Players retiring in 2012: Rainer Schuettler – Tennis Special (Part – IV)
Rainer Schuettler, another former world number five, said goodbye to the world of tennis on 11th October, 2012. He also holds a very fascinating story that was written in the year 2003. The German professional was the
most prolific of the performers at the Australian Open 2003.
He displayed some of his best tennis skills in those two magical weeks to reach the grand finale of the event at the Rod Laver Arena where he went face-to-face against the former world number one, Andre Agassi. It was the only
time when the 36-year-old German reached the final of a Major event.
However, the paranormal performance in Melbourne helped him to shot up to the elite category of Top-5 players list. He was also the President of the Association of Tennis Professionals Player Council from the year 2003-2004.
Recapping the 17-year long professional career, the German superstar stated, “Overall I am very happy. I did everything you can imagine. I had a great career, a great time and met a lot of people, who I could share wonderful experiences
with.” He had just 14 points under his belt at the time of retirement, listed at the 849th spot in the world rankings.
He turned pro in 1995 but played just eight matches in the first two years. However, he improved the career statistics in the following years and registered the best season in 2003 where he powered down 72 victims whilst losing
out in 30 battles.
Schuettler became the first German player to reach the fourth round of all Grand Slam events of the single season since Boris Becker accomplished that landmark in 1989. He also wrote a new record of reaching the final of a Grand
Slam. No other German could do that for nine years since Michael Stich advanced to the grand finale of the French Open in 1996. In the Australian Open campaign, he outfoxed the American superstar, Andy Roddick, who ended the season as the best player in the
world.
He dumped Gustavo Kuerten in the opening round before powering down the former world number one, Lleyton Hewitt, in the third round and slammed down Tim Henman as well as Carlos Moya in the following two stages of the event to
reach the first Association of Tennis Professionals final at Monte Carlo Rolex Masters 2004. Later in the season at Athens, the German star teamed up with the Nicolas Kiefer at the Olympics and ended up with Silverware in the event. He stayed amongst the list
of Top-50 players for six consecutive years until 2004.
Schuettler reached the semi-final of the Wimbledon Championships in 2008. However, he couldn’t advance further from that stage that could have helped him realizing a career long dream of clinching a Grand Slam title. That dream
stayed a dream. He was defeated by the 11-time Grand Slam Champion, Rafael Nadal, who eventually went on to win the title that year.
The German played just a five matches in the current season and decided to call it a day at the age of 36. It was great to have such a consistent player on the tour.
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