Mardy Simpson Fish (born December 9, 1981) is an American former professional tennis player. He was a hardcourt specialist. He is one of several American tennis players who rose to prominence in the early 2000s.
Fish won six tournaments on the main ATP Tour and reached the final of four Masters Series events: Cincinnati in 2003 and 2010, Indian Wells in 2008, and Montreal in 2011. His best results at Grand Slam tournaments are reaching the quarterfinals of the 2007 Australian Open, the 2008 US Open, and the 2011 Wimbledon Championships. At the 2004 Summer Olympic Games, Fish won the silver medal in men's singles, losing the final to Nicolás Massú.
In April 2011, Fish overtook compatriot Andy Roddick to become the American No. 1 in the ATP rankings, reaching a career-high singles ranking of world No. 7 in August 2011. He then played in the year-end tournament for the only time in his career. He retired after the 2015 US Open. In January 2019, Fish replaced Jim Courier as captain of the United States Davis Cup team. Fish named USA Davis Cup captain, daviscup.com (access: 10 January 2019).
Fish's career improved significantly in 2003, when he won his first ATP singles title and reached the biggest final of his career in Cincinnati. His singles victory came near the end of the season, when he defeated Robin Söderling to win the Stockholm Open in Stockholm, Sweden. In addition, he defeated fifth-seeded and former world no. 1 Carlos Moyà at the 2003 Australian Open in the second round, 3–6, 7–6, 6–4, 4–6, 6–2. He finished the year ranked no. 20 in the world.
Fish played well in 2004, reaching the finals at the SAP Open in San Jose, California and in the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, Germany. At the 2004 Summer Olympics, Fish earned a silver medal having defeated Juan Carlos Ferrero and Fernando González to reach the final. He lost the final in five sets to Nicolás Massú.
In 2005, Fish injured his left wrist. It eventually required two surgeries, and as a result, he played just 17 matches in the year.
At Wimbledon, Fish signaled his return to professional status as he reached the third round, defeating fellow American Robby Ginepri and Dutch player Melle van Gemerden. The night prior to his third-round match, he suffered from food poisoning. He could play only one set before retiring against Georgian Irakli Labadze.
Fish fell to Jarkko Nieminen in the third round of the Australian Open after a code violation caused him to lose his composure.
Fish then went on to make a quarterfinal showing at the 2008 Delray Beach International Tennis Championships, before losing to long-time friend and wild-card entry Robby Ginepri.
At the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, Fish defeated world no. 1 Roger Federer in the semifinals in what Fish described as "a great win," Pacific Life Open – March 22 – Mardy Fish (interview transcript) after failing to beat the Swiss player in five previous matches. However, Fish lost in the final to Novak Djokovic, the third seed.
At the French Open, Fish lost in the second round to 25th-seeded Lleyton Hewitt with Fish committing 58 unforced errors, compared to Hewitt's twelve. Match Statistics
At Wimbledon, Fish lost in the first round to eighth-seeded Richard Gasquet. Statistics
At the US Open, Fish reached the quarterfinals, before losing to Rafael Nadal.
In the 2009 BNP Paribas Open, Fish received a first-round bye, only to be eliminated in the second round by unseeded Frenchman Jérémy Chardy. However, he captured his sixth doubles title and first ATP Masters Series 1000 title with partner Andy Roddick.
In April, Fish played in the 2009 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships, but was knocked out in the first round by Björn Phau of Germany. He then played in the 2009 Rome Masters, where he lost in the second round to Fernando Verdasco.
Fish advanced to the third round in Wimbledon men's singles, where he fell to Novak Djokovic in straight sets. In doubles, he and partner James Blake advanced to the semifinals, before losing to the defending and eventual champions Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjić.
In July, Fish competed in the Davis Cup against Croatia, losing to Marin Čilić in five sets.
On August 30, Fish withdrew from the 2009 US Open, where he was seeded 25th, citing a rib injury.
