Croatian Mario Ancic announces retirement from tennis
Former world number seven Mario Ancic of Croatia has officially announced that he will be retiring from professional tennis after battling years of illness and injury.
The 26-year-old Ancic will be pursuing a career in law after bidding adieu to tennis.
“I'm forced to quit because nature has decided it's time. My back can't withstand the effort of professional tennis,” stated Ancic. “I'm only 26 but my body said I would not be able to continue on a high level. I was advised to either undergo surgery or
go through a conservative method, but I had no guarantee with either option.”
Ancic added that retirement from the game was one of the toughest decisions he has ever had to make.
In 2002, Ancic defeated the Swiss maestro Roger Federer in the opening round of the Wimbledon Championships after making his grand slam debut. Seeded number seven at the tournament, Federer was beaten 6-3, 7-6 and 6-3 by the Croatian.
Notably known as tennis’ Super Mario, Ancic bagged three Association of Tennis Professionals titles throughout his career apart from being known for winning the decisive point for Croatia in 2005, when the Croatian team won the Davis Cup for the first time.
In 2004, Ancic formed a partnership with compatriot Ivan Ljubicic to win an Olympic Bronze medal in the doubles category. Expressing his sympathy, Ljubicic said that it was the most unfortunate way for a sportsman to retire from the game.
“Together we achieved so much at such early stages of our careers. It was just incredibly unfortunate to kind of finish it that way. I saw him in Zagreb just a couple of weeks ago. We are in touch all the time. I didn't bother asking him too much how he
was, because I knew the answer. It was not good, not good for the last three years,” added Ljubicic.
Mario suffered from a recurring mononucleosis in 2007 and has recently been struggling with back and knee issues.
Furthermore, during the long breaks Ancic took out of tennis, the former professional studied Law at the University of Split and graduated in 2008. Mario also wrote a thesis on the legal workings of the ATP.
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