Bio
Overview
Age: 23 (Born 12/08/1998)
Birthplace: Athens, Greece
Height: 6’4″ (193cm)
Weight: 198lbs (90kg)
Career Titles: 7
Beginning of my life
I was born in Athens, Greece at 12th of August 1998 to a Greek father from Karditsa, Greece and a Russian mother from Moscow, Russia. These two people were the first ones to introduce me to tennis. It all started at the tennis courts of a local resort in which both of my parents worked as tennis coaches for tourists and travelers. That was the place where I picked up my first tennis racket and learnt all the secrets of this wonderful sport.
I was the first child out of four in the family. We lived in a touristic suburb south of Athens called Vouliagmeni with a population of less than 6,000 people. The suburb is named after Lake Vouliagmeni, located in its vicinity.
Getting started with tennis
At the the age of six I started having my first tennis lessons at the Tennis Club Glifada in a group with other kids at my age. My first coach was Giorgos Spiliopoulos who taught me about the importance of the sport, discipline, work-ethic and right technique on court. It was a very important step for me having a humble coach like him giving me the right steps and directing me with his knowledge from the beginning of time.
At the age of eight I moved to Giorgos Fountoukos, the person who developed my game, technique, footwork as a junior player. He was a big change in my tennis since then, he is a very experienced tennis coach with lot’s of on-court knowledge, a very conventional way of technique development and a unique cast of mind on the tennis court. He is my tennis coach back home until today.
Understanding my life
through tennis
After getting started with the game of tennis there was a crucial decision that I had to make, a decision that was getting closer as the years went by. This decision was my future. Do I want to make tennis my profession? Am I ready to sacrifice my life in Greece to begin traveling for tennis? The answer from my 12 year old self was “Yes, I want to do that.”
I was ready for this long journey, this battle that I had to face, the stress, the sleepless nights, the tension, the frustration, the nerves, the anxiety… I had to face an opponent, but the biggest challenge was to surpass my expectations. I was going to take my chances, fail most of the time but, that was and still is the key on growing successfully and chasing a dream that was and is there. Titles that many people want, but only few get.
Tennis taught me a lot of things in my life. I have experienced things that I wouldn’t otherwise experience if I wasn’t playing the sport that I Iove. Tennis allowed me to see new places, meet new people, discover cultures… I was able to turn my childhood hobby into my profession. That was incredible already!
Tennis has taught me of discipline, self-awareness, behaviour, morality, respect, sportsmanship and decision-making. I own everything to this game, a game with which I have grown, learned and failed most of the time. Tennis represents me and everything that I have. Tennis is always going to be my job and my passion. Tennis is my life!