Juan Ignacio Chela retires at the age of 33 – Tennis News
Juan Ignacio Chela has said goodbye to the world of tennis at the age of 33. The Argentine veteran won three ATP doubles titles and grabbed half a dozen of singles trophies in his entire career that started way back in 1998.
The peak for the 176th ranked Argentine was witnessed in 2004 when he was amongst the Top-15 players of the world but couldn’t extend the good run further to break into the elite Top-10 category; ended the career at a highest ranking of 15.
He only played 18 matches in the current season and lost a dozen of them whilst grabbing just six wins. It was high time for the aging Argentine to say goodbye to professional tennis because the fear of recurring injuries was increasing every day. He was
the fourth seed contestant at the Heineken Open at Auckland but could not beat a French qualifier in the opening round. Moreover, the two wins at the Australian Open came against the inferior ranked players.
Chela took part in the VTR Open as the second seed player and reached the semi-final of the contest before being hammered away by the inferior seeded compatriot, Carlos Berlocq. After a win in Acapulco, Chela failed to register a single victory in BNP Paribas
Open (Indian Wells), Sony Ericsson Open (Miami), Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, Italian Open, the Roland Garros French Open and the Wimbledon Championships. It makes seven tournaments in a row without a single triumph which was a massive signal for the Argentine
veteran to gift away his spot to someone else who deserves it more.
The best record for Chela came in the year 2001 when he registered 62 wins and came across just 15 losses in the entire season. In the following season, the 33-year-old Argentine captured 50 victims and lost 29 matches. The downturn continued until the end
of 2006 when the record reached 30-27.
However, the 176th ranked Argentine picked up momentum in the following year and gathered 40-25 record; coupled it up with a 49-23 win-loss in 2009. He was an asset who had depreciated completely towards the end of the current season; possible a future nominee
for the Hall of Fame award.
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