In 2021, Tennis Acumen interviewed Australian Aleks Vukic at the Champaign Challenger tournament. Here is a part of that conversation:
Tennis Acumen: And making the transition to playing as a pro. What's the same about the game? What's different?
Aleks Vukic: It's SO different. I think it's a lot more mentally tough because in college, you're very comfortable. In college, you have everything you need. You have coaches. You have everything set up and then you show once or twice a week and play a match. On the pro tour, you're alone, you're traveling from place to place. Depends on the place, but it might not be so nice. You have to do that for thirty weeks of the year! Sometimes you go through spells where you don't win a match or just win a few matches in a few months, and you need to bounce back. It's a lot more mentally challenging, and it's not for everyone. But I think if you find ways to love it, it's unreal.
Tennis Acumen: So, what was the best thing about the college experience and what are some of your best memories there?
Aleks Vukic: I think it is developing the game, having time to develop the game with the coaches. I mean, this is an unbelievable program, so the coaches really helped me here, but it gives you time. You look at the top 20 guys in college, they're all ranked inside the top 400. You're playing those guys and you're building a game. So, it's a really great experience. You also develop as a person. There's more to life than tennis. You can tell sometimes who's gone to college and who hasn't on the tour. You can see guys whose whole life is tennis. They think a little differently than the guys that have gone to college and have seen other things..
Tennis Acumen: And I've heard people say one of the differences is this: coming into the Challengers, you can be playing on Monday afternoon and there's absolutely nobody in the stands, but in college, you do get a lot of fan support, right?
Aleks Vukic: Yeah, you do. Everyone loves playing to the fans. Obviously, it depends on the tournament. Some Challengers, actually, they get quite a good crowd, so it depends on the week. But every week is different.
Tennis Acumen: How sensitive are you to the crowd when you're in a match? Does the crowd affect you?
Aleks Vukic: A little bit? But I'd rather the crowd be against me, than to have no crowd, to be honest. I would rather have 10,000 people cheering against me than to have zero people in the stands. It just makes for a better atmosphere.
More of this exclusive interview is available at Tennis Acumen. Go to the interviews category, shown on the upper right hand side of the screen.
Tags: aleks.vukic, Vuki_SMASH23
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