Buh-bye, Mario

Former top tenner calls it a career. 

[Screen Grab: ATPWorldTour.com]

VIDEO VAULT: Mario the Renaissance Man loves ladies of all kinds

Mario Ancic sat down for a fun Q & A with a show called Ace The Tennis Show.

So on top of being a world-class athlete the towering Croat, who earned a law degree last year, prefers the night over day, reads more books than magazines, likes walks on the beach, and women of all kind.

Single ladies - are you listening? Jump that NOW.

CHECK IT:



(via Game, Set, Match)

Super Mario suffers another setback, withdraws from Stockholm with illness

Thanks to an anonymous DtL reader and april for tipping me off to this truly unfortunate news concerning Mario Ancic.

The Croat, who showed us all how excited he was to be back in action in Stockholm this week, has withdrawn from the tourney with acute bronchitis with fever.

What the hell is going on with his health? This is a pretty serious issue for him, obviously, and very frustrating for the Croat. Super Mario needs to get to the bottom of these health problems because we're not just talking about a common cold or the flu even, but mono and now acute bronchitis.

Be well Mario...

(image via Getty)

PHOTO OP: Super Mario looks super excited to be hitting balls again

Mario Ancic was spotted cracking an open stance forehand while defeating Olivier Rochus 7-6 (6), 6-2 in Stockholm today.

Okay people - when I saw this photo I had to do a double...no triple take on the image. I was thinking, "Super Mario looks REALLY REALLY excited to be back after getting sick again!"

And just so you know, Mario, we are too...oy...

(image via Getty)

Mario regains health, replaces Marin in Davis Cup play-off

Mario Ancic made a welcome return to the ATP Tour in today.

The Croat skipped both the Olympics and the US Open with a recurrence of mononucleosis but seems to have his health back. He replaced compatriot Marin Cilic, who's dealing with a nerve inflammation in his left cheek, in his country's Davis Cup play-off versus Brazil.

I'm happy I was wrong in thinking your season might be over, Super Mario. Good to see you back in the mix - stay well.

(image via AP)

Ancic withdraws from US Open with mono, season most likely over

Mario Ancic, whose 2007 season was derailed by a bout of mononucleosis, has announced his withdrawal from the US Open with a recurrence of the energy-sapping illness. The Croat withdrew from last year's tourney with a shoulder injury.

Super Mario's Wimbledon performances, particularly his after-dark win against David Ferrer in the third round and his comeback from 2 sets to love down against Fernando Verdasco in the round of 16, were some of the best stories to come out of the fortnight.

Tough luck Mario - get well.

(image via Getty)

+ WEDNESDAY NETCORDS: Lindsay, Kim, Nole vs. Andy, Lleyton bags season...Mario returns, Roger dreams of gold and more

(image courtesy of The Red Joke)

- Boneheaded or brilliant? Former tennis player and coach Ion Tiriac is pushing to make Madrid the location of a 5th Grand Slam tournament.

- Super Mario: Croatia's Mario Ancic is finally making strides on the ATP Tour again after sitting out 6 months with mononucleosis and then recently with a shoulder injury. "Playing matches, waiting for matches to start, warming up for matches, it's new for me this year," said the former top-10 player. "I haven't done much of that at all. You can work as much as you want, but when you come to a tournament, it's a new world."

- Closing shop: Aussie hothead Lleyton Hewitt has ended his '07 campaign early. The former World No. 1 is nursing a chronic ankle issue which he re-injured while preparing for Davis Cup duty last month. Lleyton's manager, David Drysdale, said, "It's not something that we think is going to be an issue in the future. The advice we were given by the specialists was to give him three or four weeks off and then allow another three or four weeks to recuperate, so that's pretty much what we're doing."

- Speaking of the Hewitts, sister Jaslyn has traded in her tennis racquets for dumbells and competitive bodybuilding. According to a recent interview she didn't want to "bulk up like a she-man. I like the athletic feminine look," said Jaslyn. Check out her new look here. We're thinking she's a card-carrying dude now, but that's just our humble opinion. (via TSF)

- Another former World No. 1 Lindsay Davenport is singing a different tune than Lleyton and discussing the beginning of her full assault on the tennis world. In an interviw with RadioTennis.com, Lindsay discussed her initial 2008 plans saying, "Right now the plan is to leave for Australia after the first of the year, play a warm-up tournament prior to the Australian Open, then play the Australian Open and then possibly play Fed Cup."

- Novak Djokovic & Andy Murray: how do the old friends stack up against each other?

- The currently retired, but very pregnant, Kim Clijsters can still hit a big ball - baby bump and all. No, seriously....check it out here!

- Roger Federer likes his chances to win the Australian and French Opens next year, but what about the "Golden Slam"? "The Olympic Games is a special year and honestly I don't envision the Golden Slam, but if it's there to take I'll try, but it's a tough schedule," [...] "It's hard to do, almost impossible."

- Sign o' the times: Which astrological sign is the most populated by tennis players? Tennis Diary knows...and they're telling.