Filip Krajinovic reflects on retirement: ‘It wasn’t easy to say goodbye’ | ATP Tour

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Krajinovic thinks about retirement: ‘It wasn’t easy to say goodbye’

The five-time ATP Tour champion speaks exclusively to ATPtour.com

August 21, 2024

Filip Krajinovic called the situation he was in on Monday evening “strange”. The former No. 26 player in the PIF ATP Rankings was so upset during his first round match against Jurij Rodionov at the US Open that he struggled to play.

Rodionov won 6-4, 6-2 in 71 straight minutes. His Serbian opponent was not emotional because he was losing, but because the 32-year-old knew that his tennis journey was over. The loss was Krajinovic’s last game in the spotlight.

“I have been struggling for the past year and a half, thinking about what to do. I was not happy with my form. I wasn’t happy with my body, and I didn’t play at the level I wanted to. I went down a lot. I decided to finish after the US Open,” Krajinovic told ATPtour.com. “I was really sad [Monday]. I couldn’t even really play. I was crying on the court because you compete all your life so it wasn’t easy to say goodbye but at the same time I’m happy that I’m free now.”

Krajinovic set high standards for himself. It was one of the reasons why he broke the Top 30 in the world, reached five ATP Tour finals and defeated four Top 10 players. But in the last few years he has not been able to maintain the level he has been used to for most of his career.

The Serbian suffered a wrist injury, a broken finger and suffered “a few small things”. As it happens, he realized that physically he is not that fast, which makes a difference on the court. With that came a slide in the PIF ATP Rankings.

“When you stop playing small tournaments, the motivation is not the same. “I wasn’t feeling well, I wasn’t feeling well, and I wasn’t hungry enough,” said Krajinovic. “If you’re not 100 percent in, there’s no chance you can get back to where I wanted to be. So I felt like I wasn’t enjoying it and I realized that I wouldn’t be where I wanted to be, which is Top 50 for sure.”

After Roland Garros this year, Krajinovic decided to play for a few more months and retire after the US Open. Despite the loss, it was a special moment on Court 4. Many of Krajinovic’s close friends, including Dusan Lajovic, Miomir Kecmanovic, Nikola Cacic and Serbian Davis Cup captain Viktor Troicki stayed late into the night to support him.

“Those are my best and greatest friends. I like them a lot,” said Krajinovic. “They stayed all day to watch me and say goodbye. It was really good.”

They all took to social media to congratulate their friend on his many achievements.

His most notable moment was his run to the final of the 2017 Rolex Paris Masters, his only championship match at an ATP Masters 1000 event. 77 at the time, Krajinovic won, then defeated Top 15 players Sam Querrey and John Isner to earn the right to play for the trophy.

But that was far from his only moment in the spotlight. Krajinovic had the game to challenge anyone on Tour on his day. The Serbian claimed his two Lexus ATP Head2Head meetings against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and defeated the likes of Daniil Medvedev and Tomas Berdych.

In 2020, she won one of the most impressive trophies of her career at her final retirement destination: the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. That year, the Cincinnati ATP Masters 1000 tournament was held in New York due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Krajinovic beat Dominic Thiem 6-2, 6-1. Two weeks later, the Austrian won the US Open.

“I am very proud. I am very proud of my work,” said Krajinovic. “The thing I’m sad about is that I didn’t win the ATP Filip Krajinovic reflects on retirement: ‘It was not easy to say goodbye’ | ATP Tour. I had five finals, five tough finals. That’s all I wanted to have, but it didn’t happen for some reason. But everything else I would sign [for] because I think I played the way I wanted to. I had very good results and my highest was 26, which I really appreciate. I left the court happy, because I think I did well.”

For now, Krajinovic would like to take some time to return to Serbia to rest and explore what’s next. But the 32-year-old expects to continue playing tennis after dedicating his life to the sport for so many years.

When Krajinovic was 14 years old, she moved from Serbia to Florida to train at the IMG Academy and pursue her dream of becoming a professional tennis player. His practice partners included Kei Nishikori, Max Mirnyi and Radek Stepanek, who were at a level he hoped to one day reach.

Nearly two decades later, at the end of a distinguished career on the ATP Tour, he is preparing to fly to Bradenton again to visit the place where his journey began.

“It was not easy. I came to the States when I was 14, alone, without anyone. I went to that Academy [and] I didn’t know anything. I couldn’t speak English so it was my biggest problem when I went there,” said Krajinovic. “It was tough, but at the same time it was great, because I knew that was my chance to improve and practice with those guys. It was unbelievable.”