Published 15:37 IST, October 19th 2019
Tipsarevic announces his retirement from tennis after a 17-year career
Tipsarevic announced his retirement from professional tennis after a match that saw him save a total of 9 match points against Japanese player, Yuichi Sugita
The Serbian tennis player Janko Tipsarevic, has announced his retirement from professional tennis after a match that saw him save a total of 9 match points against the Japanese player, Yuichi Sugita, at the Intrum Stockholm Open. In the end, the 35-year-old Tipsarevic lost the marathon match 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(4).
A career-spanning 17 years
Tipsarevic said that he had a wonderful 17 years playing tennis and competing in different tournaments. Janko added that after a lot of thinking, he took the decision of retiring as it was the perfect time to take such a decision.
An injury-plagued career
The Serbian player turned professional in the year 2002 and reached the 8th spot in the ATP rankings and won 4 ATP tour titles during his 16-year long career. Janko's best season came in the year 2011 where he won the maximum number of his career titles. He reached the 8th spot in 2012. The player has had an injury-plagued career wherein he required 7 surgeries.
Tipsarevic's most notable win came when he defeated the World No. 1 and fellow Serbian, Novak Djokovic in the ATP World Tour Finals, London in 2011. He holds a 287-256 career record in professional tennis.
Nadal and Djokovic slammed
Meanwhile, tennis stars Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have been heavily criticised by the director of the ATP sanctioned Vienna Open, Edwin Weindorfer, for taking part in an exhibition match to be played in Kazakhstan on October 24, to raise money for charity. The criticism comes after the revelation that both the players will not be taking part in the Vienna Open and Swiss Indoors tournament in Basel.
(With inputs from agencies)
Updated 16:32 IST, October 19th 2019