Two days ago, the author wrote an article on "The House of Tennis". The title of this article is "Alone in Brisbane, Zhou Yi Lost in Two Sets, and the Professional Ranking Is Still Climbing", and a netizen from Hong Kong, Denny Li, left a message saying that in the first TOP1000, there were nearly 100 American players, while only 14 Chinese players. Indeed, on the one hand, because the progress level of most Chinese men's tennis players is still a little slow compared with European and American players; On the other hand, it is due to the genes of the innate body. No, at the ATP 250 Montpellier Open, the only tournament held last week, there was another American who did quite well and made a career breakthrough. So, who exactly is the American? How did he do last week? Let the humble article take you to see it today.

The American is Kovacevic, and although he has been playing tennis since he was four years old, he has not won any ITF junior singles title during his teenage years. This experience is quite similar to that of Serbian king Novak Djokovic, and perhaps it is because of the same experience that Kovacevic naturally sees Junior German as an idol.

Along the way, Kovacevic had a rough walk. It wasn't until 2023 that he won his first career Challenger title. And in that year, Kovacevic was already twenty years old. Also that year, he won four Challenger tournaments and even pushed his idol to a tie-break at Roland Garros. Last week, he arrived at the ATP 250 Montpellier Open as the top seed in the qualifying tournament, already within the top 100 of the world rankings.

In the first round of qualifying, Kovacevic defeated France's R Bertrand in straight sets. In the final round of the qualifying round, Kovacevic showed no mercy in the face of Spain's Busta, who had reached the semifinals of the Grand Slam twice, and he reached the main draw of the ATP 250 Montpellier Open in straight sets. However, in the first round of the main event, Kovacevic faced the Belgian Goffin, who had won the runner-up in the year-end finals, and this player was the sixth seed of the tournament. After a hard-fought three-set battle, he eventually defeated the veteran to reach the second round.

Kovacevic's second-round opponent was Italy's Bellucci, and it took a lot of effort against a player of his own age, and in the end, he won the game and advanced to the quarterfinals. In the quarterfinals, Kovacevic's opponent was the first brother in Asia, Kazakhstan's Bublik. It is worth mentioning that Bublik is the fourth seed in the tournament. Kovacevic's previous best record on tour was the quarter-finals, and if he can beat his opponent, then he will have a new breakthrough in his career.

In this match, Kovacevic played very well, allowing his opponent to win only five games in the whole match. After the victory, Kovacevic faced Russia's Rublev, a former ATP 500 king and tournament top seed, in the semi-finals. Although before the game, both fans and bookmakers felt that Kovacevic's winning rate was not large. However, Kovacevic pulled off an upset, beating the two-time Masters champion Russian in straight sets to reach the final of his first career tour.

Kovacevic's final opponent was the tournament's second seed, Aliassime of Canada. Perhaps because he didn't get used to the rhythm of the final, he only won two games in the first set. Fortunately, in the second set, Kovacevic's form improved, and the two sides went to a tie-break, and Kovacevic won the set, and the two returned to the same starting line. In the deciding set, the two men battled for points fiercely, and due to the difference in strength and experience, Kovacevic lost to his opponent in a tie-break and missed out on his first career tour title.

Despite a regrettable loss to the former US Open semi-finalist, Kovacevic still rose nearly 30 places to No. 75 in the instant world rankings with a wave of six straight wins. In the days ahead, there is reason to believe that this player will perform even better.

I don't know much about tennis, let alone everyone, but I just have a little feeling. Anyway, I hope my article can give you some fresh feelings. When this article was written, I would like to express my deep gratitude to Xiao Liu for his guidance. Whether it's praise or criticism, maybe it's just to make me go further. Here, thank you to all the netizens who read.(Source: Tennis Home Author: Yixin Jushi)