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Serbian defeats Davidovich Fokina in straight sets
With a semi-final spot on the line at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan, Miomir Kecmanovic found a new gear on Thursday. The Serbian saved two set points en route to a convincing 4-1, 4-1, 4-3(6) win over Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
Kecmanovic earned his place in the last four after winning the first two sets against Davidovich Fokina, but continued to fire winners from all parts of the court to prevail in 58 minutes. The Serbian finished with a 2-1 record in round-robin action to join top-seeded Aussie Alex de Minaur as the players advancing out of Group A.
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“I was a lot calmer than yesterday. I was happy to play well and be stable out there,” Kecmanovic said. “There was definitely a lot of pressure on this match today and I think I handled it better than he did. I have a bit more experience on Tour playing big matches and that helped me a lot today.”
Awaiting him in the semi-finals is Italian Jannik Sinner, who advanced out of Group B on Thursday. This will be their first FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting against each other.
”It’s going to be tough playing him, especially here [in Milan],” Kecmanovic said. “I’ll just do my best and we’ll see how it goes.”
Read More: 5 Things To Know About Kecmanovic
Kecmanovic was in firm control during the first two sets against Davidovich Fokina. After dropping the opening game, the 20-year-old went on a seven-game run as his opponent struggled to find the range on his shots. Kecmanovic was particularly dominant in his service games, landing 83 per cent of his first-serves (19/23) and dropping just three points.
Davidovich Fokina began to utilise more variety in his shots in the third set and played himself into a tie-break. An acrobatic overhead smash gave the Spaniard two set points at 6/4, but he couldn’t convert and missed two consecutive backhands. Two points later, a forehand error from Davidovich Fokina wrapped up the match after 58 minutes.

Serbian to face home favourite Sinner Friday evening
Miomir Kecmanovic isn’t unfamiliar with playing in packed stadiums this year. The 20-year-old Serbian defeated Alexander Zverev at the Western & Southern Open for his first Top 10 win and battled Milos Raonic in his first ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final at the BNP Paribas Open.
But he’s taken a particular liking to the Allianz Cloud during the Next Gen ATP Finals. Kecmanovic has earned plenty of new fans this week with his aggressive baseline play, which has helped carry him into the semi-finals. He faces Italian Jannik Sinner on Friday for a place in the championship match and is eager to extend his time in Milan.
”It’s definitely nice to have that [crowd support],” Kecmanovic said. “I'm happy that they enjoy what we are doing on the court. It's definitely given me a lot of more energy and motivation to push through. I’m happy to still be here.”
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Read More: 5 Things To Know About Kecmanovic
Kecmanovic earned his spot in Milan after a breakout season in which he jumped more than 70 spots in the ATP Rankings to his current standing of No. 60. In addition to his Masters 1000 success, he reached his maiden ATP Tour final at the Turkish Airlines Open Antalya (l. to Sonego) and competed in the main draw of all four Grand Slams for the first time, winning a round at Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open.
Although this is his first year as a regular staple on the ATP Tour, Kecmanovic has already shown his ability to stay calm in critical moments. He’s 17th on Tour in break points saved this season, according to Infosys ATP Scores & Stats, having saved more than 64 per cent (157/244) of them. That’s better than all of his peers in Milan this week and even surpasses Nitto ATP Finals qualifiers Stefanos Tsitsipas (last year's Milan champion) and Daniil Medvedev, who competed at the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals in 2017.
”My consistency has helped,” Kecmanovic said. “[I’ve been] consistent at a certain level, tough in the pressure moments and I think that's what got me here.”
Read More: Under Pressure, Kecmanovic Already Plays Like Top 30 Player
Kecmanovic will face another pressure moment when he takes on Sinner in the semi-finals. The Serbian has had the crowds on his side this week, but he said it’s understandable that they’ll want to see a local player take the title. He’s optimistic that his mental toughness will carry him through their prime-time showdown.
”I definitely expect them to be for Jannik,” Kecmanovic said. “[But] I have had some experience with it. I don't think it will affect me. I’ll just try to focus on my thing and hopefully it will work.”

Wawrinka, Rublev to resume quarter-final matches Friday

#NextGenATP star Miomir Kecmanovic secured his place in the semi-finals of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open before rain washed out the remainder of play on Thursday in Doha. Kecmanovic raced to 6-2, 6-0 win over Hungarian qualifier Marton Fucsovics in 56 minutes.

