DELRAY BEACH – Matija Pecotič made one of the biggest surprises of the tennis season so far at the tournament in Delray Beach.
The 33-year-old Croatian, who works full-time in the financial sector, defeated former world number eight Jack Sock from the USA 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 in his ATP Tour main event debut.
Two weeks ago, Pecotič played only three games in the opening round of the challenger in Cleveland, but in Florida he managed two rounds of qualification and then, surprisingly, the first match in the tournament itself. The life victory of the currently 784th player in the world was also watched from the point of view by the head of his company, who is a long-time friend of his Slovak coach Dominik Hrbaté.
“I left work early today. My boss let me go, I had to write an email to my whole team. But I’ll have to ask for another day off tomorrow.” said Pecotič with a smile.
The native of Belgrade reached his ranking maximum of 206th place in 2015. Subsequently, due to complications after abdominal surgery, he temporarily left tennis and began studying at Harvard Business School, where he rediscovered his love for the game. Last month, Pecotič represented Croatia at the inaugural United Cup and now he played on the ATP Tour for the first time.
Never give up on your dreams
At age 33, world No. 784 Matija Pecotic tallies his first career ATP Tour win in his debut, overcoming former Top 10 player Jack Sock 4-6 6-2 6-2.@DelrayBeachOpen | #DBOpen pic.twitter.com/mcsHYovrXQ
— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 15, 2023
“I definitely didn’t expect to win, on the other hand I didn’t go into the match thinking I was going to lose. I looked at it realistically. You’re playing against a former member of the Top 10 with a lot of tennis experience and a great serve.
But I knew that if I followed the two or three game systems that I had prepared, I would have a chance.” said Pecotič, whose fourth consecutive American opponent Marcos Giron awaits in the second round.
- Author: © List
- VIDEO: YouTube/Tennis TV; Twitter/ATP Tour
- Source: CTK
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