At Wimbledon, he lost in the second round to Florian Mayer, 6–7, 6–3, 6–4, 6–4. After Wimbledon, he participated in the last grass-court event of the year, the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in Newport. He won his fourth title, and first on grass, over Belgian Olivier Rochus in three sets. Mardy Fish Wins Title & Van Alen Cup, Carsten Ball & Chris Guccione Grab Doubles Title at Campbell's Hall of Fame Tennis Championships – © 2011 International Tennis Hall of Fame & Museum As a result, his ranking jumped up to the top 50 at 49. He proceeded to win a second straight title, which was also his second of the year and first on hard courts, at the Atlanta Tennis Championships. It was the first tournament in Atlanta in over a decade, and in the semifinal and final rounds, Fish defeated Andy Roddick (whom he had not beaten in eight consecutive career meetings), who was the top seed, and John Isner, who played collegiate tennis for nearby University of Georgia.[7]
In Fish's return to the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati, he advanced over former world no. 6 Gilles Simon, over world no. 8 Fernando Verdasco, over former world no. 7 Richard Gasquet, and over world no. 4 Murray to reach the semifinals, where he defeated former world no. 1 Andy Roddick, 4–6, 7–6, 6–1. He was edged by world no. 2 Roger Federer, 6–7, 7–6, 6–4, in the final, but jumped into the top 25 in the world rankings.
He made the semifinals at his next two tournaments; 2011 Delray Beach International Tennis Championships, losing to resurging, eventual champion Juan Martín del Potro, and at the 2011 Regions Morgan Keegan Championships losing to fast-rising Canadian youngster Milos Raonic in three sets.
After a first-round bye in the 2011 BNP Paribas Open, he fell in the second round again to Milos Raonic, 5–7, 4–6. At the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open, Fish found some rich vein of form, collecting wins over Julien Benneteau, Richard Gasquet, and notably reached the quarterfinals by winning against Juan Martín del Potro, 7–5, 7–6, who only a few weeks earlier had defeated Fish in Delray Beach. By defeating del Potro and reaching the quarterfinals in Miami, Mardy Fish overtook Andy Roddick as the highest-ranked American player on the tour. Fish's campaign continued, as he upset ATP world no. 6 David Ferrer, 7–5, 6–2, before falling to world no. 2 Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of the Sony Ericsson Open. He entered the top 10 for the first time on April 18, despite not playing, because Fernando Verdasco did not defend his Monte Carlo points.
Fish reached the third round of the 2011 French Open, his best result at the tournament so far. He was beaten by Gilles Simon, 3–6, 4–6, 2–6.
Fish reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon for the first time, after beating the 2010 finalist Tomáš Berdych in straight sets. He lost to world no. 1 Rafael Nadal, 6–3, 6–3, 5–7, 6–4. At the 2011 Farmers Classic on July 31, 2011, Fish faced Ernests Gulbis for the title, having defeated fellow American teenager Ryan Harrison in the semifinals. He finished runner-up to Gulbis, 7–5, 4–6, 4–6. This dropped him to a 6–13 mark in ATP World Tour finals. The following week, he withdrew from Washington, D.C., citing a heel injury sustained during the Farmers Classic final.
In August at the 2011 Rogers Cup, Fish reached his fourth Masters series final, defeating Feliciano López, Ernests Gulbis, Stanislas Wawrinka, and Janko Tipsarević, 6–3, 6–4, in the semifinal. In the final, Fish faced world no. 1 Novak Djokovic, who was looking to extend his season record to 53–1. He lost to Djokovic, 2–6, 6–3, 4–6, in the final, saving three match points to come up from 0–40 in the final game. Fish rose to a career-high ranking of no. 7.
