London: Aleksandar Vukic’s journey to a Wimbledon debut at 27 has been a long but not lonely road. Along the way he’s had some loyal fellow travellers.
From the outside, it might appear like Vukic has made a rapid rise. Outside the world’s top 200 in February, he sits at a career-high world No. 87. But the path to his dream has tested his patience and provided doubts.
Aleksandar Vukic, who at 27 is playing at his first Wimbledon, with his parents Ljiljana and Radoje, at the weekend.Credit: AELTC/Edward Whitaker
After an impressive 6-3 7-6 (7-1) 3-6 7-5 opening round victory against world No.66 Daniel Altmaier, he meets big-serving Frenchman Quentin Halys in the second round, most probably on Thursday after rain ruined the second day’s play.
And two decades after he first picked up a racquet at just 4½ years old, Vukic, a product of Normanhurst Boys High, can’t quite believe where he is.
The Sydneysider’s parents, Radoje and Lilijana, fled Sarajevo during the Balkan wars in the early 1990s with his elder brother, Vladimir. They left everything behind to make a new life in Australia.
The young family had little money to their name and struggled to find jobs on arrival. They worked their way up from next to nothing, all to give their children the best chance at life.
Aleksandar Vukic outside the famed All-England Tennis Clubhouse this week. Credit: AELTC/Edward Whitaker
“Without them, I wouldn’t be playing,” Vukic says. “There were moments where I doubted whether I could do it, and it’s more special to share these type of moments with those who are there with you day-to-day, and they definitely are those type of parents.”
Having grown up on Sydney’s upper north shore, he’d watch Wimbledon on television as a child but never really imagined he’d play there. A late developer, his progress was hampered by injury and then, just as he was making his mark, COVID-19 hit, upending the tour.
He went to Spain as a 17-year-old to progress his game, then to the United States at the University of Illinois. Monday’s win was his second career grand slam main-draw victory and his first since reaching the second round at Australian Open 2022 as a wildcard.
To get there, he qualified at five tour-level events in the opening half of the season and also contested three ATP Challenger finals. And the hard work has paid off, gaining him a direct acceptance for the first time in his career at a grand slam.
“I’m still trying to figure out where everything is,” Vukic said. “It’s pretty surreal.”
Among his fans is 15th seed Alex de Minaur, who praised his career-best year.
“[He’s] playing some great tennis at the tour events as well as beating some really high-quality players,” the Australian top-ranked men’s player said at the weekend.
Brad Dancer, Vukic’s head coach at Illinois, is among those offering their support for hia first outing at SW19. In an interview last year with ATP.com, Dancer heaped praised on his former charge as a student, an athlete and a person. And there’s a competitive stubbornness too, he said, more than likely inherited from his father.
“His parents are great people – they’re tough people,” Dancer said at the time. “His dad is really, really tough, and I respect the heck out of his father. His dad would push me as a coach, which I always appreciated.”
“I can’t say enough superlatives about him [Vukic]” he said. “I think he’s probably the only guy I’ve ever coached who I feel like across the board at the top has checked all three boxes.”
Vukic seems realistic about where things are at. Like many professionals outside the top dozen making ends meet can be a challenge. But he admits at that money won’t be a driving factor this week.
“You’re playing at Wimbledon,” he says. “This is why you play tennis. If you can’t get yourself up to play here, then you shouldn’t be playing tennis.”
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