Mario Ančić
| Mario Ancic Serving at Wimbledon, 2006. Photo by David Wilmot | |
| Country (sports) |  Croatia |
|---|---|
| Residence | Monte Carlo, Monaco |
| Height | 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) |
| Turned pro | 2001 |
| Plays | Right; Two-handed backhand |
| Prize money | $3,039,575 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 152-102 |
| Career titles | 3 |
| Highest ranking | 7 (July 10, 2006) |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| Australian Open | 4th (2003, '07) |
| French Open | QF (2006) |
| Wimbledon | SF (2004) |
| US Open | 2nd (2005) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 54-32 |
| Career titles | 4 |
| Highest ranking | 47 (June 14, 2004) |
| Last updated on: April 1, 2007. | |
| Olympic medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's tennis | ||
 |
2004 Athens | Doubles |
Mario Ančić (born March 30, 1984) is a professional tennis player from Croatia. He is sometimes nicknamed "Super Mario" or "Baby Goran."
As a teenager making his Grand Slam debut at Wimbledon in 2002, he defeated 9th-seeded Roger Federer, becoming the first teenager since Björn Borg to win his Wimbledon debut on Centre Court. The win also makes him the last player to defeat Federer at the All England Club.
Tennis career
Juniors and pre ATP
Mario Ančić was born in Split, and started playing tennis at the age of seven. As a youngseter, since the age of 10 Ancic practised and trained with Croatian tennis legend Goran Ivanisevic. As a junior his base was at eth "Firule" Tennis Club in Split.
He became one of the top junior tennis players in the world. In 1999, he represented Croatia in the NEC World Youth Cup, helping them to the runners-up position. He also made his debut for Croatia in Davis Cup in the tie against Portugal in a dead-rubber against Joao Cunha-Silva, but lost in straight sets. He ended his first year as a junior as world number 24.
Ančić kept up the good work in 2000, reaching the final at Jr. Boys Wimbledon at the age of 16, where he lost to Nicolas Mahut of France in three sets. He was also a finalist at the Jr. Australian Open and semifinalist at the Jr. U.S. Open, losing to Andy Roddick on both occasions. The same year he won his first futures tournament in Zagreb, beating Ivo Karlović in the final. In Davis Cup play, he won his rubber against Latvia and finished the year as world number four among the juniors.
In 2000, Ančić played alongside countryman Goran Ivanišević in the doubles event at the Sydney Olympics, losing in the first round.
2001 saw Ančić reach the finals at the China and Canada futures events.
In 2002, Ančić compiled a record of 30-16 in Challenger play, winning the title in Belgrade after defeating Nenad Zimonjić of Serbia and Montenegro. He followed this up with runner up efforts in Ho Chi Minh and Kyoto.
ATP tour career
His debut at an ATP event was at Miami where he lost to Adrian Voinea in the first round. The clear highlight of his season came on his Grand Slam debut at Wimbledon, where he qualified and caused a major upset by defeating then world number 9 Roger Federer on Centre Court in the first round. In doing so he became the first teenager to win on his Wimbledon debut on Center Court since Björn Borg triumphed in 1973. He ended 2002 on a good note winning challengers at Prague and Milan.
In 2003 Ančić made his Australian Open debut, reaching the fourth round before losing to Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain. The following week he captured the Hamburg Challenger, defeating Rafael Nadal of Spain. He reached his first ATP quarter final at St. Poelten and finished the sesaon with a quarterfinal showing in Stockholm. He claimed his first ATP doubles title in Indianapolis partnering Andy Ram of Israel.
2004
Ancic began 2004 at the Australian Open reaching the third round before falling to Mark Philippoussis of Australia. He returned to action in Milan where posted wins over Fabrice Santoro, Rafael Nadal, Tommy Robredo and Thomas Johansson en route to his first ATP tour final against Frenchman Anthony Dupuis where he was defeated in three sets, losing in a third set tiebreak In June and July he posted his best ever results on grass with a third round showing at Queens, losing to Andy Roddick, and a semifinal at S'Hertogenbosch. losing to Guillermo Coria of Argentina. At Wimbledon, Ancic made his best ever grand-slam showing defeating local favourite Tim Henman en route to a semifinal against Andy Roddick, against whom he was defeated in 4 sets. At the Athens Olympics, Ančić teamed up with Ivan Ljubičić to win a bronze medal for Croatia in doubles, defeating Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes of India 16-14 in the third set. In September he reached the semifinal at Delray Beach before losing to Ricardo Mello of Brazil.
