Krajinovic Survives Rollercoaster To Advance At Home In Belgrade

Filip Krajinovic's opening match at the Serbia Open Monday evening was a rollercoaster, but the fifth seed battled past Italian Stefano Travaglia 7-5, 5-7, 6-3 in two hours and 28 minutes to reach the second round in Belgrade.

The home favourite's hopes were in jeopardy as he stared down a point to go down a double-break in the third set. But Krajinovic struck a perfect backhand passing shot to escape his predicament before rallying for the victory.

The Serbian raised his level from there. Although he was unable to take advantage of a match point at 5-4 the second set — he also served for the match at 7-5, 5-3 — the 29-year-old clawed through the decider to set a clash against countryman Nikola Milojevic, who opened the tournament with an impressive 6-4, 6-0 victory against Argentine Federico Coria.

John Millman made a successful start to his Belgrade title bid with a 7-5, 6-4 victory against Danilo Petrovic. The seventh seed created 17 break points and converted four of them to overcome the Serbian wild card in one hour and 51 minutes.

Millman, who entered the tournament with a 3-8 record this season, is aiming to reach his first quarter-final of the year. The Aussie will meet Pablo Cuevas or Emil Ruusuvuori for a spot in the last eight. Millman lost his only previous ATP Head2Head clash against Cuevas at the 2016 Miami Open presented by Itau and has not met Ruusuvuori.

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Serbian wild cards compiled a 1-2 record on Monday at the Novak Tennis Center. Milojevic was victorious, but Viktor Troicki was unable to join his countryman in the second round. Marco Cecchinato, the 2018 Roland Garros semi-finalist, needed 66 minutes to record a 6-1, 6-4 win against Troicki on Center Court.

Did You Know?
Krajinovic made his ATP Tour main draw debut in Belgrade as a 17-year-old in 2009, and he reached his first tour-level semi-final here the following year.