Mario Ančić

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Mario Ančić
Ancic Toronto Masters 2008.jpg
Ančić at Canada Masters, July 2008
Country (sports) Croatia
ResidenceNew York City, New York, United States[1]
Born (1984-03-30) 30 March 1984 (age 34)
Split,[2] SR Croatia
Height1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)
Turned pro2001
Retired2011
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money$4,024,686
Singles
Career record208–135
Career titles3
Highest rankingNo. 7 (10 July 2006)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open4R (2003, 2007)
French OpenQF (2006)
WimbledonSF (2004)
US Open2R (2005)
Other tournaments
Tour FinalsAlt (2006)
Olympic Games1R (2004)
Doubles
Career record68–42
Career titles5
Highest rankingNo. 47 (14 June 2004)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open2R (2004)
French Open3R (2004)
Wimbledon1R (2003)
US OpenQF (2003)
Team competitions
Davis CupW (2005)
Medal record
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2004 Athens Doubles
Last updated on: 5 July 2017.

Mario Ančić (Croatian pronunciation: [mâːrio âːntʃitɕ];[3][4] born 30 March 1984) is a Croatian former professional tennis player who currently works as an investment banker in New York City. He won three singles titles and five doubles titles. His career-high singles ranking came during the 2006 ATP Tour, when he reached world no. 7. Ančić helped Croatia to win the 2005 Davis Cup and at the Athens Olympic Games in 2004, he and Ivan Ljubičić won a bronze medal in doubles for Croatia.

As a teenager making his Grand Slam debut at the 2002 Wimbledon Championships, he defeated seventh-seeded Roger Federer. His best performance at Grand Slams came at the 2004 Wimbledon Championships, when he reached the semifinals.

During 2007 and 2008, mononucleosis and minor injuries forced him to miss many major events, and his ranking dropped from No. 9 in January 2007 to No. 135 in January 2008.[5][6]

Personal life[edit]

Ančić was born in Split to Stipe and Nilda Ančić. His father owns a supermarket chain, and his mother is a financial adviser. His older brother Ivica and younger sister Sanja were also professional tennis players. Ančić was raised in a Catholic family and states that his faith is very important to him. He is very close to his uncle who is a priest and former missionary.[7][8]

Legal career[edit]

From 2002 to 2008, Ančić was a law student at the University of Split; he graduated from its law school on 14 April 2008. His thesis described the legal foundation and organisation of the ATP Tour.[9]

Illness forced Ančić to be off courts in much of the 2009 tennis season, and he started his residency in the law office of Turudić in Zagreb;[10] but he announced he would freeze his residency for some time due to his tennis career. After attending Harvard Law, he graduated with an LLM from Columbia Law School. He currently is an investment banking associate at Credit Suisse.[11]

Tennis career[edit]

Early career (2000–2002)[edit]

As a junior, Ančić rose to No. 1 in the junior world-rankings on 2 January 2001, compiling a singles record of 62–20. He made the finals in the Boys' Singles at the 2000 Australian Open (losing to Andy Roddick) and the 2000 Wimbledon Championships (losing to Nicolas Mahut).[citation needed]

Goran Ivanišević was his doubles partner in his Croatian Davis Cup Team debut and at the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in doubles. At first, Ančić mostly played Futures and Davis Cup tournaments, winning one title in Zagreb; and from August 2001 he started to play Challenger tournaments, winning four in singles and one in doubles. He compiled a record of 30–16 in Challenger play in 2002.[citation needed]

ATP Tour career (2002–2005)[edit]

His ATP debut was at Miami Masters, where he drew a wild card, but he lost in the opening round.[12] The highlight of his Grand Slam debut at the 2002 Wimbledon Championships was the major upset of his first round defeat of Roger Federer, the seventh seed, 6–3, 7–6(2), 6–3 in just under two hours.[13] He finished the 2002 season in the top 100 in singles.

Goran Ivanišević and Mario Ančić playing doubles during the 2004 Queen's Club Championships

At the ATP Indesit Milano Indoor in February 2004, Ančić made it into his first singles ATP final, defeating sixth seed Rafael Nadal and third seed Tommy Robredo. At the 2004 Wimbledon Championships, Ančić had his best Grand Slam result, reaching the semi-finals. In reaching the Grand Slam semi-finals, he jumped 36 places on the ATP singles ranking to No. 27.[14] In doubles, he teamed up with Ivan Ljubičić, and represented Croatia at the 2004 Summer Olympics. They won a bronze medal, losing to González and Nicolás Massú in the semi-final. He won his first ATP singles title at the Ordina Open. His 2005 highlights also include the final at the Japan Open Tennis Championships, losing to Wesley Moodie.[citation needed]

