As we proceed our evaluation of the 2023 ATP Tour season, we glance again at a number of the greatest names who referred to as time on their enjoying careers this 12 months. Americans John Isner and Jack Sock lead Part 2 of this story, with Spaniards Feliciano Lopez and Pablo Andujar amongst these featured in Part 1 yesterday.
John Isner
Isner was the standard-bearer of American males’s tennis for a lot of his profession. The No. 1 American within the year-end Pepperstone ATP Rankings for eight of 9 years from 2012-20, Isner completed contained in the year-end Top 20 for the whole thing of the 2010s.
The ATP Tour’s all-time aces chief hit 48 aces in his last singles match on the US Open. The former World No. 8 closed his profession with 16 tour-level singles titles and 489 match wins.
“I feel I’ve overachieved. I by no means imagined myself having this a lot success for this lengthy,” stated Isner, who turned professional in 2007 after successful the NCAA staff title with the University of Georgia. “Of course, there’s so many matches I want I may have again, however I ready in my thoughts as finest as I presumably may for 17 years. I haven’t got many regrets, that is for certain.” Read Isner Tribute
Jack Sock
A former Top 10 star in each singles and doubles, Sock reached a career-high Pepperstone ATP Ranking of No. 8 in 2017, a 12 months through which he completed because the No. 1 American. The following season, he ascended to World No. 2 in doubles.
The American gained 4 Grand Slam doubles titles (together with one in blended), and likewise gained two Olympic medals on the 2016 Rio de Janiero Games: a blended doubles gold medal with Bethanie Mattek-Sands and males’s doubles bronze with Steve Jonson. The greatest of his 4 profession tour-level singles crowns got here on the 2017 Rolex Paris Masters, a triumph that clinched his place at that season’s Nitto ATP Finals.
“To the 8-year-old boy who instantly fell in love with the game of tennis. I hope I made you proud,” Sock wrote in an Instagram publish asserting his retirement. “It’s been 14 years of recollections I’ll always remember.” Read Sock Tribute
Photo: Peter Staples/ATP Tour
Thomaz Bellucci
Brazil’s Bellucci wrapped up his enjoying days this 12 months on residence soil in Rio de Janeiro. The 35-year-old gained 4 ATP Tour singles titles and 200 tour-level matches in his profession, which started when he turned professional in 2005.
“I really feel completely happy and somewhat bit unhappy too,” the previous World No. 21 stated of his retirement. “Tennis was in my life for a few years. It’s not straightforward to cease enjoying. But I’ve loved myself a lot, and my physique is now feeling the years and the sacrifices I’ve made. It’s time to do one thing else, expertise new issues.”
In a dialog with ATPTour.com, Bellucci recalled how he persevered after a knee harm almost led him away from the sport a lot earlier in his profession. Read Bellucci Tribute
Jeremy Chardy
The 36-year-old Frenchman opened his abbreviated farewell season with an Australian Open win, earlier than ending his profession with defeat to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon.
Chardy gained his lone tour-level title in 2009 in Stuttgart and reached a career-high of No. 25 within the Pepperstone ATP Rankings 4 years later in 2013. He additionally cracked the Top 25 of the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Rankings, successful seven ATP Tour doubles crowns.
“It’s one thing particular,” Chardy stated of his profession after being honoured on the Nitto ATP Finals. “You work exhausting your entire life. When you have been younger, your dream was to grow to be a tennis participant, and from the second you begin to play on the ATP Tour, the time flies so quick.
“I loved my journey a lot and I’ve no regrets. I simply completed and I’m already teaching, I’m nonetheless on Tour. It means I actually love tennis!” Read More
Chardy, second from proper, was honoured alongside fellow not too long ago retired stars on the 2023 Nitto ATP Finals. Photo: Julian Finney/Getty Images
Treat Huey
A Filipino born in Washington, D.C., Huey obtained an emotional sendoff on the ATP 500 in his residence metropolis. The eight-time tour-level doubles champion gained his first ATP Tour title on the D.C. occasion in 2012.
“Growing up as a child, I used to be like, ‘I’d like to be adequate to play this match one time,’ ” he mirrored. “I ended up enjoying it a pair instances, successful it as soon as. So it was an absolute dream come true… It was superb I performed for 14, 15 years, so I had an incredible time.”
Huey claimed a personal-best three trophies in 2015 and hit a career-high Pepperstone ATP Doubles Ranking of No. 18 the next season. Read Huey Tribute
Bradley Klahn
An eight-time singles champion on the ATP Challenger Tour, Klahn performed his last match at a Challenger in his residence U.S. state of California. Some of the American’s fondest skilled recollections embody enjoying on Centre Court at Wimbledon in 2018 and scoring a five-set win towards Jurgen Melzer to safe his first main main-draw victory on the 2012 US Open in entrance of an electrical residence crowd.
“It by no means felt like a job to me to must go and hit tennis balls and attempt to enhance,” the previous World No. 63 instructed ATPTour.com. “I’ve been very fortunate for 11 years to play professionally. Not many individuals get to take their childhood ardour and switch it into an expert factor. I’m lucky that I can say I did it.” Read Klahn Tribute
[SWEEPSTAKES]
Oliver Marach
A six-time competitor on the Nitto ATP Finals, Marach was a part of a prestigious group of not too long ago retired gamers honoured on the 2023 season finale in Turin. The Austrian gained 23 tour-level doubles titles and reached a career-high Pepperstone ATP Doubles Ranking of World No. 2.
“For me it’s very particular,” he stated of the popularity on the Nitto ATP Finals. “I’ve large feelings round this match… For me it has all the time been subsequent to the Grand Slams as the largest match on the earth, I really like to return right here. They deal with the gamers specifically, and the perfect gamers get collectively in a last conflict of the 12 months. I all the time loved the match and I’m completely happy to have my retirement right here.” Read More
Read all tales in our Best Of 2023 evaluation.
Source web site: www.atptour.com
