Australian tennis player Chris Guccione admits he was unsure whether he would be able to continue his professional career after taking a break from the game following the 2017 Australian Open.
Guccione enjoyed a successful campaign at Melbourne Park in 2017 as he made the quarterfinal in men's doubles, while he reached the semifinal in mixed doubles.
But an Achilles injury was causing too much pain and discomfort so the Australian decided to step away from the game and focus on his health.
"I wasn’t too sure (that I'd be able to return to the Tour)," Guccione told Tennis Australia.
"After a couple of years of coaching and not doing too much else, my injuries healed up and felt better. So I decided to start training again."
At the beginning of this season, Guccione made his comeback to the game as a member of the Australian ATP Cup team.
Australia had a promising campaign at the inaugural ATP Cup but they failed to win it all in front of their home fans after they lost to Spain in the semifinal.
Guccione made his comeback at the age of 34 when he teamed up with John Peers at the ATP Cup but also returned to the court 30 kilograms lighter.
"I didn’t know if my Achilles would flare up again if I came back, but they didn’t,” Guccione said.
“Getting back into shape was hard, but it was enjoyable as well. It is easy to train when you’re not injured. The last few years of my career, I was unable to train because of injuries. The motivation was always there – I never stopped enjoying competition and competing at a high level.”
Chris Guccione says playing in front of his kids was something specialGuccione, a former doubles world No. 38, returned to the Australian Open for the first time in three year when he teamed with fellow compatriot Matt Reid.
Guccione and Reid started their campaign at Melbourne Park with a straight-set win over Spain's Marc Lopez and Albert Ramos-Vinolas, before they lost to Ivan Dodig and Filip Polasek.
Guccione's eight-year-old daughter and five-year-old son were in the stands and witnessed their father winning a match at Melbourne Park.
"I had all my family and friends there and it was good my kids could see me competing at that level. They got a real kick out if it,” Guccione said. “My daughter remembers a little bit of me playing earlier, but my son didn’t have any memories.”
Chris Guccione is focused solely on doubles, where he has won five ATP titles.
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2AXq7no
Tennis
Hello friend's I am Arohi, i write the all type of viral content through my blog's. On my blog's get the latest News about science, tech, health and fitness , news, online earning ideas and more.