Real estate agent Matija Pecotić beat the former top ten tennis player

Matija Pecotić has to dive into his holidays to support the side hustle.

But a property manager’s extra gig isn’t selling T-shirts or doing online consulting. Instead, he plays tennis before work every day to maintain his skill and love for the sport.

On Tuesday, those early morning hours paid off. Pecotić beat Jack Sock, previously ranked No. 8 in the world, at the Delray Beach Open in Florida. The Croatian native, who had already taken a paid day off to compete, said he had to ask for Wednesday off as well as he progressed through the tournament.

“I had to leave work early today,” Pecotić, 33, told ESPN after the win. “I had to email the whole team. [My boss] let me go I have to ask for another day off tomorrow.”

Pecotić was a full-time professional tennis player and ranked 206th in the world until a surgical complication apparently ended his competitive career eight years ago. He graduated from Harvard Business School in 2019 before moving to his current position in Palm Beach, Florida at Wexford Real Estate Investors in 2021. to his LinkedIn page.

Now Pecotić has to get “creative” to juggle his 9-to-5 job, he said. This sometimes involves recruiting unlikely opponents for training.

“I try to maximize each day,” he said. “I try to train every morning if possible, five, six times a week. Sometimes I train with my boss, who is 70 years old. This week I trained with a man who is probably 50 years old.”

Pecotić’s boss might be smart to support his side hustle. Research published in 2021 Academy of Management Journal It was found that passion outside of work really “enriches” employees’ performance in the office.

This particular Cinderella story was short-lived: Pecotić lost the next day to Marcos Giron, the American No. 55.^{in the world. Still, beating Sock meant going further in the tournament than Pecotić ever expected, he told ESPN.}

“[Sock] is a former top 10 guy with an incredible amount of tennis experience and a tremendous serve,” he said. “He came out serving 134 mph on the first serve. It would be arrogant to think that I’m going to come out and expect to win.”

The Delray Beach Open is an open tournament, meaning both professional and amateur players can play. But it’s still part of the pro series and splits $642,735 in prize money among the men’s, women’s and doubles categories, spokeswoman Toni Wood told CNBC Make It.

For now, Pecotić seems to be more attracted to prolonging his playing career than making money by winning.

“I absolutely love this game and I know it’s not forever and I’m 33,” he said.

Correction: This story has been updated to reflect the correct spelling of Jack Sock’s name.

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