Fish continued his impressive run on the American hard courts with a comfortable 6–0, 6–2 victory in the second round of the 2011 Western & Southern Open against former world no. four Nikolay Davydenko. In the quarterfinal, he defeated Rafael Nadal, 6–3, 6–4. This was Fish's first win against Nadal. He faced world no. 4 Andy Murray in the semifinal. Fish lost, 3–6, 6–7, after a thrilling second-set tiebreak. In the 2011 US Open, he advanced to the fourth round by beating German Tobias Kamke and qualifier Malek Jaziri in straight sets in the first two rounds, and South African Kevin Anderson in straight sets with two tiebreakers in the third round. Fish was subsequently eliminated in the fourth round of the tournament by world no. 11 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
He reached the semifinals in Tokyo in October, defeating Ryan Harrison, Ernests Gulbis, and Bernard Tomic, before falling to Rafael Nadal.
He played for the first time in the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, but was eliminated in the round-robin stage.
He reached the quarterfinals in Miami, but was defeated by Juan Mónaco, 1–6, 3–6.
Citing fatigue, he did not play any of the European clay-court season and withdrew from the 2012 French Open. What he did not tell the media until later is that immediately after his last match in Miami, he was taken to the hospital with severe cardiac arrhythmia. On May 23, he underwent a cardiac catheter ablation in Los Angeles to correct faulty electrical connections in his heart, in which those spots were cauterized in order to prevent short circuiting. He later stated that his condition had made it hard for him to sleep, and his heart felt like it was going to burst out of his chest. His condition was also very difficult mentally and emotionally, with periods when he could not stand to be alone.
Fish's first tournament back was the 2012 Wimbledon Championships, where he was seeded 10th. His run at Wimbledon was cut short when he lost to fifth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the fourth round in four sets.
Fish did not compete in the 2012 Summer Olympics. He instead played at the Citi Open in Washington, D.C., where he was the top seed and reached the semifinals.
In the 2012 US Open Fish was the 23rd seed. He defeated Go Soeda, Nikolay Davydenko, and Gilles Simon before withdrawing for health reasons before his fourth-round match with top seed Roger Federer. In 2015, Fish revealed that he withdrew due to his struggles with anxiety.
Fish did not play on tour for the rest of the season and announced before the end of the year that he would not play in the Australian Open.
Fish did not play on Tour during 2014, due to an anxiety disorder. In June 2014 Fish had a cardiac catheter ablation operation to correct misfiring electric pulses in his heart. He made a return to competitive tennis in February 2015 at the Tennis Championship of Dallas, competing with Mark Knowles in the doubles tournament. He also received a protected ranking for the Indian Wells Masters, but lost in the first round to Ryan Harrison.
Fish appeared again on tour in July 2015 in Atlanta, but again lost in the first round of singles. Playing doubles with Andy Roddick, he won his first-round match. He also won his first-round match of doubles in Washington, D.C., partnering Grigor Dimitrov, but they conceded a walkover in the second round. In Cincinnati, Fish won his first singles match since 2013 against Victor Troicki. However, he faced Andy Murray in the second round, and lost in straight sets, with a tiebreak in the second set. He also teamed with Tomáš Berdych in doubles, but they lost their first match. He announced that he would retire after the US Open. At the US Open, he defeated Marco Cecchinato in the first round. He lost in the second round in a valiant five-set battle with 18th seed and eventual quarterfinalist Feliciano López.
His biggest weapons were his strong serve and reliable backhand, and he often won points at net with adept volleying. His most reliable shot was his two-handed backhand, which he could flatten out effectively to end points. His forehand was more inconsistent, though it improved toward the end of his career. In 2010, he dropped over 30 pounds, from 203 to 170. This enabled Fish to become much fitter, faster and maintain longer rallies.
Fish married Stacey Gardner, a California attorney and "Briefcase Model" on NBC's Deal or No Deal, in a Jewish wedding ceremony in September 2008 (Gardner is Jewish). Fish's friend and fellow tennis player James Blake served as groomsman. He is also good friends with Andy Roddick and Bob and Mike Bryan.
Fish went to Vero Beach High School with country music star Jake Owen, with whom he remains good friends. The two have repeatedly done charity events together in Vero Beach to raise money for their favorite charities.
Fish is a fan of the Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Vikings.
