The first day of the Australian Open has already produced a number of eye-catching results in Melbourne.
Britain’s Arthur Fery stunned Flavio Cobolli, while number 11 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova was dumped out by qualifier Zeynep Sönmez.
There have also been a number of five-set matches in the first round of the Grand Slam, including teenager Michael Zheng coming through against Sebastian Korda.
Miomir Kecmanovic was on the receiving end of a five-set loss and he cut an emotional speech after his Australian Open exit.
Miomir Kecmanovic says tennis isn’t important after family bereavement
Kecmanovic faced a tough task in the first round against Tomas Martin Etcheverry, and he narrowly missed out on the victory.
The Serbian was two sets to one up against Etcheverry, but he was unable to capture a place in the second round.
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After the match, the world number 60 explained how personal issues have forced his mind away from the sport.
“At the moment, tennis isn’t that important to me. I play as much as I can. I lost my grandmother at Christmas, so – that’s it. I gave as much as I could, everything I had.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t make it in the end. After a poor first set, I showed good play and energy. He served better later on, especially in the fifth set. Unfortunately, it ended that way.”
Kecmanovic has been ranked as high as World No. 27 and he last claimed an ATP title at the Delray Beach Open in February 2025.
Why it’s no surprise that Miomir Kecmanovic notched up another five-set classic
It should be no surprise that Kecmanovic took part in a five-set match in the Australian Open first round.
The Serbian has now competed in 17 five-set matches out of the 55 he has played at Grand Slam tournaments.
That means that 30.9% of his Grand Slam matches have gone the distance, which is the fourth most in tennis history.
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Only Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Viktor Troicki, and Nicolas Lepentti have a higher percentage of five-set matches.
Kecmanovic is above some major names on the list, including Radek Stepanek, Darren Cahill, and Jordan Thompson.
