Kto zakończy karierę w 2014?

[Mario]

Myślałem, że się złamie, ale jeśli zdrowie dopisze to jak najbardziej masz rację.

Coś mi się obiło o uszy, że Dawidienko ma podziękować w Moskwie, w sumie od RG nie gra, więc kto wie...

[DUN I LOVE]

Wyleciał z Top-200, a pewnie błaganie o WC w każdym turnieju średnio go bawi. Wydaje się to być odpowiedni moment.

[sheva]

Dawidienko ma zagrać w Moskwie, ale nie będzie to jego ostatni turniej. Przynajmniej tak twierdzi Tarpiszczew.
http://itar-tass.com/sport/1391564

[DUN I LOVE]

Szamil najwyraźniej się pomylił, bo dzisiaj Nikołaj zakończył sportową karierę.
http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis ... tires.aspx

[jonathan]

Odchodzą kolejni tenisiści z generacji Federera, ale tak naprawdę to pokolenie skończyło się już dawno temu. Tylko Mistrz trzyma się cały czas.

[DUN I LOVE]

Bjorn Phau.

Niby wiek słuszny, ale jakoś tak w zaciszu odszedł chyba jeden z najbardziej nieszablonowych graczy zaplecza ATP.

[Lucas]

Player Farewells: Evgeny Korolev

Spoiler:

Evgeny Korolev made quite the debut on the ATP World Tour. He celebrated his 18th birthday with a comeback win in his first tour-level match. Two days later, he upset World No. 6 Nikolay Davydenko in straight sets for a place in the quarter-finals.

Though he broke into the Top 100 of the Emirates ATP Rankings later that year, he compiled his best season in 2009. Korolev strung together seven straight wins to qualify and reach the Delray Beach final (l. to Fish). He also finished the season on a strong note, advancing to the quarter-finals in four of his five tour-level events following the US Open to end the year at World No. 53.

In January 2010, the Moscow-born Korolev changed his allegiance to represent Kazakhstan. “I had a great opportunity to play there, to represent this country on their way up because they want to make the World Group in Davis Cup,” he said. “The main people there are crazy about the sport, they want to have success, so now I represent them, I’m No. 1 there, so this is great for me. It’s a huge step in my career.”

One year later, Kazakhstan competed in the World Group for the first time. In 2013, Korolev helped his country reach the Davis Cup quarter-finals by winning his rubber against Austria’s Jurgen Melzer.

Hampered by surgeries and illness following his banner year, Korolev announced his retirement in November. “I’ve had great years on tour…competing at a high level and playing against top players, together with my team,” said Korolev, who was coached by his dad. “This was great and I don’t regret a thing!”

http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis ... art-2.aspx

[Lucas]

Player Farewells: Paul Capdeville

Spoiler:

Paul Capdeville turned pro in 2002, four years after Marcelo Rios reached No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings and two years before Nicolas Massu and Fernando Gonzalez brought home the gold medals in singles and doubles at the Summer Olympics.

While the Santiago-native wasn’t able to match the high standards set by his Chilean predecessors, he achieved a career-high No. 76 Emirates ATP Rankings and claimed the doubles title in 2007 at Vina del Mar (w/Hernandez).

Capdeville also counted a number of quality victories among his 48 match wins in singles action, defeating the likes of David Nalbandian, Tommy Robredo and Ivo Karlovic, to name a few. Two of his biggest victories, however, came while representing his country in Davis Cup action; he recorded a Top 10 win over James Blake in 2006 and came back from a two-sets deficit against John Isner in 2011 to win 6-7(5), 6-7(2), 7-6(3), 7-6(5), 6-4.

Fittingly, Capdeville chose to announce his retirement following Chile’s Davis Cup tie this past April. Three days after his 31st birthday, he Tweeted, “Thank you Chile for all the support over the recent years.. I am grateful for the generation that I have come from.. THE END”.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis ... art-2.aspx

[Lucas]

Player Farewells: Rik de Voest

Spoiler:

South African Rik de Voest met his future wife, Carolyn, in 2005 at the Vancouver Challenger. The following year, winning the title factored into his rise to a career-high No. 110 Emirates ATP Ranking.

The tournament once again held significance for de Voest this past summer. The 34 year old battled to the final match win of his professional tennis career (d. Jung) before taking his bow in a three-sets loss against Australian young gun Thanasi Kokkinakis.

“I went out on my terms, playing high quality tennis,” said de Voest. “For me it was very good to know that I can still compete against these younger, stronger, fitter players who are playing well... It was more of a celebration and enjoyment of a good career.”

