Mardy Simpson Fish (born December 9, 1981) is an American former professional tennis player. He was a hardcourt specialist. He is one of several American tennis players who rose to prominence in the early 2000s.
Fish won six tournaments on the main ATP Tour and reached the final of four Masters Series events: Cincinnati in 2003 and 2010, Indian Wells in 2008, and Montreal in 2011. His best results at Grand Slam tournaments are reaching the quarterfinals of the 2007 Australian Open, the 2008 US Open, and the 2011 Wimbledon Championships. At the 2004 Summer Olympic Games, Fish won the silver medal in men's singles, losing the final to Nicolás Massú.
In April 2011, Fish overtook compatriot and friend Andy Roddick to become the American No. 1 in the ATP rankings, reaching a career-high singles ranking of world No. 7 in August 2011. He then played in the year-end tournament for the only time in his career. He retired after the 2015 US Open. In January 2019, Fish replaced Jim Courier as captain of the United States Davis Cup team.Fish named USA Davis Cup captain, daviscup.com (access: 10 January 2019).
Early life Fish is the son of a tennis teaching professional and a housewife, Tom and Sally Fish. He was born in Edina, Minnesota. In 1984 a Minneapolis TV station ran a profile of Fish, at the age of two, hitting tennis balls from the baseline over the net. In 1986, Fish's family moved to Vero Beach, Florida. He attended Vero Beach High School for tenth grade, then moved to Boca Prep in Boca Raton, Florida, for his junior and senior years of high school. He, Andy Roddick, and Jesse Levine all attended Boca Prep International School. During 1999, he lived with Roddick's family, and the two played on the same tennis and basketball teams.
Tennis career
Juniors As a junior, Fish compiled a 58–25 singles win–loss record (32–19 in doubles), reaching as high as No. 14 in the world in 1999 (and No. 19 in doubles).
2000–2005 Fish turned professional in 2000 at the age of 18. He spent his first few years as a pro playing in the Challenger and Futures circuits. He earned his first title on the ATP Tour in 2002 playing doubles in the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships in Houston, Texas, with Andy Roddick.
Fish's career improved significantly in 2003, when he won his first ATP singles title and reached the biggest final of his career in Cincinnati. His singles victory came near the end of the season, when he defeated Robin Söderling to win the Stockholm Open in Stockholm, Sweden. In addition, he defeated fifth-seeded and former world no. 1 Carlos Moyà at the 2003 Australian Open in the second round, 3–6, 7–6, 6–4, 4–6, 6–2. He finished the year ranked no. 20 in the world.
Fish played well in 2004, reaching the finals at the SAP Open in San Jose, California and in the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, Germany. At the 2004 Summer Olympics, Fish earned a silver medal having defeated Juan Carlos Ferrero and Fernando González to reach the final. He lost the final in five sets to Chilean Nicolás Massú.
In 2005, Fish injured his left wrist. It eventually required two surgeries, and as a result, he played just 17 matches in the year.
2006 Fish was awarded a wildcard in April into the US Men's Claycourt Championships. He won the tournament, defeating eighth seed Juan Mónaco, Rainer Schüttler, Vince Spadea, Tommy Haas, and Jürgen Melzer in the final 3–6, 6–4, 6–3.
At Wimbledon, Fish signaled his return to professional status as he reached the third round, defeating fellow American Robby Ginepri and Dutch player Melle van Gemerden. The night prior to his third-round match, he suffered from food poisoning. He could play only one set before retiring against Georgian Irakli Labadze.
2007 Fish began 2007 by achieving his best finish at a Grand Slam. Fish reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, losing to his old roommate and doubles partner, Andy Roddick. Fish made waves on the first day of the tournament by knocking off Ivan Ljubičić, the fourth seed, and had an easy win in the third round when his heavily favoured opponent Wayne Arthurs retired in the opening set. Fish had few problems in his first four matches, but lost in straight sets to Roddick. As a result, he moved up by 17 places in the ATP rankings.
2008 Fish started off 2008 quite well at the Hopman Cup, an exhibition event in Perth, Western Australia. Partnering with Serena Williams, he won the title. Williams was ill and arrived after the start of the event, but Meghann Shaughnessy filled in for the first match. Fish won against Indian Rohan Bopanna and Australian Peter Luczak, and received a walkover from Czech Tomáš Berdych. Although Fish lost the first doubles match, he and Williams were undefeated in two mixed doubles matches. They qualified as undefeated for the final, where they faced top-seeded Serbians Novak Djokovic and Jelena Janković. Although Fish lost in singles against Djokovic, the Americans again won the mixed doubles match to win the title.
Fish fell to Jarkko Nieminen in the third round of the Australian Open after a code violation caused him to lose his composure.
Fish then went on to make a quarterfinal showing at the 2008 Delray Beach International Tennis Championships, before losing to long-time friend and wild-card entry Robby Ginepri.
At the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, Fish defeated world no. 1 Roger Federer in the semifinals in what Fish described as "a great win,"Pacific Life Open – March 22 – Mardy Fish (interview transcript) after failing to beat the Swiss player in five previous matches. However, Fish lost in the final to Novak Djokovic, the third seed.
At the French Open, Fish lost in the second round to 25th-seeded Lleyton Hewitt with Fish committing 58 unforced errors, compared to Hewitt's twelve.Match Statistics
At Wimbledon, Fish lost in the first round to eighth-seeded Richard Gasquet.Statistics
At the US Open, Fish reached the quarterfinals, before losing to Rafael Nadal.
