The Baseline Top 5: Janko Tipsarevic's career highlights
The second Serbian male to crack the top 10 recently announced he's retiring.
Heavily tattooed, bespectacled and deeply philosophical, Janko Tipsarevic has stood out on the ATP tour ever since he turned professional.
A brilliant shotmaker, Tipsarevic scaled the heights of the men’s game as far as his body would take him. Worn down by injuries the past several seasons, the Serb just announced this week that this season will be his last as retirement beckons, when he will focus on family and his tennis academy, developing the next generation of players.
Here’s a look at five of the on-court highs of a colorful career.
1
Davis Cup Glory
In 2010, Serbia—playing three of its four ties at home—captured the Davis Cup title for the first time. Playing singles and doubles throughout the run, Tipsarevic helped put Serbia through to the final against France by taking the live fifth rubber against the Czech Republic. A triumph in the international men’s competition prompted a special celebration where the squad shaved their heads in a sign of unity after the final.
2
A Champion at Last
Between June 2009 and September 2011, Tipsarevic reached four singles finals: two on grass and two on indoor hard courts. The Serb finally broke through a month later by capturing the Malaysian Open against Marcos Baghdatis in another indoor hard-court championship match. Tipsarevic followed that win up with another title a couple of weeks later against compatriot Victor Troicki at the Kremlin Cup in Russia, in the first-ever all-Serbian men’s final.
3
A Top-10 Debut
That title-winning run, along with a quarterfinal finish at the US Open, landed Tipsarevic in the ATP Finals as an alternate. Pressed into action due to Andy Murray’s withdrawal, the Serb defeated his countryman Novak Djokovic for the first time. He made his top-10 debut after the tournament, finishing the 2011 season at No. 9.
4
A Drive for More
Tipsarevic had the best season of his career in 2012, one that saw him remain in the top 10 throughout the year. Traditionally at his best on faster surfaces, he won the first clay-court title of his career in Stuttgart, Germany, and a week after that, he advanced to the final in Gstaad, Switzerland. Later that summer, Tipsarevic repeated his quarterfinal effort at the US Open and managed to clinch the final spot at the ATP Finals.
5
The Never-ending Fight
Over the past few years, multiple surgeries and related issues have sent Tipsarevic to the sidelines, but he’s always fought back. In 2017, he came back from the triple digits to reach the top 60 on the strength of four Challenger titles, but missed all of 2018 and started this year unranked. Upon his return, he showed flashes of his old form, even pushing former world No. 3 Grigor Dimitrov to five sets at the French Open. That fighting spirit always served him well, and should continue to do so in his future endeavors.
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