Matija Pecotic, the world tennis No 784, pulled off a shocking win in the Delray Beach Open and had to put in a request to acquire more time off from his day job. Pecotic's story is straight from a movie script. The 33-year-old,&nbsp;a world tennis No 784, plays part-time on the circuit and does a full-time job in finance. After emerging on top of former top-ten player Jack Sock (beating him 4-6, 6-2, 6-2), he&nbsp;needed more time off his primary job ahead of his face-off versus&nbsp;American world number 55 Marcos Giron in the Round of 16 on Thursday (February 16).

While Pecotic went down to Gorin in straight sets, losing 3-6, 3-6, he made a mark by reaching the last 16. In the game versus Sock, he hit&nbsp;10 aces and 30 winners in a&nbsp;match that spanned over two hours. After the fixture, he shared his journey on how he holds a full-time job in a real estate investment firm and had to leave work early to lock horns with Sock, with his boss keeping a close tab on him from the players’ box on the court.

After the win over Sock, Pecotic reacted by saying, "You've got to be realistic. This is a former top 10 guy with an incredible amount of tennis experience and a huge serve. He came out serving 134mph on the first serve. It would be arrogant to think I'm going to come out and expect to win."

Also Read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/wpl-star-studded-royal-challengers-bangalore-rope-in-india-tennis-legend-sania-mirza-as-mentor-562203">WPL: Sania Mirza joins star-studded Royal Challengers Bangalore as team mentor</a>

“But I certainly figured if I could sink my teeth into the match and work on the two or three patterns that I prepared before, that I’m going to have a chance. And then let’s see … if I was going to fall under pressure or not be able to serve it out at some point. But I didn’t and I got the win. I had to send an email to the whole team. [My boss] let me off. I’m going to have to ask for another day off [on Wednesday].”&nbsp;Pecotic added.

Pecotic revealed that he normally works from 9 am until 6 pm and plays tennis before going to&nbsp;work. “I absolutely love this game and I know it’s not forever and I’m 33. I try to maximise each day. I try to train every morning if I can, five, or six times a week. Sometimes I train with my boss, who is 70 years old. This week I trained with a guy who is probably in his late 50s. But you find creative ways to work around it," mentioned Pecotic, who has been hailed by many for carrying two jobs and putting in the hard yards each day.

Pecotic's run at Delray Beach Open came to an end on Thursday, with a defeat to Marcos Giron, but he certainly made heads turn with his inspiring story and how he manages to take out time for the game he loves. It is to be noted that his tennis career had come to a halt&nbsp;prior to the 2016 Australian Open. Back then,&nbsp;he was bedridden for eight months after picking up an infection following stomach surgery. Nonetheless, he reconnected to the game while studying at the Harvard Business School and gave himself one year, post-graduation, to climb up the ladder in professional tennis before the Covid-19 pandemic dented his plans.&nbsp;

With his impressive run in Delray Beach Open, Pecotic can be proud of his overall showing and hope to go the distance in his part-time job while also managing his full-time assignment in finance.

Matija Pecotic, the world tennis No 784, pulled off a shocking win in the Delray Beach Open and had to put in a request to acquire more time off from his day job.

Matija Pecotic, the world tennis No 784, pulled off a shocking win in the Delray Beach Open and had to put in a request to acquire more time off from his day job. Pecotic's story is straight from a movie script. The 33-year-old, a world tennis No 784, plays part-time on the circuit and does a full-time job in finance. After emerging on top of former top-ten player Jack Sock (beating him 4-6, 6-2, 6-2), he needed more time off his primary job ahead of his face-off versus American world number 55 Marcos Giron in the Round of 16 on Thursday (February 16). While Pecotic went down to Gorin in straight sets, losing 3-6, 3-6, he made a mark by reaching the last 16. In the game versus Sock, he hit 10 aces and 30 winners in a match that spanned over two hours. After the fixture, he shared his journey on how he holds a full-time job in a real estate investment firm and had to leave work early to lock horns with Sock, with his boss keeping a close tab on him from the players’ box on the court. After the win over Sock, Pecotic reacted by saying, "You've got to be realistic. This is a former top 10 guy with an incredible amount of tennis experience and a huge serve. He came out serving 134mph on the first serve. It would be arrogant to think I'm going to come out and expect to win." Also Read: WPL: Sania Mirza joins star-studded Royal Challengers Bangalore as team mentor “But I certainly figured if I could sink my teeth into the match and work on the two or three patterns that I prepared before, that I’m going to have a chance. And then let’s see … if I was going to fall under pressure or not be able to serve it out at some point. But I didn’t and I got the win. I had to send an email to the whole team. [My boss] let me off. I’m going to have to ask for another day off [on Wednesday].” Pecotic added. Pecotic revealed that he normally works from 9 am until 6 pm and plays tennis before going to work. “I absolutely love this game and I know it’s not forever and I’m 33. I try to maximise each day. I try to train every morning if I can, five, or six times a week. Sometimes I train with my boss, who is 70 years old. This week I trained with a guy who is probably in his late 50s. But you find creative ways to work around it," mentioned Pecotic, who has been hailed by many for carrying two jobs and putting in the hard yards each day. Pecotic's run at Delray Beach Open came to an end on Thursday, with a defeat to Marcos Giron, but he certainly made heads turn with his inspiring story and how he manages to take out time for the game he loves. It is to be noted that his tennis career had come to a halt prior to the 2016 Australian Open. Back then, he was bedridden for eight months after picking up an infection following stomach surgery. Nonetheless, he reconnected to the game while studying at the Harvard Business School and gave himself one year, post-graduation, to climb up the ladder in professional tennis before the Covid-19 pandemic dented his plans. With his impressive run in Delray Beach Open, Pecotic can be proud of his overall showing and hope to go the distance in his part-time job while also managing his full-time assignment in finance.

