Tennis Acumen

Nick Chappell: GETTING STARTED

 

Tennis Acumen: This is Tennis Acumen at the Columbus, Ohio Challenger, Fall of 2022. And we are here with Nick Chappell. Thanks for joining us, Nick. Tell me, how did you get started playing tennis?

Nick Chappell: Well, my mom played tennis and her mother was city champion in Fort Wayne, Indiana, so our whole family played. Tennis was really big in our family. I have a brother who's four years older than me. He started playing pretty young, I was constantly out on the courts, watching him practice. It felt like I was always on a court, actually, by the time I was five years old.

Tennis Acumen: It's in your DNA. You are wired, Nick. And what point did you think you might take it seriously?

Nick Chappell: At age 13 or 14. I was playing national tournaments in the ten- and twelve-year-old age brackets, but still playing other sports. And then about sophomore year of high school, I started doing online school to free up my time, and thought I would want to be a pro.

Tennis Acumen: And did anyone tell you how hard it was going to be ?

Nick Chappell: Probably not. I had a good junior career, especially playing some of the bigger ITF events. It was great motivation and everything, but probably a little skewed. You don't realize how much tougher the pro circuit is than the ITF circuit. But once I got to college, it was a little more eye opening. The college level of play is very good and that started giving me more perspective of where my game is.

This is one of twelve excerpts from an exclusive interview with Nick Chappell at the 2022 Columbus Fall Challenger. They will be posted over time in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Rinky Hijikata: Getting Started in Tennis

Tennis Acumen at the  Columbus, Ohio  Fall Challenger 2022. And we are here with Rinky Hijikata, from Australia.

(photo credit: Karl Corbett)

Tennis Acumen: How did you get started in tennis? What was it like growing up?

Rinky Hijikata: My dad's a tennis coach. I grew up in Sydney, Australia. My older brother and sister used to play a little bit. I used to just go down the courts with them and pick up balls for them and started hitting a little bit. And  I really loved to play because I was pretty active as a kid. So, I tried to do everything that I could. I would play any sport. And yes, tennis happened to be the one for me. .

Tennis Acumen: Excellent. And did anyone tell you how hard it was going to be for? .

Rinky Hijikata: Not right away. When you pick up a racket, when you're five, six years old, then you're just playing for the fun of it. You know, your career was never really in mind. So, I was just trying to have fun. And then maybe a bit later on, people were telling me, it's not going to be easy, but it's something that I really wanted to do. And I'm happy that I'm out here playing. .

Tennis Acumen: Are there any other sports that you played growing up? .

Rinky Hijikata: Well, I did whatever I could. I played rugby, surfing, lifesaving at the beach, whatever I could do. I just loved being active and getting out there and playing sport.

Tennis Acumen: Your parents wanted to get you out of the house because you were bouncing off the walls. .

Rinky Hijikata: Yes, the longer I was out of the house, the better.

(This exclusive interview has generated seven ‘quick read’ excerpts, to be posted at tennisacumen.com over time.)

NICK CHAPPELL: PLAYING COLLEGE TENNIS

This is one of twelve excerpts from an exclusive interview with Nick Chappell at the 2022 Columbus Fall Challenger.

They will be posted over time in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Tennis Acumen: How did you get recruited into college and make the decision to go to college?

Nick Chappell: Well, it was interesting cause I wasn't really looking at TCU. I was looking at a lot of Big Ten schools, including UCLA and North Carolina. Texas Christian wasn't really on my radar. I hadn't really even heard of the school, to be honest. And then my brother transferred there during my sophomore year of high school. The TCU coach, David Rodito, who is still the head coach, took over my senior year of high school. For me, the decision was a last-minute thing. My senior year of high school, I was ready to commit to Georgia. I surprised the recruiters when I went to visit TCU and that swayed me, having my brother there.

In college, they take their practice very seriously. Everything is arranged and scheduled, so you just go out and do it. But it's a little different when you're on the road and you have to do it yourself and you have to do it week after week after week. Maybe one of them could have a good result one time, but to get ranked 200 in the world, you have to have 15 good results. You have to do it repeatedly. It is mental stamina, to not just have the level, but to be able to repeat it over and over.

Tennis Acumen: Okay. I'm hearing the same thing from both you and Tennys Sandgren.

Nick Chappell: Yes, definitely.

COLLEGE TO THE PROS (PART TWO OF TWO)

Tennis Acumen had an exclusive interview with Tennys Sandgren at the Columbus, Ohio Fall 2022 Challenger.  Here’s part of that conversation.

