After two decades competing at the top of the game, Fabrice Santoro will soon call time on his career.

There has never quite been a player like Santoro and there probably never will be. The Frenchman had the skill and imagination to pull off shots most players would never even dream of. He brought exhibition style tennis to the ATP tour. However Santoro was not just all fun and games, reaching the top of the game in singles and doubles. His skills perplexed even some of the world’s best players, leading Pete Sampras to dub him, “the little magician.”
Santoro (who lost in the first round of the Thailand Open this week) has still been winning titles even right at the end of his career, picking up several on the grass of Newport in the States.

He retires on his home turf at the Paris Masters in November. Looking ahead to it, Santoro said, “ I have four tournaments to go and I want to do well. My desire is still just as strong on the court, but it's off the court where it's not the same.”

Santoro’s longevity has been extraordinary but inevitably some things are going to slip and he admitted that he doesn’t train as hard as he used to, “I'd rather spend time with friends or at home than go to the gym. But I still go out to try and win every match.”