At the Net with Bojan Jankulovski
By Kevin Ivany
HurricaneSports.com
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – In the first edition of At The Net with members of the University of Miami men’s tennis team, HurricaneSports.com sat down with reigning ACC Player of the Week and No. 71-ranked singles player, sophomore Bojan Jankulovski.
The Skopje, Macedonia, native took the time to reflect on the team’s current three-match winning streak, expectations heading into the second half of the 2019 season and the advantages of practicing in Miami.
On the team’s performance in Orlando and what it means to not only beat Florida State, but sweep them…
“It was great, we hadn’t had much success against Florida State recently, especially after, I would say, they demolished us last year, 4-0. And all of us, we were very motivated going into that match, knowing that they have a slightly weaker team this season, while ours, I believe, is stronger. So, we were confident. We made the decision that we wanted to win, and we did it; we all showed up and we all fought until the end. And the results showed.”
On what it means to him to win ACC Player of the Week…
“It gives me a ton of confidence. It is great; people congratulate you when you are the Player of the Week and a lot of students see that. It is definitely a great experience and I am honored to have won.”
On picking up three wins over a three-day period, including clinching both the FSU and UNCW matches…
“That was a tough match [against UNCW]. We knew they were a tough team, but we didn’t expect that much fight from them. I remember when I took an extended break, following the second set, I got a chance to view the scoreboard and knew then how important my match was. And I told myself, I have to win this because I knew the [overall] match was going to come down to my court. And I went out and took care of business in the third set. But honestly, for me, I love doing that. I love being in the center of the drama. So in the next match, if it were to come down to it, hopefully I will again be in a place like that. Because I really enjoy it; playing for my teammates, [head] coach [Aljosa Piric] and my school.”
On the team’s mindset going into Friday’s battle with No. 11 Notre Dame…
“The mindset is that we are playing at home and since they are traveling [south], we know they are not going to enjoy [playing in] the weather here. So, I think that is a big advantage for us. But obviously they are ranked No. 11 in the country and they have a very quality team. But we believe. We believe that we can beat them and we have beaten some really good teams here at home. We are undefeated at home [this season] and that gives us even more confidence going into our matches. So, as a team, we just have to keep believing. And if all of us keep giving 100 percent effort, I believe we can definitely win this match.”
On battling Boston College and looking to avenge last season’s 4-3 road loss…
“I don’t even want to remember what happened last year against Boston College, but it was bad; it was bad. But I think, last season, we disrespected them a little bit. And our mindset this year is that we want to play and respect every team equally. So, I don’t think we will make the same mistake, especially at home this year. But, last year we had issues playing on the road, especially up north. And this season, I still don’t think we are quite where we want to be, we are still in the process of becoming a better team on the road, but we are getting better. But it is also important for us to win all of these matches that we lost last year. For example, we lost to Georgia Tech, Clemson and Boston College, 4-3, but at home this season we played much better against Georgia Tech and Clemson, which is good and it definitely gives us confidence.”
On the advantages of practicing in the heat and humidity everyday…
“Advantages are that we begin at 10 o’clock [in the morning] and end around 1 o’clock, which is the hottest part of the day. It is very humid, especially for these teams that are traveling from up north. Even schools traveling from the Carolinas are feeling a difference. So it is important for us to just stay in the match because I feel like if we can hang on long enough we can begin to break our opponents down easier. So, I feel like that is very important for us.”
On his goals and the team’s goals for the rest of the season…
“Our goal, obviously, is to win every match; that is the goal for the team. And I think this season, we have an even stronger team, so our mindset in every match, no matter the team, is to win. Maybe it won’t always go as planned, but the mindset never changes. I expect from both myself and my team to put in maximum effort in every match and I think we can do that. I think we will have a very good chance this year to do some good things.”
Quick Hits
My favorite ice cream flavor is… Sea salt caramel with Nutella and caramel mixed inside from Chill-N
My favorite tennis player is… Rafael Nadal
My favorite professional sports team is… Manchester United
My favorite midnight snack is… Pringles
My favorite song is… “God’s Plan” by Drake
If I could travel anywhere, I would travel back home to… Travel back home to Macedonia.