(photo credit: Karl Corbett)

TA:  The business aspect, the logistics, going from college, where everything is done for you, to going out completely on your own. How did that work for you?

Tennys Sandgren: At college, they take care of everything. They take care of the travel arrangements, hotel, food,  training times. All your schedules are laid out for you.. It suits my personality that I take responsibility for those things and to not lose your way. But it's an added burden. You've got to think about that stuff. It's not fun to lose on a Tuesday, then try to make travel arrangements to go play in the next tournament. And sometimes there are difficult travel arrangements and it's challenging and it's not fun.

TA: Did you get used to it fairly quickly?

Tennys Sandgren: As a pro? Well, my first three or four years, a lot of it was in the States, so a lot of it was driving, a lot of it. I used to get in the car and go drive to the next match, which is nice. I like to drive. So, it's, it's not a bad thing. I would much rather drive than fly, that's for sure. Interesting.

TA: Moving from college to the pros, and the experience of being part of a team versus all of a sudden going out on your own, what was that transition like?

Tennys Sandgren: Actually, the tour is easier for me. I like playing on a team, but one of the things that I love about tennis is that it is just you, on your own. And so, it's more natural for me to play this sport on my own, but team sports are great. And playing tennis when it's in a team format is great. But I like the solace of playing tennis on your own, on your own side and doing your own thing.

TA: Interesting. And talk about crowds in terms of college, I imagine you have more audience than you do in the Futures and the Challengers. How is that different, to step out and make the change and there's no support there.

Tennys Sandgren: It's a challenge to pick yourself up day in, day out without much of the crowd you are accustomed to. You might have three or four hundred people watching your stream, but that's not people, being there, eyes on you. When something is observed, it changes, the thing literally changes. And so, when you're being observed and observed by a lot of people, it changes how you go about things on the court. And here at the Challengers, everybody knows it's being streamed, but it's not the same thing.

This interview is broken into four different ‘quick reads’ that will be posted here over time.

FROM COLLEGE TENNIS TO THE PRO TOUR (PART ONE OF TWO)

Tennis Acumen (TA): Tennis Acumen here at the Columbus Fall Challenger 2022 with Tennys Sandgren.

(photo credit: Karl Corbett)

TA: Sang, it has been a while. Nice to see you again. I'm doing I'm doing a series on college players that turn pro. So, I would like to ask you to just step back in your memory. Give me anything you can about the differences between the college and the professional tour. You know, just hold forth on the transition. I'd love to hear it.

Tennys Sandgren: Well, the level of play isn't much different. There's a couple of things that I always notice when I practice with the  college guys at MTSU (Middle Tennessee State University). The Tennessee State guys are good. They're not highly ranked college players and they're good players. But do they  know what happens when the points get going? One difference between college and the tour is court position. In college, court position stays pretty deep in the court. Nobody's particularly great at taking the angles by moving forward....   and second, there's  just the level of drop off in matches. You see ebbs and flows in matches and you see college players, when they're not at their top form, and stay off track for a game or two. With the high-level pro guys, there are only very small windows, maybe just a minute here and there, and they are back to top form. College guys can take a set hiatus, they can go down a break in the first set, and that might be the day. So, it's just that mental flexibility,  bend but not break and it's all about that level of concentration. You know, everybody has different levels of ability. And you're out there for 2 hours, 3 hours. It's a long time to stay focused. It's a long time to keep your mental energy up, to stay energized. It's a skill in and of itself: How well can you actually stay focused on the task at hand and how long does your mind drift? Do you get negative? Do you not believe in yourself? How long does that happen? Because you're not at your best when that's happening. So that's another thing that’s just different from the tour. It's not like the level of play is worse. It's just little factors that come into play when you're playing matches that really make a big difference.

This interview is broken into four different ‘quick reads’ that will be posted here over time.

NICK CHAPPELL: FAVORITE CITIES ON THE TOUR

This is one of twelve excerpts from an exclusive interview with Nick Chappell at the 2022 Columbus Fall Challenger. They will be posted over time in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Tennis Acumen: You mentioned different countries, different cities. What are some of your favorite cities on the tour?

Nick Chappell: Los Cabos, in Mexico, is great. Earlier this year, and that tournament was only my second ATP tournament. It was my first appearance in a main draw, and I qualified for it. The tournament was really well run. All the matches were at night, so it had a really fun environment. A lot of people coming out after work just to watch. After that I went to Lima, Peru for a Challenger. The tournament was just standard, nothing special about it. But the city was really cool, with really healthy food. Food is really big with me and that made the whole trip. My girlfriend even got to come with me. But I really liked Mexico City when I was here in April of this year. Oh, yes. That was really best of both worlds. Really fun tournament plus a really cool city.

