Injury-afflicted Mario Ancic is preparing for a seventh return to the ATP Tour.

Ancic has been one of the unluckiest players in recent years. When he first started to fulfill his sizeable natural talent with his run to the Wimbledon semi-finals back in 2004 it seemed that this was a player who could genuinely challenge for major titles particularly on grass.

However since 2007, Ancic has been fighting an on-off battle with various illnesses and injuries, just to remain on the circuit. The former world number seven faced another bout of glandular fever in 2009, something which has plagued him six times in the past three years.

As a result his ranking has now plummeted to 95. Most players would be forgiven for thinking the fates were against them but Ancic is preparing for another return with the aim of getting in the Croatia team for March’s tie against Ecuador.

“I'm in Sweden, preparing for a new start,” says Ancic, who has taken inspiration from Magnus Norman, the former world number two who faced similar injury problems during his short but successful career.

"He told me that the most important thing is to start playing as soon as possible and play as much as possible”, said Ancic. “I don't even want to consider a return to the Top 10. The most important thing is to start to roll now.”