The Big Man
“Sport defines me. No matter what life throws at me, I will make it out – I will escape, I will get out, I will survive”.
Alex makes you feel comfortable instantly. He is tall and kind with a trendy hairstyle. He has the sparks in the eyes, a friendly smile, light and slightly bouncy body movements. You can’t resist but to gaze up and down admiring this height, which does not bother him anymore.
The Game has Always been Easy
Alex started playing tennis when he was just seven, but it wasn’t until sixteen that he realized that sport is his destiny.
“There were many of us who started playing early in life, but many have dropped out by sixteen-seventeen, mainly because they did not get anywhere, and they got tired. For me, it was different. It was around that age that I started to really get good and progress. The game became easy, and I wanted to know how far I can go? This is the reason why I am still in tennis”, – tells us Alexander.
Alex is rated 58th in the doubles division ATP ratings, and he took the first place in ATP Tournament in 2015 in Switzerland.
It took a bit of time for Alex to realize that he had certain advantages by playing in doubles division. His height turned out to be very practical when playing with a partner on the full court.
The ideal height for a tennis player is 190 +/- 5cm. This height permits to generate a strong serve, while still having the optimal mobility. Once you go above this height, the energy that is wasted to move around the courts goes up exponentially.
“My height gives me a significant advantage in serving. I can serve with a speed of 210-215 km/hr, and I can receive a ball earlier. But moving around the court is much harder for me. So, I have to avoid lengthy rallies. There are many of those in singles. In this respect, playing doubles is so much easier and more enjoyable. Everything goes by very fast: interception, attack, defence, one move can make or break a game. It is more unpredictable; you cannot predict what the next rally will be like”.
When Alex was a teenager, he had a major growth spurt. His classmates would make jokes, which bothered him.
“But I quickly realized that there aren’t that many people out there like me, so I was unique. And I stopped paying attention to them. Their attention gave me an interesting kind of energy that charged me to be better”, – admits the tennis player.
