Mardy Fish Withdraws From US Open

Written by: Staff on 4th September 2012

Mardy Fish Withdraws From US Open |

Mardy Fish heeded the advice of his doctors and pulled out of the U.S. Open a matter of hours before his fourth-round match against top seeded Roger Federer as a “precautionary measures” following a recurrence of the accelerated heartbeat that required a surgical procedure earlier this year.

Fish was understandably distressed about his condition but was right to err on the side of caution after being forced to miss nearly three months of tennis after first experiencing heart problems at Miami’s Sony Open in March.

The recurrence came after Fish’s third round win over Gilles Simon that extended five sets and more than three hours, ending at 1am in the morning. Following the match Fish opted not to attend the mandatory press conference, preferring instead to get medical treatment.

After waiting 36 hours before making a decision, Fish elected to withdraw from the event and issued a statement through the United States Tennis Association. “I regret that I have to withdraw from the U.S. Open for precautionary measures,” Fish said before returning to his home in Los Angeles.

“I was reluctant to do so, but am following medical advisement. I had a good summer and look forward to resuming my tournament schedule in the fall.”

Fish’s agent with Lagardere Unlimited, John Tobias, reported that he had never seen the player look more dispirited. Tobias sent an email to The Associated Press stating: “Mardy is fine and will return home to L.A. tomorrow. This was strictly precautionary and I anticipate that Mardy will play in Asia this fall.”

However Tobias later said: “We are not 100 percent sure what the issue is and if it is related to his previous issues. He arrived here this morning with every intention of playing, but at some point he had some sort of weird feeling and because of his history, he went in and saw the doctor and the doctor didn’t want even to risk it,”

Fish’s coach, Mark Knowles said a scheduled morning practice was called off. “There was a lot of conversation with the medical team,” he reported. “But ultimately no matter how big the match is or how special the occasion, health comes first.”

The withdrawal gave top seeded Federer an unexpected free passage though to 34th consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal appearance where he will meet sixth seed Tomas Berdych.

Federer expressed his best wishes for Fish’s health. “I am really sorry for Mardy. I just want to wish him a speedy recovery. We all want to see him back on tour soon,” Federer said.

And looking forward he added: “It will be a tough match against Tomas. We have played many times in the past and he has always been a tough opponent. I will have to continue to serve well and dictate the points.”

©Daily Tennis News Wire

Topics: American tennis news, Gilles Simon, Mardy Fish, Roger Federer, Sports, Tennis, tennis injury, US Open 2012