Ksenia Pervak: Universaide 2013? Why not? 11.08.2010
Tennis is known for tennis dynasties. And Kazan is known for hosting events where both outstanding players and players known thanks to their famous relatives take part in
The ATP Men’s Tennis Open that was held in winter in Kazan saw participation of Mikhail Yuzhny’s elder brother, Andrey, who is a tennis coach now, and of Ukrainian Sergey Gubka, son of the renowned Soviet pole-vaulter. Ksenia Pervak, whose WTA World Ranking is 86th, is top-seeded at the Tatarstan Open 2010. She’s a talented player of course. But she will get the negative reaction of the FC KAMAZ supporters. The thing is that seven or eight ago Yury Pervak, president of FC Lukoil from Chelyabinsk, applied best efforts to promote his team to the premier league whose main rival was the team from Naberezhnye Chelny. And on the contrary numerous Tatarstan supporters of FC Spartak Moscow talk about Pervak with warmth. It’s under his guidance that Spartak fought for gold medals for the last time and got Dmitry Alenichev and Egor Titiov back, bought Nemanja Vidic and Denis Boyarintsev. That’s why the first question to Ksenia was quite logical.
- What does you father do now?
- He’s in Moscow. He runs his business as he had done before his work in Spartak.
- I’ve heard of your father for the first time when he was the president of FC Lukoil from Chelyabinsk. Later on he became the president of FC Spartak from Nizhny Novgorod. Where are you and your father from?
- We are from Chelyabinsk, at least I was born there. Thirty years ago tennis was developed there and as for us we had no place to train at our time. But I don’t know how thing stand with tennis in Chelyabinsk now. Ten years ago I left for Moscow and I visit my native city rarely. I entered the Tennis Academy named after Shamil Tarpischev. I started to train under the guidance of Viktor Pavlov and I’m still his educatee. At present I train together with Vitalia Diatchenko who competes at the current tournament as well. Due to bad luck I encountered her in the first game. The other girls who train under Pavlov are too young and I doubt you’ve heard of them. As for his previous educatees I can name the famous Anna Chakvetadze.
- Football and tennis go hand in hand not only in your family. Former Russian national football team player Dmitry Bulykin’s sister Irina plays tennis. Former USSR and Ukraine national football team player Sergey Baltacha’s daughter Elena also performs at tennis tournaments. Do you communicate with them outside tennis court?
- My father did not play football, he worked in football management. And as for the girls you named it was their relatives who played football. We speak of different things. By the way strange as it may seem I’m not acquainted with Bulykina but I know Elena Baltacha.
- Baltacha plays for England as she began playing tennis in Great Britain while her father ended his career there. She is not the only one among our former compatriots who play for foreign countries. Yaroslava Shvedova and Galina Voskoboynikova play for Israel, Anna Smashnova and Anastasia Rodionova play for Australia. Do you think its a good or a bad thing for a foreign national team? On the one hand they build their careers and on the other they play against us?
- Players leave. It’s hard to say whether it’s a good thing or a bad thing. By the way I personally think about playing for another national team. Though I’m not sure whether I take such a decision or not, so I won’t say what country I would like to represent.
- What could make you leave the Russian national team?
- It all depends on the Federation I decide to play for. It will depend on what they will offer to me: terms of accommodation, terms for training courses. So far it’s an idle talk.
- Specialists say that transfer from junior to professional sports is a painful process. Do you know why?
- I agree. Junior tennis is hardly a hobby or entertainment, you are not paid for it, only move up in rankings, it’s not actually an occupation. That’s why it makes you a little bit irresponsible. And as for professional sports you have a different motivation there and you feel it when you face 25-year-old female players and 16-17-year-old girls.
- Tennis hasn’t found its feet in the Olympics yet as the Grand Slam tournaments are still in the spotlight. What can you say about the Universiades in this context? Do you intend to take part in the Student Games or it’s not your level now?
- It all depends on the time schedule of the Games. As you understand we are focused on the ATP tournaments. We need to play there in order to move up in rankings. But if I have two weeks off and they coincide with the Universiade time schedule, then why not?
