I heard endless conversations between my parents when I was going to sleep about how we would survive, how we would continue. All of them were about trying to make me better.
When I come into a tournament, I’m expecting to win. That’s my philosophy. I can’t go to a tournament thinking, ‘I’m going to get my ass kicked today, so I might as well leave.’
Whenever I have friends over, we end up eating and talking and losing track of time, and, once in a while, singing karaoke. It reminds me of the family meals we had in Russia, which always lasted a very long time. That’s a tradition I miss.
Tennis has never been the most important thing in my life. My family, my health, my happiness they are more important to me. On court, I want to win. Off court, I want to be a better person. Tennis is a path to my future.
