For Mardy Fish, it was supposed to mark a high point in his tennis career. Instead, Sept. 3, 2012, stands out as one of the most difficult days of his life.
“I was in the spot where you work your butt off to get to: the fourth round of the U.S. Open against Roger Federer on Labor Day,” Fish recalled. “That’s why you work so hard in this game and sacrifice so much – to get to that position.”
He never stepped on court that afternoon. During the car ride from his hotel in Manhattan to the tournament site in Queens, Fish began to panic. He withdrew from the tournament.
“That was as deep and as low as I got during my whole severe anxiety disorder that I’ve had now for the past three years,” Fish said in an interview with The Associated Press. “I was in a really dark place.”
Fish, a former top-10 player, plans to bring things full circle, in a way, by playing in the U.S. Open, which begins Monday. It is the first time he’s been to Flushing Meadows since 2012, and the 33-year-old American says it will be the last time he participates in a professional tennis tournament.