At 40, Ivan Dodig Retires: "I Made the Right Decision at the Right Time"
Ivan Dodig is calling it a career. Former world No. 29, the Croatian, who won the only title of his career in singles in Zagreb in 2011, later excelled in doubles, a discipline to which he fully dedicated himself from 2017, after playing his last singles match in the semifinals in Umag against Andrey Rublev that season.
In doubles, he reached world No. 2 in 2023, winning among others three Grand Slams (Roland Garros 2015 with Marcelo Melo, the Australian Open 2021 with Filip Polasek, and Roland Garros 2023 with Austin Krajicek). Dodig confirmed his decision in an interview given to the official ATP website in recent hours.
"At the beginning of the year, I thought about my options. Then, over the months, I made my decision and my close ones already knew it would be my last year. But I didn't pay much attention to it, and now, at the end, during the last two months, I made my decision and finally started telling my good friends that it would be my last year. I must admit I had a great singles career. So many beautiful victories and good memories. I think I made the right decision at the right time.
I extended my career by seven or eight years in doubles and had incredible success with great partners. I hope my sports career motivated some children to find their path and pursue their dreams. I hope they too can achieve theirs and if I motivated them a little, I am very proud and happy. I always gave everything on the tennis court, for myself, for my family, for the community, and for people who love tennis and want to become professionals. I gave everything, I am very happy and satisfied," assured Dodig.
