Last Updated on October 31, 2021
Dolgopolov was an atypical tennis player, who had on his side a wide range of strokes that made him unpredictable. Yes, unfortunately, I say “was” because, on May 1, the genius of the racket from Kiev announced his retirement from tennis.
“It was an extraordinary journey, the length of my entire life… I hope it was interesting for you to watch, because it was damn interesting for me to play my tennis.”
Congratulations on your fabulous career, @TheDolgo. 👏
— ATP Tour (@atptour) May 1, 2021
Dolgo will not be remembered for his victories, but for his game, never repetitive and always ready to surprise anyone by pulling a rabbit out of his hat.
Aleksandr debuted in the circuit in 2006 at the Open Romania in Bucharest, but it was in 2010 that he began to make a name for himself and entered the top 50. The following two years are his best years.
In 2011 he reached the quarter-finals of the AO (best Slam result ever), beating also Tsonga and Soderling, before surrendering to Murray. He won Indian Wells in the doubles with Xavier Malisse, beating first the Bryan brothers and then the reigning Olympic champions Federer/Wawrinka in the final. He also won his first ATP singles title in Umag.
In 2012 he reaches his best ranking at the 13th place of the ATP rankings, on January 16, 2012. Unfortunately, he misses the Olympics because he had not played in Davis in the previous 5 years. He will console himself by winning the ATP 500 in Washington in the final against Tommy Haas.
In 2014 he beats Nadal in an epic match in Indian Wells, only to surrender to Federer in the semifinals.
In 2017 he wins his last tournament in Buenos Aires.
In 2018 he plays his last match in Rome against Djokovic. He then suffers a wrist injury, which forces him to operate 2 times without recovering his form.
“I never set records, but I hope the fans liked my tennis. Three years ago in Australia I performed a bad stroke in practice and injured my wrist. It hurt, but it didn’t bother me too much. Then I reached the third round of the Australian Open and flew to Europe. I couldn’t even imagine that would be the end of my career.
Alexandr Dolgopolov
And so on May 1st, about 3 years after his last appearance Aleksandr Dolgopolov officially announced his retirement. Take it easy, you have been very interesting!
And here is a compilation to remind you how interesting Dolgo’s tennis was.
