Dušan Vemić (Serbian Cyrillic: Душан Вемић; born 17 June 1976) is a Serbian tennis coach[1][2] and former professional tennis player.

Dušan Vemić
Vemić at 2009 US Open
Country (sports) Yugoslavia (1995–2003)
 Serbia and Montenegro (2003–2006)
 Serbia (2006–2011)
ResidenceLos Angeles, United States
Born (1976-06-17) 17 June 1976 (age 49)
Zadar, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia
Height1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Turned pro1995
Retired2011
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money$821,902
Singles
Career record14–19 (42.42%)
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 146 (25 February 2008)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenQ3 (2000)
French Open1R (2007)
WimbledonQ2 (2000, 2006, 2007)
US OpenQ2 (2007)
Doubles
Career record54–76 (41.54%)
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 31 (12 January 2009)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian OpenSF (2010)
French OpenSF (2008)
Wimbledon3R (2006)
US OpenQF (2008)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian Open2R (2009)
French Open2R (2009)
Wimbledon3R (2000)
US OpenQF (2008)
Last updated on: 31 January 2022.
Vemić at 2010 US Open

Professional career

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Vemić turned professional in 1995. He reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 146 on 25 February 2008 and a career-high doubles ranking of No. 31 on 12 January 2009. He is ranked 19th on the list of Fastest recorded tennis serves with a serve speed of 235 km/h (146 mph).

In 2007, Vemić began the season ranked No. 406, a drop of 170 places from early 2006. That year, he competed in Futures, the Challenger Tour, and selected ATP Tour events. His results included two Futures semifinals, one final, three ATP main draw qualifications, and a win in a top-level Challenger. These results returned him to the top 300 in April. He later reached the semifinals of the Challenger in Bermuda and qualified for the main draw of the French Open, where he lost in four sets to Janko Tipsarević. In August, he reached the semifinals in Segovia and the final in Binghamton, returning to the top 200 for the first time since 2004.

In 2008, Vemić competed for the Kansas City Explorers in World Team Tennis, reaching the league final against the New York Buzz.

He won five doubles titles on the 2008 ATP Challenger Tour: in Miami, United States (with Ilija Bozoljac); Sunrise, Florida (with Janko Tipsarević); Cremona, Italy (with Eduardo Schwank); Waco, Texas (with Alex Bogomolov Jr.); and Calabasas, California (with Ilija Bozoljac).

In Grand Slam competition, Vemić reached the doubles semifinals of the 2008 French Open and the quarterfinals of the 2008 US Open, partnering with Bruno Soares.

In 2009, he played doubles with several players including Jamie Murray, Ivo Karlović, Novak Djokovic, and Mischa Zverev.[3]

At the 2010 Australian Open, Vemić and Karlović reached the doubles semifinals, losing to Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjić 6–4, 6–4.

Coaching career

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Following his professional playing career, Vemić briefly coached WTA player Andrea Petkovic, assisting her and coach Petar Popović in reaching a career-high WTA ranking of No. 9.

Soon afterward, Vemić joined the coaching team of world No. 1 Novak Djokovic. As part of Djokovic's team, he coached alongside longtime head coach Marián Vajda during several major tournaments, including the US Open (2011, 2012), the Australian Open (2012, 2013), the French Open (2012, 2013), and Wimbledon (2012, 2013). During this period, Djokovic won two Grand Slam titles at the Australian Open and one at the US Open, as well as the 2012 ATP World Tour Finals in London.

In 2016, Vemić coached Djokovic at the ATP Miami Open, where Djokovic defeated Kei Nishikori 6–3, 6–3 in the final, surpassing Roger Federer in career prize money earnings.

In January 2013, Vemić joined the coaching staff of the Serbian Davis Cup team, helping lead the team to the Davis Cup final against the Czech Republic. He continued as part of the coaching staff during the 2016 Davis Cup World Group competition.

In August 2016, Vemić served as the official coach of the Serbian men's tennis team at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. The team included world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, former world No. 1 doubles player Nenad Zimonjić, and top-30 ATP player Viktor Troicki.

From August 2016 to 2017, Vemić was the head coach of the American doubles team Bob and Mike Bryan, considered the most successful doubles team in tennis history.