Fish had a group of fans called "The Fishheads" who traveled with him and cheered him on during matches: Fish's Fans Add Flavor To First-Round Victory – NYTimes, August 26, 2003
Perched high in the cheap seats, relatively speaking, were a raucous band of shirtless fans, each one with a letter that collectively spelled out, Go Fish. Their heads were adorned with rubber fish heads and there were fins attached to their hands that they slapped together enthusiastically for each point scored by Fish.
Fish is regarded as one of the best celebrity golfers. He is annually among the favorites at the American Century Championship in Lake Tahoe, winning the tournament in 2020 and 2024. He won the Diamond Resorts Invitational in Orlando in both 2016 and 2018. In 2022, Fish received a sponsor exemption to play in the 3M Open, a PGA Tour event in his home state of Minnesota. In 2023 at the American Century Championship, Fish finished second to star basketball player Stephen Curry. On the final hole, a fan heckled Fish while hitting his tee shot, who apparently had money on Curry to win the tournament.
As part of the 2021 Netflix docuseries Untold: Breaking Point, Fish shared his story about struggling with anxiety and depression.
2011
2012
2013–2015
World TeamTennis
Equipment and playing style
Personal life
The setting was center court at Arthur Ashe Stadium yesterday, and the crowd filled only half the seats as Mardy Fish took the court for the second match of the day. But as Fish methodically made his way through a straight-set victory, an odd, and somewhat comical, sight emerged in the otherwise sedate setting.
Significant finals
Olympic Games
Singles: 1 (1 silver medal)
Silver 2004 Summer Olympics Hard Nicolás Massú 3–6, 6–3, 6–2, 3–6, 4–6
Masters 1000 finals
Singles: 4 (0–4)
6–4, 6–7(3–7), 6–7(4–7) 2–6, 7–5, 3–6 7–6(7–5), 6–7(1–7), 4–6 2–6, 6–3, 4–6
Doubles: 2 (1–1)
3–6, 6–1, 14–12 walkover
ATP career finals
Singles: 20 (6 titles, 14 runner-ups)
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{class="wikitable"
!Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0) ATP World Tour Finals (0–0) ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0–4) Olympic Games (0–1) ATP World Tour 500 Series (0–0) ATP World Tour 250 Series (6–9)
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Hard (4–11) Clay (1–0) Grass (1–3) Carpet (0–0)
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Outdoor (5–12) Indoor (1–2) Loss 0–1 Delray Beach Open, US International Hard Jan-Michael Gambill 0–6, 6–7(5–7) Loss 0–2 Nottingham Open, UK International Grass Greg Rusedski 3–6, 2–6 Loss 0–3 Cincinnati Masters, US Masters Hard Andy Roddick 6–4, 6–7(3–7), 6–7(4–7) Win 1–3 Stockholm Open, Sweden International Hard (i) Robin Söderling 7–5, 3–6, 7–6(7–4) Loss 1–4 Pacific Coast Championships, US International Hard (i) Andy Roddick 6–7(13–15), 4–6 Loss 1–5 Halle Open, Germany International Grass Roger Federer 0–6, 3–6 Loss 1–6 Olympic Games, Greece Olympics Hard Nicolás Massú 3–6, 6–3, 6–2, 3–6, 4–6 Win 2–6 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships, US International Clay Jürgen