Even though he’s had an outstanding year on the doubles court, Ivan Dodig still has plenty of motivation for big results in singles.
The 31-year-old Croatian is competing at this week’s $125,000 ATP Challenger Tour event in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Dodig was a late entry into the tournament and played through the qualifying draw as a result. After advancing into the main draw, he won his first-round match on Monday over Aldin Setkic of Bosnia.
“I’m coming back from a back injury and feeling better now,” said Dodig. “I decided to come and play here at the last minute, but I think it was a good decision.”
Currently ranked No. 92 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, Dodig had a solid start to the season that included a quarter-final showing at the 2016 BMW Open by FWU AG and a runner-up finish at the $75,000 Challenger this January in Canberra, Australia. In doubles, he and Marcelo Melo are in the hunt to qualify for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals after winning titles at the Rogers Cup and Western & Southern Open.
Although Dodig admitted he can be difficult to balance a top doubles career with his singles, he is determined to continue the juggling act.
“It’s physically tough and mentally tiring because you play over 100 matches in a year doing both singles and doubles. But for the next two years, I want to be in the Top 100 [of the Emirates ATP Rankings] for singles and Top 5 for doubles,” said Dodig. “I love tennis and want to play as much as I can, so I’ll mostly concentrate on doubles in a couple of years so I can play for longer.”
Watch Free Challenger Live Streaming
Dodig is hoping for a strong end to his year in singles that’s similar to what he produced last year. The Croatian won three Challengers in three months, prevailing at French Challengers in St. Remy and Brest before winning another title in Andria, Italy. Making his first appearance in Tashkent since reaching the semi-finals in 2012, Dodig said he knows he’ll have to play his best tennis to be the last man standing on Sunday.
“I wanted to come back here because this tournament is one of the toughest Challengers. It’s like an ATP World Tour event here,” said Dodig. “I hope to do well here again and make it work for me once again.”