Tennis Acumen: You got to do some sightseeing.

Nick Chappell: Yes. Honestly, all the Challengers I've played in Mexico have been among my favorite tournaments. Puerto Vallarta was another one. That was an unbelievable tournament. It was just a huge party atmosphere, and they got a lot of people out, which is something I really enjoyed.

Tennis Acumen: So, you love the crowd.

Nick Chappell: Yes, I do. I've really enjoyed traveling in Europe as well. I played quite a bit in Europe. Usually in the summer I would go to Europe for a couple of months. This year, since there were more tournaments in South America and in the US, I just stayed in the US. But typically, I've gone a couple of summers, played in France and really enjoyed that. I played some Challengers, one or two Futures and even played club matches there. France was the most fun place I've played tennis, actually, because the people really appreciate good tennis. It's just really nice to play in France.

Evan King: End Game

In 2021, Tennis Acumen interviewed American Evan King at the Champaign Challenger tournament. Here is a part of that conversation:

Tennis Acumen: At what point do you say: “I'm done playing tennis.”?

Evan King: I think when I stop feeling that I can improve. I reached, I think, #185 in the world a couple of years ago, late 2018. And then my singles ranking was going down. When I decided to stop, I was about #380 and my doubles ranking was still # 130. So, I'm pretty good at this. Let's see if I can crack top hundred or top 70. This is my first year of focusing solely on doubles. I want to see how that goes. I have had some ups and downs, some good results, some poor results. Next year, I’ll try to use what I have learned and make a couple of better decisions and play better moments. It is a different scoring system with no-ad and ten-point tiebreakers. Picking partners, finding what skill sets you match with and see what people that you match with. Because you have to vibe as a person and get along, strategize, all that kind of stuff.

 

 

Tennis Acumen: I've heard it said that playing doubles can be a bit like a marriage.

Evan King: Yeah, totally. you spend a ton of time together. You are traveling together; you're practicing every single day together. You're eating majority of meals together unless you don't like each other. it is a ton of time together, so you need to know what makes each other tick. If I feel I plateaued at a ranking or get stalled at a prize money that's not sustainable to live on, then I will stop. There are things I can definitely improve on. There's more that I can learn. So, until that happens, I'll keep it going.

 

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: @EvanKingChicago

J. J. Wolf: Winning and Losing

In 2021, Tennis Acumen interviewed American J. J. Wolf at the Champaign Challenger tournament. Here is a part of that conversation:

Tennis Acumen: That's well said. Last year, we talked about the fact that some guys absolutely loved to win, so they're just obsessed with it, while some guys try to avoid losing. Is it winning or avoiding a loss that's more important to you?

J. J. Wolf: Oh, it's a hard question. I don't really think about it too much on the court. I'm just real competitive, so obviously I love to win. But, I'm not afraid of losing. Every time you lose a match, it's a chance to look at what you did wrong and what you can improve on. So, I think it's a good thing, really. There's going to be a lot of losing. If you play pro tennis, you get used to it.

 

 

Tennis Acumen: Do you "watch film", as they say?

J. J. Wolf: Yeah, I'll watch every match I play after I play it, whether I win or lose.

 

 

Tennis Acumen: And what do you gain from that? I'm trying to get inside the mind of a professional tennis player,.

J. J. Wolf: I'm extremely visual, so it's good for me to see what it looks like from the outside. It's really hard to see what your ball even looks like while you're hitting it. I talk to coaches who will tell me: “You don't have to hit the ball so crazy hard.” Maybe I don't think I'm hitting it any harder than the guy I'm playing against. So, then I go and watch the film and I'm saying: “That forehand might have been one hundred and five miles an hour. Why did I hit it that hard?” Because it looks cool, but I probably don't need to do that.

 

 

Tennis Acumen: So that's part of your discipline. After a match, you watch a video recording. Do you watch with a coach or just on your own?

J. J. Wolf: That can vary, sometimes with a coach, sometimes without. Sometimes we'll watch separately and then come back together and talk about what we thought.

 

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: @jjwolf5

Aleks Vukic: Winning and Losing

In 2021, Tennis Acumen interviewed Australian Aleks Vukic at the Champaign Challenger tournament. Here is a part of that conversation:

Tennis Acumen: There's a spectrum. You see guys that just absolutely love to win and guys that hate to lose. There's a different set of motivations here.