Melzer 3–6, 6–4, 6–3 Loss 2–7 Connecticut Open, US International Hard James Blake 5–7, 4–6 Loss 2–8 Indian Wells Masters, US Masters Hard Novak Djokovic 2–6, 7–5, 3–6 Loss 2–9 Connecticut Open, US International Hard Marin Čilić 4–6, 6–4, 2–6 Loss 2–10 Pacific Coast Championships, US 250 Series Hard (i) Radek Štěpánek 6–3, 4–6, 2–6 Win 3–10 Delray Beach Open, US 250 Series Hard Evgeny Korolev 7–5, 6–3 Loss 3–11 Queen's Club Championships, UK 250 Series Grass Sam Querrey 6–7(3–7), 5–7 Win 4–11 Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, US 250 Series Grass Olivier Rochus 5–7, 6–3, 6–4 Win 5–11 Atlanta Open, US 250 Series Hard John Isner 4–6, 6–4, 7–6(7–4) Loss 5–12 Cincinnati Masters, US Masters 1000 Hard Roger Federer 7–6(7–5), 6–7(1–7), 4–6 Win 6–12 Atlanta Open, US (2) 250 Series Hard John Isner 3–6, 7–6(8–6), 6–2 Loss 6–13 Los Angeles Open, US 250 Series Hard Ernests Gulbis 7–5, 4–6, 4–6 Loss 6–14 Canadian Open, Canada Masters 1000 Hard Novak Djokovic 2–6, 6–3, 4–6
Doubles: 11 (8 titles, 3 runner-ups)
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{class="wikitable"
!Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0) ATP World Tour Finals (0–0) ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (1–1) ATP World Tour 500 Series (2–2) ATP World Tour 250 Series (5–0)
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Hard (5–2) Clay (2–1) Grass (1–0)
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Outdoor (5–2) Indoor (3–1) Win 1–0 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships, US International Clay Andy Roddick Jan-Michael Gambill
Graydon Oliver6–4, 6–4 Win 2–0 Pacific Coast Championships, US International Hard (i) James Blake Rick Leach
Brian MacPhie6–2, 7–5 Win 3–0 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships, US (2) International Clay James Blake Rick Leach
Brian MacPhie6–3, 6–4 Loss 3–1 U.S. National Indoor Tennis Championships, US Intl. Gold Hard (i) James Blake Chris Haggard
Ivo Karlović6–0, 5–7, 5–10 Win 4–1 Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, US International Grass John Isner Rohan Bopanna
Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi6–4, 7–6(7–1) Win 5–1 U.S. National Indoor Tennis Championships, US 500 Series Hard (i) Mark Knowles Travis Parrott
Filip Polášek7–6(9–7), 6–1 Win 6–1 Indian Wells Masters, US Masters 1000 Hard Andy Roddick Max Mirnyi
Andy Ram3–6, 6–1, 14–12 Win 7–1 Pacific Coast Championships, US (2) 250 Series Hard (i) Sam Querrey Benjamin Becker
Leonardo Mayer7–6(7–3), 7–5 Win 8–1 Washington Open, US 500 Series Hard Mark Knowles Tomáš Berdych
Radek Štěpánek4–6, 7–6(9–7), 10–7 Loss 8–2 Italian Open, Italy Masters 1000 Clay Andy Roddick John Isner
Sam QuerreyWalkover Loss 8–3 Washington Open, US 500 Series Hard Radek Štěpánek Julien Benneteau
Nenad Zimonjić6–7(5–7), 5–7
Performance timeline
Singles
*Fish withdrew from the 2012 US Open prior to his fourth-round match (not counted as a loss)