From May 2020 to February 2022, he coached American player Brandon Nakashima.[4]

As of May 2025, Vemić shares the role of head coach for Novak Djokovic with fellow Serbian coach Boris Bošnjaković.[5]

ATP career finals

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Doubles: 2 (2 runner-ups)

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Legend
Grand Slam Tournaments (0–0)
ATP World Tour Finals (0–0)
ATP Masters Series (0–0)
ATP Championship Series (0–1)
ATP World Series (0–1)
Finals by surface
Hard (0–1)
Clay (0–1)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Finals by setting
Outdoors (0–2)
Indoors (0–0)
Result W–L Date Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 0–1 Aug 1999 Kitzbühel, Austria Championship Series Clay   Álex Calatrava   Chris Haggard
  Peter Nyborg
3–6, 7–6(7–4), 6–7(4–7)
Loss 0–2 Aug 2008 Los Angeles, United States International Series Hard   Travis Parrott   Rohan Bopanna
  Eric Butorac
6–7(5–7), 6–7(5–7)

ATP Challenger and ITF Futures finals

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Singles: 12 (3–9)

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Legend
ATP Challenger (1–5)
ITF Futures (2–4)
Finals by surface
Hard (1–6)
Clay (2–2)
Grass (0–1)
Carpet (0–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Win 1-0 Sep 1997 Skopje, Macedonia Challenger Clay   Clemens Trimmel 6–3, 6–7, 6–3
Loss 1-1 Mar 2003 USA F5, Harlingen Futures Hard   Huntley Montgomery 4–6, 7–6(7–4), 5–7
Win 2-1 May 2003 USA F12, Tampa Futures Clay   Francisco Rodríguez 6–1, 6–4
Win 3-1 Oct 2003 USA F28, Lubbock Futures Hard   Bruno Soares 6–7(5–7), 7–6(7–3), 6–3
Loss 3-2 Oct 2003 USA F29, Arlington Futures Hard   Juan Pablo Guzmán 3–6, 5–7
Loss 3-3 Jun 2004 Forest Hills, United States Challenger Grass   Justin Gimelstob 6–7(7–9), 2–6
Loss 3-4 May 2005 Forest Hills, United States Challenger Clay   James Blake 3–6, 4–6
Loss 3-5 Jan 2007 USA F2, North Miami Beach Futures Hard   Bruno Echagaray 2–6, 7–6(7–5), 5–7
Loss 3-6 Aug 2007 Binghamton, United States Challenger Hard   Thomas Johansson 4–6, 6–7(7–9)
Loss 3-7 Sep 2007 Lubbock, United States Challenger Hard   Robert Smeets 3–6, 6–7(7–9)
Loss 3-8 Jan 2008 USA F1, Wesley Chapel Futures Hard   Somdev Devvarman 6–4, 4–6, 4–6
Loss 3-9 May 2008 Tunis, Tunisia Challenger Clay   Thomaz Bellucci 2–6, 4–6

Doubles: 37 (16–21)