2005
In the year 2005, Ančić improved his year end Indesit ATP ranking for the sixth consecutive year, highlighted by his first career ATP title at s'Hertogenbosch, whre he defeated Michael Llodra, the defending champion. At the Australian Open Ančić lost in the third round to eventual champion Marat Safin in four sets. In February he reached the semifinal at Marseille, losing to Ljubičić, and Rotterdam, where he lost to world number one Roger Federer. He followed this up with a runner up showing at Scottsdale, losing to Wayne Arthurs. He could not repeat last year's performance at Wimbledon, losing to Feliciano Lopez of Spain in the fourth round. A fine run in Japan saw Mario reach the final in Tokyo where he lost to South African Wesley Moodie after having held two match points. He reached the quarterfinal at Lyon, losing to Roddick, winner of the tournament. In doubles play, he claimed his second ATP title in Munich, playing alongside Julian Knowle of Austria.
Mario ended 2005 on a high as he played the deciding rubber in the Davis Cup final in Bratislava, defeating Michal Mertinak of Slovakia 7-6(1), 6-3, 6-4. This win gave Croatia its first ever Davis Cup victory making then the first unseeded nation to win the coveted trophy.
2006
Mario started the year 2006 on a strong note in his second tournament of the year at Auckland, where he defeated top seed Fernando González of Chile on his way to the final. However, he could not repeat his form in the final, going down in straight sets to his good friend Jarkko Nieminen. At the Australian Open, Mario reached the third round, before capitulating in straight sets to 10th seed David Ferrer of Spain. In the first round of Davis Cup, Mario Ancic beat Jürgen Melzer of Austria in clay, 6-7, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3. In Marseilles of 2006 Ancic reached the finals (beating the Croatian Davis Cup player-captain Ivan Ljubicic on the way) where he lost to Arnaud Clement in straight sets. In Rotterdam he met Nieminen again in the first round and lost in a close two-setter.
At the 2006 French Open he reached the quarterfinals in which he lost to Roger Federer. In this tournament, he had a shoving incident with Chile's Paul Capdeville at the end of his second round match. After the loss, Capdeville protested, they exchanged words, then scuffled a bit, and were soon separated by the chair umpire. Ančić and Capdeville were each fined $3,000 for the incident.
Mario improved both his results in the American hard-court Masters Series Indian Wells and Nasdaq-100 tournaments, reaching the fourth round and quarterfinals respectively. He lost to Ljubicic in California and David Nalbandian in Florida. He reached the semi-finals in the Hamburg Masters but lost to Spaniard Tommy Robredo, who eventually won the title (d. Stepanek in straight sets).
Wimbledon brought yet more heartbreak for Mario. He was beaten yet again by Roger Federer in the quarter-finals who later went on to defend his title by winning his fourth straight Wimbledon (d. R. Nadal in 4 sets).
After Wimbledon, Mario missed the US hardcourt season, including the 2006 US Open due to a knee injury received in a jet skiing accident. He was runner-up in his first event back (China Open l. to Baghdatis 4-6 0-6) in which he also won the doubles title (w/ Bhupathi).
On October 29, Mario won his third career title after defeating Swede Thomas Johansson 7-5 7-6(2) at the St. Petersburg Open.
Mario ended the 2006 season ranked 9th in the INDESIT ATP rankings, narrowly missing a spot in the eight-man Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai.
2007
Ancic began his 2007 with an appearance with his younger sister, Sanja, at the official mixed teams competition of the ITF, the 2007 Hopman Cup in Perth, Australia. In the lead up to the Australian open Ancic played at the Heineken Open in New Zealand, losing in the second round in a bid to defend his runner up showing the previous year.
Ancic entered the Australian Open as the ninth seed and posted wins over Go Soeda and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez to reach the 3rd round. In the third round, Ancic defeated the No. 22 seed, Dominik Hrbatý, in straight sets to advance to a fourth round matchup against Andy Roddick, seeded sixth. Ancic fared well against the big-serving American; however, he lost in five sets 3-6, 6-3, 1-6, 7-5, 4-6.
At the Open 13 in Marseille, Ancic dropped out in a shocking first round upset to Italian Andreas Seppi, retiring after losing the first 4 games, because of the flu. Later, he was diagnosed with mononucleosis, which forced him to withdraw from 2007 ATP Tour for some time.[1]
Personal
Mario Ančić was born in Split, Croatia, on 30th March 1984. He is the second son of Stipe, who owns a supermarket chain, and Nilda, a financial advisor. He has an older brother Ivica, who travels and works with him, and a younger sister Sanja, who was a top 10 junior in the world in 2005.
His hobbies include reading, soccer (he played for Hajduk Split when he was 12 years old), basketball, watching movies and listening to music. Currently a resident of Monte Carlo, Ancic is also a student at the Law School - University of Split.
