World No 784 Matija Pecotic is set to make his ATP main draw debut at the age of 33 after qualifying for the Delray Beach Open. Pecotic, a former world No 206, entered the Delray Beach qualifying event as an alternate. In his qualifying opener, Pecotic was 7-6 (1) 5-5 up on Stefan Kozlov when the American retired the match. On Sunday, Pecotic upset two-time Australian Open quarterfinalist Tennys Sandgren 3-6 6-3 6-2. Now, Pecotic is set to feature in an ATP main draw for the first time in his career.
Matija Pecotic, a 33-year-old on-site alternate ranked No.
784 in the world, just beat Tennys Sandgren to qualify for the main draw of the @DelrayBeachOpen, his first ever main draw on the ATP World Tour level. — Randy Walker (@TennisPublisher) February 12, 2023
How Pecotic defeated Sandgren?
The first break points of the match were seen in the third game, when Pecotic missed out on three consecutive break points on Sandgren’s serve.
Pecotic paid the price for blowing three early break points as Sandgren earned the first break of the match in the sixth game. Up by a break, Sandgren routinely held on to his serve the rest of the first set to clinch the opener.
After losing the first set, Pecotic was on the brink of losing his serve in the very first game of the second set. Fortunately for Pecotic, he was able to save Sandgren’s break point in the first game. After saving an early second-set break point, Pecotic clinched his first break of the match in the second game of the second set.
In the fifth game, Pecotic got broken back. However, blowing an early second-set break didn’t impact Pecotic, who broke Sandgren again in the sixth game. This time, Pecotic was able to hold on to his serve as he managed to send the match into a decider.
After winning the second set, Pecotic earned the first break of the third set in the third game. In the seventh game, Pecotic broke Sandgren again to go up by a double break. Up by a double break, Pecotic routinely served out for the match in the eighth game.