Brazil's three-times French Open champion and former world number one Gustavo Kuerten said on Tuesday he would retire this year.

"This will be my last year, these last years have been difficult for me," he said in an interview with Brazilian television station Globo, adding that he wants to play a few farewell tournaments.

The 31-year-old, by far the most successful men's player the country has produced, has lost form since undergoing hip operations in 2002 and 2004 and has also been plagued by muscular problems.

He played only 12 games last year, winning four, and has dropped to 679th in the rankings.

"This will be my last chance to play in a few more special tournaments and try and relive some of those great moments," he said.

Kuerten later told a news conference that he had never regained full fitness.

"I was never able to play on equal terms," he said. "I'm going to have to live with this pain until the end of my life.

"I always wanted to plan the end of my career and I'd been toying with the idea for a while. I tried to prolong my participation for as long as possible."

Born in Florianopolis in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina, Kuerten shot to prominence in 1997 when he won the French Open as an unknown 20-year-old.

Guga, as he was nicknamed, went on to win 20 ATP tournaments including the French Open again in 2000 and 2001. He also finished 2000 at the top of the ATP rankings.

He enjoyed his finest spell in 2001, winning six tournaments, but the decline began in 2002 after his first hip operation.

In 2004, he led Brazil's top players in a boycott of the Davis Cup team in protest against the leadership of the Brazilian Tennis Confederation.

He underwent a second hip operation in September of that year and in 2005 split with his coach Larri Passos, ending a partnership that had lasted 15 years.

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