A seven-month injury absence from the tour has done little to dampen the aspirations of former Top-10 player Janko Tipsarevic.
The 31-year-old hasn’t played a match on the tour since his first round loss at the US Open. The Serbian has been troubled by a right knee injury which forced him to undergo surgery last October. After delaying his return to the tour this year due to tendonitis in his knee, Tipsarevic ended his seven-month hiatus this week at a Challenger tournament in Ostrava, the Czech Republic. In his first match of the year, he stunned sixth seed Hans Podlipnik-Castillo, 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-4, to get his first win since last year’s Madrid Open.
“The conditions were tough for everyone today because there was a tremendous amount of wind, but I’m happy that I won my first match in seven months,” Tipsarevic was quoted as saying by atpworldtour.com.
“It wasn’t a pretty match, but it’s important that I won.”
Injury troubles are nothing new for Tipsarevic, who has also suffered with Fibromatosis in his foot during 2013 and 2014. Fibromatosis is a benign soft tissue tumor that required surgery to treat. In the Serbian’s case, he underwent two operations to treat the condition.
Since last May the former world No.8 has only been able to play in eight tournaments due to his injury troubles. The lack of match play has seen the 31-year-old drop to 528 in the world rankings. Despite his woes, the two-time US Open quarter-finalist is aiming to return back inside the top-100 before the year ends.
“I’m just seeing how my body feels at this tournament because I haven’t played in seven months,” said Tipsarevic.
“The goal for this year is to finish in the Top 100 so I don’t have to go through qualifying for the big events.”
During a Tipsarevic’s career, he has won four ATP titles and have produced 15 wins over top-10 players. Two of those wins were against world No.1 Novak Djokovic in 2011 (ATP World Tour Finals) and 2012 (Madrid Masters).
In his second match of the year in Ostrava, Tipsarevic will play Czech qualifier Marek Michalička.
Janko Tipsarevic Vs (6) Hans Podlipnik-Castillo (full replay)
