TennisHack Online: Mario Ancic

Players to Watch


	Mario Ancic (CRO)
	Born: March 30, 1984	Currently Ranked: #21
	Residence: Split, Croatia	2006 Win-Loss Record: 8-4
	Height: 6'4" (1.93 m)	2006 Titles: 0
	Weight: 165 lbs (75 kg)	Career Titles/Finals: 1/3 singles (see Year By Year), 2/0 doubles
	Plays: Right-handed	Challenger Titles/Finals: 3/2
	Turned Pro: 2001	Challenger Titles: 2002 - $25K+H Belgrade, YUG; $50K+H Milan, ITA; 2003 - $25K+H Hamburg, GER

Grand Slam Record (Singles)

	2006	2005	2004	2003	2002
Australian Open	3RD	3RD	3RD	4RD	---
Roland Garros	---	3RD	3RD	2RD	---
Wimbledon	---	4RD	SF	1RD	2RD
US Open	---	2RD	1RD	1RD	1RD

Grand Slam Record (Doubles)

	2005	2004	2003
Australian Open	1RD	2RD	---
Roland Garros	---	3RD	---
Wimbledon	---	---	1RD
US Open	2RD	1RD	QF

Don't call him "The Second Goran." First of all, the first Goran has not officially retired from the circuit (he's only out after having shoulder surgery); secondly, Mario Ancic is a good player in his own right-2002 will mark his fourth year as a squad member for Davis Cup! His big breakthrough came at this year's Wimbledon when he knocked out Roger Federer, the #7 seed, in straight sets on Centre Court as a qualifier. Before that, his only tour-level match was the first round of TMS Miami, which he lost to Adrian Voinea. Mario's dream run was cut short by Jan Vacek. Don't discount him, though; Mario has been doing his time on the Challenger level, reaching three finals and winning one title already this year. He has a good game, and will be very powerful when he grows into his 6'4" frame. He also held his nerve well against Federer, not letting the crowd or the court overwhelm him. Mario was unable to top that spectacular win, but he did become the youngest player in the Top 100, rising 13 spots to #89 after winning a late-year Challenger event. He has been gaining direct entry into tour-level events on the strength of these wins, so expect to see more of the youngster in 2003.

Mario made his Australian Open debut in the best way, winning his first three matches of the year to get to the fourth round, where he was ousted by Juan Carlos Ferrero. the strength of this run catipulted him into the Top 70, and taking a challenger title a week later will introduce him to the Top 60. He was part of the winning Davis Cup team, helping defeat the USA 4-1 with a dead rubber win against Taylor Dent. He was granted a wildcard into the main draw of TMS Indian Wells. He kept a low profile until St. Polten, where he made his first quarterfinal of the year. At Roland Garros, he held a two sets to love lead over Andre Agassi in the second round before running out of adrenaline and losing in five. Look for him during the grass season.

Mario picked up his first ATP title in Indianapolis, where he teamed up with Andy Ram to take the doubles title. He played qualifying for both summer TMS events and lost his first round match at the US Open in five tough sets to #10 seed Jiri Novak. Mario moved indoors, where he made the second round in Bangkok in singles, and the quarterfinals of the doubles event (w/Ljubicic).

Mario did not have a good start to the 2004 season, but did make the third round of the Australian Open, where he battled in vain against Mark Philippoussis. He also played doubles with Feliciano Lopez, but they fell in the second round to the strong team of Cermak and Friedl. He fared much better indoors in Milan, where he made his first ATP final and saved nine match points before falling to Anthony Dupuis. With it, he once again gained entry into the Top 100. He next fared well at the $100K+H Boca Raton challenger, between TMS Indian Wells (l. first round) and TMS Miami (l. qualifying). He made the semifinals of the event, falling to a resurgent Thomas Enqvist.

The 2004 clay season started off well for Mario, as he made the quarterfinals at Valencia. After that all was mostly quiet; he qualified for TMS Roma and Barcelona but lost in the first round of both. He continued his strong Grand Slam play, though, making the third round at Roland Garros (upsetting Mariano Zabaleta in 2R) before falling to the favorite Guillermo Coria. He started strongly on grass, making the third round of Queen's and backed that up with a semifinal at 's-Hertogenbosch. He capped off his grass season with a fantastic run to the Wimbledon semifinal, where he had eventual finalist Andy Roddick on the ropes for four tough sets. The effort vaulted him into the Top 30 for the first time in his career.

He missed the summer hardcourt events with minor injuries (and because he didn't qualify for the TMS events before entries closed), but he had a successful comeback at the Olympics, where he and Ivan Ljubicic took the bronze medal in doubles. Unfortunately, he continued to slump, losing first round in singles and doubles at the US Open (partner Ljubicic played with a broken rib). Perhaps Hurricane Frances inspired him -- after helping feed some of the victims of the second big storm to hit Florida in as many weeks, Mario made the semis in Delray Beach (losing to the eventual champion) and hit the Top 25 in singles for the first time.

Mario began his indoor season by winning the Superset exhibition in London on the eve of the Lyon tournament; unfortunately, he hurt himself during his big cash haul and had to retire in the first round. He rounded out the year with four more first-round losses, but collected his highest-ever year-ending ranking at #29.

His start to 2005 was almost marred by injury; while practicing in Adelaide he rolled his ankle. He managed to reach the third round at the Australian Open anyway, losing in four close sets to the eventual champion. He had a good indoor season following that, recording SF finishes at Marseille and Rotterdam. He moved to the States for Scottsdale the next week in preperation for the Davis Cup and made his second career final (l. Wayne Arthurs). He and Ivan Ljubicic headed into their Davis Cup clash with the US in very fine form: Mario with his two semis and a final, and Ivan on a three-final streak. They teamed up for the upset, with Ljubicic again winning all of his matches to carry the Croats to a 3-2 win. Mario's spring success helped him into the Top 20 for the first time in his career, prior to Indian Wells. He wrapped up his spring hardcourt season with a 4R showing at TMS Miami, where he was one of 3 players to seriously tussle with Roger Federer.

Ancic began his clay season in a decent way, with second round showings at TMS Monte Carlo and Munich, where he won his second career doubles title with Julian Knowle. He followed up this superb doubles performance with a semifinal showing at TMS Hamburg (w/Ljubicic). He made the third round of Roland Garros for the second year in a row, falling to David Nalbandian.

After a disappointing showing at Queens, Mario amped it up to take his first title in his third final, sweeping defending 's-Hertogenbosch champion Michael Llodra to win the 2005 crown. He went on to the Wimbledon fourth round, where he lost to Feliciano Lopez. His summer season saw a fair amount of success, with consecutive 3R appearances at TMS Montreal and TMS Cincinnati, but Ancic merely won one match at the US Open before falling in four sets to Novak Djokovic.

He rebounded in the fall season, making the final of the big Tokyo Outdoors event and holding match points before falling to Wesley Moodie. The result was enough to put him back in the Top 20 for the first time in months. The rest of the indoor season was fairly quiet for Ancic, but he ended the year on a high note when he got to play hero, winning the live fifth rubber in the Davis Cup final vs the Slovak Republic. He had been a big part of the team for the whole year, going undefeated in the doubles but for the most part failing when it came to singles. However, he crushed Michal Mertinak in straights to bring the Cup to Croatia for the first time in history.

Mario's 2006 season started with promise, as he made the final of the second event in played, in Auckland (where he lost to fellow TH favorite Jarkko Nieminen). He followed this up with a third round showing at the Australian Open.

~*~ Links ~*~
The Next Generation: Mario Ancic
Mario Ancic Online

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