Bosnia and Herzegovina, much like Greece, has had the misfortune that two of its top tennis talents represented another country, specifically Croatia. Former US Open champion and world No. 3 Marin Cilic was born in Medjugorje, while former world No. 3 Ivan Ljubicic was born in Banja Luka. Regardless, B&H still has plenty to be proud of in the tennis world. Below, we present the five best Bosnian singles players in history, based on their highest ATP singles ranking.
5. TOMISLAV BRKIC (#212)
Although primarily a doubles specialist—winning two ATP doubles titles and reaching a career-high doubles ranking of No. 40 Brkic– from Mostar also had a solid singles development path. However, he never broke into the top 200 in singles.
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His best singles ranking was No. 212, achieved on October 6, 2014. He never reached the main draw of a Grand Slam in singles, coming closest at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, where he reached the second round of qualifying.
4. NERMAN FATIC (#191)
Next on our list is Nerman Fatic from Sarajevo, who reached a career-high singles ranking of No. 191 on August 7, 2023.
Fatic has yet to debut at any of the major Grand Slam tournaments, and he still has time to improve his ranking.
3. ALDIN SETKIC (#165)
Another player from Sarajevo, Setkic was close to breaking into the top 100 ATP singles rankings for years but never quite made that final step. His career-high ranking of No. 165 was achieved on October 16, 2017.
2. MIRZA BASIC (#74)
Like many of his compatriots, Mirza Basic strived for years to enter the top 100 and finally succeeded in 2018, when he also won his first—and so far only—ATP singles title.
Basic won the Sofia Open on February 11, 2018, as a qualifier. A few days later, on February 19, he reached his career-high ranking of No. 74. He played in all four Grand Slam tournaments, advancing past the first round only at the 2016 Australian Open. Basic represented B&H at the 2016 Rio Olympics, losing in straight sets to Juan Mónaco in the first round.
1. DAMIR DZUMHUR (#23)
Finally, the undisputed best tennis player from B&H of all time – Damir Dzumhur. The Sarajevo-born player, still active in the ATP top 100, reached his career-high singles ranking of No. 23 on July 2, 2018.
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Dzumhur has won three ATP singles titles: two in 2017 (St. Petersburg and Moscow, Kremlin Cup) and one in 2018 (Antalya Open on grass). This success brought him close to the top 20 in 2018. In Grand Slam tournaments, he reached the third round at the Australian Open, Roland Garros, and US Open, while Wimbledon saw him reach the second round on three occasions.
He has been a long-time representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Davis Cup and also competed at the 2016 Rio Olympics, where he lost in the first round to Dudi Sela.
BONUS: AMER DELIC
Lastly, we must mention former Davis Cup member Amer Delic.
Born in Tuzla, Delic moved to Jacksonville, Florida, with his parents as a teenager. As a professional, he initially represented the United States, achieving his career-high singles ranking of No. 60 on July 9, 2007. In 2009, he switched to represent Bosnia and Herzegovina, but he was unable to re-enter the ATP top 100 while playing for his country of birth.
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