Sergiy Stakhovsky is preparing for the fight of his life.
The former Ukrainian No. 1, who owns a Wimbledon win over Roger Federer, has returned to Kyiv to fight for Ukraine in its battle from the Russian invasion.
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Stakhovsky, whose father and brother—both surgeons—have been in Ukraine supporting their homeland since the Russian invasion on February 24th, said he has had private training firing a gun.
"I know how to use the gun. If I'll have to, I'll have to," said Stakhovsky, wearing army fatigues, in a TV interview with Good Morning Britain.
The 36-year-old Stakhovsky, who retired from the pro circuit after the Australian Open, said he appreciates sanctions NATO nations have imposed on Russia but believes ultimately they will not deter Russian President Vladimir Putin from continuing his invasion of Ukraine.
“The support and even the restrictions and sanctions of the Russian federation in terms of sport, culture, is great, it’s working. I’m very sure it’s working,” Stakhovsky said. "But it doesn’t stop him from what he’s doing and somebody needs to put a stop to him.”
Stakhovsky, who famously upset Federer at the 2013 Wimbledon, said he helped his wife, Anfisa, and the couple's children to safety in Hungary before heading back to Kyiv to fight for Ukraine.
"I pretty much hope that I won't have to use the gun," Stakhovsky told BBC Radio 4's Today show. "I'm still not sure how I've done it.
"I know that it's extremely hard on my wife. My kids don't know that I'm here. They don't understand war. They're too little to understand what's going on."
Photo credit: Andre Stroe/Wikimedia Commons