Carlos Moya retires from tennis
Former world No. 1 Carlos Moya has bowed to the inevitable, retiring from tennis after spending much of the past two seasons battling injury.
Moya will play his final event in Seville in December, with a long-term foot injury leading to his decision to call it quits.
The 34-year-old is currently ranked as the world No. 519 after managing to play just six tournaments in 2010, including the Australian Open where he was defeated by 119th ranked Illya Marchenko in the first round.
In the end, Moya won just two of the seven matches he played this season, the last win of his career a scratchy 7-6 (9-7), 7-6 (7-5) win over American qualifier Tim Smyczek at Indian Wells in which in excess of 50 unforced errors flowed from his racquet. He was forced to withdraw from his second round clash against Thomaz Bellucci with foot problems.
The injury was just another fitness worry for the Spaniard, who had spent much of 2009 on the sidelines recovering from hamstring and foot injuries.
Moya would ultimately play only one more match on the ATP Tour, a disappointing 0-6, 2-6 loss to then world No. 46 Benjamin Becker in the opening round of the Madrid Masters in May, a result that is a far cry from Moya’s halcyon days at the end of the 1990s.
Back then, Moya claimed the sole Grand Slam title of his career, defeating then 14th ranked Alex Corretja in straight sets in the 1998 Roland Garros final with his destructive forehand doing the damage. He would rise to the world’s top ranking on March 15th 1999, spending just two weeks in the position before Pete Sampras reclaimed the world No. 1 ranking he’d lost just a fortnight earlier.
Moya also finished as runner-up to Sampras at the 1997 Australian Open and was also a part of Spain’s 2004 Davis cup winning team that defeated the USA in the final, winning vital singles rubbers against Andy Roddick and Mardy Fish.
He ends his career having won a total of 20 singles titles including three Masters crowns. His most recent title was won on the clay courts of Umag in 2007.
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