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Legend
ATP Challenger (15–20)
ITF Futures (1–1)
Finals by surface
Hard (6–9)
Clay (8–12)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (2–0)
Result W–L Date Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 0–1 Sep 1996 Budva, Yugoslavia Challenger Clay   Nenad Zimonjić   Nebojsa Djordjevic
  Aleksandar Kitinov
3–6, 2–6
Win 1–1 Sep 1997 Budapest, Hungary Challenger Clay   Nebojsa Djordjevic   Kornél Bardóczky
  Miklós Jancsó
6–1, 3–6, 6–4
Loss 1–2 Sep 1997 Skopje, Macedonia Challenger Clay   Nebojsa Djordjevic   Thomas Buchmayer
  Thomas Strengberger
4–6, 6–7
Win 2–2 Feb 1998 Wolfsburg, Germany Challenger Carpet   Marat Safin   Jan-Ralph Brandt
  Thomas Messmer
6–4, 4–6, 6–2
Loss 2–3 Apr 1998 Barletta, Italy Challenger Clay   Thomas Strengberger   Joan Balcells
  Juan Ignacio Carrasco
6–7(4–7), 3–6
Loss 2–4 Jul 1998 Oberstaufen, Germany Challenger Clay   Omar Camporese   Nuno Marques
  Rogier Wassen
6–7, 6–7
Loss 2–5 Jul 1998 Newcastle, United Kingdom Challenger Clay   Nebojsa Djordjevic   Jeff Coetzee
  Edwin Kempes
6–1, 6–7, 2–6
Win 3–5 Jun 1999 Weiden, Germany Challenger Clay   Emilio Benfele Álvarez   Simon Aspelin
  Johan Landsberg
6–7, 6–2, 6–4
Loss 3–6 Sep 1999 Sofia, Bulgaria Challenger Clay   Nebojsa Djordjevic   Massimo Ardinghi
  Davide Sanguinetti
4–6, 2–6
Loss 3–7 Nov 1999 Buenos Aires, Argentina Challenger Clay   Paul Rosner   Guillermo Cañas
  Martín García
4–6, 4–6
Loss 3–8 Jul 2000 Tampere, Finland Challenger Clay   Steven Randjelovic   Ville Liukko
  Jarkko Nieminen
0–6, 6–4, 3–6
Win 4–8 Aug 2000 Togliatti, Russia Challenger Hard   Lovro Zovko   Ionuț Moldovan
  Yuri Schukin
6–4, 6–4
Win 5–8 Nov 2000 Santiago, Chile Challenger Clay   Irakli Labadze   Joan Balcells
  Germán Puentes-Alcaniz
6–3, 6–4
Loss 5–9 Feb 2001 Dallas, United States Challenger Hard   Lovro Zovko   Gavin Sontag
  Jerry Turek
6–3, 5–7, 5–7
Win 6–9 Sep 2001 Aschaffenburg, Germany Challenger Clay   Aleksandar Kitinov   Karsten Braasch
  Franz Stauder
6–7(3–7), 6–4, 7–6(8–6)
Loss 6–10 Nov 2001 Santiago, Chile Challenger Clay   Daniel Melo   André Sá
  Alexandre Simoni
6–3, 3–6, 6–7(3–7)
Loss 6–11 Dec 2001 San Jose, Costa Rica Challenger Hard   Daniel Melo   Jonathan Erlich
  Andy Ram
3–6, 3–6
Win 7–11 Feb 2002 Belgrade, Serbia Challenger Carpet   Lovro Zovko   Jaroslav Levinský
  Tomáš Zíb
walkover
Win 8–11 Jun 2002 Weiden, Germany Challenger Clay   Jens Knippschild   Sergio Roitman
  Andrés Schneiter
7–6(7–5), 6–2
Loss 8–12 Aug 2002 Córdoba, Spain Challenger Hard   Emilio Benfele Álvarez   Paul Rosner
  Ota Fukárek
6–7(7–9), 4–6
Loss 8–13 Aug 2002 Manerbio, Italy Challenger Clay   Anthony Ross   Mariusz Fyrstenberg
  Marcin Matkowski
4–6, 6–7(4–7)
Loss 8–14 Oct 2002 San Antonio, United States Challenger Hard   Hugo Armando   Diego Ayala
  Robert Kendrick
2–6, 4–6
Loss 8-15 Feb 2003 USA F4, Brownsville Futures Hard   Lazar Magdinchev   Tripp Phillips
  Ryan Sachire
2–6, 1–6
Win 9–15 May 2005 Tunica Resorts, United States Challenger Clay   Michael Russell   Juan Pablo Brzezicki
  Juan Pablo Guzmán
7–6(7–4), 6–3
Loss 9–16 Feb 2006 Dallas, United States Challenger Hard   Mirko Pehar   Rajeev Ram
  Bobby Reynolds
3–6, 4–6
Win 10–16 Jan 2008 Miami, United States Challenger Clay   Ilija Bozoljac   Jean-Julien Rojer
  Márcio Torres
7–5, 6–4
Win 11–16 Mar 2008 Sunrise, United States Challenger Hard   Janko Tipsarević   Kristof Vliegen
  Peter Wessels
6–2, 7–6(7–5)
Win 12–16 Apr 2008 Cremona, Italy Challenger Hard   Eduardo Schwank   Florin Mergea
  Horia Tecău
6–3, 6–2
Loss 12–17 May 2008 Dresden, Germany Challenger Clay   Ilija Bozoljac   Daniel Brands
  Jun Woong-sun
6–2, 6–7(4–7), [6–10]
Loss 12–18 May 2008 Bordeaux, France Challenger Clay   Tomasz Bednarek   Diego Hartfield
  Sergio Roitman
4–6, 4–6
Win 13–18 Sep 2008 Waco, United States Challenger Hard   Alex Bogomolov Jr.   Alberto Francis
  Nicholas Monroe
6–4, 5–7, [10–8]
Loss 13–19 Sep 2008 Lubbock, United States Challenger Hard   Alex Bogomolov Jr.   Roman Borvanov
  Artem Sitak
2–6, 3–6
Win 14–19 Oct 2008 Calabasas, United States Challenger Hard   Ilija Bozoljac   Nathan Healey
  Somdev Devvarman
1–6, 6–3, [13–11]
Loss 14–20 Nov 2008 Louisville, United States Challenger Hard   Frank Dancevic   Prakash Amritraj
  Jesse Levine
3–6, 6–7(10–12)
Loss 14–21 Oct 2009 Tiburon, United States Challenger Hard   Ilija Bozoljac   Harsh Mankad
  Treat Huey
4–6, 4–6
Win 15–21 Aug 2010 Istanbul, Turkey Challenger Hard   Leoš Friedl   Brian Battistone
  Andreas Siljeström
7–6(8–6), 7–6(7–3)
Win 16–21 Jul 2011 Serbia F3, Belgrade Futures Clay   Boris Conkic   Vadim Alekseenko
  Petar Djukic
6–4, 4–6, [10–5]

