Mikhail Youzhny announced following his first-round victory at the BB&T Atlanta Open that he will retire this fall. Youzhny, who beat Emil Reinberg 6-2, 6-0 on Tuesday night, will call it quits following the St. Petersburg Open at home in Russia.
“I was so nervous this evening because, actually, (this is) the first time I can announce officially I will finish my tennis career after the U.S. Open and one more tournament,” the 36-year-old told the crowd. “(My) time is over. That’s why I was so nervous (tonight).
“I play all the U.S. Open Series, and after the U.S. Open I will play my home tournament in St. Petersburg and [that] will be my last tournament.”
Youzhny is a two-time U.S. Open semifinalist (2006, 2010) and he has completed the career quarterfinal Grand Slam–reaching at least the quarters of all four majors. The current world No. 105 has won 10 ATP singles titles in 21 final appearances.
But beyond his stellar on-court results, Youzhny is perhaps best-known for an incident at the 2008 Miami Masters in which he repeatedly slammed his forehand with his racket after losing a point against Nicolas Almagro. Youzhny eventually broke serve in the same game and went on to win the match.
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colonel. legend.
Agreed, Ricky. He was a pretty entertaining player when he was in his prime. And I’d say that the career QF Grand Slam is a good achivement for any journeyman-type player.
Sad to see him go 😿