Once ranked 13th in the world, which also includes a famous win over Rafael Nadal, Alexandr Dolgopolov’s tennis days are long gone, and now he lives the life of a soldier. The Ukrainian is one of the thousands fighting on the frontline to defend his country in the war with Russia.
The 2011 Australian Open quarter-finalist joined the army when Russia invaded Ukraine in March 2022. He was provided with military training, and was taught how to use weapons.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4, the 35-year-old said, “It has been tough on the battlefield in the last year. When they are firing and getting really close, you know they know approximately where you are. When the round exits, you hear that and then you have the few seconds where it is flying – it is like loud whistles coming in – and then you feel the impact. You hope the impact is not exactly on the top of the trench. If it is one or more metres from you, you should be fine because you’re half or one metre under the ground. if it doesn’t hit the ceiling, you should be OK, but you don’t know that.”
He is currently working for Ukraine’s Directorate of Intelligence (GUR) in the Zaporizhzhya region, and back in Kyiv, awaiting his next assignment. He also spoke about the attacks faced by his unit.
“Mostly artillery fire and aircrafts, that’s the main danger. The worst day was when mortars landed reasonably close to us. Usually it is random fire and if they see you, they shoot two, three, five times and then forget about it unless they see what they’re aiming for. You try to hide and protect yourself. This time it got really intense and we got maybe 20 rounds fired at us. They were all close,” he said.
He announced his retirement on 2021, having last played a match in 2018, where he faced Novak Djokovic at the BLD d’Italia in Rome.
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