Top Junior Makes Splash At San Luis Potosi Challenger

Miomir Kecmanovic continues to break new ground in 2017. The Junior World No. 1 is currently embarking on his professional career, hoping to follow in the footsteps of countryman Novak Djokovic.

A host of recent juniors, the likes of #NextGenATP players Denis Shapovalov, Casper Ruud and Stefanos Tsitsipas to name a few, are enjoying recent success on the ATP Challenger Tour. Kecmanovic is certainly on the right track to join the group and break into the Top 200 in the Emirates ATP Rankings.

This week in Mexico at the San Luis Open, the 17 year old is truly making strides. A 6-2, 7-5 victory over #NextGenATP player Stefan Kozlov, in a rain interrupted contest, was backed up by a fighting 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 win over World No. 275 Emilio Gomez on Thursday to book a quarter-final spot in just his second Challenger main draw appearance.

“It feels great, especially as I started playing fully professional this year, not juniors anymore. I think this will help me a lot in the future and boost my confidence,” said Kecmanovic.

“I beat a very good player in the first round, so I’m very happy. I played pretty solid in both matches, I made them play everything, I didn’t give too many free points away. That was the plan from the start, so I’m really happy to make that happen.”

The win over Kozlov was his first on the ATP Challenger Tour. In doing so, Kecmanovic became the second-youngest player to win a match at this level in 2017 (17 year and 7 months), only behind Felix Auger Aliassime, and he is determined to keep this run going in Mexico.

Youngest Match Winners In 2017

“It’s a really nice tournament. I’m really grateful for the wildcard and the opportunity,” added the Serbian. “I’ve been coming to Mexico a lot, so it feels great to be here again. I just hope to play well, the key is to compete.”

In 2013 Kecmanovic left Serbia to accept an invitation join the IMG Academy in Florida, U.S.A., accompanied by his Aunt Tanja Pavlov, and it seems four years of hard work have paid off.

The signs have been promising for a couple of years for the 17 year old. Kecmanovic won the prestigious U18 Orange Bowl International Tennis Championships in 2015. Roger Federer won the title in 1998, Dominic Thiem was the champion in 2011, but Kecmanovic also returned to defend his title in 2016. A final showing at the junior US Open last year (l. Auger Aliassime) culminated with Kecmanovic finishing his junior career ranked No. 1.

In January he won his first event of the year, clinching the Futures F4 title (d. Lindell) in Florida. In March, at the Miami Open presented by Itau, he ousted then World No. 117 Henri Laaksonen in a qualifying match.

Despite finishing his Junior career ranked at No. 1, Kecmanovic insists plenty of hard graft is required to maintain his fledging development.

“I think mentally I need to get a little bit more stable and to stay more focused throughout matches. I can upgrade my fitness and work hard on everything in general,” added the World No. 608. “It’s very different from the juniors, where I was top seed, then coming into these tournaments, I maybe have to go through qualies, then facing the top guys, it’s a lot more physical and a much more demanding mentally. Hopefully I adapt soon.”

The victories in San Luis prove his potential, but Kecmanovic is surprised by his recent success. “Honestly, I didn’t think it would start this good,” revealed the Serbian. “I won my first pro title at the beginning of the year. It’s going better than expected and hopefully it can stay that way.”

He has been lucky enough to sometimes train with World No. 2 Djokovic. If Kecmanovic keeps up this pace, he could be facing Serbia’s tennis talisman on a match court soon.