Tipsarevic recovers well after new surgery

BELGRADE - Serbian tennis player Janko Tipsarevic is recovering well after surgery to a benign tumor in his left foot.

The heel injury has kept the former World No. 8 away from tennis for 11 months. As the various treatments he had received did not have the desired effect, he finally resorted to surgery in June. After the recovery, however, the injury came back.

I had surgery in June for fibromatosis (benign soft tissue tumor) on my left foot, in the heel area, and the recovery was moving along very well. However, when I was supposed to start walking again, a new tumor appeared near the surgical scar. I had another surgery in Frankfurt and I firmly believe that this time everything will be all right, said Tipsarevic.

The problem with fibromatosis is that it can keep coming back, he said. "The agony of this injury seems to have no end. Living in suspense, when no one can guarantee the outcome, is a horrible feeling. The most difficult thing for an athlete is not knowing when they will get back on the court. My team and I have done everything in our power and everything that we feel to be the best thing for my recovery, and all I can do now is believe in it firmly. I cannot even describe how much I miss tennis", the Serbian tennis player admitted.

Janko Tipsarevic (30) ranked No. 8 in the ATP charts in 2012, but dropped to No. 364 since November, when he was sidelined by the injury.

He won four ATP tournaments (Chennai, Stuttgart, Moscow and Kuala Lumpur), and the greatest success of his career so far came in 2010 when he won the Davis Cup with the national team of Serbia.

Photo Tanjug, M. Jelesijevic (archive)