Grand Slam tournaments Australian Open A A 2R 3R 1R 2R A QF 3R 3R 1R 2R 2R A A A 0 / 10 14–10 French Open A Q1 Q1 1R A 1R A A 2R 1R 2R 3R A A A A 0 / 6 4–6 Wimbledon A 1R Q1 3R 2R A 3R 1R 1R 3R 2R QF 4R A A A 0 / 10 15–10 US Open 1R 1R 2R 2R 2R 1R 2R 2R QF A 4R 4R 4R* A A 2R 0 / 12 19–12 ATP World Tour Finals Tour Finals Did not qualify RR DNQ
!0 / 1
!0–3 Olympic Games Summer Olympics A Not Held F-S Not Held A Not Held A Not Held
!0 / 1
!5–1 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 A 2R 1R A 4R 2R 3R 2R F 2R 2R 2R 3R 3R A 1R 0 / 13 15–13 Miami Masters 2R A 2R 3R 2R 2R 2R A 1R 2R 4R SF QF A A A 0 / 11 16–11 Monte Carlo Masters A A A 1R A A A A A A A A A A A A 0 / 1 0–1 Rome Masters A A A 2R A A A 1R 2R 2R A 3R A A A A 0 / 5 5–5 Hamburg Masters A A A 1R A A A 1R 1R Not Masters Series 0 / 3 0–3 Madrid Masters A A A 3R 2R A 2R 1R 2R 2R 2R 1R A A A A 0 / 8 7–8 Canada Masters A A A 1R A A A A 1R A A F QF A A A 0 / 4 6–4 Cincinnati Masters 1R Q2 Q1 F 1R A 2R 1R 1R A F SF QF 1R A 2R 0 / 11 18–11 Shanghai Masters Not Masters Series A A 2R A A A A 0 / 1 0–1 Paris Masters A A A 1R 2R A Q1 2R A A A 3R A A A A 0 / 4 3–4 Career statistics Year-end ranking 305 141 84 20 37 225 47 39 24 55 16 8 27 373 NR 423
!colspan=2 $7,392,041
Doubles
Grand Slam tournaments Australian Open 1R 1R QF 2R QF 0 / 5 7–5 French Open 2R 2R 0 / 2 2–2 Wimbledon 1R SF 1R 0 / 3 4–3 US Open 3R 2R 1R 2R 3R 0 / 5 6–5
Wins over top-10 players
Total 24 1. Thomas Enqvist 9 Scottsdale, United States Hard 2R 6–2, 5–7, 6–4 2. Carlos Moyá 5 Sydney, Australia Hard 2R 7–6(7–4), 4–6, 6–4 3. Carlos Moyá 5 Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia Hard 2R 3–6, 7–6(10–8), 6–4, 4–6, 6–2 4. Andy Roddick 6 Delray Beach, United States Hard 1R 7–6(7–4), 4–3, ret. 5. Rainer Schüttler 8 Cincinnati, United States Hard SF 7–6(7–4), 7–6(8–6) 6. Andre Agassi 5 San Jose, United States Hard (i) SF 5–7, 6–4, 6–2 7. Rainer Schüttler 8 Halle Open, Germany Grass SF 6–4, 4–6, 7–6(7–4) 8. Juan Carlos Ferrero 7 Summer Olympics, Athens, Greece Hard 2R 4–6, 7–6(7–5), 6–4 9. Mario Ančić 9 Auckland, New Zealand Hard 2R 6–4, 6–4 10. Ivan Ljubičić 4 Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia Hard 1R 4–6, 7–6(7–2), 6–4, 6–4 11. Nikolay Davydenko 4 Indian Wells, United States Hard 3R 6–3, 6–2 12. David Nalbandian 7 Indian Wells, United States Hard QF 6–3, 6–7(5–7), 7–6(7–4) 13. Roger Federer 1 Indian Wells, United States Hard SF 6–3, 6–2 14. James Blake 9 US Open, New York, United States Hard 3R 6–3, 6–3, 7–6(7–4) 15. Juan Martín del Potro 7 San Jose, United States Hard (i) QF 6–3, 6–4 16. Andy Murray 3 Miami, United States Hard 2R 6–4, 6–4 17. Andy Murray 4 Queen's Club, London, United Kingdom Grass 3R 6–4, 1–6, 7–6(7–2) 18. Andy Roddick 9 Atlanta, United States Hard SF 7–6(7–5), 6–3 19. Fernando Verdasco 8 Cincinnati, United States Hard 2R 7–6(7–1), 7–6(7–4) 20. Andy Murray 4 Cincinnati, United States Hard QF 6–7(7–9), 6–1, 7–6(7–5) 21. David Ferrer 6 Miami, United States Hard QF 7–5, 6–2 22. Tomáš Berdych 7 Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom Grass 4R 7–6(7–5), 6–4, 6–4 23. Rafael Nadal 2 Cincinnati, United States Hard QF 6–3, 6–4 24. Juan Mónaco 10 Toronto, Canada Hard 3R 2–6, 6–1, 6–4
External links
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