10 Feb 2012

Gonzalez to retire from Tennis

12:59 pm on 10 February 2012

Chile's Fernando Gonzalez, the former world men's tennis number five and triple Olympic medallist, has announced that he will retire from playing after the Miami tournament in March.

The 31-year-old, who reached the Australia Open final in 2007, has struggled with his fitness since hip surgery in 2010 and has dropped to 268 in the world rankings.

Gonzalez plans to develop the game in Chile.

Gonzalez, one of Chile's most successful players with 11 tour titles, reached number five in January 2007 and won a gold medal in doubles and bronze in singles at the 2004 Athens Olympics and silver in singles at Beijing four years ago.

Gonzalez won the Heineken Open in Auckland in 2005.