Krajinovic reflects on retirement: 'It was not easy to say goodbye'

Filip Krajinovic called the situation he was in Monday evening “strange”. The former No. 26 player in the PIF ATP Rankings was emotional during his first-round qualifying match against Jurij Rodionov at the US Open to the point that he struggled to play.

Rodionov won 6-4, 6-2 in a straightforward 71 minutes. His Serbian opponent was not emotional because he was losing, but because the 32-year-old knew it was the end of his tennis journey. The defeat marked the final match of Krajinovic’s standout career.

“I was struggling for the past year and a half, thinking what to do. I was not happy with my form. I was not happy with my body, and I didn't play the level I wanted. I dropped a lot. I decided to finish after the US Open,” Krajinovic told ATPTour.com. “I was really, really sad [Monday]. I couldn't really even play. I was crying on the court because the whole life you're playing and you're competing, so it was not easy to say goodbye, but at the same time, I'm happy that now I'm free.”

Krajinovic set high standards for himself. It was one of the reasons he cracked the world’s Top 30, reached five ATP Tour finals and defeated four Top 10 opponents. But in the past couple of years he has not been able to maintain the level he has been used to for much of his career.

The Serbian struggled with a wrist injury, broke a finger and dealt with “a couple of little things”. As that happened, he realised that physically he was not quite as quick, which made a difference on court. With that came a slide in the PIF ATP Rankings.

“When you drop to play small tournaments, motivation is not the same. I just didn't feel right, I didn't feel well, and I was not hungry enough,” Krajinovic said. “If you're not 100 per cent into it, there's no chance you can go back where I wanted to be. So I felt like I was not enjoying it and I saw like this that I was not going to be where I wanted to be, which is Top 50 for sure.”

After Roland Garros this year, Krajinovic decided he would play for a couple of more months and retire after the US Open. Despite the loss, it was a special moment on Court 4. Many of Krajinovic’s closest friends, including Dusan Lajovic, Miomir Kecmanovic, Nikola Cacic and Serbian Davis Cup captain Viktor Troicki stayed late into the night to support him.

“Those are my biggest and best friends. I really love them,” Krajinovic said. “They stayed all day there to watch me and say goodbye. It was really nice.”

Lajovic said: "I feel that our journeys started differently, but it ended being on a similar path, which had us being compared. But regardless of that we were able to have a friendship outside the court, which I think helped both of us in different times of our careers and probably pushed each other to do and be better.

"I know how much Filip had in him and regardless if he fulfilled his full potential or not, he’s had an amazing career and I hope that he can enjoy life in a way he deserves now that maybe the toughest part for him, being constantly on the road, is out of the picture."

They all took to social media to congratulate their friend on his accomplishments, which were plentiful.

The moment that stands out to him the most is his run to the final of the 2017 Rolex Paris Masters, his lone championship match at an ATP Masters 1000 event. World No. 77 at the time, Krajinovic qualified, then defeated Top 15 players Sam Querrey and John Isner to earn the right to play for the trophy.

^{Krajinovic celebrates at the 2017 Rolex Paris Masters. Photo: AFP/Getty Images}
But that was far from his only moment in the spotlight. Krajinovic had the game to challenge anyone on Tour on his day. The Serbian claimed his two Lexus ATP Head2Head meetings against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and defeated the likes of Daniil Medvedev and Tomas Berdych.

In 2020, he earned one of the most impressive victories of his career at the venue where he ultimately retired: the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. That year, the Cincinnati ATP Masters 1000 tournament was held in New York because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Krajinovic throttled Dominic Thiem 6-2, 6-1. Two weeks later, the Austrian won the US Open.

“I am very proud. I'm very proud of my career,” Krajinovic said. “The only thing where I'm a little bit sad is I didn't win an ATP [title]. I had five finals, five tough finals. That's the only thing I wanted to have, but didn't happen for some reason. But everything else I would sign [for] because I think I played the way I wanted. I had very good results and my highest was 26, which I really appreciate. I left the court happy, because I think that I did well.”

For now, Krajinovic would like to take some time for himself back in Serbia to rest and evaluate what will be next. But the 32-year-old expects to remain in tennis after dedicating his life to the sport for so many years.

When Krajinovic was 14 years old, he left Serbia for Florida to train at the IMG Academy and chase his dream of becoming a professional tennis player. Practice partners included Kei Nishikori, Max Mirnyi and Radek Stepanek, who had the level he one day hoped to reach.

Nearly two decades later, at the end of a standout career on the ATP Tour, he is preparing to fly to Bradenton once more to visit the place where his journey began.

“It was not easy. I came to the States when I was 14, alone, without anybody. I went to that Academy [and] I didn't know anything. I didn't know how to speak English, so that was my biggest problem when I went there,” Krajinovic said. “It was hard, but at the same time it was very, very good, because I knew that was my opportunity to improve and to practise with those guys. It was unbelievable.”