“It was pretty good timing. Good thing that I was able to finish before this happened,” said Kecmanovic. “I'm feeling good. I'm playing good. Hopefully I can keep it up.”

The 20-year-old Serbian has yet to drop a set this week, including a second-round win over 2012 Doha champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Wednesday. Kecmanovic, who finished 2019 with a semi-final run at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan (l. to Sinner), said his off-season training in Dubai with Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Karen Khachanov has already made a difference.

“It was definitely a good group of guys to practise with,” he said. “And I definitely think I've maybe sped up my game a little bit because they take time away for you so much. I think I've kind of got a little bit used to it and maybe it's now a little bit easier to play against some of the other guys.

“But it's definitely something I still have to work on and definitely something that will, if I can, let's say perfect or let's say be my normal game, that I could take it far if that happens.”
Kecmanovic awaits the winner between second-seeded Russian Andrey Rublev and Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert, who will resume their quarter-final match on Friday. Kecmanovic prevailed against Herbert in a third-set tie-break last year at the Citi Open, but has never faced the 22-year-old Rublev at the tour level.

“I played him a long time ago in juniors, but I haven't played him since then,” he said. “It would definitely be an exciting match, but he still has to win tomorrow…. I'm definitely looking forward to coming out again and to playing my best game.”

Learn about how the #NextGenATP Serbian has grown over the past year
One year ago, Miomir Kecmanovic entered the BNP Paribas Open as the No. 130 player in the FedEx ATP Rankings and he owned only one tour-level win. He lost in the final round of qualifying, but after getting into the draw as a lucky loser, then 19, Kecmanovic advanced to his first ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final, and he hasn't looked back since.
Fifty-two weeks on, Kecmanovic is at a career-high World No. 47, and the Serbian is working hard to climb even higher.
“The goal for this year would be Top 30. If I can finish the year there that would be awesome for me and I’ll take it step by step,” Kecmanovic said. “I don't want to set crazy goals and then be disappointed at the end of the year. I think it's better to go step by step and then if you achieve it, that's perfect.”

The 2019 Next Gen ATP Finals qualifier’s eyes and ears are open. In the off-season prior to 2019, he enjoyed learning from training with Dominic Thiem in Tenerife. This past off-season, he spent time with the likes of Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer in Dubai. One thing stuck out to him: how the best players take the ball early and use that to pressure their opponents.
“It’s definitely footwork. I think that's the biggest thing in tennis. Everybody knows how to hit it in, make shots. But if you're not set, you’re not going to make it. I think footwork is the big thing, and also mentally, to see the ball quicker and just go for it,” Kecmanovic said. “You’re not waiting for it to come in. I guess [it is about] just being aggressive towards it.”
Kecmanovic’s coach, Miro Hrvatin, says the pair is making improving that aspect of the Serbian’s tennis a top priority.
“I think that’s the crucial thing because everybody knows how to play forehands and backhands, but once you take time away from them, things start to be different,” Hrvatin said. “We are lucky this pre-season and last pre-season we had really good pre-season camps and good players, some of the best players in the world were there. Practising with them, they are showing you the path where you want to go, what you have to do, and what you have to work on.”
There is not one specific thing that will help Kecmanovic improve in this area, according to Hrvatin. He believes it is a puzzle that, if pieced together just right, could lead to major gains.
“I think it’s a combination, plus I think it’s the player who needs to be mentally aggressive. It’s something that I think is not only one thing. Footwork is very important, but then the timing is different if you are coming closer to the ball. All together, I think it takes time to fit into place,” Hrvatin said. “But that’s the thing that they’re all doing. You don’t have time while playing with the best players in the world. If you give them a short ball, you are dead. You lost the point, that’s it. Very simple.”

