Interview Illya Marchenko (english)

Our team had a chance to speak with Illya Marchenko (32yo), 200h player at the ATP ranking. Here is his interview.

"How did you discover tennis?

My older brother was a figure skater, it was mom’s decision. So for me was father’s turn to decide and he brought me to tennis because he likes the game.

What do you do to stay in good shape during the lockodown?

I’m doing some fitness at home. I’m gonna put a video about it soon.

What’s your best memory on court?

Well, I have couple. Davis Cup match against Hanescu. 2 sets down and couple matchpoints in 4th set. Round 16 at US Open and a win against top 10 player David Ferrer.

What’s your favorite tournament?

It's Australian Open

You have beaten David Ferrer (first top 10 victory) in 2016 in Doha, what was your first feeling after the match? Do you think that beat a top 10 player can be a boost to climb in the ranking?

Great feeling. A big win on center court agains previous year winner. It very good match from me. Not everything was perfect, but I was fighting the whole match and got that win at the end. Of course, it helps a lot. That win gave me a lot of confidence. Unfortunately, I lost next week 1st round against local Wild Card at Australian Open. But still, it was my best year so far.

Your best ranking is 49th, and your best result in Grand Slam is a 4th round in Us Open in 2016, Are you satisfied with these two things? Do you think that you have the possibility to improve that?

Well, of course you can always do better. But I think I have something to be proud of. I’m not young already. But I still hope and believe that I can reach even better results. I just need to stay healthy.

What is your main goal until the end of your career? I’m not setting any goals, I’m trying to be better every day, week and month. What would you do after your career? Coaching or anything else? I didn’t think about that too much. My career didn’t let me to earn enough money to have a good starting budget. Anything I do, I would have to start from a scratch. Coaching is the only thing where I can use my experience."

Our team thanks Illya to answering our questions ! We wish him to be the best possible !