“Have Trained a Lot Together”: Miomir Kecmanovic Excited to Play Against Novak Djokovic at Serbia Open

Miomir Kecmanovic, the young Serbian tennis player, has shown a steady improvement in his rankings over the past couple of years. Coached by former tennis player David Nalbandian, the young Serb seems to have a bright career going ahead. He also won his first ATP title last year at the Generali Open in Austria. 

“It will be exciting”- Miomir Kecmanovic on facing Novak Djokovic

Currently playing the Serbia Open, Kecmanovic will be facing Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals. Speaking in the post-match press conference at the Serbia Open, Kecmanovic said, “It will be exciting, I never played against the best in the world. I played against Rafael Nadal, and the two of them are the best. I hope that I will prove my quality as a player.”

Kecmanovic had victories over players like Alexander Zverev, Felix Auger-Aliassime, and Feliciano Lopez on the ATP tour. While he is yet to break through and make an impact, a quarter-final match against Novak Djokovic will give him the big-match experience every athlete craves for. 

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Talking about Novak Djokovic, Kecmanovic commented, “We have trained a lot together. My main goal in this tournament was the quarterfinal. I won against two lower-ranked opponents, and it was expected that I would win. I will try to play a good match against Novak.”

Kecmanovic should play an aggressive baseline game against Djokovic

Along with technique, it takes determination and willpower to defeat the Big-3 on any surface. In the only match he played against Rafael Nadal at the Mexican Open last year, Kecmanovic failed to anticipate the Spaniard’s moves, and even after putting up a good fight in the second set, he lost the match eventually. The same might happen tomorrow against Djokovic.

While it’s true that Djokovic is yet to find his mojo on clay courts this year, Kecmanovic has to go hard in the early stages of the first set to have any real chance of beating the 18-time Grand Slam champion. A lot of baseline exchanges can be expected tomorrow, with Djokovic being the favorite entering the match. 

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