Before turning into a soldier, Stakhovsky was a professional tennis participant, and a really profitable one: He was ranked as excessive as 31 on this planet and had greater than $5 million in profession winnings. He is greatest remembered for beating Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2013. I used to be there and watched slack-jawed as Stakhovsky, enjoying serve-and-volley tennis, a method that had change into just about out of date, took out the then-seven-time champion on Centre Court. In the news convention that adopted, the Ukrainian joked, “I can definitely tell my grandchildren that, yeah, I kicked the butt of Roger Federer.” He misplaced his subsequent match, however the win over Federer ensured him a everlasting place in tennis trivia. That he’s now a combatant in battle is difficult to consider, and as I walked round Wimbledon this 12 months, I discovered myself serious about Stakhovsky and his journey from tennis whites to army fatigues.
In early August, whereas he was off-duty in Kyiv, I spoke with Stakhovsky by video. He informed me that he was vacationing in Dubai together with his household when the battle began. The metropolis was internet hosting a males’s match that week, and he stated he was with two Russian gamers, Rublev and Karen Khachanov, the evening earlier than. Stakhovsky had simply retired from tennis and was residing in Budapest; he had not lived in Ukraine since he was 12. But together with his nation underneath assault, he felt obliged to affix the battle effort. He left Dubai and arrived in Kyiv on Feb. 28, 4 days after the Russians invaded. “I did not have any other option,” he stated. “I could not imagine sitting outside of Ukraine and screaming for other people to help Ukraine.”
He stated he was buddies with a variety of Russians when he was on the tour and had heard from a couple of of them. Mikhail Youzhny, a former Top 10 participant, texted him periodically. “Sometimes I reply, sometimes I don’t,” Stakhovsky stated. He informed me that on the French Open final 12 months, the place he was attempting to lift cash for Ukraine, he bumped into Khachanov in a hallway, and the Russian merely brushed previous him. He talked about a remark that Medvedev made at Wimbledon this 12 months, about being in favor of peace. “Everybody is in favor of peace,” Stakhovsky stated. “I’ve been in Bucha; I’ve seen the bodies. For us, unfortunately, peace is something that we will have to earn with blood.” He recalled that Medvedev’s dad and mom had as soon as approached him about teaching their son early in his professional profession. (Medvedev didn’t reply to a request for remark, and Khachanov declined to remark.)
Near the top of our dialog, we talked concerning the match towards Federer, and I requested if he had been in contact with the Swiss star. Stakhovsky, who’s 37, stated that he had, and he started scrolling by his cellphone. He noticed that Federer had reached out twice in March 2022, to verify in on him and to precise his sorrow over the scenario. I introduced up the remark that Stakhovsky had made about his grandchildren and kicking Federer’s butt. He laughed ruefully. “Now I just hope that I will get to see my grandkids,” he stated.
Alexandr Dolgopolov, too, is in uniform for Ukraine. He performed professionally for greater than a decade and attained a career-high rating of 13 earlier than retiring in 2021. These days, he’s a drone operator near the entrance strains. He spoke to me from his residence in Kyiv, the place he was recuperating from a concussion he suffered when a shell landed close to his trench. He was resigned to the hazard he faces in fight. “They try to destroy us, we try to destroy them, that’s how it works,” he stated with a shrug. He was carrying a Diadora T-shirt, a reminder of his previous; Diadora is the Italian sportswear firm that sponsored him.
Source: www.nytimes.com