Some 15,000 kilometres from his beloved birth city of Belgrade, Miomir Kecmanovic is feeling a similar connection to Melbourne.
“I love being here, there's so many Serbian people and they always show up,” the 24-year-old smiled, having booked his place in the third round of Australian Open 2024 after a hard-fought victory over Jan-Lennard Struff on Thursday.
“It always feels like you are home.”
In his six Australian Open main-draw campaigns, Kecmanovic has steadily built on that affinity. In 2022, he recorded his best Grand Slam showing as he defeated higher-ranked opponents in Lorenzo Sonego and Tommy Paul to reach the tournament’s final 16.
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At Melbourne Park on Thursday, Kecmanovic battled for almost three-and-a-half hours to overcome the 24th-seeded Struff in five sets. Saving two match points in the fifth-set tiebreak, the Serbian completed a 33-stroke rally with a backhand winner to secure his win.
“It definitely feels really good to be able to win that kind of match, and after having so many chances, and him having so many chances,” Kecmanovic grinned. “I'm just really happy to get through.”
A second-week showing in Melbourne would continue some impressive progress for the world No.60, who peaked at No.27 after his career-best season in 2022.
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That milestone validated Kecmanovic’s decision to relocate from Belgrade to Florida, in the United States, to develop his game at age 13. The son of Draguta and Maja, who are both doctors, the then-teenager was accompanied by his aunt Tanja, who remains an influential figure as his manager.
“She stays home (now) but she takes care of some of the other stuff that needs to be done so I don't have to worry about them,” Kecmanovic explained.
“Without her, it definitely would've been tough. She gave up everything, moved with me and we stayed there for so many years, so I definitely owe her a lot.”
After coaching stints with former professionals David Nalbandian and Wayne Black, Kecmanovic is now coached by Ivan Cinkus.
And there’s an accessible role model in his childhood role model, Novak Djokovic, whose feats that Mischa – as he’s fondly known to many – would love to emulate at Melbourne Park.
“You definitely see him do what he does and it’s a huge boost to know that somebody who basically comes from the same place can actually do those things,” Kecmanovic commented of the 10-time Australian Open champion.
“To have him there giving some advice when you need it, and you know just always trying to help out is really special.”
So too is the opportunity for Kecmanovic to add to the history that Djokovic and others have already created for Serbian tennis. He notes the achievements that have put tennis firmly in the sporting spotlight in his nation.
“It’s basically because of Novak. We've had so many (achievements), we had at one point a WTA No.1, ATP doubles No.1 and a singles No.1,” he reasoned. “We had so many amazing players – so many – but with Novak at the front he basically brought tennis to Serbia.”
Could Kecmanovic add to that story in his career? With momentum building in Melbourne, he’ll spot a prime opportunity as he prepares to meet Paul in the third round on Saturday.
“It's going to be interesting when we know each other for so many years, it's definitely going to be fun,” said Kecmanovic, who leads their head-to-head record 2-1, including his straight-sets win over the American in the second round of AO 2022.
“Hopefully I can play the way that I'm playing and keep this thing going.”