Tributes roll in for Seppi after Italian ace retires after 20 year career: "I feel really blessed that I could do this for such a long time"

Tennis professionals pay tribute to Andreas Seppi after the Italian retires from tennis following two decades in the sport.

Andreas Seppi retired yesterday following his final match in tennis yesterday at the Ortisei challenger. A sour taste will always be present for Seppi who was denied a chance to say goodbye on the ATP Tour as opposed to the Challenger Tour but a very respectable career is now over.

He said:

“I remember when I got close to the Top 100 and then I made it inside, I finished the year maybe 70 or something like that. I was always in some way just thinking, ‘Okay, I hope I can stay a few more years in the Top 100. Now looking back and seeing that I did it for 15 years in a row is something that I would have never expected at the beginning of my career and so I think maybe that’s the part I am most proud of, just to have managed to be able to stay at such a high level for such a long time."

He added:

“Of course maybe I could have won a couple of more tournaments or maybe my best ranking could have been a little bit better, but this achievement of playing all these years at this level, I think it’s for me the most special.”

Many colleagues have paid tribute to the Italian on social media including Davis Cup teammates Jannik Sinner and Fabio Fognini.