Jurij Rodionov has made up 600 places in the world rankings within one year. At the Challenger tournament in Bratislava he caused a sensation with an emotional victory over an old academy colleague.
In an interview with tennisnet, the 19-year-old talks about his jubilation à la Cristiano Ronaldo, which was viral in the social media, and explains the rivalry with his first-round opponent. He also explains how he wants to prepare for the coming season and why the restructuring of the futures tour leaves him largely cold.
tennisnet: An interesting tournament week lies behind you. Are you home again?
Yuri Rodionov: Exactly, but only briefly. Tomorrow we go on “vacation”. On Gran Canaria I will regenerate for one week from my long season.
tennisnet: Was it possible to go home between matches in Bratislava?
Rodionov: That would be possible in principle, but it was more practical to stay overnight in the hotel of the tournament, because it is right next to the tennis court.
tennisnet: The tournament offered accommodation for the players. How exactly does that work?
Rodionov: Starting next year, all Challenger tournaments will have to provide hospitality anyway. Every player can use a hotel room for free. But of course I have to pay for my coach myself. Practical is when two players share a coach. Then the latter gets one and the players share the second room. This does not incur any additional costs.
tennisnet: With how many people do you usually travel to the tournaments?
Rodionov: Usually only my coach is there. From time to time my brother, who is also my manager, travels with me.
tennisnet: Let’s get to the last tournament week. Bratislava was a perfect example of the fact that your ranking keeps you wavering between the main field and qualifying for a Challenger tournament. How do you deal with it?
Rodionov: As a player, you can judge quite well whether you will make it into the main field. The biggest difference is that I have to arrive two days in advance. In Bratislava this was not a problem, at other tournaments it requires more precise planning. But it doesn’t matter to me from a sporting point of view anyway, because I always try to give my best.
tennisnet: Let’s talk about the tournament itself. At first you played two sovereign qualifying rounds, but the final against Aldin Sektic became a thriller.
Rodionov: It was a tough game. We both served extremely well. The only break of the match was 5:4 in the final set. I could have easily lost that too. At the end I was a bit more confident with the service.
tennisnet: Then there was a heated duel with Uladzimir Ignatik in the main peloton in the first round. What connects – or better asked – what separates the two of you so much?
Rodionov: We’ve known each other for two years from the Academy in Vienna. Since then there has actually been this rivalry between us, because we never really could suffer each other. That’s why for us personally there was a lot at stake in this match.
tennisnet: How was the match from your point of view? He may not have shown his fairest side during the match.
Rodionov: Some referee decisions were more than controversial. He cursed several times during the match, also against the referee, who warned him for it. Fortunately I could keep my coolness until the match point. But when he denied me the handshake, I finally exploded.
tennisnet: Then it broke out of you and you showed a cheer in the style of Cristiano Ronaldo. In retrospect: Would you show that kind of cheer again?
Rodionov: It was a very emotional game. Of course you don’t plan something like that, it just happened to me. In my head, the transformed match point, the handshake with the referee and the cheering went off in less than a second. That was an instinct reaction, which I might have been able to do a bit more discreetly (laughs).
tennisnet: Are you generally an irascible type?
Rodionov: I can be very emotional, but always in a positive sense to push myself. Maybe I’ll overshoot the mark every now and then, but I’m only 19 and maybe I still have to learn. I don’t think of myself as a quick-tempered guy, though.
tennisnet: A few Twitter videos show that a few viewers also made themselves heard.
Rodionov: It was extremely loud for such a tournament. The viewers have also noticed that there is a lot at stake for the two players. It was a good atmosphere.
tennisnet: In round two they lost very close to Evgeny Donskoy. Was this the bitterest defeat of your career so far?
Rodionov: Not necessarily, because I lost against a good tennis player. I didn’t show my best tennis, and yes, I should have won. But it’s good proof that I’m on the right track.
tennisnet: Why did you lose the match despite a break advantage in the third set and a 5:1 lead in the tiebreak?
Rodionov: The previous games were very exhausting. Besides, the season was pretty long. For over a month now, I have been suffering from slight pain in my thigh. Maybe that was another factor. In the end, however, it must be said that I was not callous enough, while Donskoy made no mistakes in the decisive moments.
tennisnet: Was it the last tournament of your season?
Rodionov: Exactly, Bratislava was my graduation.
tennisnet: How do you plan your preparation for the coming season?
Rodionov: After Gran Canaria, the plan has not yet been finalized. Two or three weeks I will prepare myself in Austria, then it could go to France or Mallorca to the Rafael Nadal Academy.
tennisnet: How do you see the restructuring at the ITF level, which will be implemented as of next season?
Rodionov: Fortunately, I don’t have to deal with that much. Last season I only played one futures tournament, but I didn’t score a single point for the ranking. The changes will probably bring me even ahead in the ranking, because some other players will lose points before me. I know the rules of the Transition Tour, but I’m a Challenger player, so it hardly concerns me.
tennisnet: Your first big goal for the new season is probably to qualify for the Australian Open.
Rodionov: I plan with that. I have no points to defend until Australia, and with a ranking of about 220 I should make it into the qualifying field.
tennisnet: You post on Facebook again and again short remarks to your matches. Recently, you have also started writing entries in Russian. What’s the matter with you?
Rodionov: Some of my fans speak Russian, for example my relatives in Belarus don’t understand German or English. My manager and I decided to use it to reach several people. Since we speak Russian, it’s not too much trouble.