On Wednesday March 21 2012 one of the most exciting and entertaining players to ever grace a tennis court played his final tour match. After defeat to Nicolas Mahut in the Miami Masters 1000 event, Fernando Gonzalez retired from the professional tour. Afterwards he was presented with a commemorative frame by the ATP Executive Chairman and President Brad Drewett and a video of tributes and goodbyes from Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, the Bryan Brothers and David Nalbandian was played on the big screen. "At the end, the video was great. It's not only about tennis. It's also about friends. I mean, we've been playing against each other many times, but at the end of the day we are friends. We have a great relationship. Of course, the atmosphere was great. We're really far away from Chile, and there was little flags. There was my family here. I had a lot of friends, and I really enjoyed the moment."
In the coming weeks Gonzalez will look back at his career without regret. When he takes the time to himself to reflect on his career he will have so many memories to look back on, memories which the tennis community as a whole are thankful for. The greatest of his achievements were no doubt the doubles gold medal he won at the 2004 Olympics and the silver he won in the singles in 2008. The pride Gonzo showed when he represented his country was clear for everyone to see and the emotion on court that he and compatriot Nicolas Massu showed time and time again in Davis Cup was admirable.
A product of the Patricio Apey Academy, Gonzalez had a junior career to be envied by most. As well as a career high ranking of 5 in his professional career, Gonzalez also achieved the world no.1 ranking as a junior. He won the boys doubles title at the US Open in 1997 with Nicolas Massu and the French Open singles and doubles in 1998. That year, at 17, he made his Davis Cup debut in Chile's tie against Argentina. He won his first Davis Cup tie in a doubles rubber partnering Massu. In 2000 he won his first ATP tour title in Orlando at the U.S Men's Clay Court Championships when he defeated his friend Massu in the final. In 2002 he finished as No. 1 Chilean for first time and won ATP titles in Vina del Mar and Palermo. He was also a finalist in Basel and at AMS Cincinnati he beat Clement, Henman, Krajicek and Roddick before losing to World No. 1 Hewitt in three sets in SF. He served as second alternate at Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai which reflected his successful year. In 2003 he won the World Team Championships where he joined John McEnroe as the only player to go unbeaten in all 8 matches, singles and doubles. In the same year he defeated his idol Pete Sampras in Miami in a match which he described as very big for his career.
In 2004 he finished in Top 25 for second time in three years highlighted by his fourth career ATP title in Viña del Mar. He showed just how much his country meant to him when he helped his country repeat title at ATP World Team Championships by going 4-0 in singles and then at Athens Olympics he captured bronze medal in singles and gold medal in doubles (w/Massu). He outlasted American Dent 16-14 in third set (saving 2 M.P.) in singles, then saved four match points against Germany's Kiefer-Schuettler in doubles gold medal match. He then helped Chile back into '05 Davis Cup World Group for first time since 1985 by winning two singles matches against Japan in playoff tie.
In 2005 he won three more titles in Basel, Amersfoort and Auckland and he advanced to 3rd round or better at all four Grand Slam tournaments in a season for first time in his career. He also won two doubles titles in Basel and Valencia. In 2006 he broke into the top ten of the world for the first time. In 2007 he made a huge breakthrough by reaching his first Grand Slam final at Australian Open, dropping only one set in wins over Hewitt (3rd rd), No. 5 Blake (4th rd), No. 2 Nadal (qf) and No. 12 Haas (sf) before falling to Federer in straight sets .Afterwards, he climbed from No. 9 to a career-high No. 5. In one of his final interviews Gonzalez said the win over Tommy Haas was the most memorable win of his career as he played what he described as the best tennis of his life. That Australian Open run was a memorabe one for me as I remember watching Nadal in that tournament and thinking he was going to win it and then Gonzalez gave a masterclass of tennis and I'll never forget the sheer power and courage to go for shots that he showed throughout that match and it was one of the greatest displays of tennis I have ever seen. He added to his tally of titles when he won in Beijing of 2007.
In 2008 he won two further titles in Munich and Vina Del Mar for the third time. He defeated James Blake in a classic match in the semi finals of the Olympics before losing to Rafael Nadal in the final again displaying his pride at representing his country. That pride was again evident when he helped Chile into the World Group of the Davis Cup again at the end of that year. 2008 was arguably his best on the tour as he won titles, a silver medal at the Olympics where he became only the 4th man to win both singles and doubles medals and compiled records of 18-1 on clay, 18-12 on hard and 3-2 on grass. The year after he won the title at Vina Del Mar yet again in what proved to be his final career title. He made a career best at the French Open when he reached the semi finals and then he broke into the top 10 again before slipping out and then got back there again for a brief spell towards the end of the year for one week before he slipped out again for the last time.
2010 was a tough year for Gonzo as injury started to take its toll and he had to have hip surgery which sidelined him for a considerable amount of time. 2011 was to be no better for the Chilean as more injuries started to affect the veteran and he was only able to participate in 4 tour events which included a brave effort at Wimbledon where he reached the 3rd round. He gave a huge effort to try to play for Chile for the last time against Italy but a knee injury took him out of the match against Bolelli. An emotional return to Chile for the Vina Del Mar in January 2012 ended in a second round defeat to Souza but in Buenos Aires he proved his talent as he defeated Albert Montanes and Albert Ramos before bravely going down to the in form David Ferrer.
February 9th 2012 he announced he would be retiring from the tour after the Miami Masters 1000. The temptation to retire at Vina Del Mar in his homeland was huge but he declined that opportunity as it wouldn't give him enough time to say goodbye to his friends on the tour and he felt it would be too emotional. The Latin-American contingent in Miami made it easy for him to choose that as his final tournament. A brave effort against Mahut was just not good enough as he went down in a 3rd set tie break. Immediately the crowd were on their feet giving Gonzo the ovation he deserves as the Chilean flags were evident in the crowd.
Looking ahead to the future Gonzo said “I want to have a new start,” he said. “I'll still be working for tennis, it’s my passion. I’ll take some time to think what I will do.” In an interview with the official Miami Masters 1000 website he gave his views on what he was going to miss about the tour, "I’m going to miss the competition and preparing for something very important, both physically and mentally. I’ll also miss the locker room, being in different places with many of the same guys." Gonzalez will always be fondly remembered and in any conversation involving forehands Gonzo will always be the first name mentioned. It was often said his forehand was so powerful it could be heard around the world and even in his final months on tour the ability he possessed with a racquet was still visible for all to see.
From the lows of the earthquakes which struck his home country to the highs of winning Olympic medals Gonzo was always a true sportsman and his dedication and hard work are an example for all young players to try to emulate. I'm sure everyone who loves the game of tennis will join me in wishing him luck in his life after tennis. Farewell Fernando.
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