Performance timelines

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Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.

Singles

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Tournament 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 SR W–L Win%
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open Q1 A Q3 A A A A A A A A Q1 A A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
French Open Q1 A A A A A Q1 Q1 Q1 1R Q2 A A A 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Wimbledon Q1 A Q2 A A A Q1 Q1 Q2 Q2 Q1 A A A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
US Open A A Q1 A A Q1 Q1 Q1 A Q2 Q1 A A A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Win–loss 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0 / 1 0–1 0%
ATP World Tour Masters 1000
Indian Wells A A A A A A Q1 A A Q2 1R Q1 A Q1 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Miami A A A A A A A A A A Q2 A A A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Monte Carlo Q2 A A A A A A A A A A A A A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Rome 1R A A A A A A A A A A A A A 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Madrid Not Held A A A A A A A Q2 A A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Win–loss 0–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 0 / 2 0–2 0%

Doubles

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Tournament 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 SR W–L Win%
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A A 2R A A A A A A A A 1R SF 1R 0 / 4 5–4 56%
French Open A A 1R A A A A A A A SF 2R 2R A 0 / 4 6–4 60%
Wimbledon Q1 A 1R A A A A A 3R A 1R 1R 1R A 0 / 5 2–5 29%
US Open A Q1 Q1 A 1R A A A A A QF 2R 1R A 0 / 4 4–4 50%
Win–loss 0–0 0–0 1–3 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 2–1 0–0 7–3 2–4 5–4 0–1 0 / 17 17–17 50%
Olympic Games
Summer Olympics NH 1R Not Held A NH A NH 0 / 1 0–1 0%
ATP World Tour Masters 1000
Indian Wells A A A A A A A A A A A 1R QF A 0 / 2 2–2 50%
Miami A A A A A A A A A A A 2R 1R A 0 / 2 1–2 33%
Monte Carlo 1R A A A A A A A A A A A A A 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Rome 1R A A A A A A A A A A 2R A A 0 / 2 1–2 33%
Madrid Not Held A A A A A A A QF 1R A 0 / 2 2–2 50%
Canada A A A A A A A A A A A 1R A A 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Win–loss 0–2 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 4–5 2–3 0–0 0 / 10 6–10 38%

Mixed doubles

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Tournament 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 SR W–L Win%
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A A A A A A A A A 2R A 0 / 1 1–1 50%
French Open A A A A A A A A A 2R A 0 / 1 1–1 50%
Wimbledon 3R A A A A A A A 2R 1R 1R 0 / 4 3–4 43%
US Open A A A A A A A A QF 2R A 0 / 2 3–2 60%
Win–loss 2–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 3–2 3–4 0–1 0 / 8 8–8 50%

Awards

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1995
1997
  • Best Male Tennis Player in FR Yugoslavia

References

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  1. ^ "Dusan Vemic". ATP Tour.
  2. ^ "The Global Professional Tennis Coach Association (GPTCA)".
  3. ^ "ATP Tour – News".
  4. ^ ""Not a fluke": Brandon Nakashima craving for bigger breakthrough".
  5. ^ To kako Novak procesuira… Vemić nije prvi put Đokovićev trener
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