Aleks Vukic: I think my feeling of losing is definitely stronger than my feeling of winning. I get more affected by a loss than I do a win. But I love to win, but I get hurt more when I lose, and I'm happier when I win, if that makes sense.

 

Tennis Acumen: It's very hard to understand that, because there are  32 guys in the draw here, 31 of them are going to lose by the end of the week. And no one likes to lose. How do you rebound from that?

Aleks Vukic: Oh, it's nonstop. I think I'm getting better at that, but it's one of those. You got to have a short-term memory when it comes to that and learn from it, but then just focus on the next week. That's the best thing about tennis. There is a tournament next week, and you can do great things there. So, it's just forgetting about it and just keep going with a long-term vision of where you see yourself going.

 

Tennis Acumen: I'll tell you a story. The Challenger in Savannah a couple of years ago, Reilly Opelka, who was just up and coming. No one had ever heard of him. He comes off court. He's just suffered a loss, sits down next to me and he's just shaking. He's so upset. He can't stand it. And I said: ”Reilly, if you don't play guys that can beat you, you'll never get any better.” And I could just see a weight come off his shoulders. I don't think he's hated losing as much since then.

Aleks Vukic: Yeah, yeah, definitely short-term memory. And then move on.

 

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

 

Evan King: College to Pro Tennis

In 2021, Tennis Acumen interviewed American Evan King at the Champaign Challenger tournament. Here is a part of that conversation:

Photo credit: University of Michigan

Tennis Acumen: Making the change from college to professional. I've heard guys say that first off, the level of play and competition goes up and the crowd size and support goes down. Is that your experience?

Evan King: I wouldn't so much say about the level of play. If you play near the top of your lineup in college, that's more or less the same levels as Futures. Unless you have a bunch of wild cards going in, you're going to start at Futures. Crowds are different, certainly. At the University of Michigan matches, you will have more than just tennis fans. You'll have fans of the university that want to support Michigan athletics. The same person will go watch tennis, softball, hockey, volleyball just because they love University of Michigan. For people to go out to these tournaments (Challenger level), they have to love tennis or a specific player to come out. So, it's two interesting dynamics. When you're playing in college, you're playing for university, your teammates and coaches, the people that you're practicing with every day. You have the bigger crowds behind you. When you turn pro, you're playing for yourself. As you go up to the Challenger circuit, the level of play is better than the college level, for the most part. Beyond that, you have the ATP circuit. When you're out as a professional, you have to muster up your own energy. You have to back yourself because unless you have the money to hire a coach or physio or a team behind you, you're out there alone. I would say that's the most difficult part. You have to hold yourself more accountable because there's not a coach on you. You're not representing the other six people on your team. If I lay an egg during a college match, I affect everybody else. The university, the coaches, the athletic department, everybody. I'm letting a whole bunch of people down. If I lay an egg on the pro circuit, I'm only letting myself down. So, it's a different kind of energy, different pressure and a high enough standard where, letting yourself down is the same as letting other people down.

 

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: @EvanKingChicago

J. J. Wolf: How Hard Can It Be?

In 2021, Tennis Acumen interviewed American J. J. Wolf at the Champaign Challenger tournament. Here is a part of that conversation:

Tennis Acumen: You love this game, don't you?

J. J. Wolf: Yeah, it's a great game. It can be really difficult sometimes, but it's a good game.

 

 

Tennis Acumen: Well, it is hard, you know? Did anybody in your family ever tell you how hard this was going to be?

J. J. Wolf: I grew up knowing how hard it was going to be. It's definitely a good challenge to have. My family has played so many sports. A couple of them have played pro tennis before. But I always thought it was a cool experience to play. With family members playing and coaching in professional sports, I got a lot of advice on how difficult and how much commitment it would take. It has really set in more recently, out with the tour. I’ve been rolling with it. I just never really thought about it too much. Taking that step back and being out for nine months really made me realize how much I have to take care of my body and how much commitment it will take to stay healthy and play this rigorous calendar year. It’s 10 or 11 months out of the year you're playing.

 

 

Tennis Acumen: I talked to Evan King just now. He obviously was not at 100 percent yesterday, and he just gutted it through. I told him it was just agonizing to watch, given that there were times he was sharp, clear eyed and his body did not want to do what his mind told it to do. What's it like to play when you're hurting?

