Knoxville, Monday the 4th of November, 2019. At Knoxville’s Challenger tournament with Aleksander Kovacevic, the 21-year-old American, who has already won his first-round match. Aleks sat down with Tennis Acumen's Karl Corbett for an exclusive interview.
Karl: So, where do you get your inspiration, Aleks? That inspiration that makes you be willing to do all the hard work? This is not an easy racket.
Aleks: Growing up, I was watching guys like Federer. I loved his playing style and I kind of wanted to play like he does. I just really liked tennis when I was younger. It is tough now, especially to just keep grinding, to keep coming out day after day, especially in down times, where you are in a slump. You haven't won. You don't feel good about tennis. You've been working to get better for 15 years, and you're still not doing as well as you want to. It's tough. There are a lot of people that say, straight up: " Oh, I love tennis. I love everything about it." For me, it's not that easy. Honestly, I've been playing for such a long time and in any sport, or anything you do for such a long time, if you are not, let's say, reaping benefits from it, it's gonna take a toll on you.. So, I'm happy to be doing well in these tournaments. But you've got to try to find some kind of motivation inside, even when you're in a slump. You have to figure it out, so you can keep progressing. And that's been getting better recently, as I've matured. When I was playing in the Juniors, growing up in this game, that was something I was really struggling with. Like I said, it's hard when you don't see results right away. It's hard. You keep trying to get back out there and grind.
Karl: You are very articulate. This is very interesting. So, some guys just love to win. Some guys hate to lose. Where are you on that spectrum?
Aleks: I definitely hate to lose. It's not that I walk into court expecting to win, every time, but if I do win, I feel like: " OK. What's next? Still in the mix. Next up, you know". When I lose it's like: "How could I have lost?" I really feel defeated... and it just doesn't feel good. But when I win, I can focus on my next match. That's kind of what I'm doing right now. I can't really celebrate much until, maybe, I win the whole tournament. T hen, I'd really settle in and celebrate.
Karl: So, You like to win, but you hate to lose even more.
Aleks: That about covers it.
Read more of this interview here: (LINK)
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