Martin Klizan has informed officials that he will end his career after the Wimbledon Championships, according to information published by the Slovakian Tennis Federation.
The 31-year-old has told the tournament direction of a Challenge event in his home country that his upcoming appearance will likely be his final Tour match on home soil. It is believed that he will officially announce his retirement after the Wimbledon Championships where he will be playing in the qualifying tournament.
“Martin informed me that Bratislava Open 2021 will probably be his final clay court tournament in his career and will end definitively after Wimbledon,” tournament director Branislav Stankovič said at a press conference on Tuesday.
A former French Open boy’s champion back in 2006, Klizan has won six ATP titles during his career. Two of which were at ATP 500 events in Rotterdam and Hamburg during 2016. When he won his first title in 2012 he was the first Slovakian to do so since Dominik Hrbaty in 2004. He has been ranked as high as 24th in the world and defeated four top 10 players. The most recent was Dominic Thiem back in 2018.
However, this season has been one of frustration for Klizan who has lost in qualifying for an ATP or Grand Slam event five times. He has experienced more success on the Challenger Tour with runs to the quarter-finals in Marbella and Nur-Sultan.
Fellow Davis Cup team mate Norbert Gombos believes that it is this recent lull is success which has influenced Klizan’s decision to quit tennis.
“I was surprised. If he decides to do so, I will wish him only the best,”he said. “(It’s) demotivating to play mostly in challenger tournaments, where he is also not very successful at the moment. He was used to another level, he has excellent results.’
“I think at the same time I believe that he will change his mind.”
There has been no public comment from Klizan concerning his retirement. He is currently playing at the Biella Challenger in Italy.