Last season was a year of firsts for Kecmanovic, including his first ATP Tour win to first tour-level final (in Antalya). Following that by training with some of the best players in the world to gain these insights was priceless.
“I think that’s the biggest thing you can get. Last year in Tenerife with Gunter Bresnik and with Dominic Thiem and all the guys over there like David Goffin and Jan-Lennard Struff, it was perfect. And this year was even more perfect,” Hrvatin said. “You had Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Karen Khachanov, so it’s something that you cannot buy. You cannot find it anywhere else except playing with those guys. So for me and for him I think it’s one of the best things he can get.”
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Kecmanovic earned a lot of confidence in 2019. Carrying that into training with all-time greats allowed him a chance to truly see how much he had improved.
“I guess you get a different feeling when you start playing with those guys. You start to see what's their level and what do you have to do to get there,” Kecmanovic said. “I definitely felt a little bit better. After the year I had, I felt like I can play with these guys. Definitely showed me what I have to do to get to that level eventually.”
ATP Heritage: Milestones. Records. Legends.
Kecmanovic has long been a hard worker, but one year on from his breakthrough at Indian Wells, he thinks he has taken strides, and not just physically.
“I guess maybe mentally, believing more because in Indian Wells everything was new for me. I was the new guy, I didn't know anything. I’d never played on that big of a stage and now everything that happens, I think it's just a different mindset,” Kecmanovic said. “Going into matches you believe more, you think that you can win, and you try to beat everybody. You always try to beat everybody, but now you kind of believe and you have that mindset, you know that you're going in as maybe sometimes the favourite.
“I think for the most part of the year, I keep a straight line and it's going and it's working really well for me and I was able to play at the same level throughout the whole year, without any injuries. So hopefully I can keep it up.”

Learn more about the sacrifices Kecmanovic has made in order to succeed
Success hasn’t come without sacrifice for #NextGenATP star Miomir Kecmanovic.

The Serbian, who is only 20, is at a career-high No. 47 in the FedEx ATP Rankings. It wasn’t easy getting there, though. When he was 13, Kecmanovic moved away from his parents in Serbia to train in Florida at the IMG Academy.

“It definitely was tough, especially for my parents. They had to make that call and I know it wasn’t easy for them, but I think they knew that it was the best thing for me at that time,” Kecmanovic told ATP Uncovered presented by Peugeot. “I’m very happy that they let me go to pursue my dream… I didn’t really speak English that well, didn’t know anybody. At the beginning, it was really tough to get through. But eventually everything came together, and it was really enjoyable to be there.”


Tennis captivated the Serbian at a young age. One of his grandfathers took him to play the sport at Zlatibor Mountain, and he never looked back.

“We were always close, but I think that was definitely our thing. It was funny, because he was trying a bunch of different things, trying to see what would get me excited, and we finally found something that was working,” Kecmanovic said. “It was a happy time for us.”

In leaving for Florida as a teen, Kecmanovic was setting his sights high, hoping to become a professional. He knew he had to commit to his training to chase those goals.

“You have to be on the court every day, day in, day out. [You have to] give 100 per cent every time, even when you don’t want to, or you’re playing badly. It takes basically your whole life to commit to it, with the nutrition, with the mindset, with the way you behave, the way you act on the court,” Kecmanovic said. “I also think you need a ton of people around you that can help you, that can guide you through it, because obviously you don’t know a lot at that age. I think you do need to find that balance, and you just need to commit to it every day.”

Miro Hrvatin, Kecmanovic’s coach, has mentored him for more than a decade, and his aunt, Tanja Pavlov, accompanied the teen when he moved to Florida at a young age.

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“My parents gave me everything that I needed so I’d have an opportunity to do it, and obviously my aunt too, she travels with me a lot. She’s a big help of course with everything outside of tennis,” Kecmanovic said. “I’ve had a lot of good coaches, physios and fitness guys, and I think I was very lucky to have a good group of people around me who wanted me to succeed for me, and just to help me in the journey.”

At the end of the day, through his highest highs — like making last year’s BNP Paribas Open quarter-finals and qualifying for the Next Gen ATP Finals later in the season — and his toughest moments, Kecmanovic is still that boy in the Serbian mountains who loves playing tennis.

“I just like to play. I enjoy being on the court,” Kecmanovic said. “I just want to prove to myself that I can do it in the end.”

Learn about the #NextGenATP star's upbringing in Belgrade
Miomir Kecmanovic’s left Serbia for the United States at 13 to pursue his dream of becoming a professional tennis player. However, the #NextGenATP star keeps his home country close to his heart.

“It means everything. It gave me everything. It gave me a life,” Kecmanovic told ATP Uncovered presented by Peugeot about Serbia. “I definitely don’t take it for granted. It’s exciting to just have this experience.”

