{"id":381060,"date":"2026-01-20T22:05:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T22:05:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/381060\/"},"modified":"2026-01-20T22:05:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T22:05:09","slug":"mario-ancic-on-michael-zheng-its-exceptional-what-hes-doing-atp-tour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/381060\/","title":{"rendered":"Mario Ancic on Michael Zheng: ‘It’s exceptional what he’s doing’ | ATP Tour"},"content":{"rendered":"

Player Features
\n Mario Ancic on Michael Zheng: ‘It’s exceptional what he’s doing’<\/p>\n

Former World No. 7 provides exclusive insight into Zheng’s game, mindset and success<\/p>\n

January 20, 2026<\/p>\n

\"Mario<\/p>\n

Getty Images<\/p>\n

Mario Ancic and Michael Zheng both are connected to Columbia University, the Ivy League institution in New York.
\n By Andrew Eichenholz<\/p>\n

One of the best stories of the Australian Open has been the breakthrough of Michael Zheng, the Columbia University senior who qualified for his first major main draw before upsetting Sebastian Korda to reach the second round.<\/p>\n

The 21-year-old is not the only person who has a connection with both Columbia and the ATP Tour. Mario Ancic, the former No. 7 player in the PIF ATP Rankings who stunned Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2002 and made the semi-finals two years later, attended Columbia Law School and graduated in 2015. <\/p>\n

The Croatian remains based in New York as a Principal at the private equity company One Equity Partners. The 41-year-old follows the Columbia tennis team closely and over the years and has gotten to know its players, including Zheng.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it’s exceptional what he’s doing, and he’s a very humble person, very humble kid,\u201d Ancic told ATPTour.com. \u201cWhat all these guys are doing: Going to classes \u2014 very intense \u2014 competing amongst the best and the brightest in the country and internationally, and then still committing to being part of the programme that’s Top 10 in the country is nothing short of inspirational.\u201d <\/p>\n

Ancic is in close contact with head coach Howard Endelman and heard about Zheng before he even began playing for the Ivy League institution. In 2022, Zheng reached the Wimbledon boys\u2019 singles final.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe came heavily recruited. I believe he already had some great results in junior Grand Slams and I was very excited to see that somebody with a lot of success already at ITF [level] committed to come to play for Columbia,\u201d Ancic said. \u201cI actually remember him since he was a freshman. We talked, I met his family. He has a great family behind him and it was obviously very exciting to speak to him and play with him and see his success since.\u201d <\/p>\n

Ancic always thought the two-time NCAA singles champion had a great game entering college, and got the sense that Zheng was a hard worker who was very committed.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe never rushed anything. I see a lot of junior players are like, \u2018I\u2019ve got to be on ATP, I\u2019ve got to do this, I\u2019ve got to do that\u2019. He took time to develop his game,\u201d Ancic said. \u201cI think he developed physically, which is always very important.\u201d<\/p>\n

You May Also Like: The incredible story of Michael Zheng: Ivy League student competing in the Australian Open<\/a><\/p>\n

The Croatian pointed to Zheng\u2019s work to become stronger and add muscle with the help of the Columbia coaching staff as important to his development as a player. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think that helped him also to develop some bigger shots and more weapons. His questions were always, \u2018What do I need to do so I can compete with professionals?\u2019\u201d Ancic said. \u201cI’ve seen him develop that game, develop bigger shots, a bigger game that can effectively help him \u2018hurt\u2019 other players with some bigger weapons. And I think that’s a testament to him, his family, and the programme.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not only does Ancic understand the tennis side of what Zheng is going through, but he is one of few who can put his feet in his fellow Lion\u2019s academic shoes. Not only has Zheng been training hard to improve on the tennis court, but he has done so while shining in the classroom.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s a commitment. You live in New York. They have classes, they live on campus. It\u2019s on 116th Street, and the tennis courts are on 218th Street. So it’s not like everything is just there. You have to commute,\u201d Ancic said. \u201cNew York is not the easiest city to commute [in], so the days are long. I know the guys\u2026 the team would be studying past midnight, early mornings, getting ready for classes, but still fully committed to do their best at the tennis court.<\/p>\n

\u201cCommuting back and forth between the tennis centre and the campus, and just going through the rigorous academic program is just something that is remarkable and what Michael was able to achieve to play at that level going through this programme and just representing the Lions in the best possible ways, it just makes us all very proud.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\u201cATP\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Ancic understands what it takes to succeed on and off the court. When a player who beat Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray glows about someone like he did about Zheng \u2014 who next faces Corentin Moutet in Melbourne \u2014 it speaks volumes.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe’s always had a great demeanour about him, believing in himself and always giving his best, fighting. You always knew with Michael that he’s going to give it all on the court. That’s just something that always resonated with me when I was watching,\u201d Ancic said. \u201cThis kid is a true example of a student-athlete. He’s committed to the programme, he’s committed to the classes, and he’s committed to the team in a sense that every time I watch him play, he always would give 100 per cent.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, when you have that mentality, there’s many times in a tennis match where you have this opportunity to win them. If you are stable, if you are mentally strong, opportunities arise in a tennis match. He always had that talent within himself.\u201d <\/p>\n

Did You Know?<\/p>\n

Another Croatian, former World No. 3 Marin Cilic, watched 30 minutes of Zheng\u2019s opening win against Korda. Cilic said about the college star: \u201cReally, really interesting. A player [who] has got a very diverse game. There are a lot of things that he does well. You still see that it’s a work in progress, that let’s say if he works himself the next two, three, four years, that he can definitely develop into a great player. What I loved about [him] was [he was] playing for the first time in a Grand Slam, playing a guy, Sebastian, who is a fantastic player, and having such incredible composure and also a physical ability and mental ability to stay and to win in five.\u201d<\/p>\n

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