During his 15 years, Voest made his biggest mark on the ATP Challenger Tour. He won six of 14 singles finals, and went into retirement holding the record for most doubles titles at 37.

De Voest’s doubles success extended to the ATP World Tour, with titles at the 500-level tournaments in Beijing (w/Fisher) and Dubai (w/Tursunov). The Pretoria-native was also a stalwart on the South African Davis Cup team, representing his country in 25 ties.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis ... art-2.aspx

[Lucas]

Player Farewells: Paul Hanley

Spoiler:

You might say that Paul Hanley was born to play tennis. After all, his parents owned a tennis club in Australia. Following in the footsteps of The Woodies, who amassed 61 doubles titles from 1991-2000, Hanley also found his niche in the team game upon turning pro in 1997.

Hanley achieved his greatest success on the ATP World Tour alongside fellow Aussie Wayne Arthurs and Zimbabwe’s Kevin Ullyett. Hanley and Arthurs played together from 2001-2005, with their partnership highlighted by a pair of Masters 1000 titles. In 2006, Hanley found almost immediate success with South African Kevin Ullyett. They reached the Australian Open semi-finals and won six titles that season, with Hanley reaching a personal-high No. 5 Emirates ATP Doubles Ranking. Together, they finished 2006 and ’07 as the No. 4 duo.

In the opening week of the 2013 season, Hanley celebrated a career milestone on home soil in Brisbane, contesting his 50th ATP World Tour final. He added one more final to his resume this year in Marseille. He completed his doubles career with 26 doubles titles, a 451-322 match record and two runner-up finishes in mixed doubles (2005 Wimbledon, 2011 Australian Open).

This past summer, after 10 years of living in London and 17 travelling the tour, he returned to his roots to take up a coaching and management role at the Loganlea Tennis Club, where he first played the sport.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis ... art-2.aspx

[Lucas]

Player Farewells: Ross Hutchins

Spoiler:

By now, the story of Ross Hutchins’ fight against cancer is well known. On 1st January of this season, 13 months after his diagnosis with Stage IV Hodgkins’ lymphoma, he made a welcome return to the courts as he reunited with Colin Fleming in Brisbane.

Prior to his diagnosis in December 2012, Hutchins had completed a career-best season. He and Fleming had earned their place as the alternate pair at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, having won two titles from four finals that year. Altogether, the Wimbledon native won five titles from 14 ATP World Tour finals, including a meaningful run this past May in Munich (l. to Murray/Peers). “It’s a real honour to be in a final again,” Hutchins said at the time.

He went on to play in six more tournaments – and also served as Tournament Director of the Aegon Championships – before he announced his retirement in September following the US Open.

“I feel strong and healthy and I look forward to moving onto the next chapter of my life,” said the 29 year old. “I have been incredibly fortunate in my tennis career and I am proud of what I have been able to achieve, a lot of which would not have been possible without the support and encouragement of those close to me.”

On 1st October, Hutchins began his new role as Vice President, ATP Player Relations. “Over the course of the past decade, I established a strong rapport with many players as contemporaries and I’m now looking forward to working with them in this new capacity,” he said.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis ... art-2.aspx

[bogdan1978]

Player Farewells: Andy Ram

Spoiler:

What better way to end an 18-year career than alongside your long-time partner, playing for your country on home soil in front of 11,700 spectators? That’s the script that Andy Ram had written when he announced in May, fittingly at a Tel Aviv cinema, that Israel’s Davis Cup tie would be his curtain call.

Instead, Ram found himself 10,000km away from Tel Aviv’s Nokia Arena in September, playing his final match at the Sunrise Tennis Club in southern Florida. Even with the change of setting, his last match proved a fitting finale. Ram received a hero’s send-off from his teammates and enthusiastic fans waving Israeli flags as he battled to a five-sets win with Jonathan Erlich.

The Uruguayan-born Ram won 16 of his 19 doubles titles as one half of ‘AndiYoni’. Ram and the Argentinean-born Erlich broke onto the scene in 2003 at Wimbledon, where they reached the semi-finals as qualifiers. Five years later, they lifted the trophies at the Australian Open and the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, propelling Ram to a career-high No. 5 Emirates ATP Doubles Ranking.

Ram, who looked forward to time with his wife and two children in retirement, reflected on the far-reaching implications of their success. “The reception we received after capturing the 2008 Australian Open title and our partnership in Davis Cup ties, particularly when Israel reached the semi-finals [in 2009], helped to unite and attract thousands to the sport,” he said.

Ram also made history with his pair of mixed doubles titles, at 2006 Wimbledon (w/Zvonareva) and 2007 Roland Garros (w/Dechy), becoming the first Israeli to win a major.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis ... art-2.aspx