The 31-year-old Chilean hung on as long as he could before coming up just short against Nicolas Mahut 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (3) at the Sony Ericsson Open on Wednesday.
Gonzalez says he would like to be remembered as someone who gave "100 percent every single time when he went to the court."
He was only able to play four tournaments last year after undergoing right hip surgery in October, 2010. His best 2011 result was reaching the third round at Wimbledon.
Gonzalez reached the 2007 Australian Open final, won 11 career singles titles and a collection of Olympic medals. He won 2004 Olympic gold medal in doubles and bronze medal in singles, along with a silver in singles in 2008.