Who is Sergiy Stakhovsky, the player who famously beat Roger Federer at Wimbledon and is now defending Ukraine

Ukraine's Sergiy Stakhovsky recently made headlines for enlisting in the military amid Russia's ongoing aggression in his country. The former World No. 31 said he saw no reason to sit back while a majority of his countrymen fought to defend their nation.

Stakhovsky is not an unfamiliar face for tennis fans. The Ukrainian has caused a couple of major upsets over the course of his two-decade career. Here, we have compiled all the information you need to know about Sergiy Stakhovsky.

Who is Sergiy Stakhovsky?

Born in Kyiv on January 6, 1986 to Olha and Eduard Stakhovsky, Sergiy took up tennis at the age of six.

The Ukrainian's first stint with the sport came at the Kyiv Olympic Stadium. He grew up watching tennis legends Patrick Rafter and Pete Sampras and had great admiration for countryman Andrei Medvedev.

Sergiy Stakhovsky (L) and Andy Murray at the 2004 US Open boys' singles final.

Stakohvsky was a successful junior player, reaching the final of the 2004 US Open boys' singles where he lost to future World No. 1 Andy Murray. He peaked at No. 28 in the junior rankings.

After making his transition onto the senior tour in 2004, Stakhovsky enjoyed a fair bit of success. He won titles in 2008 and 2009 and made his top-40 debut in 2010 after a strong showing at the US Open.

Beating Roger Federer and the 'Stakhovsky effect'

One of the highlights of Stakhovsky's career came at the 2013 Wimbledon Championships where he scored a shock 6-7(5), 7-6(5), 7-5, 7-6(5) win over Roger Federer.

Sergiy Stakhovsky at the 2012 Wimbledon Championships.

The now-famous win was Stakhovsky's first over a top-10 player, and ended Federer's streak of 36 consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinals. While the Ukrainian would go on to lose in the next round to Jürgen Melzer, the win cemented his place in tennis folklore.

“It’s my first win of the top. What else I can say?," Stakhovsky had said after his Wimbledon triumph. “Beating Roger here on his court, where he’s a legend, is I think having definitely a special place in my career.”

“When you play Roger Federer at Wimbledon, it’s like you’re playing two persons. First you play Roger Federer and then you play his ego," he added. "When you’re beating one, you still have the other one who is pressing you. You’re saying, ‘am I about to beat him? Is it possible?’”

The win was one of the first scored by a player outside the top 100 over a multi-time Grand Slam champion. The pattern of lowly-ranked players staging major upsets only to lose their very next match has since been dubbed the 'Stakhovsky effect'.

Sergiy Stakhovsky's retirement and joining Ukraine's military service

Stakhovsky announced his retirement from professional tennis at the start of the 2022 season after losing in the first round of the Australian open qualifiers. He played his last match against Jeffrey John Wolf.

The 36-year-old returned to Ukraine on the eve of the Russian invasion and in an interview with Sky News, confirmed that he has joined the military reserves.

"I signed up for the reserves last week. I don't have military experience but I do have experience with a gun privately," he said.

He then urged people in Europe to help out however they could.

"It makes the world of difference to our armed forces that they are not alone at least in a media environment, but let's be realistic here, it's been eight years of war with Russia, where was all of this for eight years?," the Ukrainian asked.