Ivan Dodig’s Enduring Grit Seals a Fulfilling Farewell
Fifteen years after a chaotic triumph in Zagreb, the Croatian veteran steps away from the tour, his career a testament to resilience forged in close calls and doubles mastery.
In the electric hum of Zagreb’s arena on February 6, 2011, Ivan Dodig unleashed an ace that echoed like a final punctuation on his first ATP Tour singles title against Michael Berrer. The home crowd’s roar swelled as he hurled his racquet into the stands and strode toward the net, pulse racing with the certainty of victory. But chair umpire Cedric Mourier’s voice cut through the din—a let on the serve—yanking him back into the fray, racquet reclaimed from a bewildered fan, the score slipping to deuce amid mounting tension.
Nerves fray in Zagreb’s pressure cooker
Dodig’s disbelief lingered like the echo of that phantom ace, but he steadied his baseline rhythm to edge out a 6-3, 6-4 win, his inside-out forehand threading the needle in the clutch. Recalling the scramble years later, he admitted the moment’s fragility could have derailed everything. “I was like, ‘No way’. I could not believe it,” he shared with ATPTour.com. “It was a hectic situation because I threw the racquet and I needed to ask the guy to please give me back the racquet. I lost the next point, and it was Deuce. Somehow, I managed to finish the match. I was lucky. I always was thinking about it. Imagine that I lost that match, it would have been a disaster.”
“In the beginning of the year, I was considering my options. And then through the year, after a couple of months, I already decided and the people close to me knew it would be my last year,” Dodig reflected. “But I didn’t put so much attention into that, and now at the end, in the past couple of months, I decided and finally started to share the good friends that this would be my last year.”
That 2011 upset marked the lone singles trophy in a journey that peaked at No. 29 in the PIF ATP Rankings, but back troubles by 2017 steered him toward doubles, where he climbed to No. 2 and claimed 24 tour-level titles. Entering 2025 at age 40, he weighed his path quietly, confiding in intimates early on while channeling focus into the season’s grind—from Melbourne’s sweltering hard courts to Paris’s crisp indoors. The decision to retire, kept under wraps until autumn, allowed him to savor the final volleys without the weight of public goodbyes, his steady returns masking the emotional undercurrent.
Late bloom roots deep in shared dreams
From Medjugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina—a pilgrimage hub far from tennis’s spotlight—Dodig grew up alongside Marin Cilic, nearly four years his junior, their friendship forged on dusty local courts. As boys, they devoured rare TV glimpses of Goran Ivanisevic‘s thunderous serves, the only Croatian beacon in a sport that felt worlds away. “That’s how we all [fell] in love with tennis and we started to dream,” he recalled, the spark enduring as Cilic relocated young to Zagreb under Bob Brett‘s guidance, rising to claim the 2014 US Open crown.
Their bond outlasted individual climbs, culminating in an Olympic doubles silver in Tokyo, a quiet triumph amid professional isolation. Dodig views their story as a rare gift, one that inspired regional youth to pick up racquets in towns once indifferent to the game. “We have to be proud. It’s a special story and a special gift. We got from the beginning to the end and [spent] a lot of time sitting together talking about it,” he said. “it’s special and not so many people know, but the journey we have was different from so many others and we’re proud of that. We motivated so many kids around here, around this region, to play tennis. And even now to see so many kids playing tennis because of us, it’s a great thing.”
Dodig’s singles highlights that year extended beyond Zagreb; he stunned then-World No. 2 Rafael Nadal 1-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(5) at the ATP Masters 1000 in Canada, his crosscourt backhand slicing through the Spaniard’s defense in tiebreak tension. He racked up multiple wins over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Milos Raonic, and even Cilic, while clipping Kei Nishikori with precise down-the-line passes that exploited rushed approaches. “I had a great career in singles, I have to admit,” he noted. “So many good wins, great memories.”
Those battles honed a perseverance that saw him crack the Top 100 near age 24—later than most at 20 or 21—yet hold steady for 15 or 16 years through the tour’s relentless surfaces. The mental edge from such upsets carried into doubles, where partnerships eased the solo strain, his underspin slices setting up one–two combinations at net.
Doubles pivot crowns a resilient arc
By July 2017, physical limits prompted a full shift to doubles, a move that stretched his career another seven or eight years amid clay’s slow grinds and hard courts’ pace. He seized three majors, starting with Roland Garros in 2015 alongside Marcelo Melo, their deep lobs and poaches unraveling foes on the red dirt. The 2021 Australian Open with Filip Polasek followed, aggressive net rushes turning hardcourt rallies into quick points, while 2023 brought another Roland Garros title partnering Austin Krajicek, slice serves pulling opponents off-balance for inside-in finishes.
Six Masters 1000 victories and nine Nitto ATP Finals outings—with Melo, Marcel Granollers, Polasek, and Krajicek—underscored his adaptability, from grass’s low bounces to indoors’ sharp angles. Krajicek, who shared Year-End No. 1 honors with him in 2023, lauded the veteran’s influence. “What a tremendous career he’s had. He’s been someone that I’ve looked up to for a long time, and obviously I have a tremendous amount of respect for him. [It has been a privilege] to be a small part of his journey and play alongside him and really get to feel like he’s almost family to me. We had a great time playing together and had a lot of success. It’s awesome to see someone like Ivan, who’s been such a a role model for so many young guys coming into the sport, and to uphold such a high standard of work ethic and grit his whole career has been really fun to watch. I always had a tremendous amount of respect for Ivan and of course wish him nothing but the best moving forward,” he said.
“Usually players break Top 100 at the age 20, 21. I broke Top 100 [when I was] almost 24. But after that, I stayed there for a long time, for 15, 16 years,” Dodig explained. “I achieved a lot of things, and played so much tennis in singles and doubles. So it’s a quite long career for me, and I’m really happy about it and really had a good time all these years.”
“I think I made a great, great decision at that time,” he added of the doubles transition. “I extended my career for another seven, eight years in doubles and enjoyed amazing success in doubles with great partners.” As 2025’s final draws fade, Dodig steps away content, his path a blueprint for late risers chasing dreams against the odds, leaving courts buzzing with the next generation’s ambition.
