Mario Ancic admits it was Wimbledon Centre Court which prevented him from slumping into despair when illness and injury sent his career into a tailspin in 2007.
The 24-year-old Croatian, the last man to beat Roger Federer at Wimbledon six long years ago, marked his return to the All England Club centre stage with a four-set victory over fifth seed David Ferrer to reach the fourth round.
Fittingly for a man who suffered some dark moments during spells of debilitating glandular fever and a serious shoulder injury, Ancic clinched victory over the Spaniard in the cold, late evening gloom.
"I missed Wimbledon last year and I was going through a rough time. Many times I tried to come back, and always in my mind was to play Centre Court at Wimbledon," said Ancic. "That was what was always motivating me, to play big matches like this in big stadiums."
Ancic was number seven in the world in 2006 and helped Croatia to an historic first Davis Cup title. But illness laid him low from February to August 2007 while injury and then a stomach illness put him out again until February this year sending his ranking spiralling to 136.
He is haunted by having to miss the 2007 Wimbledon, comfortably his most successful Grand Slam where he was a semi-finalist in 2004 and quarter-finalist two years later. "This time last year I was spending time in the gym, doing everything I could to be fit again. I realised how much I missed Wimbledon," added Ancic who has reconstructed his ranking to 43 and will face Spain's Fernando Verdasco for a place in the quarter-finals on Monday. Ancic, playing serve-and-volley, celebrated his four-set win over Ferrer by dropping to his knees and kissing the turf and admitted he has stunned himself by reaching the second week.
"The Australian Open this year was the fourth Grand Slam in a row that I missed. I didn't know what to think anymore because I was always trying to do the best things, and it was not coming true at all," he said. Ancic returned to the tour in February and reached the final of the Marseille indoor tournament where he was beaten by Britain's Andy Murray.
He then made the semi-finals in Zagreb, losing to compatriot Ivan Ljubicic, and the last eight on grass the week before Wimbledon where he fell to eventual champion Ferrer.
He'll go into Monday's fourth round tie boosted by having defeated Verdasco at Queen's two weeks ago. As for that 2002 first round win here over Federer, Ancic insists it means nothing. "It's six years ago. He's not the same player as he is now. At that time he was struggling with his Grand Slam record and I played an unbelievable match. "But it's history." Indeed it is. Federer has won all of their five meetings since without dropping a set.
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