After shocking win at Delray Beach Open, Matija Pecotic asked for 'another day off' from full-time job

British ace Andy Murray has decided to give the season-opening Delray Beach Open in Florida a miss due to the risk of contracting COVID-19 ahead of the Australian Open in February.&nbsp;

The tennis open is scheduled to be played next week. Recently, after missing out on most of 2020 season due to complications with his hip and struggled for form on his return after the COVID-19 hiatus, Murray accepted a wildcard for the ATP 250 tournament.&nbsp;

Murray, who was once world no. 1 has slipped to 122nd in the rankings.

"After much deliberation with my team I've decided not to travel to play in Delray Beach," Murray, 33, said on Thursday.

"Given the increase in COVID rates and the transatlantic flights involved, I want to minimise the risks ahead of the Australian Open."

Murray had to undergo hip resurfacing surgery in January last year but returned to win the Antwerp title seven months later -- his first since 2017.

British ace Andy Murray has decided to give the season-opening Delray Beach Open in Florida a miss due to the risk of contracting COVID-19 ahead of the Australian Open in February.

British ace Andy Murray has decided to give the season-opening Delray Beach Open in Florida a miss due to the risk of contracting COVID-19 ahead of the Australian Open in February. The tennis open is scheduled to be played next week. Recently, after missing out on most of 2020 season due to complications with his hip and struggled for form on his return after the COVID-19 hiatus, Murray accepted a wildcard for the ATP 250 tournament. Murray, who was once world no. 1 has slipped to 122nd in the rankings. "After much deliberation with my team I've decided not to travel to play in Delray Beach," Murray, 33, said on Thursday. "Given the increase in COVID rates and the transatlantic flights involved, I want to minimise the risks ahead of the Australian Open." Murray had to undergo hip resurfacing surgery in January last year but returned to win the Antwerp title seven months later -- his first since 2017.

British ace Andy Murray pulls out of Delray Open due to COVID-19 concerns

Briton ace Andy Murray is set to begin his 2021 season at the Delray Beach Open next month after accepting a wildcard for the ATP 250 tournament, the men's tour said on Saturday.

Murray, who was once world no. 1 has slipped to 122nd in the rankings. He will be joining defending champion Reilly Opelka, top-ranked American John Isner and Canada's Milos Raonic in the Florida field.

The Open is scheduled to be played from January 7-13. It will serve as a preparation for the Australian Open Grand Slam, which will begin three weeks later than scheduled on Feb. 8 due to COVID-19 health and safety measures.

Murray had to undergo hip resurfacing surgery in January last year but returned to win the Antwerp title seven months later -- his first since 2017.

After missing out on most of 2020 season due to complications with his hip and struggled for form on his return after the COVID-19 hiatus, suffering a second-round defeat in the U.S. Open before falling in the opening round at Roland Garros.

Briton ace Andy Murray is set to begin his 2021 season at the Delray Beach Open next month after accepting a wildcard for the ATP 250 tournament, the men's tour said on Saturday.

Briton ace Andy Murray is set to begin his 2021 season at the Delray Beach Open next month after accepting a wildcard for the ATP 250 tournament, the men's tour said on Saturday. Murray, who was once world no. 1 has slipped to 122nd in the rankings. He will be joining defending champion Reilly Opelka, top-ranked American John Isner and Canada's Milos Raonic in the Florida field. The Open is scheduled to be played from January 7-13. It will serve as a preparation for the Australian Open Grand Slam, which will begin three weeks later than scheduled on Feb. 8 due to COVID-19 health and safety measures. Murray had to undergo hip resurfacing surgery in January last year but returned to win the Antwerp title seven months later -- his first since 2017. After missing out on most of 2020 season due to complications with his hip and struggled for form on his return after the COVID-19 hiatus, suffering a second-round defeat in the U.S. Open before falling in the opening round at Roland Garros.

