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For any athlete, being able to choose the moment of goodbye is almost a privilege. enjoy it Tommy Robredo, who announced this Thursday that his last tournament will be the Count of Godó, at home, with his people, on the track. A prolonged end of stage until almost forty years old, with twelve ATP titles, four times quarterfinalist at Roland Garros (2003, 2007, 2009 and 2013), also at the 2013 US Open and the 2007 Australian Open and a fifth place in the world in 2006 as part of its value, because the career of a tennis player does not only live on trophies.
That of Robredo, whose name was chosen by his father, a follower of the group ‘The Who’, is also the trajectory of perseverance in a sport that began, precisely in Barcelona, in 1998 as a professional, after standing out in the junior category : Orange Bowl champion at the age of 16, Roland Garros finalist in 2000, and who has taken him around the world to accumulate a loot of 890 ATP matches, the Hamburg Masters 1,000 (2006), and three Davis Cups (2004 , in which he played the final, 2008 and 2009).
He has enjoyed the best time in tennis, face to face with the big three: he rivaled Nadal on seven occasions, including the 2006 Godó final; twelve with Roger Federer, from whom he stole a victory in the round of 16 of the 2013 US Open (7-6 (3), 6-3 and 6-4); and twice he beat Novak Djokovic in his nine appointments (eighth of the Masters 1,000 in Paris in 2005 and eighth of Cincinnati in 2014). Samples that his tennis, a lethal forehand and an impeccable one-handed backhand, knew how to adapt to different times. He remained among the top thirty in the world for eleven seasons. And with a seasoned tennis that also gives him other ‘titles’: the first player in the Open Era to come back from three consecutive matches with two sets down and the third player with the best percentage in five-set matches (80%).
Close the circle
It is true that the rivals found the key to attack their best shots, but not their attitude or their passion to continue touring the racket world at the ready. «If I have been able to continue playing it is because I really like tennis and it is not difficult for me to wake up in the morning and go to train. Until the pandemic I did it one hundred percent.
Although the losses took him to the current 343rd position, he accepted a more secondary role in recent years, in which he combined the previous rounds of the big tournaments with the ‘challenger’ circuit: two titles he added in 2019 (Poland and Italy).
«Here I started my dreams and here I was able to win the title, possibly the most important of my career. The pandemic has delayed it a year, but I wanted to say goodbye at home, with my people, my family, the fans. Doing it on a court without an audience was something I didn’t want”, conceded the man from Hostalric at the foot of the court, at the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona, accompanied at the press conference by the director of the tournament and his partner, David Ferrer.
It is, therefore, a considered decision. And to the family, with his daughter Alexia, born in March 2021, he will dedicate himself now, but he does not rule out continuing to be linked to tennis, since his foundation already brings tennis closer to people with disabilities. “Surely I will continue doing something linked to tennis,” he confirmed. Robredo says goodbye; his tennis and his perseverance, example forever.
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