Several athletes and coaches like to live in Hungary

Sergiy Stakhovsky: we have no reason to move

The Hungarian language is a great challenge for the Ukrainian player, but he feels that English is being spoken more and more in Budapest.

– What do you like the most about Budapest?
– It is a very beautiful city with great architectural heritage – Sergiy Stakhovsky (35), a Ukrainian tennis player who is currently 220^th in the world rankings, who has been living in our capital for almost seven years, told Nemzeti Sport. – It is also excellent in that if I have to travel to the various European tournaments or even back home to Ukraine, it saves me a lot of time. In addition to logistics, the sports facilities are also great. In recent years, a lot of money has been invested in sports, which has also affected tennis, so it helps me a lot, too.

– Does your family also feel great here?
– My wife is a Hungarian citizen, has a background in Hungary, which was one of the important reasons to move here from London. When I compete, her family helps her with daily tasks. All three of our children were born here, and all of them are Hungarian citizens.

– What is your opinion about our gastronomy?
– Since I have my own wine brand, I have experienced that Hungarians demand local products, which is very commendable. For this reason, though, it is extremely difficult to sell any European wine in Budapest. Hungarian cuisine is great, but the food is a bit too spicy for me, which is not really athlete-friendly. Luckily, my wife cooks often and very well.

– Do you like Hungarians?
– It depends on who specifically the question relates to... I often have work to do on the border from Ukraine to Hungary at Beregsurány, as I often visit my vineyard. Customs and other officials are not very kind in their appreciation of human dignity. I'm sure that's hard to imagine... Of course, the situation is completely different as I get back to Budapest, where everything is excellent, and everyone is respectful. I'm seeing a significant improvement in speaking English – when I moved here, communication was quite difficult, but people are learning the language more and more. I also try to absorb some knowledge of Hungarian, but it is an incredibly tough nut to crack. I speak six languages, but Hungarian is not one of them. It's very difficult to learn because I can't compare it to anything; it's completely unique. It is a huge challenge when Hungarians talk, because on the one hand, it is still unusual for me, and on the other hand, even if I catch familiar phrases, I cannot say that I understand what the conversation is about, because it is ten percent the most of what I heard.

– After you finish your professional career, are you going to stay in Budapest?
– We stay as planned, although the children go to a British school, we can move them anytime and anywhere easily. At the same time, as I said, they are Hungarian citizens, so they need to know the language, and they learned it better than me. Also, it's great that we can be in Kyiv in an hour and twenty minutes by plane, my vineyard is three or four hours by car, and Vienna is a two-hour drive. My wife is busy here, so there's no reason to move.

– You stepped back from the Davis Cup in November but almost defeated Norway's Casper Ruud as a farewell. Was the last match difficult for your heart?
– It was a great match, I was very close to victory, and with it to keep the last singles just as important as the previous ones, but in the end, it didn't turn out the way I wanted it to. Casper had a fantastic season, he was in good shape, became a top 10 player and reached the semi-finals of the World Championship. I played in the Davis Cup for 16 years, if I count correctly, I played seventy-nine games in singles and doubles. That's more than enough for a tennis player; mentally it was very difficult to deal with every defeat, I took my participation extremely seriously. So, I had to take this step and although my goal was to reach the world group, with the loss to Norway, it will take at least two years, which will not allow me to continue my career in the team. I hope that Illya Marchenko and the others will get there someday.

– You're now preparing for the Australian Open qualifier. When are you leaving for Melbourne?
– I leave either on the 30^th or 31^st of December. In the last few days, I have been training with Péter Fajta, Fábián Marozsán, and Zsombor Piros at the National Tennis Center. I also trained with Márton Fucsovics, but he flew away on the 26^th because he also plays in the opening tournament.