Until then, he had been seen as a journeyman
pro, worthy of a seeding in Grand Slam
events but never likely to still be
in contention at the end of the fortnight.
Injuries have blighted his career since
his Australian triumph, in particular
a knee injury which ruled him out for
the entire 2003 season and meant that
he was unable to defend his title in
Melbourne.
Although it would be unfair to call
his 2002 Grand Slam triumph a fluke,
there is little to suggest that he will
repeat the feat.
However, he is a force on grass with
two of his eight career titles coming
on that surface - back-to-back wins
at Halle and Nottingham in 2001.
And he reached the final at Nottingham
last year, beating Greg Rusedski and
Taylor Dent on the way while he had
the misfortune to come up against Roger
Federer at both Halle and Wimbledon.
A victory over Tim Henman at Queen's
this month suggests the Swede is still
a force on grass.