J. J. Wolf: What I've been told is pain is either remembered or anticipated, and suffering is optional. I just try to think of it as not a bad thing all the time, as long as I'm not going to hurt myself worse, you know. Pain is either remembered or anticipated. It's never right in the moment. So, you choose whether you want to suffer with it or not.

Tennis Acumen: I never heard anything like that.

J. J. Wolf: When you think about it, it makes a lot of sense. But it really, really annoyed me at first, when I'm hurting out there and they're telling me, you can choose whether to suffer or not. And then, I wrap my mind around it and I say: “All right, let's do it.” It's really tough coming back from those three surgeries. It was not exactly easy going when I was coming back. A lot of pain going on, but you kind of embrace it a little bit.

 

 

Tennis Acumen: So no one can really tell you, if you're out on court and hurting, whether you're about to do damage or not, whether you should retire. How do you make those calls? You don't have very many retirements in your career at all, do you?

J. J. Wolf: No, I haven't. I was playing with a double hernia for four or five tournaments last year. A doctor came to me and told me that, after a match when I was in Europe. Then I came back to the U.S. and they said: “We have to do surgery on this. We don't know how you're walking normally.” At this point, I've got great people on my team, so I've got a great trainer and physio and P.T. back home that I'll just trust. I'll tell them what's going on. They'll analyze it. And if they say I need to get scans or anything like that, I'll listen to them. If they think I'm good to go, I pretty much trust them on that. And if it’s hurting, it's hurting, it's whatever.

 

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: @jjwolf5

Evan King: How Hard Can it Be?

In 2021, Tennis Acumen interviewed American Evan King at the Champaign Challenger tournament. Here is a part of that conversation:

Tennis Acumen: Did anyone in your family tell you how hard this was going to be?

Evan King: No, I don't think anyone truly knew. I had good coaches around me ever since juniors, and all through college and afterwards. That prepared me for what I had to expect moving from college to professional play. It is all very different, because as a pro, I am my own manager. I do the flights and travel, stringing my rackets, all that kind of stuff, whereas in college, all that stuff is done for you. You just give somebody a racket and the next day, it's done. You're told to meet at the tennis center. We're going to the airport at this time. It's all done for you. So, as far as all the things outside of tennis, I did not know how difficult that would be. But the level of play was not too much of a jump. Top level college and professional are similar, it's just all the other stuff you have to deal with that you don't have a team around you help with. I think is pretty difficult.

 

 

Tennis Acumen: There seems to be this incredible network around recruiting and grading: ‘star rankings’ for players when they're juniors. Were you aware of all of that as you were being recruited and asked to play at Michigan?

Evan King: Yes, I was aware of it. I wasn't obsessive about it. I trusted my level of play, my reputation as a person and those kinds of things more so than being a five star or a blue chip. Now, they have the Universal Tennis Ranking which coaches go off of and then those things do matter. But it wasn't going into a match thinking: “I'm playing a five star. I really need to get this match, so I can get Michigan to look at me.” I was more worried about my own development and my personal goals, as a junior. I did want to go pro. So, I was I was more thinking about that kind progression, more so than worrying about the immediate results or ratings or rankings. I was thinking more long term, which helped me put less pressure on myself.

 

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: @EvanKingChicago

Aleks Vukic: Grinding it Out

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

 

Evan King: World Team Tennis

In 2021, Tennis Acumen interviewed American Evan King at the Champaign Challenger tournament. Here is a part of that conversation:

Tennis Acumen: And you have played World Team Tennis. Tell me about that. I've never, never talked to a World Team Tennis player.

Evan King: That's a lot of fun. it brings a team aspect back. I will say one of the biggest things about tennis as an individual sport is that rarely when you practice with somebody, do you want the person that you're practicing with to get better. In World Team Tennis I'm practicing with my teammates. If they're playing well, the team does well, we do better. We win more matches, all that kind of stuff. If I'm playing a practice set against other pros out here, I want to beat them. I don't care how their practice goes because I want to do the best I can do. If they're playing well, they can potentially beat me. That's not good, you know what I mean?

 

 

Tennis Acumen: Yes, it's super interesting.

Evan King: So, World Team Tennis is less pressure filled, and it is really a break in the season because, yes, tennis is an individual sport. You want to be number one, individually. At World Team Tennis, you all are coming together, men and women, singles players, doubles players all have a common goal. We all try to help each other out for those two or three weeks to get better. And, I mean, it's fun. There's music, it's a faster pace because they only play up to five and they have no-ad scoring. They play lets. So, they do little things that make it a bit more exciting and more fun. Coming together for a common goal in what's usually an individualistic sport is a pretty special thing. Yeah, I think it's fun.