Scattered throughout his family’s apartment are countless trophies he won at local junior events, international junior tournaments, and even the award he claimed for competing at last year’s Next Gen ATP Finals. The apartment remains the way it was when he was growing up. Belgrade is still home.

“It was fun growing up in Serbia. I wouldn’t change it for anything. I’m usually here during the summer, during the French Open, Wimbledon, when everything’s in Europe. My family is here and everybody I know is here. It’s always cool to come back here and have fun,” Kecmanovic said. “I think it’s beautiful, honestly. You have amazing food, amazing sights. You’ve got some pretty cool stuff here.”


Kecmanovic brought the ATP to a lakehouse his father built. Newspaper articles about the Serbian hang on the walls. His biggest accomplishments are written on a whiteboard. The most recent entries note his 2019 BNP Paribas Open quarter-final and runner-up finish at the Turkish Airlines Open Antalya later that year.

The 20-year-old rowed a boat through the water by the lakehouse, marvelling at the sights along the way.

“There are a bunch of places like this in Serbia,” said Kecmanovic, who this past off-season practised at the Kalemegdan Fortress for the first time. “Obviously the city is fun, but this is also exciting and calm.”

Kecmanovic’s grandfather, Jovan Pavlov, recalls taking a young ‘Misha’ to meet a coach for the first time. Kecmanovic and his family didn’t have a racquet or balls, but the coach provided them.

“[He] showed Misha how to play the forehand and backhand,” Pavlov said. “After that he showed a great desire to play every day. As soon as we woke up, he would immediately say, ‘Grandpa, let’s not be late for tennis!’”


Ivan Petkovic, one of Kecmanovic’s childhood coaches, remembers how professional the Serbian was at a young age.

“He was already at a very early age living and practising like a small pro. We think that these harsh conditions and difficult conditions to train and to work [under] only make you stronger,” Petkovic said. “If something manages to bloom in the desert, and you put it in the ideal situation, it will for sure bloom into what he is today.”

Kecmanovic, who moved to Florida to train at the IMG Academy, is the second-youngest player in the Top 50 of the FedEx ATP Rankings (trailing only Felix Auger-Aliassime). However, the World No. 47 maintains strong relationships in his native Belgrade, where his former coaches, including Veliko Barjaktarovic, are like family.

“For the coaches [and] for the kids who want to play tennis, now they know that they can achieve success,” Barjaktarovic said. “He inspired a lot of people.”

Hurkacz almost perfect on first serve

Miomir Kecmanovic stopped Kei Nishikori’s comeback at the first hurdle on Tuesday at the Generali Open. The 21-year-old, who trains at the same Florida academy as the Kitzbühel debutant, won 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 in just under two hours for a place in the second round.

Sixth seed Nishikori, competing for the first time since 30 August 2019 as a result of right elbow surgery, won the first five games of the match, but was positive despite the loss on his ATP Tour return.

“I was not 100 per cent, but I was happy with the way I played,” said Nishikori. “I was not fit enough and maybe if I finished in two sets it would have been different, as I had some chances. It’s a shame, as I could have won today, but it was a good moment and I’m positive today. I was hitting the ball better in the altitude, so it wasn’t easy, but I do like it. I’ll try to be better prepared for next week.”

Kecmanovic, who fell in the US Open second round (l. to Bautista Agut) last week, expressed his delight at beating the Japanese star, whom he first hit with in Bradenton as a teenager.

“It means a lot, we practise at the same place and I first trained with him when I was 13,” said Kecmanovic, who next plays Jordan Thompson or John Millman, in an on-court interview. “It’s really special to have beaten him.”

Earlier in the day, fifth seed Hubert Hurkacz booked his place in the second round with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Joao Sousa in 84 minutes. Hurkacz won 24 of his 26 first-service points and recovered from 2-5 down in the second set for his 10th victory of the season. In January, the Pole reached the ASB Classic semi-finals in Auckland (l. to Paire).

Local wild card Sebastian Ofner recovered from 1-4 down in the deciding set to beat Radu Albot 6-7(5), 6-4, 7-6(4) in two hours and 45 minutes. He will now prepare to face second seed Diego Schwartzman.

Pierre-Hugues Herbert, Maximilian Marterer, Federico Delbonis, Laslo Djere, Yannick Hanfmann and Marc-Andrea Huesler all won through the qualifying rounds for a place in the Kitzbühel main draw.