After brutal Australian Open 1R loss, ATP Pro Damir Dzumhur reveals harsh reality of tennis in Exclusive

Bosnian Damir Dzumhur returned to Grand Slam tennis at the 2025 Australian Open after qualifying for the main draw for this first time since 2022. It didn't pan out the way Dzumhur would've liked as he fell against home-favorite Aleksander Vukic on Court 13 in a brutal five-setter in the first round on Monday, January 13.

The Bosnian, ranked 82nd in the world, started his Australian Open proceedings on a high, taking the first set in a tiebreaker, however, Vukic dished out a bagel in the second to equalize. Damir Dzumhur, a former World No. 23, was able to restore his lead in the third set but the Aussie claimed the remaining sets to win 6-7(3), 6-0, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Following the disappointing result, Sportskeeda caught up with Damir Dzumhur for an exclusive chat at Melbourne Park. In the conversation, he spoke at length about his Australian Open loss and what he needs to do to get back among the top competitors on the ATP circuit.

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Damir Dzumhur Exclusive at the Australian Open 2025

Damir Dzumhur in action at the Australian Open (Image Source: Getty)

Sportskeeda: Thoughts on your first Grand Slam main draw match after three years?

Damir Dzumhur: Tough to lose in five sets always but generally, it could go both way at the end and it was ups and downs which is normal when playing five sets. It’s tough to keep the focus all the time. I’d say I had some black holes in the match where I wasn’t really 100 percent concentrated in what I’m doing. I was trying to get back and, wouldn’t say I had many chances, especially in the fifth set he [Aleksander Vukic] was serving good. But it’s tennis. Sometimes, it goes your way, sometimes it goes the opponent’s way. As I said, it’s very tough to lose in five sets after three and a half hours of playing and trying giving your best. Obviously, he was at the important moments, a bit more calm and he was serving very good. It was tough to find the return on his serve.

Sportskeeda: How do you manage your emotions in such a match with so many momentum shifts?

Damir Dzumhur: You have to keep believing. It’s just one set, I won the first set and when I saw that the second set is not going my way, it’s going his direction, I tried already to focus on the third set because the match can be very long. Sometimes, when the opponent is already 4-0 up in the second set after you win it first, I would say it’s better to turn on the next page, trying to keep your game and find your best game for the next set. That’s what I did. Also the fourth set I started with a break up, had the chances at 1-1 again in the fourth set. I think that’s the moment when it was going one or the other way. I would say sometimes it’s a bit unlucky but some good points from him and it’s tough to see what I did wrong or what I did right. For that, I will have to watch the match to see what was right, what was right. But the most important thing for next Grand Slam matches where I’m playing five sets is to try to keep focus better and try not to have many games in a row where I lose. When you’re tough and always there, it’s also tough for the opponent.

Sportskeeda: What do you think you need to do to get back in Top 30?

Damir Dzumhur: I had the good season last year. I had to go through the Challengers and did win six Challengers [Barletta, Ostrava, Zagreb, Santo Domingo, Istanbul, and Maia] so I think it was very great season. But, you know, I need matches like this. I haven’t played on a stage lately, you know, you’re improving as a player playing with the better players, that’s a fact. I need this kind of matches. I need practices with these kind of guys, tough matches, you know, so my game will raise. Obviously, I can see with the guys that are on a high level, 50 or 60 in the world… I’m still there so I think I should have some positive thoughts and positive mind.

Sportskeeda: You've been a tennis pro for 11 years now, could you tell us what's biggest thing this sport has taught you?

Damir Dzumhur: That you cannot take anything for granted. In tennis, everything changes very fast. You can be Top 30 but that doesn’t mean that you will stay there forever. You have to keep working hard even though you’re on the highest level of your career. You have to keep working hard because everybody is improving and you need to improve every year. It’s not like, ‘Oh, I did good this year and next year I can just keep there’, no! Everybody is improving, the game is evolving, the players are evolving. Everything gets different and you cannot take anything for granted.