Alexandr Dolgopolov - "Tennis prepared me for war"
Former Ukrainian top player Alexandr Dolgopolov was last on the tennis court 18 months ago. He is currently a drone pilot for his homeland in the war of aggression waged by Russia.
by Stefan Bergmann
last edit: Dec 19, 2022, 03:09 pm
Alexandr Dolgopolov played his last rally on the ATP tour on May 15, 2018 at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Rome, when he failed in the first round in two clear sets against the Serbian Novak Djokovic. This was followed by a few more games in invitational tournaments and national championships before competitive tennis finally came to an end in summer 2020. At that time, the three-time tournament champion (Bueonos Aires 2017, Washington 2012, Umag 2011) had no idea that a year and a half later he would go to war for his home country.
The 34-year-old recently returned from a mission in the bitterly contested Kherson region. There he had pitched his tent in an abandoned house in a completely burned-out village. An inhuman comparison to the comforts of his former tour life, as Dolgopolov confided to the British newspaper Daily Mail: "Mice ran around everywhere there. There was also no toilet, you had to use the hole. There was also no warm water, you had to Boil up to be able to wash."
"I can perform very well under pressure"
"War is a mess," said the former world number 13. bitter. He changed his life completely. "Dolgo" is mainly used as a drone pilot - in addition to reconnaissance work, there are also missions where people lose their lives. A pragmatic attitude towards death is a must for what is probably the most successful Ukrainian tennis player in recent sporting history, in order not to slip completely into a mental crisis.
Although the thoughts of tennis were largely lost in the hail of bullets from the hardened fronts, the man from Kiev is well aware of one thing: "Tennis definitely prepared me for the war. You quickly think I can perform very well under pressure and "I don't panic easily. Many techniques used in tennis can be applied to war. I can process information quickly - we are adaptable beings. First you're in a state of shock, then you try to stay calm and your job. Wrong decisions can cost you your life."
The harsh winter that has been announced makes Dolgopolov think: "It's going to be hard to advance with heavy machinery, now it's starting to freeze." One can only hope that the madness in the East Slavic state will come to an end as soon as possible. For Dolgopolov and all of Ukraine.