While the defense of Ukrainian troops against Russia's invasion of their territory after more than 20 days of war continues, the story of another athlete who decided to join the forces of his country to resist the attack went viral. Alex Dolgopolov, who knew how to be among the best players on the professional tennis circuit, returned to his native country and enlisted in the Ukrainian army.
Away from activity since 2018, Dolgopolov gave details of how he decided to join the resistance to fight the Russians. “The war caught me in Turkey. I got there the day before it all started and I took my sister and my mother,” said the former tennis player in relation to the beginning of the war.
“Why? Because after a lot of information from the best intelligence agencies in the world and a lot of disbelief at home, I understood that the chances of a war, with attacks in Kiev and throughout the country, were very high. Then I wondered what would happen in the first days/weeks,” he added in a lengthy explanation he posted on his social networks.
A professional since 2006, the Ukrainian racket was one step away from being world Top Ten: it placed 13th in the ATP rankings in early 2012 and won three titles: in Umag, Croatia, in 2011 after beating local Marin Cilic, another the following year on cement in Washington by beating German Tommy Haas and the last one was in Argentina. In 2017, he beat Japanese Kei Nishikori in the final of the Argentina Open to win the classic Argentine mate trophy.
In addition, between 2011 and 2017, his most outstanding years, he was a finalist in six other tournaments and also repeatedly represented Ukraine in the Davis Cup. He finished his career with a record of 221 wins - 201 losses and a balance of more than 7 million dollars in prize money.
In the letter he shared to his followers, Alex explained that he entered into the “general panic” of all his compatriots and that in the early days of the invasion he dedicated himself to reporting the situation in his country with the truth and that he preferred to “raise money rather than waste time saving my family”. After training for a week with a former military officer, he traveled to Ukraine to enlist with local troops.
“I'm not Rambo in a week, but I'm quite comfortable with guns and I can shoot three to five times in the head, at a distance of 25 meters, this with peace of mind and in the training environment,” Dolgopolov told about his first contacts with weapons. At the same time, on his Twitter account, he showed a photo in which you can see the equipment that was given to him to fight the invasion of the Russians and which he accompanied with a quote: “It used to be rackets and ropes, now this,” he wrote.
In the picture you can see a bulletproof vest, a protective helmet and a rifle and a case containing something similar to a knife.
“This is my home and I will defend it! With everyone who stayed. Thank you very much and all the respect to the famous people who are on the ground. All respect and I'm proud of how this country is united, even under pressure from a mad dictator. The truth is behind our land! I'll be in Kiev until our victory and after. Glory to Ukraine”, said goodbye to the former tennis player, who also clarified that before arriving in the city of Kiev by the Polish border, he passed through Zagreb (Croatia) to stock up on a much-needed accessory in the war: thermal monoculars that identify heat fluctuations.
In addition to using his profiles on social networks, Dolgopolov gave him an interview to the French newspaper L'Equipe. “I am ready to shoot the Russian invader,” he said, while referring to his family's sentiment for joining Ukrainian forces.
“They're proud because it's the right thing to do, even though they didn't want me to enlist because they're afraid that something will happen to me. But no one can stop me from doing something, they have to accept it. I'm an adult, who's going to stop me? If I say I'm going to war, I'm going. At the moment, they don't send people who have no experience to the front. At most, they are placed in certain surveillance posts to search cars, for example,” he explained.
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