Career apex (2006)[edit]

Ančić started on the 2006 ATP Tour with strong note in his second tournament of the year in Auckland, where he defeated top seed Fernando González on his way to the final. In February, he also reached the final in Marseille, losing to Arnaud Clément. He made in the quarter-finals at two Masters and two Grand Slams tournaments. Ančić was defeated by David Nalbandian at Miami and Rome and by Roger Federer at the French Open and Wimbledon. He also reached his career high at Master Series event, reaching the semi-finals at Hamburg Masters. Ančić successfully defended his 2005 title at ‘s-Hertogenbosch. After Wimbledon, Ančić reached No. 7, his career high in singles.[15]

At the 2006 French Open, he had a shoving incident with Paul Capdeville at the end of his second-round match. Ančić was bothered by the Chilean's repeated complaints to the chair umpire, including just before the post-match handshake. Both of them were fined $3,000.[16][17] He reached the quarter-finals before losing to Federer.

Ančić missed the U.S. hard-court season due to a knee injury received in a jet skiing accident. In September, in the first event after the summer injuries, he reached the final at the China Open, losing to Marcos Baghdatis. In October, he won his third singles title at the St. Petersburg Open. At the Paris Masters, Ančić lost to Nikolay Davydenko in the quarterfinals.

Mononucleosis, and return to the Tour (2007–2010)[edit]

He entered the 2007 Australian Open as the ninth seed, and advanced to a fourth round.

In Marseille, Ančić retired in the first round and was diagnosed with mononucleosis.[18] Later, he confessed that he was playing sick a week before in a match against Germany in the Davis Cup, and the virus had started to affect him at the Australian Open.[19] Due to his illness, Ančić spent most of the next 10 weeks in bed[20] and missed six months from the tour.

Ančić started training in June with his Swedish coach Fredrik Rosengren.[20] After he withdrew from two tournaments in July, Ančić returned in August at the Canada Masters and the Cincinnati Masters, where he lost in the second rounds. Ančić fractured a small bone at the gym a week before the US Open, which was the third Grand Slam he missed in 2007.[19] In October, he made his first big result after the illness, making it into the quarterfinals at Madrid Masters. In 2007, he dropped to No. 83 at the end of the year.[6]

Ančić hitting a backhand at the 2008 Indian Wells Masters

Ančić started the 2008 season again with illness and was forced to withdraw from the tournaments in Australia, missing his fourth Grand Slam in a row.[21] His first 2008 event was in Marseille in February, where he eventually lost in the final to Andy Murray. At the Indian Wells Masters and Miami Masters, Ančić entered the main draw by receiving wild cards, where he beat three seeded players.

Having lost in an opening round at the Canada Masters, and having skipped the Cincinnati Masters as the fatigue intensified and the weight loss mounted, Ančić withdrew from the 2008 Summer Olympics,[22] and later the US Open, due to a recurrence of mononucleosis.[23] Ančić returned in September, playing for the Davis Cup. After a good start at the beginning of the 2009 season, Ančić announced in May that he would pull out of the French Open, Wimbledon, and the Davis Cup semifinal match, again because recurrence of mononucleosis.[24][25]

Ančić returned to the main tour level at the 2010 BNP Paribas Open, where made it to the third round. He played Challengers without success.

Retirement[edit]

On 21 February 2011, Ančić announced his retirement from professional tennis due to recurring mononucleosis. He ended his career with three titles, 208 wins and 135 losses.[26] On 23 February 2011, Ančić held a press conference at the Firule tennis club, where he officially retired from professional tennis. He stated that; "[My] heart wanted, but [my] body couldn't, this is the toughest moment of my life. I have never run away from responsibility. I always strived for perfection, and when I realized that my body cannot provide the kind of tennis I can play, there was no other solution".[27][28]

Ancic will be helping to coach Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon 2017.

