Farewell and good luck Mario Ancic

Mario Ancic, a Croatian born professional tennis player, turned pro in 2001, and on February 21, 2011 he announced his untimely retirement due to recurring bouts of illness and injuries.  He stated that; "Heart wanted, but body couldn't, this is the toughest moment of my life. I have never ran away from responsibility. I've always stroved for perfection, and when I realized that my body can not provide the kind of tennis I can play, there was no other solution".  He was born in Split, Croatia on March 30, 1984 to a father who owned a supermarket chain & a mother who was a financial advisor.

During his career he won 3 ATP singles titles, and 5 in doubles - overall he had 208 wins/135 losses.  Mario is known as the last player to beat Roger Federer at the 2002 Wimbledon in the first round (before Rafael Nadal did it in the '08 finals).  His highest ranking came back in 2006 when he reached number 7 in the world.  One year later in '07 he was diagnosed for the first time with mononucleosis, which would come back often, and along with back injuries caused his early retirement.  Here's he is spotlighted on ATP Tour Uncovered in 2010 just as he was trying to make another comeback.

He's best performance in a major was at the 2004 Wimbledon championships where he reached the semifinals.  Outside of his other 3 singles titles, his career highlights were winning the Bronze medal (w/Ivan Ljubicic) at the 2004 Athens Olympics, and helping Croatia win the 2005 Davis Cup. 

Ivan Ljubicic (left) Mario Ancic (right) celebrating their Bronze medal win at the 2004 Athens Olympics

He studied law from 2002-2008 at the University of Split, and graduated with a law degree on April 14, 2008.  After graduation, Ancic began his residency at the Law Offices of Turudic in Zagreb in 2009 having missed most of the tennis season due to illness.  He put his law residency on hold to continue his tennis career.

Mario Ancic (left); Ralph Macchio (right)

I liked this guy from the first time I saw him - he reminded me of my childhood crush (one of them at least), Ralph Macchio - the original Karate Kid.

I will miss seeing him on the tennis court, his fire was fun to watch and it was obvious that he loved playing the game, but I wish him the best w/his legal career and his life in general.

 

Mario Ancic will be this week's Hottie.