Andy Murray to kick-off 2021 season as Delray Beach Open wildcard

Frances Tiafoe's title defence wilted but Juan Martin del Potro looked fully recovered from his knee injury to cruise to a 6-3 7-5 win over Yoshihito Nishioka in the first round of the Delray Beach Open on Tuesday.

The third-seeded Tiafoe looked to have the match against qualifier Dan Evans in hand when he served up 6-5 and 30-love in the second set but was instead broken by Evans, whose aggressive net play frustrated Tiafoe in the final two sets as the Briton eventually prevailed 3-6 7-6(1) 7-5.

Late drama arose when Evans served for the match up 5-4 in the third set but nerves appeared to get to him and he was broken amid a flurry of unforced errors.

But Tiafoe was broken in the next game and Evans made sure not to make the same mistake twice, winning his final service game at love to set up a second-round match against tournament wild card Lloyd Harris of South Africa.

World number four del Potro, who missed last month's Australian Open to nurse the kneecap he fractured at the Shanghai Masters, showed no ill effects in his first match of the year as he blasted 12 aces to see off baseline specialist Nishioka.

The hard-hitting Argentine is looking to pick up where he left off before the injury, when his superb play made him a finalist at the U.S. and China Opens and helped the 30-year-old reach a career-high ranking of world number three.

Del Potro, who won the tournament in Florida in 2011, will next face big-serving American Reilly Opelka after last week's New York Open champion saw off countryman Tennys Sandgren 6-4 6-0 earlier in the day.

Top American men's player John Isner used his blistering serve to overwhelm Canadian Peter Polansky 6-3 7-6(4) and advance to the second round.

The second-seeded Isner fired 23 aces to Polansky's four and won 87 per cent of his first serve points as he cruised to victory.

Next up for Isner is a second-round meeting with unseeded Slovak Lukas Lacko on Wednesday.

Adrian Mannarino, Andreas Seppi, Paolo Lorenzi, Jordan Thompson, Steve Johnson, Mackenzie McDonald, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez and Radu Albot also won their first round matches on Tuesday at the ATP World Tour 250 event, which is played on outdoor hard courts.

Frances Tiafoe's title defence wilted but Juan Martin del Potro looked fully recovered from his knee injury to cruise to a 6-3 7-5 win over Yoshihito Nishioka in the first round of the Delray Beach Open on Tuesday.

Frances Tiafoe's title defence wilted but Juan Martin del Potro looked fully recovered from his knee injury to cruise to a 6-3 7-5 win over Yoshihito Nishioka in the first round of the Delray Beach Open on Tuesday. The third-seeded Tiafoe looked to have the match against qualifier Dan Evans in hand when he served up 6-5 and 30-love in the second set but was instead broken by Evans, whose aggressive net play frustrated Tiafoe in the final two sets as the Briton eventually prevailed 3-6 7-6(1) 7-5. Late drama arose when Evans served for the match up 5-4 in the third set but nerves appeared to get to him and he was broken amid a flurry of unforced errors. But Tiafoe was broken in the next game and Evans made sure not to make the same mistake twice, winning his final service game at love to set up a second-round match against tournament wild card Lloyd Harris of South Africa. World number four del Potro, who missed last month's Australian Open to nurse the kneecap he fractured at the Shanghai Masters, showed no ill effects in his first match of the year as he blasted 12 aces to see off baseline specialist Nishioka. The hard-hitting Argentine is looking to pick up where he left off before the injury, when his superb play made him a finalist at the U.S. and China Opens and helped the 30-year-old reach a career-high ranking of world number three. Del Potro, who won the tournament in Florida in 2011, will next face big-serving American Reilly Opelka after last week's New York Open champion saw off countryman Tennys Sandgren 6-4 6-0 earlier in the day. Top American men's player John Isner used his blistering serve to overwhelm Canadian Peter Polansky 6-3 7-6(4) and advance to the second round. The second-seeded Isner fired 23 aces to Polansky's four and won 87 per cent of his first serve points as he cruised to victory. Next up for Isner is a second-round meeting with unseeded Slovak Lukas Lacko on Wednesday. Adrian Mannarino, Andreas Seppi, Paolo Lorenzi, Jordan Thompson, Steve Johnson, Mackenzie McDonald, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez and Radu Albot also won their first round matches on Tuesday at the ATP World Tour 250 event, which is played on outdoor hard courts.

Frances Tiafoe crashes out, Del Potro advances at Delray Beach Open