ISP Exclusive interview with Amirvala Madanchi

Amirvala Madanchi celebrates after winning a set

Born July 17th, 1994 Amirvala Madanchi started his professional career at the age of 12 and is currently the highest rated Iranian youth player.

Born July 17^th, 1994 Amirvala Madanchi started his professional career at the age of 12 under the guidance of his French coach Jean Francois Danican and the tennis club of Al Wasl of UAE.  He attended the ISP tennis academy in France as well as the Bruguera Tennis academy in Spain.  Amirvala holds an International Tennis Federation (ITF) junior ranking of 237 and hopes to be in the top 50.

ISP:  Hi Amirvala, please tell us about your background, what city were you born in and what your current ranking is?

AM:  I was born in Tehran but I’m a current resident of Dubai now.  I started playing tennis at the age of 8 and currently hold the ITF ranking of 237.

ISP: How did you get involved and learn about tennis in a country where the main sports are Football and Wrestling?

AM: It’s interesting how I got into tennis, I was a very good goalkeeper in football, but I was getting injured a lot, therefore my parents decided to put me into tennis and I started loving the game which continues to this day where I’m playing professionally with the support of my family.

ISP:  What are some of your current accomplishments in your young career?

AM:  Some of my accomplishments are winning the Iran ITF1 in singles and doubles, runner up in the singles and winning the doubles in Iran ITF2, runner up in the Saudi ITF1 in singles, semi-finalist in the singles and runner up in doubles of Saudi ITF2. Quarter finalist in singles at the Dubai ITF.  I also make it to the round of 16 at the Asian closed championship ITF which is one of the toughest tournaments in the world.

ISP: Who is your primary coach in your competitions?

AM: My coach is Jean Francois Danican; he is from France.  We have a really good player and coach relationship.  He’s like my older brother and that’s what is making my game improve tremendously.

ISP: Do you compete in any domestic tournaments in Iran and how often do you visit Iran?

AM: I usually go to iran for summer and I compete in some of the internal tournaments.  This year I played the 18s championships and won comfortably by sets of 6-1 and 6-2 in the finals.  I also play the ITFs tournaments in Iran.  I normally visit Iran for the ITF tournaments.

ISP: How does the Iranian Tennis Federation support you in your competitions?

AM:  Till now I have not received any support from the Iranian Tennis Federation which is very unfortunate.  All of my support is coming from my family which is the main reason for my improvement; they all support me and I want to thank all of them for it.

ISP: What competition are you training for now?

AM: Right now I am training for all of the upcoming tournaments in June. I have registered for Rolland Garros, then a couple of ITF’s, and hopefully in the end of Junes I will be playing in Wimbledon which is the biggest tournament in the world.

ISP:  What is your ultimate goal in your tennis career?

AM: My ultimate goal is to become top 50 in ITF juniors.  I also want to become top 50 in ATP and win some Grand Slams.  It’s a difficult path but I’m ready for it.

ISP: Thanks for your time and good luck.

AM: Thank you. 

Amirvala Madanchi will be holding an Question and Answer session for our members for a period of one week, and you can submit your questions by registering in our forum and submitting them at http://forums.iransportspress.com/showthread.php?76380-Amirvala-Madanchi-questions&p=965114#post965114