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Vukic's Journey To His Australian Open Breakthrough

Learn more about the 25-year-old Aussie
January 18, 2022
Aleksandar Vukic advanced past the first round in the main draw of a major for the first time.
Mark Brake/Getty Images
Aleksandar Vukic advanced past the first round in the main draw of a major for the first time. By Andrew Eichenholz

Aleksandar Vukic is a home favourite at the Australian Open, where he earned his first major win against 30th seed Lloyd Harris and will play Moldovan Radu Albot in the second round Wednesday.

Buoyed by the home crowd, the Sydney native tossed his racquet to the court and threw his arms in the air as he rallied from a set down to upset Harris. It marked the biggest win of his young career and signaled the culmination of a long journey to arrive at this moment.

To understand how far Vukic has come and the sacrifices his family has made, flash back to Montenegro in the early 1990s. Vukic’s older brother, Vladimir, was born in Bosnia and by the age of one he had “really bad” asthma. Their parents, Rad and Ljiljana, decided to flee the war.

“All the males over 18 had to be enrolled in the army, but my dad didn't want to go and get killed. They were living in Sarajevo at the time and this was the heart of the war. My brother and my mom were able to leave,” Vukic said. “They would hear bullets outside their home, so it was too dangerous and they were sending all the women and children away. Then my father tried to escape too and made it to the airport.

“There was a plane leaving and he blended in with another family and managed to get out of there. Eventually they got their visas and made it to Australia.”

According to ‘Aleks’, his parents moved to Australia “with nothing”. They only had about $1,000. Aleks was born in Sydney in 1996.

“It was so tough at first. They struggled to find jobs,” Vukic said. “Now, they are computer engineers and worked their way up from nothing. They are in Australia for almost 25 years now.”

Vladimir, who is six years older than Aleks, began playing tennis aged 10.

“When the older brother plays you want to do even better. That's how it was. Anytime he would play, I would be there picking up balls. He works in private equity now and here I am,” Vukic said. “I was playing soccer and tennis until I was 13 or 14, but I was missing a few too many soccer practices. I had to make a choice and I just think I was better at tennis.”

Vukic went to Spain to train after high school, but he quickly burned out.

“I was on my own and 17 at the time and realised I wasn't ready,” Vukic said. “I couldn't imagine myself traveling the tour full-time at that point. College seemed like a better option.”

The Australian was playing Jared Hiltzik at a Futures event where Brad Dancer, the head coach for the University of Illinois, was in attendance. Hiltzik won the match, but Dancer liked what he saw from Vukic and gave him a business card, saying to get in touch if he was interested in college tennis.

Both Hiltzik and Vukic would attend the University of Illinois, where they both had storied careers. Vukic tallied a 108-19 singles record in his four years and in 2017 was named Big Ten Athlete of the Year.

“I can’t say enough superlatives about him, but 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,” Dancer said. “In terms of academics, he was in one of the most rigorous programmes academically at the university. [His] tennis obviously was off the charts in terms of his commitment to tennis and his results in tennis and the third thing is he is an incredibly social guy.

“He was very involved in the university life, the team life and so forth. It’s very difficult to be at the top in two of those three categories and I think the one thing that stands out to me is he was fully engaged and at the top in all three of those categories.”

In March 2020, Vukic cracked the Top 200 of the ATP Rankings for the first time.

“At first, I didn't adapt that well. You lose every week if you're playing top-level tournaments,” Vukic said. “You can go months without losing in college. Then here, you're losing every week.

“You're also by yourself and you lose by yourself. Every time I'd lose, I'd feel even worse and get down on myself. Honestly, I didn't handle it too well. It's only recently that I've gotten better.”

But that did not stop Vukic from continuing to push forward. That determination has helped him rise to his current ATP Ranking of World No. 144, a career-best. He enters the new year on the heels of a late-season surge in 2021, which included a first ATP Masters 1000 match win in Indian Wells and ATP Challenger Tour final appearances in Charlottesville and Champaign. According to Dancer, his perseverance runs in the family.

“His parents are great people, they’re tough people. 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. Any time parents get involved and want the best for their children, I love that challenge,” Dancer said. “Rad would push me and we’ve got a great relationship I think because of that. I think [Aleks’] stubbornness definitely comes from his dad’s side.”

Vukic now has a big opportunity against qualifier Albot to reach the third round at a Grand Slam for the first time. Dancer spoke to his old charge on Tuesday and is excited to continue following the Australian’s progress.

“If he can stay healthy, I think his mindset is fantastic, he’s invested in himself, he believes in himself. Wins like this can only help,” Dancer said. “We talked this morning about just keeping things simple and trying to back this win up and be ready for tomorrow.”

- Reporting contributed by Josh Meiseles

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