 

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: @EvanKingChicago

Aleks Vukic: A Life Outside of Tennis

In 2021, Tennis Acumen interviewed Australian Aleks Vukic at the Champaign Challenger tournament. Here is a part of that conversation:

Tennis Acumen: So, Aleks, when you have free time, how do you entertain yourself or feed yourself? On tour and off? you do a lot of reading, listen to music?

Aleks Vukic: At home in Australia, I'll just go out with mates, have dinner, see a different friend each day. When I'm on tour, it's a bit different. Depends on which one of my mates is out on tour that week. We’ll go and grab dinner. Then, I'll have some alone time towards the end of the day. I enjoy alone time. Surf some stuff on the internet and go to bed and do it again. My life is not entertaining when it comes to that. I really enjoy the simple things.

 

Tennis Acumen: How about music and TV shows?

Aleks Vukic: I like softer EDM (electronic dance music). Hayden James or something like that (Hayden James is an Australian DJ, songwriter and record producer from Sydney, Australia.) I like Aussie artists and more low-key music. I always look forward to Spotify when new music comes out, always try and give it a listen. I love music. I think it's a similar to food where it's like every day feeling something a little different. I listen to like Mumford and Sons some days, and it just depends on the mood.

 

Tennis Acumen: Favorite foods?

Aleks Vukic: When I go back home, my mom makes an unbelievable Spaghetti Bolognese, so I love that dish. I love pastas. I like a good burger as well.

 

Tennis Acumen: Now, if you're sitting at home and friends are coming over, what would you cook? What's your ‘go to’ meal?

Aleks Vukic: I'm not a great cook, so I probably wouldn't cook anything. I would. I probably just order pizza, to be honest, just straight up.

 

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

Aleks Vukic: Getting Started

In 2021, Tennis Acumen interviewed Australian Aleks Vukic at the Champaign Challenger tournament.

Here is a part of that conversation:

Tennis Acumen: All right, we're rolling. Nov. 16, Tennis Acumen in Champaign, Illinois at the 2021 Challenger event. With Aleks Vukic, from Australia. Aleks, one of the things our readers always want to know is how you got started in tennis. Tell me about that. When did you first discover the game?

Aleks Vukic: My brother, is six and a half years older than me, so he was playing and I was just picking up balls. He started when he was 11, so I must have been four and a half. And yeah, that's how I got into it. It was basically because of him. My parents didn't play any sports. He started playing and then I followed suit.

 

 

Tennis Acumen: When did you discover you loved it?

Aleks Vukic: Truly loved it? Probably when I got to college. I always liked it. Once I got to college, I really loved it, and that love grows every year I play. It started off slow because I was playing both tennis and soccer until 13. Only tennis now. 

 

 

Tennis Acumen: And how did you end up at the University of Illinois growing up in Sydney, Australia?

Aleks Vukic: I was in Florida playing a Futures tournament, and I was up against Jared Hiltzik. I played him and Brad Dancer, the coach here (at the University of Illinois) saw me. He said: “If you're interested in playing tennis at college, let us know.” After a few months on the pro tour, I realized I was not ready for it. I made the rounds at a few colleges and decided to come here.

 

 

Tennis Acumen: For a lot of years, I was a professional drummer. My mom was a musician, and when she saw me heading in that direction, she said: “You can do this.” But she told me how hard it was going to be. Did anyone ever tell you how hard it was going to be playing professionally, running your own affairs and all of that? Or did you have to discover that on your own?

Aleks Vukic: They told me it was harder to do a nine to five job. They said: “You would like this more.” And I said: “Fair enough.” I think you do a nine to five or something you don't really like, it's just too much. My parents kept telling me I just wouldn't like it and my parents know me best. So I trusted them.

 

 

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, @aleks.vukic, Vuki_SMASH23

 

J. J. Wolf: Highlights and Lowlights

In 2021, Tennis Acumen interviewed American J. J. Wolf at the Champaign Challenger tournament. Here is a part of that conversation:

Tennis Acumen: Any highlights or lowlights in this disrupted year?

J. J. Wolf: There have been a couple of both. Last year, I'd say one of the highlights was qualifying for the 2020 Cincinnati Masters. Even though it was in New York, it still really meant a lot to me. That and making the third round at the 2020 U.S. Open was pretty cool. This year, coming back from nine months off and a couple of surgeries, getting that fifth challenger title in Vegas meant a lot to me. But, I'm just working on my game a lot, not worrying about results too much.

