Mario Ančić facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids
Mario Ančić

Ančić at Canada Masters, July 2008

Country (sports)

Croatia

Residence

Monte Carlo, Monaco

Born

30 March 1984 (age 41)
Split, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia

Height

1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)

Turned pro

2001

Retired

2011

Plays

Right-handed (two-handed backhand)

Prize money

$4,024,686

Singles

Career record

208–135 (60.64%)

Career titles

Highest ranking

No. 7 (10 July 2006)

Grand Slam singles results

4R (2003, 2007)

QF (2006)

SF (2004)

2R (2005)

Other tournaments

Tour Finals

Alt (2006)

Olympic Games

1R (2004)

Doubles

Career record

68–42

Career titles

Highest ranking

No. 47 (14 June 2004)

Grand Slam doubles results

2R (2004)

3R (2004)

1R (2003)

QF (2003)

Team competitions

Davis Cup

W (2005)

Medal record

Olympic Games

Bronze	2004 Athens	Doubles

Mario Ančić (born 30 March 1984) is a former professional tennis player from Croatia. He is now a business executive in New York City. During his career, he won three singles titles and five doubles titles on the ATP Tour.

In 2006, Ančić reached his highest singles ranking, becoming world No. 7. He helped Croatia win the 2005 Davis Cup. He also won a bronze medal for Croatia at the 2004 Athens Olympics. This medal was in men's doubles, where he played with Ivan Ljubičić.

When he was a teenager, Ančić made his first big tournament appearance at 2002 Wimbledon Championships. In that tournament, he famously beat the seventh-seeded player, Roger Federer. His best performance at a major tournament was reaching the semifinals at 2004 Wimbledon Championships. Later in his career, he faced health challenges. From 2007 to 2008, a sickness called infectious mononucleosis and other small injuries made him miss many important events. His ranking fell from No. 9 in January 2007 to No. 135 in January 2008.

About Mario Ančić's Life
Mario Ančić's Education and Career After Tennis
Mario Ančić's Tennis Journey
Olympic Medal Matches
- Doubles: 1 (1 bronze medal)
Images for kids
See also

About Mario Ančić's Life

Mario Ančić was born in Split, Croatia. His parents are Stipe and Nilda Ančić. His father owns a chain of supermarkets, and his mother works as a financial adviser.

Mario's older brother, Ivica, and younger sister, Sanja, also played tennis professionally. Mario grew up in a Catholic family. He has said that his faith is very important to him. He is also very close to his uncle, who is a priest.

Mario Ančić's Education and Career After Tennis

While playing tennis from 2002 to 2008, Ančić also studied law. He went to the University of Split. He finished law school on April 14, 2008. His final paper was about how the ATP Tour is legally set up and organized.

In 2009, a serious illness, infectious mononucleosis, kept Ančić off the tennis courts for most of the season. During this time, he started working at a law office in Zagreb. However, he later decided to pause his law work to focus on his tennis career again.

After his tennis career, he continued his education. He studied at Harvard Law and then earned a special law degree (LLM) from Columbia Law School. He then worked in finance at Credit Suisse. As of 2019, he works as an Associate at One Equity Partners in New York City.

Mario Ančić's Tennis Journey

Starting Out in Tennis (2000–2002)

As a junior player, Mario Ančić was ranked No. 1 in the world on January 2, 2001. He had a great record of 62 wins and 20 losses in singles matches. He reached the finals in the Boys' Singles at the 2000 Australian Open. He lost that match to Andy Roddick. He also made it to the finals at the 2000 Wimbledon Championships, where he lost to Nicolas Mahut.

Goran Ivanišević was his doubles partner when Ančić first played for the Croatian Davis Cup Team. They also played doubles together at the 2000 Summer Olympic Games. At the start of his career, Ančić mainly played in smaller tournaments. He won one title in Zagreb. From August 2001, he began playing in Challenger tournaments. He won four singles titles and one doubles title in these events. In 2002, he had a record of 30 wins and 16 losses in Challenger matches.

Playing on the ATP Tour (2002–2005)

Ančić made his official ATP debut at the Miami Masters. He got a special invitation to play but lost in the first round. The most exciting moment of his first major tournament, the 2002 Wimbledon Championships, was a big surprise. In the first round, he beat Roger Federer, who was ranked seventh, in straight sets. He finished the 2002 season ranked among the top 100 singles players in the world.

Goran Ivanišević and Mario Ančić playing doubles in 2004.

