Zbigniew Czyż, Interia.pl: We saw you on the court for the last time in March 2020. Why are you out of tennis at the moment and are you planning to return to it?
Jerzy Janowicz: It’s hard for me to talk in binary mode like this, because I don’t really know myself. I have given myself some guidelines as to the date of this return several times and have disappointed myself. If I feel well enough, I intend to attend professional courts again. I certainly do not lack ambition, the more so as I would like to show my son that his dad can still play tennis. Hope this will be the beginning of a new season. However, I do not urge me to play because without it it will be the end of my life. I am already used to the fact that life has to somehow turn out also without sports.
How did you endure the time when you suddenly had to stop your career?
– In 2016, I experienced a shock because of this. I didn’t play tennis for a year and a half. It was really tough because it was a completely new situation for me.
Today do you know what it’s like to live without sport?
– I know that exactly. I know I can do without tennis. However, I hope my son will see me in action again.
Are you in the training rhythm all the time?
– Yes, if we were to go to court now, I wouldn’t have any problems with the game.
How is your health?
– It’s good. I can even carry a TV so it’s ok (laughs). It is known that this may change when I put on a training regime and prepare for a specific start. I am not able to predict what will happen when we enter the typical season load.
Some time ago you said that when the pandemic situation improves, you will return to the court. She has improved, and Jerzy Janowicz has not been there and is still not there.
– This situation, however, has not completely improved. Most of the tournaments were played in bubbles, which is unfortunately very tedious. Especially since I would like to travel to tournaments with my family. Now there was no such possibility, because my two-year-old son will not be able to stay in one room for two weeks. It cannot be that we are being held in peace under penalty or kicked out of the tournament. I am 30 years old and I would like to play tennis. I wouldn’t be quite comfortable with being kicked out of the hotel just because I went to withdraw money from an ATM, as happened recently with Lorenzo Musetti, when he left the hotel 70 meters to the ATM because he wanted to pay for the pizza.
Where do you currently live?
– Some time ago I moved to Warsaw. It is easier for me here, if only because of the rehabilitation that is carried out.
You currently rank in the sixth hundred ATP rankings. If we could get back to tennis, what goals do you set for yourself when it comes to ranking?
– I don’t want to put any terms or numbers in front of me. I just want to give myself a chance to play a full season because I haven’t had that opportunity in the last five years. Either I didn’t play at all or the season was torn. I know that if it looks like I’m playing, pausing, playing, pausing, it doesn’t make any sense.
Next year, an interesting, promising tennis project, Superliga, will be launched in Poland. It is possible that we will even see Iga Świątek or Hubert Hurkacz in it. Is there a chance that you will also be playing in the competition?
– I already had some such quiet information that some clubs would like to buy me out. However, this is a relatively recent topic and there are no serious discussions yet. Hope it will be a complete project, the idea itself looks cool.
Do you watch tennis matches on TV, for example with the participation of the aforementioned Iga Świątek or Hubert Hurkacz?
– Probably not. I don’t have time for me to sit in front of the TV for a few hours. I don’t really have any particular interest in tennis. If I do not have to do it professionally as a tennis player or coach, that I have to watch someone, if only to prepare for a match with him, then I do not have such interest. I will see a meeting from time to time, of course, but it’s not something I have to or like to do. Besides, I don’t have much time for it, I have a son and trainings.
Did you expect Hubert Hurkacz to become one of the world’s leading players so quickly?
– It’s nice that we have someone to watch and something to watch. I hope there will be more and more good players. It is true that we have many tennis players in the country, but only really few people make it to the top.
In our conversation, the topic of your paternity appears. What kind of dad are you?
– Certainly a loving and demanding father, a teddy bear.
Are you trying to slowly instill a tennis gene in your son?
– I didn’t have to do this. From the very beginning it was obvious that he would be drawn to sports. He is very fond of holding a tennis racket. If he is attracted to tennis, I will definitely help him. He will have it easy enough that I already know what can await him in tennis. I certainly will not force him to play tennis. I have witnessed such stories that parents had quite a destructive influence on their children’s careers. Tennis has to be liked, it cannot be forced. Sometimes parents force their children to play tennis, but in the long run it doesn’t work.