 

 

Tennis Acumen: You pretty well have to be obsessive to be in this game professionally, right?

J. J. Wolf: Right.

Tennis Acumen: Going back to the beginning, waking up every morning and knowing you just got to do it one more day. How do you manage your hitting time, your sleep time, your meals? what's it like to keep the machine going every day?

J. J. Wolf: It's hard on the on the road, especially because you've got different match times. You don't really know exactly when you're going to play. It could be a morning match, afternoon or night match. And, every place you go is different, with different facilities. You have to figure out what works for you that week and create a routine. I've been trying to do that more. It was very hard during quarantine when you couldn't leave the hotels at tournaments. But now, I can go out and get breakfast and walk around, ease my mind. And not be thinking about tennis all the time. I am trying to take care of my body and not get away from the game too much like last year.

 

 

Tennis Acumen: So, in terms of diet, how strict are you, J.J.??

J. J. Wolf: I try to be pretty good about it. When I was coming back from the surgeries, I couldn't use my core really to do anything for about six months. So I was really strict with it. After coming back there, I probably let it go a little bit during my off time. But I got it back pretty quickly and got back into shape pretty fast, so I was lucky with that.

 

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: @jjwolf5

Evan King: Favorite Places on Tour

In 2021, Tennis Acumen interviewed American Evan King at the Champaign Challenger tournament. Here is a part of that conversation:

Tennis Acumen: Well, that draws us right into favorite cities on the tour.

Evan King: I think Melbourne. I love Australia. Australia is awesome. So, Melbourne's good because there's no language barrier. Travel is a lot easier. I liked Taiwan as well. I had a really good experience in Taiwan. I thought the food was great. A lot of people came out, and they ran a really good event.

Tennis Acumen: Do you ever get time to really go and sightsee?

Evan King: It all depends on the result of the tournament. That would be an advantage of doing poorly in a tournament. I have more time off to actually see a place. But on a week where I'm winning matches, it's more so hotel and tennis courts. Maybe a couple of meals out, but then you don't actually get to sightsee. So, one of my bigger regrets was I spent two weeks in India in 2017. I didn't get to see anything and I've never been back. I've been to India, but I didn't experience India, I didn't actually get to travel around because the schedules just didn't allow for it. We go to some pretty cool places and very interesting places. Sometimes you do see them, sometimes you don't. If you ask five different players about travel, some people have more of a focus on: “I want to see the world.” Others have more of a focus on tennis, tennis, tennis, which both work, but different people have different philosophies on it.

 

 

Tennis Acumen: I asked Tennys Sandgren the same question. he said Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris is his ‘go to’ place. He finds that just the most stunning place. What would your ‘go to’ place be?

Evan King: Hmm, that's interesting. I don't know if I have an immediate one. I think it's more about people. If I'm traveling with people that I really get along with, regardless of where it is, I'll have a good time, be at peace and enjoy myself. It is more that than specific places.

 

 

Tennis Acumen: OK, that’s more a social point of view. And speaking of airports and hotels and cars, I worked as a rock drummer for a long time. You know, there are a lot of cities I never really saw. I can't say: “I've been there.” We just went to this hall and played four sets. Now the other thing about rock and roll, and this is where people get in trouble. Too much time on your hands. How do you deal with that? I mean, you're not going to get into excess or go off the deep end. But how do you handle the down time and the sheer boredom that can happen to you?

Evan King: You need another passion to fill your days. I'm really randomly into battle rap. There's something about guys creatively messing around with the English language that I really love. So, for me right now, I watch a ton of that. Tennis players, whether it's in juniors or college or pros, we're good at time management, filling time. A lot of it's stretching. I had my match yesterday. Yeah, I probably only played for two hours yesterday, an hour to warm up, so that leaves another 12 hours of being awake. A lot of stretching, lifting weights. Watch a little bit of film. That's something that I'm trying to do more of: just scouting opponents, scouting myself, trying to figure out ways I can be better and work on that. I know some people are taking classes online, I don't have a great answer for you on that for me because I'm not doing much productive outside of this.

 

 

Tennis Acumen: Well, if you're working on your game, that's productive and if you have discipline behind you in that, it fills up the time.

