Dejan Petrović
Dejan Petrović (Serbian Cyrillic: Дејан Петровић; born 3 April 1978) is an Australian-born Serbian tennis coach and former professional tennis player. He played Davis Cup for Serbia and Montenegro.
| Country (sports) | .svg.png){kind=small} (until 2003) %3B_Flag_of_Serbia_and_Montenegro_(2003%E2%80%932006).svg.png){kind=small} (2003–2006)  (from 2006) |
|---|---|
| Residence | Kragujevac, Serbia |
| Born | 3 April 1978 Adelaide, Australia |
| Plays | Right-handed |
| Prize money | US$165,819 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 2–6 (25.0%) |
| Career titles | 0 |
| Highest ranking | No. 157 (7 August 2000) |
| Grand Slam Singles results | |
| Australian Open | 1R (2000, 2001) |
| Wimbledon | 1R (2000) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 5–8 (38.5%) |
| Career titles | 0 |
| Highest ranking | No. 116 (15 July 2002) |
| Grand Slam Doubles results | |
| Australian Open | 2R (1999, 2002) |
| Wimbledon | 2R (2002) |
| US Open | 1R (2001) |
| Coaching career (2003–) | |
| |
Career
Petrović made his Grand Slam debut in the 1998 Australian Open, partnering Grant Silcock in the doubles. They were eliminated in the opening round but made it into the second round a year later, at the 1999 Australian Open. In 2002 he reached the second round at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, partnering Todd Perry and then David Škoch.[1]
As a singles player, Petrović made two Australian Open appearances and played once at Wimbledon, but didn't win a match in either event. He lost four set matches to Leander Paes and Sargis Sargsian in the Australian Opens and lost in straight sets to Martin Damm at Wimbledon.[2]
He was a wildcard entrant in the 2000 AAPT Championships, held in his hometown, Adelaide. After defeating Frenchman Stéphane Huet, Petrović was beaten comfortably by another local, Lleyton Hewitt, who courted controversy when he called the crowd "stupid" for not cheering for him.
Petrović relocated in 2003 to Serbia, where his sister and parents lived.[3] He immediately represented his new country in the Davis Cup, playing doubles with Nenad Zimonjić. The pair would play three matches together in total, winning two of them.[4]
He is now running a tennis academy in the Serbian city of Kragujevac. The most successful player that he has coached is Novak Djokovic, who first starting working with Petrović at the age of 16. Under the mentoring of Petrović, Djokovic went from being ranked outside the top 300 to breaking into the top 100 in less than a year.[5]
Petrović coached Ana Ivanovic until 2015.[6]
Challenger titles
Doubles: (8)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 2000 | Manchester Challenger, Manchester, Great Britain |
Grass |  |
 |
6–2, 7–6(7–1) |
| 2. | 2000 | Córdoba Challenger, Córdoba, Spain |
Hard | |
  |
6–1, 6–4 |
| 3. | 2000 | Sofia Challenger, Sofia, Bulgaria |
Clay |  |
 |
6–2, 6–7(5–7), 7–6(7–5) |
| 4. | 2001 | MasterCard Tennis Cup, Campos do Jordão, Brazil |
Hard | |
|
6–3, 6–4 |
| 5. | 2001 | Belo Horizonte Challenger, Belo Horizonte, Brazil |
Hard | |
  |
6–3, 6–4 |
| 6. | 2001 | Gramado Challenger, Gramado, Brazil |
Hard | |
|
6–4, 6–4 |
| 7. | 2002 | Bristol Challenger, Bristol, Great Britain |
Grass |  |
 |
6–3, 6–2 |
| 8. | 2002 | Gramado Challenger, Gramado, Brazil |
Hard | |
  |
3–6, 7–5, 6–2 |
References
- ITF Tennis profile
- ATP World Tour profile
- Daily Telegraph, "The hunger of Serbia's tennis elite is a lesson for us all ", Leo Schlink, 15 January 2012.
- Davis Cup profile
- Weekly Times Messenger, "Djokovic discoverer is Woodville bound" Archived 5 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Kym Morgan, 2 November 2011.
- Nguyen, Courtney (19 July 2014). "Ana Ivanovic appoints new coach Dejan Petrovic". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
External links
- Dejan Petrović at the Association of Tennis Professionals
- Dejan Petrović at the Association of Tennis Professionals Coach Profile
- Dejan Petrović at the International Tennis Federation