Greg Rusedski said he never wanted to play clay-court tennis again after losing to Slava Dosedel in straight sets at Roland Garros in the year 2000.

Put the clock forward 12 months and Rusedski is clearly delighted he went back on that wish.

Rusedski described this 6-4 7-5 6-1 win over Albert Portas as "by far" the best clay court win of his career, "especially after him winning in Hamburg and being number nine in the race".

It was hard to hold out much hope for Rusedski in this match - the big-serving Briton had won just one match on clay all year.

His opponent, meanwhile, had just beaten the likes of Lleyton Hewitt and Juan Carlos Ferrero on his way to that Masters Series title in Hamburg.

"Even though I was down 5-0 in the second set I thought I was dictating the play," said Rusedski.

"And I know he gets a little bit nervous sometimes because I watched him in Hamburg.

"I was very aware he was going to hit a lot of drop shots and I knew that if I got on top of them early it would discourage him.

"I was ready to move for them, and I think it was very important to take that initiative away from him, because once you take that drop shot away from him you can start dominating."

Rusedski has been training in Barcelona on clay courts similar to those in Paris, and he has worked hard on his fitness.

In the match against Portas he was also using a special iced towel to counteract the effects of the heat.

So Rusedski's nightmare 2000, when he failed to win a single title for the first time since 1994, is now just a dark and distant memory.

"Last year was a very difficult year for me - mentally, emotionally and physically," admits Rusedski.

If he can keep showing this sort of application and improvement, who knows what may be possible?