Significant finals[edit]

Olympics medal matches[edit]

Doubles: 1 (1 bronze medal)[edit]

Result Year Tournament Surface Partner Opponent Score
Bronze 2004 Athens Hard Croatia Ivan Ljubicic India Mahesh Bhupathi
India Leander Paes 		7–6(7–5), 4–6, 16–14

ATP Tour titles[edit]

Singles titles (3)[edit]

Legend (pre/post 2009)
Grand Slam tournaments (0)
Tennis Masters Cup /
ATP World Tour Finals (0)
ATP Masters Series /
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0)
ATP International Series Gold /
ATP World Tour 500 Series (0)
ATP International Series /
ATP World Tour 250 Series (3)
Titles by Surface
Hard (0)
Clay (0)
Grass (2)
Carpet (1)
No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent in the final Score
1. 13 June 2005 ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands Grass France Michaël Llodra 7–5, 6–4
2. 19 June 2006 ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands Grass Czech Republic Jan Hernych 6–0, 5–7, 7–5
3. 23 October 2006 St. Petersburg, Russia Carpet (i) Sweden Thomas Johansson 7–5, 7–6(7–2)

Doubles titles (5)[edit]

No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents in the final Score
1. 23 July 2003 Indianapolis, United States Hard Israel Andy Ram United States Diego Ayala &
United States Robby Ginepri 		2–6, 7–6(7–3), 7–5
2. 25 April 2005 Munich, Germany Clay Austria Julian Knowle Germany Florian Mayer &
Germany Alexander Waske 		6–3, 1–6, 6–3
3. 11 September 2006 Beijing, China Hard India Mahesh Bhupathi Germany Michael Berrer &
Denmark Kenneth Carlsen 		6–4, 6–3
4. 26 September 2006 Mumbai, India Hard India Mahesh Bhupathi India Rohan Bopanna &
India Mustafa Ghouse 		6–4, 6–7(6–8), 10–8
5. 15 June 2008 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands Grass Austria Jürgen Melzer India Mahesh Bhupathi &
India Leander Paes 		7–6(7–5), 6–3

Singles finalist (8)[edit]

Singles performance timeline[edit]

Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# A NH
(W) Won; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (A) absent; (NH) not held. SR=strike rate (events won/competed)
Tournament 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Career
SR		 Career Win-Loss
Grand Slam Tournaments
Australian Open A A A A 4R 3R 3R 3R 4R A 3R A 0 / 6 14–6
French Open A A A LQ 2R 3R 3R QF A 3R A A 0 / 5 12–5
Wimbledon A A A 2R 1R SF 4R QF A QF A A 0 / 6 17–6
U.S. Open A A A 1R 1R 1R 2R A A A A A 0 / 4 1–4
Grand Slam SR 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 2 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 3 0 / 1 0 / 2 0 / 1 0 / 0 0 / 21 N/A
Grand Slam Win-Loss 0–0 0–0 0–0 1–2 4–4 9–4 8–4 10–3 3–1 6–2 2–1 0–0 N/A 43–21
Olympic Games
Summer Olympics NH A Not Held 1R Not Held A Not Held 0 / 1 0–1
ATP Masters Series
Indian Wells Masters A A A A 1R 1R 2R 4R A 3R 2R 3R 0 / 7 6–7
Miami Masters A A A 1R 1R LQ 4R QF A 4R A 1R 0 / 6 10–6
Monte Carlo Masters A A A A LQ A 2R A A 2R A A 0 / 2 2–2
Rome Masters A A A A LQ 1R 1R QF A 2R A A 0 / 4 4–4
Madrid Masters A A A A A 1R 2R 2R QF A A A 0 / 4 3–4
Hamburg Masters A A A A LQ A 3R SF A A NMS 0 / 2 6–2
Canada Masters A A A A 1R A 3R A 2R 1R A A 0 / 4 3–4
Cincinnati Masters A A A A LQ A 4R A 2R A A A 0 / 2 3–2
Shanghai Masters Not Held A A 0 / 0 0–0
Paris Masters A A A A A 1R 2R QF 2R 2R A A 0 / 5 4–5
Career statistics
Year 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 N/A
ATP Tournaments Played 0 0 0 7 18 22 24 20 10 16 7 3 127
ATP Runners-up 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 3 0 1 1 0 8
ATP Tournaments Won 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 3
Hard Win-Loss 0–0 0–0 0–0 2–6 9–13 6–10 25–15 25–12 12–10 18–7 13–6 2–2 111–80
Clay Win-Loss 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 3–4 6–6 6–5 13–5 0–0 6–5 0–1 0–1 35–26
Grass Win-Loss 0–0 1–0 0–0 1–1 2–3 10–3 9–2 9–1 0–0 8–3 0–0 0–0 40–13
Carpet Win-Loss 0–1 2–0 1–0 0–0 1–1 5–5 4–5 7–1 1–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 21–14
Overall Win-Loss 0–1 3–0 1–0 3–7 15–21 27–24 44–27 54–19 13–11 32–15 13–7 2–3 208–1351
Win (%) 0% 100% 100% 42% 30% 53% 62% 74% 54% 68% 65% 40% 61%
Year End Ranking 1037 547 294 89 74 29 21 9 85 36 95 478 N/A
  • NMS – from 2009, Hamburg Masters is not Masters Series event
  • Davis Cup and World Team Cup matches are included in the statistics.
  • 1 – before 2002, he had 4–1 (Carpet: 3–1, Grass: 1–0) score in Davis Cup matches.

