ITF

34 ITFWorld // AUTUMN 2019 Seniors stalwart Peter Pokorny talks constant improvement, his beginnings in the sport and golf clubs. By Ross McLean IT MAY ONLY BE MID-MORNING WHEN PETER POKORNY SITS DOWN AT HIS GRAZ HOME FOR A CHAT TO DISCUSS HIS LIFE IN TENNIS, but the 79-year-old has already been on court at his tennis centre for a hit. "I practice for an hour and a half every day: a little warm-up before hitting from the baseline, then cross- court and working on my serve – I need to work on my serve," Pokorny told ITFWorld. "I want to improve. I am still trying to copy the best players and improve my strokes. If you don't try to get better then you get worse and you're not in the game anymore." Perhaps such dedication is the reason why Pokorny has carved out a reputation as one of the most fearsome opponents on the ITF Seniors circuit, with the Austrian enjoying unparalleled success in recent decades. The left-hander has 12 World Team and as many World Individual titles to his name, and currently occupies the world No. 1 ranking in singles, while until recently he did so in doubles, in the Men's 75s age category. In other words, he is a serial winner. "I have a place where I put all these medals," said Pokorny. "I have a room in my tennis centre, my old changing area where I have my clothes. I have a golf club – a driver – on the wall and I hang all these medals from this driver." Pokorny's exploits, which have seen him chalk up 900 seniors match wins in singles alone, resulted in him joining an exclusive club of just three other players when handed the ITF Award for Outstanding Achievement in Seniors Tennis in July. His name is now forever etched into seniors folklore, along with Canada's Lorne Main, Heide Orth of Germany and American King van Nostrand, although it is a journey which started in humble fashion shortly after the end of World War II. "I started playing tennis in 1947 when I was six or seven because I was brought up next to a tennis court and I used to pick up balls. From this moment, my life has been tennis," added father-of-two Pokorny. "After a while, with the money that I earned from picking up the balls, my mother went to a shop to get a racquet for me. That's how I started tennis and I have never stopped since. "I couldn't afford to pay money for tennis lessons, so I just watched and copied what was going on at the club near my house. Watch and copy – that's what I did. "There was then a big tournament in Graz and I saw some of the great Czech players, such as Jiri Javorsky, and fellow Austrian Hans Redl, who lost an arm during the war. These players inspired me." By the age of 12, Pokorny had earned himself a spot in the Austrian Under-18 team, while two years later he reached the final of the Austrian Championships. He was S E N I O R S ' TENNIS IS MY LIFE' ' TENNIS IS MY LIFE' Pokorny is enjoying a stellar Seniors career

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