“This is my last Roland-Garros, I’m planning to retire pretty soon, I don’t know where. I want to play all the Grand Slams until the end of the year and see what happens, have some fun,” continued Troicki, who featured three times in the Roland-Garros fourth round.
“This is the first time heading onto clay, as a hard worker, I’ve found it hard to work, to do all the preparations again. I just feel it’s a good time.
“Now I want to enjoy the last few tournaments I’m playing. That’s why I didn’t give up, that’s why I fought to the end. It paid off. “
>> RESULTS FROM DAY ONE OF RG2021 QUALIFYING
One last main draw is the “goal” before he bids adieu to Paris' terre battue. One particular defeat in the French capital still burns for Troicki.
“I was 5-2 up against Andy Murray in the fifth set in the 2011 fourth round. I served for it at 5-3, had 30-0 to go into the quarters and the top 10 in the world. I knew it all, how big that match was," he recalls.
“Andy came back and that was one of the toughest losses of my career. Whenever I’m here I remember it, but I also had a lot of great memories.”
Troicki will next take on Australia's Aleksandar Vukic for a place in the final round of qualifying.