Challengers and Futures titles (7)[edit]

Singles[edit]

Legend (Singles)
Challengers (4)
Futures (1)
No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent in the final Score
1. 21 February 2000 Zagreb, Croatia Clay Croatia Ivo Karlović 7–6(14), 6–4
2. 4 February 2002 Belgrade, Yugoslavia Carpet Serbia and Montenegro Nenad Zimonjić 6–2, 6–3
3. 18 November 2002 Prague, Czech Republic Carpet France Jérôme Golmard 6–1, 6–1
4. 25 November 2002 Milan, Italy Carpet France Gregory Carraz 4–6, 6–3, 7–6(10)
5. 27 January 2003 Hamburg, Germany Carpet Spain Rafael Nadal 6–2, 6–3

Doubles[edit]

No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents in the final Score
1. 14 February 2000 Zagreb, Croatia Clay Croatia Ivica Ančić Croatia Roko Karanušić &
Croatia Željko Krajan 		6–4, 5–7, 7–5
2. 17 November 2002 Helsinki, Finland Hard(I) Croatia Lovro Zovko Republic of Macedonia Aleksandar Kitinov &
United States Jim Thomas 		7–6(6), 4–6, 6–3

ATP Tour career earnings[edit]

Year Majors ATP wins Total wins Earnings (US$) Money list rank
2002 0 0 0 101,122[29] 165[29]
2003 0 0 0 277,743[30] 79[30]
2004 0 0 0 579,375[31] 38[31]
2005 0 1 1 702,670[32] 27[32]
2006 0 2 2 1,276,265[33] 9[33]
2007 0 0 0 209,610[34] 146[34]
2008 0 0 0 600,326[35] 44[35]
2009 0 0 0 197,818[36] 133[36]
2010 0 0 0 52,464[37] 284[37]
Career 0 3 3 4,024,686[37]

Top 10 wins[edit]

Season 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Total
Wins 0 0 0 2 0 1 1 5 2 1 1 0 13
# Player Rank Event Surface Rd Score Ančić
Rank
2002
1. Switzerland Roger Federer 6 Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom Grass 1R 6–3, 7–6(7–2), 6–3 154
2. Russia Yevgeny Kafelnikov 4 Indianapolis, United States Hard 2R 4–6, 6–2, 6–4 129
2004
3. United Kingdom Tim Henman 6 Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom Grass QF 7–6(7–5), 6–4, 6–2 63
2005
4. United Kingdom Tim Henman 7 Rotterdam, Netherlands Hard (i) QF 7–6(7–5), 7–6(7–4) 31
2006
5. Croatia Ivan Ljubičić 5 Marseille, France Hard (i) QF 7–6(7–2), 3–6, 6–3 21
6. Russia Nikolay Davydenko 5 Miami, United States Hard 4R 7–5, 6–4 23
7. United States James Blake 7 Hamburg, Germany Clay 3R 4–6, 7–5, 7–6(7–3) 13
8. Russia Nikolay Davydenko 6 Hamburg, Germany Clay QF 5–7, 7–6(7–4), 6–3 13
9. Spain Tommy Robredo 7 French Open, Paris, France Clay 4R 6–4, 4–6, 2–6, 6–4, 7–5 12
2007
10. Germany Tommy Haas 9 Cincinnati, United States Hard 1R 3–6, 7–6(7–3), 6–3 38
11. United States James Blake 8 Madrid, Spain Hard (i) 2R 6–3, 6–4 49
2008
12. Spain David Ferrer 5 Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom Grass 3R 6–4, 6–4, 6–7(5–7), 7–6(7–3) 43
2009
13. France Gilles Simon 8 Rotterdam, Netherlands Hard (i) 2R 6–4, 3–6, 6–3 28

