Kecmanovic Awaits Qualifier in Chengdu
The ATP Chengdu draw was made Monday. Miomir Kecmanovic is the only Serbian player in the field, and his first round opponent stays unknown until qualifying wraps up.
While the last doubles point against Lithuania had barely faded in Nis, where Miomir Kecmanovic partnered Nikola Latinovic for Serbia in the Davis Cup, a very different draw was taking shape on Monday in Chengdu, China. The ATP hard court event opens on Tuesday, September 23, and runs through September 29, and only one player from Serbia is entered.
Kecmanovic is the sole Serbian representative in the Chengdu field. His first round opponent is still unnamed, since he draws a qualifier, and the identity of that player will only be confirmed once qualifying wraps up. That is always a slightly trickier spot for the higher seed: there is no tape to study and no scouting report to build, while the qualifier typically arrives on court in rhythm and with nothing to defend.
Should he get through the opener, Kecmanovic would face a stiff test in round two. Waiting there is Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp, a player capable of troubling higher ranked opponents on fast surfaces like the one in Chengdu.
The draw also set the tournament’s seeding. Valentin Vacherot of Monaco is the top seed, with Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina seeded second. Here is what the draw produced, in one place:
- First round: Kecmanovic vs a qualifier, opponent’s name to follow once qualifying concludes
- Second round (if he advances): Botic van de Zandschulp (Netherlands)
- Top seed: Valentin Vacherot (Monaco)
- Second seed: Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (Spain)
- Prize money: $1,210,115
- Tournament dates: September 23 to 29
For Kecmanovic, this is essentially a direct continuation of one crowded week. He goes straight from the Davis Cup in Nis, where he shared the court with Latinovic, into the Asian hard court swing without a break, as the only Serbian name on the Chengdu entry list. A schedule like that tends to show up in the legs by the first round, especially against an opponent nobody could even put a name to a day earlier.
Drawing a qualifier is neither unusual nor a rule for Kecmanovic; he has been in this kind of spot before. Still, opening against an unknown name is always a bigger test for the head than for the game itself. There is no bracket history, no form to study, no past meetings for a coach to lean on, just a blank page that only fills in at the last moment. That is exactly why the first round in Chengdu looks like the kind of match that gets won with the head before the racquet does. Kecmanovic’s opening match in Chengdu is scheduled for Tuesday, September 23.
