The
former second-ranked Norman suffered a 6-1, 7-6 setback to Chile's Nicolas
Massu in the opening round of the $400,000 Vin del Mar tournament in Chile
on Monday. It was Norman's first match since Lleyton Hewitt beat him 6-4,
6-1 in the opening-round of the Tennis Masters-Cincinnati tournament on
August 7th.
Warned
by doctors he might never play again, Norman is intent on returning to the
top of tennis and has his sights set on winning Roland Garros, where he
reached the finals in 2000 before falling to Gustavo Kuerten 2-6, 3-6,
6-2, 6-7 (6-8).
"For
the past six months my goal has simply been to come back and play tennis
again," Norman said. "Now that my hip is fine, my goal is the
same as it has always been — to win Roland Garros."
A
first-round casualty at the French Open last year, Norman won his last
title in October of 2000 when he beat Sjeng Schalken in the Shanghai final
6-4, 4-6, 6-3. In his return to tennis, Norman knows he has to lose in
order to win.
"Obviously
I have to work on a few things before then — I'm not moving as fast and
I have to lose some weight — but my hip is fine," said Norman,
former Australian Open semifinalist, who watched on television when
compatriot Thomas Johansson captured the Australian Open title last month.
"I was very happy to see Thomas (Johansson) win the Australian Open,
and I hope that I can get back up there and win a major too."
Source: TennisWeek.com
