Krajinovic: 'I can't wait to face Roger Federer, having nothing to lose'
Recognized as one of the most talented players born in the early 90s, Filip Krajinovic was ready to conquer the tennis world after cracking the top-300 in 2009 and finding himself in the top-200 a year later when he defeated Novak Djokovic at Belgrade Open to reach the semi-final! Soon after that, the young Serb started to struggle with injuries, hitting rock bottom many times and bouncing back, confident in his abilities and talent. Kicking off 2017 season from outside the top-200, Krajinovic found the rhythm on the Challenger Tour to improve the ranking and achieve his most significant result at Paris Masters, qualifying for the main draw to reach the final, introducing himself to the tennis world and cracking the top-30 in March last year.
The injury-prone player failed to avoid problems once again, winning just 14 matches on the Tour last year (playing only one tournament between Miami and Toronto) and dropping out from the top-100 a few weeks ago. After splitting with Thomas Johansson, the Serb currently works without a coach and he is doing an excellent job, advancing into the fourth round at Indian Wells as a qualifier and carrying that form to Miami as well, setting the third round meeting with Roger Federer. On Saturday, Filip prevailed against Stan Wawrinka in the deciding set tie break, bouncing back from a 5-2 down in the third set tie break to notch an important win and get a chance to meet Roger Federer for the third time, with Swiss scoring two wins at Indian Wells and Basel last year.
"It was a very tough match, I kept my composure when I needed it the most to cross the finish line first. I didn't serve well and that cost me a lot, having to work for every point in my games, and I'm happy to beat such a great player like Stan Wawrinka. We had trained together many times during the winter and I knew what to expect. I had to defend 400 points in the last two months and it will be much easier in the rest of the season, knowing I don't have too many points to cover. I want to stay healthy throughout the year and return where I belong. I will enjoy the match against Roger Federer on the Hard Rock Stadium as I have nothing to lose in that one."
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2OprOg2
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