Miomir Kecmanovic plays match with zero unforced errors in Madrid

Tuesday, 03 May 2022 at 19:15

Updated at Thursday, 27 June 2024 at 17:13

Kecmanovic Miomir SerbiaOpen2022 FlorinBaltatoiu

byNurein Ahmed

It's not often you get to see a tennis player complete an entire tennis match without committing an unforced error, but Miomir Kecmanovic achieved this exceptional feat at the Madrid Open.

Kecmanovic has emerged as the best Serbian young player of his generation, and he's living up to the hype. Three months into the 2022 season, he's already putting together a year to remember.

It all began in January when Kecamnovic, in fortuitous circumstances, avoided a first-round match at the Australian Open against his more accomplished countryman Novak Djokovic, who was controversially deported from Australia because of his unvaccination status.

He capitalized on the luck of the draw and reached the second week of a Grand Slam, pocketing over $200,000 in prize money on his way to the fourth round before losing to Gael Monfils.

But Kecmanovic's ascension did not stop because he would make the quarterfinal in five of his next six ATP tournaments. This past week, he went a round further in Munich, bowing out in the semifinal.

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The defeat in Bavaria has not dampened his spirits. In fact, it has triggered a more positive response. Kecmanovic traveled to Madrid, where he faced Alexander Bublik in round one. The Serbian was simply unplayable during the match.

The most striking statistic on the match sheet is that Kecmanovic posted zero unforced errors, which didn't happen due to a lack of trying. He was aggressive and picked his spots, firing 17 winners in the match.

This is extremely rare at the top tier of professional tennis, given opponents' intensity, high tempo, and quality. Bublik is such an unorthodox player who can be unpredictable most of the time. Still, he played solidly from an attacking standpoint, hammering more than twice the winners than Kecmanovic.

At the same time, Bublik's appetite to go for his shots resulted in an unhealthy 37 unforced errors, elicited by a near-perfect performance by his opponent, Kecmanovic.