Joan Aguilera, the Catalan tennis player who defeated Becker at home, dies.

BarcelonaJoan Aguilera, one of the most outstanding Catalan tennis players of the 1980s, has died in Barcelona at the age of 63, according to his club, CT Barcino. Born in Barcelona in 1962, Aguilera paved the way for the generation of Sánchez Vicario, Jordi Arrese, Carlos Costa, and Sergi Bruguera, excelling on clay. His moment of glory came in 1990, reaching the final of the Hamburg Masters 1000 tournament, when he defeated local icon Boris Becker in three sets (6-1, 6-0, 7-6).

Trained at Club Tennis Barcino, he began to stand out at a very young age, reaching the semifinals of the North American Orange Bowl tournament in 1980, when he was coached by Lluís Bruguera, Sergi Bruguera's father. His strong clay-court play led him to victory in Hamburg in 1984, which allowed him to rise to number 7 in the ATP rankings. He thus became the first Spaniard to win a Masters 1000 tournament, eliminating players such as Frenchman Yannick Noah and Argentine Guillermo Vilas along the way. In the final, he defeated Sweden's Henrik Sundström in five sets. In 1984, he also performed well at Roland Garros, falling in the round of 16 to Sweden's Mats Wilander. Aguilera stood out for his elegance, with a great slice backhand. He was part of that generation that still debuted with wooden rackets, and he underwent many changes during his professional career. Aguilera never played the Australian Open. He played twice in the United States and reached the second round in 1984. At Wimbledon, he never made it past the third round in two appearances. As a clay-court specialist, he played six times at Roland Garros.

Later, injuries and a lack of consistency prevented him from continuing to shine, although he won important tournaments in Nice and again in Hamburg in 1990, defeating Boris Becker in three sets. At that tournament, he defeated players like a young Goran Ivanisevic in the first round, Americans Michael Chand and Jim Courier, and Frenchman Guy Forget. It would be his best tournament, curiously the year in which they were defeated in doubles by Jim Courier and his friend Sergi Bruguera. A member of the Spanish Davis Cup team in the mid-1980s, he devoted himself to training after retiring. He has been hospitalized in recent days due to a serious illness.