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Artem Sitak is a tennis player from New Zealand. He played the quarterfinals of Wimbledon along with Divij Sharan in the Men's doubles discipline. He has 4 ATP titles under his bag. He's currently ranked in the 37th position in the ATP doubles rankings.
In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, Sitak talks about his tennis feat and his plans for the future.
What prompted you to choose tennis as your career?
Artem: My parents' dream was for their kids to play tennis, so they put me in tennis school when I was 6. So from the young age, my dream was to be number 1 in the world.
How would you like to describe the tennis culture in New Zealand?
Artem: Tennis is popular in New Zealand. We have a lot of free public courts, inter-club competition for adults. A lot of kids play tennis. It’s obviously not as big as rugby, but tennis is very much liked in our country.
Which particular match/tournament would you like to call as the turning point of your career?
Artem: It was winning against Cuevas Bracciali at Rome challenger in 2013. After that match, I started believing in myself a lot more.
How would you like to describe the moment when you won your first ever ATP doubles title in Stuttgart?
Artem: It was absolutely amazing and very unexpected. I won my first ATP match out there and we ended up winning the whole thing.
What are your plans for the remaining year?
Artem: Planning on play Cincinnati, Winston Salem, US open. Then, Asian and European swing to end the season.
You reached the quarterfinals of Wimbledon along with Divij Sharan. How do you look at this performance?
Artem: It was a huge effort from us. We came back twice from 2 sets to 0 down. We believed in ourselves until the end and left our hearts on court.
There are various young tennis players who wish to represent their country at international level. What piece of advice would you like to give to them?
Artem: Best advise would be work very hard and even harder! And keep believing in yourself!
