Croatia’s Matija Pecotic is currently playing at the ATP Delray Beach Open in the US
Croatian tennis player Matija Pecotic has scripted history by earning an ATP tour debut at the age of 33. He has played in Challenger events before but his match against Jack Sock earlier today in the Delray Beach Open marked his debut in the ATP professional. Pecotic has overcome the challenge in his debut match with flying colours, defeating Sock 4-6, 6-2, 6-2. He is scheduled to face Marcos Giron in the Round of 16 tomorrow.
Pecotic has a full-time job as the Director of Capital Markets for a real estate investment company and is No. 784 in the ATP rankings – his story is certainly one for the ages. Pecotic works a typical 9-6 schedule and tries to squeeze in tennis in the morning before work. The Croatian is a fitness enthusiast and that helped him to stay in good shape to make the most of the opportunity that he got at Delray this weekend. Pecotic defeated Stefan Kozlov and Tennys Sandgren in two rounds of qualifying before making his full-time debut against Sock. He will now aim to extend this fairytale run as long as possible.
Pecotic came back from a set down to register a historic win against Jack Sock at the Delray Beach Open. The corporate employee’s boss was in attendance at the stadium to witness this incredible moment. The 33-year-old won just three games in the opening round of a Cleveland ATP Tour Challenger event two weeks ago, but now finds himself in the last 16 at the ATP 250 level.
Speaking after the match, an elated Pecotic joked: “I had to leave work early today. I had to send an email to the whole team. My boss let me off. I’m going to have to ask for another day off tomorrow.” He further added: “I certainly didn’t expect to win, but certainly didn’t come into the match thinking that I’m definitely going to lose. You’ve got to be realistic. This is a former Top 10 guy with an incredible amount of tennis experience, with a huge serve. It would be arrogant to think that I’m going to come out and expect to win.” A win against a former top 10 player is certainly a commendable feat for Pecotic but the player himself realises that it’s important he stays grounded and takes it one match at a time.
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