Tennis and Sports

When do you first become interested / show an interest in tennis?
The first time I had a racquet in my hand was when I was four years old. My father was playing tennis for fun and sometimes I went with him to the tennis courts, with my small racquet. When I was six, there was a tennis course for children and I started to play. I also skied, but when I was eleven, I focused more on tennis. I was actually better at Skiing, but we had a tennis court five minutes away so that was what I pursued.

Most inspirational player / athlete (past or present)?
Tennis players, Ivan Lendl & Pete Sampras. Other athletes like Carl Lewis and Sergei Bubka, because they are such good athletes. Carl Lewis was a great competitor. Also, Alberto Tomba because I used to ski for five years.

Most thrilling moment in sports
The first tournament I played when I was eight.  I reached the semi finals. Also seeing Sergei Bubka jump over six metres for the first time.

What's the biggets challenge you have overcome in tennis?
Not to practice too much. If I practice too much, I get injured. If I practice for more than four hours, someone has to tell me to stop. Also in my Country it's tough to play tennis if you don't have a sponsor to go and travel around the world. I think without that I would not be here. I always tell people that I thank these sponsors because I couldn't do it without them.

What was your most important victory?
I don't have an important victory. For me, every victory is important.

How do you cope with defeat? I try to think after the match where I made the mistakes so that when I play against the same guy the next time, I will not make the same mistakes. What (thus far) has been the defining point in your career? T One of the very important moments for me was the 1994 and 1995 Australian Open juniors. Also, losing to Sampras 6-4 in the fifth set at 1997 Australian Open was defining.

What other sports are you interested in / good at?
Skiing. When I was younger I was a better skier than I was a tennis player.

Do you have any special training techniques?
I like to do physical training, cycling and mountain biking. It's one of the sports I do whenever I have a free moment. Even when I'm relaxing, I go cycling. If you go 50-100 km you get tired, but mentally you feel good.

Why do you love tennis?
It's the sport, even if you win more points than the other guy, you can still lose. The most important point is always the last one. You only need one point to win the match.

Do you eat a particular meal before matches? Usually pasta and salads. Cars (old & new): I only need a car to get me where I'm going, nothing special or too expensive. Football (soccer) Club: Barcelona and Ajax, Bratislava.

Outside Interests

Charity
I give some money to the school where I used to study to help buy new books. We also play hockey games for charity. The Slovakian players and Czech play against each other. And money from this match goes to charity.You can always do something for people.

Travel:
what are your favorite non-tennis destinations?
When I finish (tennis), I want to go around the world for a half year holiday. All the places, starting in Arizona then Colorado skiing, and swimming in Miami, then Tahiti, New Zealand, and Australia, everywhere.

Fashion (special designers/types of clothing?)
When I can go to a party or anything, I would go casual. I like Calvin Klein. It's for young people.

Do you have any pets (type / name / age?)
I just have one - my turtle named Speedy. It was a gift from my best friend.

Hobbies (collecting, etc?)
Cycling, mountain biking, collecting coins. I have coins from all over the world, but especially I like to collect coins from New Zealand and Commonwealth Countries. They have nice coins. I collect them just for fun.

Family Background

How many brothers / sisters?
One younger brother who is an umpire.

What do/did your parents do?
My dad is an Engineer of Architecture.

Good / interesting family sports history stories?
My Dad always pushed me to stay on the court. Without that, you can't be a good player and be focused. I always thank my father, he was with me every time. He pushed me, even if I didn't want to practice.

If you weren't a tennis player, what would you be?
I would probably be skiing.

Apart from the tennis - what do you like most about being a tennis player?
The competition. Also I've got a lot of friends on the Tour. Friendships are one of the most important things in life.

Little known fact:
I finished high school in 1999.

Weblinks:

For more information about Dominik Hrbaty and all the latest news about his progress this year, be sure to visit his player profile page on the official ATP website: http://www.atptennis.com/en/players/playerprofiles/default2.asp?playersearch=Dominik+Hrbaty