"I decided to come to London Met and study Sports Management at
the
beginning of September 2005. I play for the London Met Men's Tennis
team. My first tournament that I played in England was at the
BUSA championships. When I entered the tournament in 2005 I was seeded
as the
best player in the draw because of my ATP ranking (950). Being new to
the UK, I didn't know the English opponents well, so it was quite hard
to play because I didn't know what to expect from them, but I had a lot
of help from Kostas Gogos, our Captain, and my team mates (as they know
all the players in the league), and they gave me direction and support.
Also, on the last two days of the tournament we had to play three
matches (two singles, one doubles) in one day which was really
exhausting mentally and physically. I was very happy and satisfied to
win the men's singles and with my team-mate, Robert Green, we won the
men's doubles of the BUSA championships in 2005. In 2006, I got to the
final in the BUSA championships but unfortunately didn't win the Men's
singles, only getting the runner up prize; however, together with my
partner, we won the Men's Tennis doubles in 2006 which was great news
for London Met.
I felt that I was in good form, playing well the entire tournament.
This win gave me confidence. It was a great win for me and for London
Met. We also went on to win third place in the European Championships
which was the icing on the cake, as it was our first time playing in
the EUSA championships.
I enjoy being in the team because the atmosphere is excellent. We
all get along well and we are all playing really good this year. As a
result, the men's London Met tennis team hasn't been defeated so far.
However, we have most of the important matches still to come. Because
of my studies, I don't have much time to play many tournaments until
the end of the next semester, maybe if I find a gap in my time, I will
play one or two tournaments but I am not sure. In the meantime, I will
focus my attention on practising, to retain my current form and on
playing to win university matches. In the summer I intend to play some
ATP tournaments to retain my current position in the ATP ranking or
maybe even improve it a little."
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