Style
Mario Ancic plays an all-court game but is able to adapt his game to all surfaces, making him a difficult player to play regardless of the surface. Mario also has a big serve and is capable of producing many aces in a match. On grass and faster surfaces he serves and volleys but on slower courts he is more than able to rally from the back of the court.
Records and trivia
- At the end of the 2002 season, Mario Ančić was — at 18 years 8 months — the youngest player in the ATP Top 100. [1]
- After Wimbledon 2004 Boris Becker stated "The future has arrived and his name is Mario Ancic"
- Ancic acted as ball boy for his hero Ivanisevic and the Davis Cup team during the tie with Australia in 1996.
ATP Tour titles
| Legend (Singles) |
| Grand Slam (0) |
| Tennis Masters Cup (0) |
| ATP Masters Series (0) |
| ATP Tour (3) |
Singles (3)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score |
| 1. | 13 June, 2005 | 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands | Grass |  Michael Llodra
|
7-5 6-4 |
| 2. | 24 June, 2006 | 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands | Grass |  Jan Hernych
|
6-0, 5-7, 7-5 |
| 3. | 29 October, 2006 | St. Petersburg, Russia | Carpet |  Thomas Johansson
|
7-5, 7-6(2) |
Doubles Titles (4)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents in the final | Score |
| 1. | July 23, 2003 | Indianapolis, USA | Hard |  Andy Ram
|
 Diego Ayala & Robby Ginepri
|
2-6 7-6(3) 7-5 |
| 2. | April 25, 2005 | Munich, Germany | Clay |  Julian Knowle
|
 Florian Mayer & Alexander Waske
|
6-3 1-6 6-3 |
| 3. | September 11, 2006 | Bejing, China | Hard |  Mahesh Bhupathi
|
Michael Berrer & Kenneth Carlsen
|
6-4 6-3 |
| 4. | September 26, 2006 | Mumbai, India | Hard | Mahesh Bhupathi
|
Rohan Bopanna & Mustafa Ghouse
|
6-4 6-7(6) 10-8 |
Singles finalist (6)
- 2004: Milan (lost to Antony Dupuis)
- 2005: Scottsdale (lost to Wayne Arthurs)
- 2005: Tokyo (lost to Wesley Moodie)
- 2006: Auckland (lost to Jarkko Nieminen)
- 2006: Marseille Open (lost to Arnaud Clément)
- 2006: Beijing (lost to Marcos Baghdatis)
Singles performance timeline
| Tournament | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | Career SR | Career Win-Loss |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | A | 4R | 3R | 3R | 3R | 4R | 0 / 5 | 12-5 |
| French Open | A | 2R | 3R | 3R | QF | 0 / 4 | 10-4 | |
| Wimbledon | 2R | 1R | SF | 4R | QF | 0 / 5 | 13-5 | |
| U.S. Open | 1R | 1R | 1R | 2R | A | 0 / 4 | 1-4 | |
| Grand Slam SR | 0 / 2 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 18 | N/A |
| Grand Slam Win-Loss | 1-2 | 4-4 | 9-4 | 8-4 | 10-3 | 3-1 | N/A | 35-18 |
| Indian Wells Masters | A | 1R | 1R | 2R | 4R | A | 0 / 4 | 2-4 |
| Miami Masters | 1R | 1R | A | 4R | QF | A | 0 / 4 | 5-4 |
| Monte Carlo Masters | A | A | A | 2R | A | A | 0 / 1 | 1-1 |
| Rome Masters | A | A | 1R | 1R | QF | A | 0 / 3 | 3-3 |
| Hamburg Masters | A | A | A | 3R | SF | A | 0 / 2 | 6-2 |
| Canada Masters | A | 1R | A | 3R | A | 0 / 2 | 2-2 | |
| Cincinnati Masters | A | A | A | 4R | A | 0 / 1 | 2-1 | |
| Madrid Masters | A | A | 1R | 2R | 2R | 0 / 3 | 0-3 | |
| Paris Masters | A | A | 1R | 2R | QF | 0 / 3 | 2-3 | |
| Tennis Masters Cup | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0-0 | |
| ATP Finals Reached | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | N/A | 6 |
| ATP Tournaments Won | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | N/A | 3 |
| Year End Ranking | 89 | 74 | 29 | 21 | 9 | N/A | N/A |
A = did not participate in the tournament
SR = the ratio of the number of singles tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played
Davis Cup and World Team Cup matches are included in the statistics.
References
- ^ Mario is diagnosed with mononucleosis (In Croatian)