IMG’s Miomir Kecmanovic tries to solidify top ranking with Herr title

Miomir Kecmanovic wasn’t even 9 years old the first time Miro Hrvatin had a chance to see him. The rising Serbian tennis star was in Hrvatin’s home of Pula, Croatia, for the 2008 Smrikva Bowl and the 8-year-old won a match as the field’s No. 4 seed.

It wasn’t until a few years later — Hrvatin can’t pinpoint exactly when — that the coach became convinced about Kecmanovic’s future success. Hrvatin estimates Kecmanovic was 12 or 13 when he came back to Pula simply to train with Hrvatin. Kecmanovic was drawn by the seaside town and the training he had grown familiar with through his annual trips to the Smrikva Bowl. He wanted Hrvatin to push him.

It was the conditioning drills that finally got to Kecmanovic, Hrvatin remembered. Kecmanovic complained and complained, so Hrvatin asked him why he was there.

“If I have to become No. 1 in the world, I have to do it,” Hrvatin, who now coaches Kecmanovic full time, recalls the student telling him.

“That was pretty amazing for a kid,” Hrvatin said.

Five years later, Kecmanovic is there. The IMG Academy student sits atop the International Tennis Federation’s junior rankings, and he has a chance to add another significant junior title to his collection Sunday. Kecmanovic will face Canada’s Benjamin Sigouin, the No. 2 seed, in the final of the Eddie Herr International Championships at IMG Academy. Kecmanovic dropped his first set of the Eddie Herr on Saturday before regrouping to beat Turkey’s Ergi Kirkin, the No. 12 seed, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3.

The boys match will follow the girls, which begins at 9 a.m. in Bradenton. Sixth-seeded Varvara Gracheva, of Russia, will face Argentinian Maria Lourdes Carle, the No. 12 seed, in the girls final. The girls doubles championship was decided Saturday when Croatia’s Lea Boskovic and Slovenia’s Kaja Juvan teamed to beat Mexico’s Maria Jose Portillo Ramirez and the United States’ Sofia Sewing, 7-6, 6-3.

Kecmanovic, though, is the big draw this weekend. Since his surprise win at the Orange Bowl in Plantation last year, the 17-year-old has surged to the top of the rankings. He won last month at the Abierto Juvenil Mexicano in Mexico City and during the summer at the Prince George’s County International Hard Court Junior Tennis Championship in Maryland. He reached the finals of the Osaka Mayor’s Cup in Japan and the junior U.S. Open in New York. He has played in nine futures tournaments on the ITF Men’s Circuit, reaching the finals of the USA F14 in Boca Raton.

“He’s growing day by day,” Hrvatin said. “His skills are already like a professional’s. His hand is very, very fast and getting faster day by day.”

Kecmanovic was fortunate to find tennis success at the time the sport’s popularity was exploding in Serbia. He began playing at 6 when the sport still possessed niche status in his hometown of Belgrade, but in 2011 the boom came. Serbia’s Novak Djokovic ascended to No. 1 in the world with a win at Wimbledon. The clubs Kecmanovic played at started to become more tightly packed with young players who took up the sport in Djokovic’s shadow.

“A lot of people started playing tennis now because of him,” Kecmanovic said. “As soon as he hit No. 1 it just skyrocketed.”

He bounced between clubs and coaches around Belgrade throughout his childhood before finding a permanent home in Florida four years ago. He joined the Ascenders with his sights set on a No. 1 ranking, and last December the academy helped him break through.

He was the No. 9 seed at last year’s Orange Bowl, a relative long shot to get the biggest win of his career in one of the top junior fields. His path to victory, though, was dominant. He lost two sets the entire week and earned a three-set win against Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas on a tiebreak in the championship.

“Even I didn’t believe that I can win at first,” Kecmanovic said. “When I won it gave me a lot more confidence to know that I could play big tournaments and win.”

The win, Kecmanovic said, put him over the hump. Playing deep into tournaments has given him a chance to study top players and make constant improvements to his game. Hrvatin said the biggest difference is the speed of Kecmanovic’s hands — he now has a blistering serve, which plays well with his baseline-centric style.

He added one trophy to his collection Saturday when he and Sigouin beat Americans Govind Nanda and Alexandre Rotsaert, 6-0, 6-1, in the doubles championship. On Sunday, at the place he now calls home, he can complete a sweep — another first in a year full of them for Kecmanovic.

“He’s playing very good,” Hrvatin said. “He’s reached one level that’s a very good level for him at the moment and every match it gets higher.”

This story was originally published December 3, 2016 at 9:39 PM with the headline "IMG’s Miomir Kecmanovic tries to solidify top ranking with Herr title."