Schuettler retires!

Rainer Schuettler, the 2003 Australian Open finalist, has retired from tennis after a 17-year professional career, which provided him with "wonderful experiences and great friendships".

Kiefer retired earlier. Marcel-Stebe and Petzschner will keep the flag flying.

Sad to see him go, but life and Tennis will go on.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2012/10/Features/Schuettler-Retires.aspx

Always a shame to see a player retire, sounds like a wise decision given his recent injury issues though.

Cant say I remember this guy much...wore his baseball cap backwards as all German players seem to do since Koellerer in the 90s.

Some good matches on grass and the AO finals. Was as high as #5 in ATP in 2004.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/Tennis/Players/Sc/R/Rainer-Schuettler.aspx?t=pa&y=0&m=s&e=540#

A real good player. With him you couldn't tell what pace you were gonna get, different type of player to the ball bashers, won a lot of points at the net if I remember correctly.

I've not seen him in years which made me think he'd retired ages ago. At 36 it's hardly a surprise (although Tommy Haas is still going strong at 34!!). However, apparently he now coaches Sergiy Stakhovsky.

Hıs career should be an ınspıratıon to all. He had an amazıng record of ımprovıng hıs rankıng every year for somethıng lıke about seven seasons.
It led to hıs havıng one great season when he reached a Slam fınal and got well ınsıde the top 10. He absolutely made the most of what he had.

He still is the last German - male or female - to reach a slam final at AO03...so nearly a decade since a German achieved that feat. Infact they've only had 2 finalists since 1996!

He was flexible across surfaces and a model professional but only really had the one good year - 2003 (...those transitional years again...) where he finished in top ten. Outside of that he never finished in the top 30.

Incidentally, a similar player and career to compatriot Nicolas Keifer (albeit I think Keifer was more talented).