(July 9, 2013) -- After a long wait,
Mardy Fish finally feels ready to return to the ATP Tour. The former top 10 player spent most of the late spring and early summer at home as he continued to recover from ongoing health issues that forced him to miss both the French Open and Wimbledon.
But after careful planning, Fish is ready to return to the grind of the ATP Tour. Speaking by phone on a conference call for the upcoming Citi Open in Washington, D.C., Fish gave an update on the accelerated heart condition he first experienced in early 2012.
"As far as the heart condition is concerned, the surgery that we did last year kind of let us know where we were and that it's now fixed and everything is ok," Fish said about the surgery he had last spring to correct a heart arrhythmia. "I haven't had any issues. Trusting that has been one of the hard things, and it's been a scary thing for sure."
Despite the surgery's success, Fish has had a slow road back to tennis. After withdrawing from his scheduled match against Roger Federer at last year's US Open, Fish did not play until Indian Wells this season. He then lost early in Savannah and has withdrawn from every event since.
Fish, who now resides in Los Angeles, spent his time away from the tour trying to get his body in the best possible shape. And in order to get back into match play, Fish signed up to play World Team Tennis for the Sacramento Capitals this week. He will then compete at the BB&T Atlanta Open before next traveling to Washington, D.C. for the Citi Open, where he reached the semis last year.
Each decision not to play an event was one Fish made with great care despite knowing his ranking would drop as a result.
"Not playing Wimbledon was an extremely hard decision. I hadn't played in a while. Being that far away from home, it's a very delicate thing what I've been through. Obviously you care about your ranking and you want to be in events and you want to be placed in tournaments in better spots."
Now currently ranked No. 61 in the world, Fish looks forward to not only getting back out on the court, but also being among his fellow Americans on the road.
"It'll be a fun process. It's just starting for me. I look forward to the summer always since it's where I've played my best tennis and I have great memories. So I'm excited to get started back up to try and help American tennis and just be there helping the guys out as well. These guys are my friends,
John Isner and
Sam Querrey, and I miss
James (Blake) and I miss the camaraderie on the road. It's been nice to be home, since as tennis players we travel some 30 weeks during the year. But I've certainly done all the right things to put myself in the position to come back and I'm ready to do it."
The Citi Open will be held from July 27 to Aug. 4 in Washington, D.C.
|
(Photo Credit: Chang Photography) |