Evan King: it's just a lot of recovery, whether it's physical or mental, especially now. At the end of the year, we've all been playing since January. Eleven months in, everything's a little bit achy. Mentally, you're a little bit fried. It's more so staying healthy, staying fresh as possible at this point in time, and for me, it's watching battle rap, that's just what I am into.

 

 

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: @EvanKingChicago

Evan King: Playing Hurt - Part 2 of 2

In 2021, Tennis Acumen interviewed American Evan King at the Champaign Challenger tournament. Here is a part of that conversation:

Tennis Acumen: We’re talking about aches, pains and injuries, Evan.
You were not 100% physically. You're up 5-1 in the second set tiebreaker and it was painful to watch. Your mind is saying: “I've got this.” and your body is just saying: “Please, no.” You managed to win that set.

Evan King: Yes, now that was funny too, At the beginning of the third set, I was thinking OK, I've got some momentum. That's good. And no, that went away pretty quickly. I set foot on the court. I knew what I had in the tank. Go out there, compete. I saved a match point or two, which was good. I'm excited about that. But then I just did not have enough to get through it. Yeah, I'm still a little bit rattled from the match because obviously when you are a competitor, you go out there, you want to win. I wish I would've won, right?

 

 

Tennis Acumen: So how often are guys playing hurt?

Evan King: Hurt…. Hurt is a strong word. I would not consider myself hurt, less than 100 percent is different than being hurt. You don't play hurt.

Tennis Acumen: Because I've had guys tell me everybody's hurt all the time.

Evan King: I believe that, especially in November. No one's actually 100 percent. Maybe in January. I would hope so. In January, everyone's 100 percent because you have a month off. But in November, no one feels great. You just manage what you can, and you compete to the best of your ability with whatever you have on that day. There was a withdrawal earlier today. In singles he went into the match saying:”I know I have something going on, but I'm going to push it and see what I can get out of it.” And then the injury got aggravated. Maybe it went a little bit worse than he expected. And maybe there are some long-term issues that could happen if he kept playing or something like that. I have a lot of fatigue wear and tear from travel this season and everything, but I'm not hurt. That's a strong, strong word. I would not be in Champaign playing this event if I were hurt.

Tennis Acumen: Yeah, I appreciate the clarification there.

Evan King: Yeah, but it's more just wear and tear and crazy fatigue and yeah, just aches and pains and random things.

Tennis Acumen: It would be better said that everybody is playing ‘hurting’ rather than ‘hurt’.

Evan King: exactly. I would say that 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: @EvanKingChicago

Evan King: Playing Hurt - Part 1 of 2

In 2021, Tennis Acumen interviewed American Evan King at the Champaign Challenger tournament. Here is a part of that conversation:

Tennis Acumen: You were obviously not 100 percent physically yesterday. How do you push through?

Evan King: If you decide to start a match, you finish the match. I guess that's my code of honor, unless something is actually broken. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. As a professional, maybe I withdrew from one match. As you said, yesterday, I did not have my 100 percent.

 

 

Tennis Acumen: You know, I won't get into details on the injury itself. I'm just looking at the mindset and the spirit behind it. You were down a break early in the second set. Time to change ends, and you went off in the corner of the court and just sat on a stool. What was your thought process or what was going through your head?

Evan King: I was just trying to clear my mind and find some sort of peace because I was also frustrated that I was down a set and a break. Very frustrated. I needed to kind of be to myself. Find some peace. Try to get something out of the match. Whether it's a win, whether it's feeling good, whether it's executing certain things, just simplifying the game in my mind. I was taking it down to just a couple of shots I felt like I could execute extremely well. It was all mental, all regrouping and focusing in and really locking in for that moment.

 

 

Tennis Acumen: To be honest, Evan, it was agonizing watching the match because I could tell your mind wanted to do things and your body was saying: “Please stop. Please let me go.”

Evan King: It's a very frustrating part of tennis in general, but it's also interesting because I do focus on doubles now. My career is based off of doubles. It's making sure I stay ready for that as well. Win or lose on Tuesday, I knew I had to compete on Wednesday. Even working out for both of them is different. You use different skills when you're practicing for doubles and training for doubles rather than singles. There is playing and there is recovering. Played a match two days ago. In the second set, it got pretty physical. (King defeated Ruan Roelofse in a 24-point 2nd set tiebreak.) He was going through it too, though, because you can't say it was just me. I know my opponent was also feeling it physically as well. We all have issues we're going through, so we just try to compete and get through it.

Tennis Acumen: It was impressive, Evan.

Evan King: I appreciate that.

 

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: @EvanKingChicago