Sergiy Stakhovsky is, together with Alexander Dolgopolov, the main representative of men’s tennis in Ukraine in the last decade. Already in the transition period towards retirement, the lanky player, remembered mainly for his historic victory against Roger Federer at Wimbledon 2013, has not hesitated to return to his country to defend the territory from the Russian invasion. And he has not done it in any way, but by threatening Vladimir Putin with death along the way.
“Putin, we will dance on your grave,” the tennis player wrote in an Instagram story, along with a screenshot of one of the explosions that took place in Ukraine. In this way, Stakhovsky showed his outrage with the Russian invasion ordered by the president and that has forced the citizens of the eastern country to flee, take refuge and/or fight.
Sergiy ‘s sentiment is the same as that of many other Ukrainian citizens who return to their country to take up arms as the only measure for the country’s survival. “I have no military experience, but I do have experience with firearms at a private level,” the tennis player advanced. « If I have to use a weapon, I will use it . That is the only reason why I return, “he settled, in an interview in which he announced the decision to enlist in battle, putting his life at risk like that of many other compatriots.
Stakhovsky ‘s recent past is not that of one of the best tennis players in the world, but that of one of many others who walked through the elite of the ranking without his merits being properly applauded internationally. With a not inconsiderable number 31 in the ATP ranking as the top, the Ukrainian tennis player was an all-rounder, especially on hard courts, and it was at Wimbledon 2013 when he reached media glory for one day.
His great victory and Federer’s ‘goodbye’
It was the second round and the marked duel of the day faced him, modest, with a whole Roger Federer who had just won his seventh cap at the All England Club in 2012, with at least ten consecutive appearances in the quarterfinals. In a magical match in which he raised his level to the best in history on grass, Stakhovsky pushed Federer away from his particular garden and in four sets (6-7, 7-6, 7-5, 7-6) he would do with the best victory of his career.
The euphoria was total but it did not last long. Paying for his fatigue, Sergiy fell to Austrian Jurgen Melzer in the third round, saying goodbye to the dream of achieving an impressive result at Wimbledon, but with history on his side having dethroned Roger Federer in his favorite tournament. The Helvetian would only win in London for one more year, in 2017, and that defeat was, in a way, the beginning of his end in the reign of world tennis… because of a man who is now one more challenger to Putin and Russia. in the Ukrainian war.