2009
Fish won his fifth doubles title, partnering Mark Knowles of the Bahamas at the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships in Memphis. The next week, ranked as the top seed, he won his third singles title at the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships against first-time finalist Evgeny Korolev.
In the 2009 BNP Paribas Open, Fish received a first-round bye, only to be eliminated in the second round by unseeded Frenchman Jérémy Chardy. However, he captured his sixth doubles title and first ATP Masters Series 1000 title with partner Andy Roddick.
In April, Fish played in the 2009 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships, but was knocked out in the first round by Björn Phau of Germany. He then played in the 2009 Rome Masters, where he lost in the second round to Fernando Verdasco.
Fish advanced to the third round in Wimbledon men's singles, where he fell to Novak Djokovic in straight sets. In doubles, he and partner James Blake advanced to the semifinals, before losing to the defending and eventual champions Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjić.
In July, Fish competed in the Davis Cup against Croatia, losing to Marin Čilić in five sets.
On August 30, Fish withdrew from the 2009 US Open, where he was seeded 25th, citing a rib injury.
2010 Fish began 2010 by winning the SAP Open in San Jose with doubles partner Sam Querrey. The pair defeated Benjamin Becker and Leonardo Mayer, 7–6, 7–5, in the final. With this win, Fish improves to 7–1 lifetime in ATP World Tour doubles finals. On March 27, Fish knocked his second round opponent Andy Murray out of the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, Florida, in straight sets On June 10, Fish played Andy Murray again in the third round of the Queen's tournament in London. Fish won the first set 6–4, but lost the second 6–1. However, during the third set, Fish was leading 3–0, Murray then brought it back to 3–3. Fish then complained to the umpire that it was too dark, and he then walked off the court without talking to Murray. Murray stayed on the court for a few minutes after the incident and said, "He only complained because I was gaining momentum", and "He wouldn't have complained when he was 3–0 up." The following day, Fish went on to win the third and final set in a 6–4, 1–6, 7–6 victory. He faced Michaël Llodra in the quarterfinals and Feliciano López in the semifinals to reach the final. He lost to compatriot Sam Querrey to finish as runner-up.
At Wimbledon, he lost in the second round to Florian Mayer, 6–7, 6–3, 6–4, 6–4. After Wimbledon, he participated in the last grass-court event of the year, the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in Newport. He won his fourth title, and first on grass, over Belgian Olivier Rochus in three sets.Mardy Fish Wins Title & Van Alen Cup, Carsten Ball & Chris Guccione Grab Doubles Title at Campbell's Hall of Fame Tennis Championships – © 2011 International Tennis Hall of Fame & Museum As a result, his ranking jumped up to the top 50 at 49. He proceeded to win a second straight title, which was also his second of the year and first on hard courts, at the Atlanta Tennis Championships. It was the first tournament in Atlanta in over a decade, and in the semifinal and final rounds, Fish defeated Andy Roddick (whom he had not beaten in eight consecutive career meetings), who was the top seed, and John Isner, who played collegiate tennis for nearby University of Georgia.
In Fish's return to the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati, he advanced over former world no. 6 Gilles Simon, over world no. 8 Fernando Verdasco, over former world no. 7 Richard Gasquet, and over world no. 4 Murray to reach the semifinals, where he defeated former world no. 1 Andy Roddick, 4–6, 7–6, 6–1. He was edged by world no. 2 Roger Federer, 6–7, 7–6, 6–4, in the final, but jumped into the top 25 in the world rankings.
2011 Fish opened his season at the 2011 Brisbane International, falling in the second round to Stepanek, 3–6, 1–6. Fish then fell in the second round to Tommy Robredo, 6–1, 3–6, 3–6, 3–6, at the 2011 Australian Open.
He made the semifinals at his next two tournaments; 2011 Delray Beach International Tennis Championships, losing to resurging, eventual champion Juan Martín del Potro, and at the 2011 Regions Morgan Keegan Championships losing to fast-rising Canadian youngster Milos Raonic in three sets.
After a first-round bye in the 2011 BNP Paribas Open, he fell in the second round again to Milos Raonic, 5–7, 4–6. At the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open, Fish found some rich vein of form, collecting wins over Julien Benneteau, Richard Gasquet, and notably reached the quarterfinals by winning against Juan Martín del Potro, 7–5, 7–6, who only a few weeks earlier had defeated Fish in Delray Beach. By defeating del Potro and reaching the quarterfinals in Miami, Mardy Fish overtook Andy Roddick as the highest-ranked American player on the tour. Fish's campaign continued, as he upset ATP world no. 6 David Ferrer, 7–5, 6–2, before falling to world no. 2 Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of the Sony Ericsson Open. He entered the top 10 for the first time on April 18, despite not playing, because Fernando Verdasco did not defend his Monte Carlo points.
Fish reached the third round of the 2011 French Open, his best result at the tournament so far. He was beaten by Gilles Simon, 3–6, 4–6, 2–6.
Fish reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon for the first time, after beating the 2010 finalist Tomáš Berdych in straight sets. He lost to world no. 1 Rafael Nadal, 6–3, 6–3, 5–7, 6–4. At the 2011 Farmers Classic on July 31, 2011, Fish faced Ernests Gulbis for the title, having defeated fellow American teenager Ryan Harrison in the semifinals. He finished runner-up to Gulbis, 7–5, 4–6, 4–6. This dropped him to a 6–13 mark in ATP World Tour finals. The following week, he withdrew from Washington, D.C., citing a heel injury sustained during the Farmers Classic final.