Players retiring in 2012: Fernando Gonzalez – Tennis Special (Part – II)
Not a lot of players belong to the South American region in the elite category of tennis. However, there was one athlete, who rocked the world by cruising along smoothly up to the Top-5 players list. He was Fernando Gonzalez of
Chile; remembered for his memorable show at the Beijing Olympics where he reached the final of the event and ended up with a silver medal. He was also the flag bearer for his country in 2008 edition of the Olympics.
Gonzalez was the fourth man in the history of tennis to win an Olympics medal in singles as well as doubles category. He clinched the Gold and Bronze Medal in doubles and singles category respectively during the 2004 Athens Olympics.
The Chilean tennis ace was unmatchable with the quickness of his forehand returns. Hence, he was known as "El Bombardero de La Reina" (The La Reina Bomber) and “Mano de Piedra” (Stone Hand). In his entire career, he smothered away
number of former world number one players at his will. The list includes some big names like Lleyton Hewitt, Andre Agassi, Roger Federer (all while they held the top spot), Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Andy Roddick, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Carlos Moyà, Gustavo
Kuerten, Marat Safin, and Pete Sampras.
However, the past couple of years were extremely terrible for Gonzalez who suffered several injuries and played just 20 matches in two calendar years. At the age of 32, he decided to say farewell to the world of tennis. The last
event he played was the Sony Ericsson Open at Miami where he was dumped in the opening round by Nicolas Mahut of France.
Former world number five clasped 11 Association of Tennis Professionals trophies in his entire career. He ended a sublime run at the final of the Australian Open in 2007 where he stooped to the 17-time Grand Slam Champion, Roger
Federer. However, the charismatic show at the Rod Laver Arena allowed him to break into the Top-5 players list on 29th January 2007. He qualified for two editions of Barclays Association of Tennis Professionals World Tour Finals and stayed runners-up
in a couple of Masters Series tournaments as well.
The Association of Tennis Professionals Executive Chairman & President Brad Drewett said, “Fernando has been one of the most exciting and charismatic players on the ATP World Tour over the last decade. He is a wonderful person
off the court and popular with everyone involved in the sport, including his fellow players, tournaments and all of us at the ATP.”
He is arguably the best Chilean professional of the 21st century. No one from that region has been able to match the record set up by the Olympics Medallist to date. It was the right time for him to quit tennis because
his ranking lingered beyond the mark of Top-500 players and his fitness level stooped below the desired state. He was struggling to keep pace with the increasing competition and it was the right decision to make especially with his age bracket crossing the
third decade.
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