In 2021, Tennis Acumen interviewed Australian Aleks Vukic at the Champaign Challenger tournament. Here is a part of that conversation:
Photo credit: The Australian
Tennis Acumen: Let's go back to the very beginning. When you woke up this morning, I talked to a guy who played in the NFL. He was a linesman on a Super Bowl team, and I asked him one day: “Hey, Doug, what's the hardest part of playing in the NFL? Is it fourth down and 20 yards to go with the game on the line?” And he told me: “It's summer, getting up every day, doing the same drills over and over. That’s the hard part.” Aleks, how do you deal with that routine and does it become a grind somehow?
Aleks Vukic: I think it can, every stage in every tournament, it's different. So this is my last tournament, the very last month of the year, so I'm very well aware that it is my last tournament. It's very easy for me to push through this week. I know it's one last week and I can give it my all. This is my fourth week in a row. I played Vegas to start this swing. Yeah, it's a different mindset to set out for four weeks, and I'm looking at finishing strong the last four weeks. It's just a matter of breaking things up. Sometimes, you need a few weeks off to recharge, not think about your goals so much. Enjoy life. Otherwise, if it becomes very monotonous. Spice it up in a different way. Have a clear perspective on the next few weeks and then recharge and do it again. It never becomes stale, because I’ll have different goals for different weeks, a different mentality for different weeks.
Tennis Acumen: So you're not waking up in January saying: “Oh, my God. Thirty six weeks to go.” You break it down into smaller pieces, focusing on those.
Aleks Vukic: I'll take a break for a week and then I'll focus on the next swing and recharge, because otherwise it's too long and you're not present.
Tennis Acumen: Any advice for younger players coming up?
Aleks Vukic: Guys that want to be pro? Yeah. Go easy on yourself. There's a lot of pressure and there's a lot of work to do, but surround yourself with positive people. Know there's more to life in tennis, and it is a journey, it's not about the end result. And whether you win or not, it's just about getting better each day. Winning will come if you're in the right mindset, that's what I believe. If they can stay in the right mindset and be positive, do the right things, then good things happen, for sure.
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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