In February 2004, Ančić reached his first ATP singles final at the ATP Indesit Milano Indoor tournament. He beat strong players like Rafael Nadal and Tommy Robredo to get there. At the 2004 Wimbledon Championships, Ančić had his best result at a major tournament. He made it all the way to the semifinals. Because of this great performance, his ATP singles ranking jumped up 36 spots to No. 27.

In doubles, he teamed up with Ivan Ljubičić. They represented Croatia at the 2004 Summer Olympics. They won a bronze medal after losing in the semifinals. Ančić also won his first ATP singles title at the Ordina Open in 2005. Another highlight of 2005 was reaching the final at the Japan Open Tennis Championships.

Reaching His Peak (2006)

Ančić started the 2006 ATP Tour season very well. In his second tournament of the year in Auckland, he beat top player Fernando González on his way to the final. In February, he also reached the final in Marseille. He made it to the quarter-finals at two Masters tournaments and two Grand Slam tournaments. Roger Federer defeated him at the French Open and Wimbledon.

Ančić also reached his career high at a Master Series event, making it to the semifinals at Hamburg Masters. He successfully defended his 2005 title at 's-Hertogenbosch. After Wimbledon, Ančić reached No. 7 in the world, which was his highest singles ranking ever.

At the 2006 French Open, Ančić had an incident with Paul Capdeville. Ančić was annoyed by Capdeville's constant complaints to the umpire. Both players were fined for the incident. Ančić reached the quarter-finals at the French Open before losing to Federer.

Ančić missed the U.S. hard-court season because of a knee injury. This injury happened in a jet skiing accident. In September, he played his first tournament after his summer injuries. He reached the final at the China Open. In October, he won his third singles title at the St. Petersburg Open. At the Paris Masters, Ančić lost in the quarterfinals.

Dealing with Illness and Coming Back (2007–2010)

Ančić started the 2007 Australian Open as the ninth-seeded player. He made it to the fourth round of the tournament.

In Marseille, Ančić had to stop playing in the first round. He was diagnosed with infectious mononucleosis, often called mono. He later said he had been playing while sick even before this diagnosis. The virus had started to affect him at the Australian Open. Because of this illness, Ančić spent most of the next 10 weeks in bed. He missed six months of playing on the tour.

Ančić started training again in June with his coach, Fredrik Rosengren. After missing two more tournaments in July, Ančić returned in August. He played at the Canada Masters and the Cincinnati Masters. He lost in the second rounds of both tournaments. A week before the US Open, Ančić broke a small bone while at the gym. This meant he missed his third Grand Slam tournament in 2007. In October, he had his first good result after his illness. He made it to the quarterfinals at Madrid Masters. By the end of 2007, his ranking had dropped to No. 83.

Ančić hitting a backhand at the 2008 Indian Wells Masters.

Ančić started the 2008 season with more illness. He had to withdraw from tournaments in Australia, missing his fourth Grand Slam in a row. His first event in 2008 was in Marseille in February. He reached the final there but lost to Andy Murray. At the Indian Wells Masters and Miami Masters, Ančić got special invitations to play. He beat three seeded players in these tournaments.

After losing in the first round at the Canada Masters, Ančić skipped the Cincinnati Masters. He was feeling very tired and losing weight. He then withdrew from the 2008 Summer Olympics and later the US Open. This was because his mononucleosis had returned. Ančić came back to play in September for the Davis Cup. After a good start to the 2009 season, Ančić announced in May that he would miss the French Open, Wimbledon, and the Davis Cup semifinal match. This was again due to his mononucleosis coming back.

Ančić returned to the main tour at the 2010 BNP Paribas Open. He made it to the third round there. He also played in some Challenger tournaments but did not have much success.

Retiring from Tennis

On February 21, 2011, Mario Ančić announced that he was retiring from professional tennis. He made this decision because his mononucleosis kept coming back. He finished his career with three titles, 208 wins, and 135 losses.

On February 23, 2011, Ančić held a press conference at the Firule tennis club. He officially retired from professional tennis there. He said, "My heart wanted to play, but my body couldn't. This is the toughest moment of my life. I always tried to be perfect, and when I realized that my body could not play the kind of tennis I know I can play, there was no other choice."

Olympic Medal Matches

Doubles: 1 (1 bronze medal)

Result	Year	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Bronze	2004	Athens, Greece	Hard	Ivan Ljubičić	Mahesh Bhupathi Leander Paes	7–6^(7–5), 4–6, 16–14

Images for kids

Ančić at Canada Masters, July 2008
Goran Ivanišević and Mario Ančić playing doubles during the 2004 Queen's Club Championships
Ančić hitting a backhand at the 2008 Indian Wells Masters