampras is obviously one of the greatest players in tennis history and I was more than glad to have won against him," he says. While Blanco may not be of the Carlos Moya or Juan Carlos Ferrero stripe, he could well boast of having played coach to two of the current top-20 players – Milos Raonic and Feliciano Lopez. Raonic, who begun his meteoric rise in the rankings under Blanco's tutelage, split with him in 2013. "All relationships do come to an end at some point. So after our three-year association both of us felt that it was in our best interests to part ways. He's doing well on the tour and I'm happy for him." Sporting a grey tee that screams 'Every damn court' in bold blue letters, Blanco, who had famously refused to shake Petr Korda's hand after the latter, who was then at the heart of a drug controversy, scored a dramatic five-set win over him at the 1999 Australian Open, keeps more than a watchful eye on the No 152-ranked Khachanov through the length of the one hour practice session here. Dismissive of suggestions over Rafael Nadal hiring a 'high-profile' coach, Blanco says, "I don't think hiring a former Grand Slam champion would translate into better results for him." Siding in favour of women coaches on the men's tour Blanco opts to cite the Scot world No 2 as a case in point, "(Amelie) Mauresmo is with (Andy) Murray and he's been doing well." Attributing the dominant Spanish presence on the tour to 'hard work', Blanco chooses not to dwell on the country's recent barren run at the Davis Cup, breaking the success of the country down to numbers. "For the last few years, our best players haven't been playing the Davis Cup. But look at the number of players that we have in the top 100. That says everything."