Mario Ancic was born on March 30th, 1984 in Split, Croatia. He started playing tennis at the age of seven and became an excellent junior player. He has earnt the nickname of Super Mario and has a very big serve. He turned pro in 2001 and spent several seasons playing challengers.

In 2002 he made his debut in a grand slam at Wimbledon. He was drawn against 9th seed Roger Federer on Centre Court. Ancic won the match making him the last person to beat Roger Federer at Wimbledon. In 2005 he won the decisive match in the Davis Cup for Croatia's first ever win in the event.