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Lattman, Peter (7 September 2012). "Former Tennis Star Makes a Mark at Columbia Law School". DealBook. The New York Times. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
  2. ^ ATP World Tour. "Mario Ancic ATP Page". Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  3. ^ "Màrija". Hrvatski jezični portal (in Serbo-Croatian). Retrieved 2018-03-17. Mȃrio
  4. ^ "Ȁna". Hrvatski jezični portal (in Serbo-Croatian). Retrieved 2018-03-17. Ȃnčić
  5. ^ Ravi Ubha (19 December 2007). "Will injuries, illness allow Ancic to regain top-10 form?". ESPN. Retrieved 17 October 2008.
  6. ^ a b "Ancic Rankings History – 2007". ATP Tour. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  7. ^ "Mario Ančić, tenisač". www.velecasnisudac.com (in Croatian). Velečasni Sudac. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011.
  8. ^ "Olympic Bronze Medalist Transformed Through Crucible of Suffering". Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  9. ^ "Ancic Earns Law Degree from University of Split". ATP Tour. 16 April 2008. Archived from the original on 14 May 2008. Retrieved 17 October 2008.
  10. ^ Mario Kuss (4 October 2009). "Ančić: Vraćam se krajem siječnja!" (in Croatian). Večernji list. Retrieved 30 October 2009.
  11. ^ https://www.linkedin.com/in/mario-ancic-587a36112
  12. ^ "2002 Miami Masters Draw". Association of Tennis Professionals. 18 March 2002. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  13. ^ "Ancic stuns Federer". BBC Sport. 25 June 2002. Retrieved 5 October 2008.
  14. ^ Mario Ancic Rankings History for 2004[permanent dead link]
  15. ^ "Ancic's rankings in 2006". ATP Tour. 18 December 2006. Retrieved 14 October 2008.[permanent dead link]
  16. ^ "Despite weather, Federer, Davydenko win". ESPN. 1 June 2006. Retrieved 14 October 2008.
  17. ^ "Henin-Hardenne wins wet one in Paris". The Seattle Times. 2 June 2006. Retrieved 14 October 2008.
  18. ^ "Ancic sidelined with mononucleosis". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. 2 March 2007. Retrieved 17 October 2008.[permanent dead link]
  19. ^ a b Atkin, Ronald (8 June 2008). "Super Mario Bros battles past virus to make happy return on grass". London: The Independent. Retrieved 5 October 2008.
  20. ^ a b Ravi Ubha (19 December 2007). "Will injuries, illness allow Ančić to regain top-10 form?". ESPN. Retrieved 17 October 2008.
  21. ^ "Ancic in doubt for Australian Open because of illness". The International Herald Tribune. 8 January 2008. Retrieved 13 November 2008.
  22. ^ Ravi Ubha (9 October 2008). "Afflicted Ančić can't seem to catch a break". ESPN. Retrieved 17 October 2008.
  23. ^ Ravi Ubha (6 August 2008). "Sports Roundup". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 17 October 2008.[dead link]
  24. ^ "Tennis: Unfit Ancic pulls out of French Open". Channel News Asia. 21 May 2009. Retrieved 30 October 2009.
  25. ^ "Mario Ancic to miss Wimbledon and Davis Cup". Daily Times. 6 June 2009. Retrieved 30 October 2009.[permanent dead link]
  26. ^ "Ancic debió retirarse del tenis" (in Spanish). ESPN Deportes. 21 February 2011.
  27. ^ "Ančić: Srce je željelo, ali tijelo nije, ovo mi je najteži trenutak u životu!". www.jutarnji.hr (in Croatian). Jutarnji list.
  28. ^ "EMOTIVAN OPROŠTAJ Mario Ančić: Ovo mi je najteži trenutak u životu!". www.jutarnji.hr (in Croatian). Slobodna Dalmacija.
  29. ^ a b "ATP Prize Money for 12/09/02". Archived from the original (TXT) on 4 December 2008. Retrieved 10 November 2008.
  30. ^ a b "ATP Prize Money for 12/15/03". Archived from the original (TXT) on 29 January 2012. Retrieved 10 November 2008.
  31. ^ a b "ATP Prize Money for 12/13/04". Archived from the original (TXT) on 27 January 2012. Retrieved 10 November 2008.
  32. ^ a b "ATP Prize Money for 12/19/05". Archived from the original (TXT) on 26 January 2012. Retrieved 10 November 2008.
  33. ^ a b "ATP Prize Money for 12/18/06". Archived from the original (TXT) on 7 June 2009. Retrieved 10 November 2008.
  34. ^ a b "ATP Prize Money for 12/24/07". Archived from the original (TXT) on 3 January 2010. Retrieved 10 November 2008.
  35. ^ a b "ATP Prize Money for 12/29/2008". Archived from the original (TXT) on 27 August 2009. Retrieved 5 February 2009.
  36. ^ a b "ATP Prize Money for 12/28/2009". Archived from the original (TXT) on 7 March 2010. Retrieved 26 March 2010.
  37. ^ a b c "ATP Prize Money for 12/27/2010". Archived from the original (TXT) on 19 August 2012. Retrieved 24 November 2012.

External links[edit]

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