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ITFWorld Autumn 2019

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later crowned national Under-18 champion. He would go on to win the Austrian Championships three times as an adult and make his Davis Cup debut for Austria in 1963, playing 14 ties across the next 11 seasons. Pokorny established himself as one of Europe's finest indoor players, winning the Indoor Championships in Bremen in 1973 – surprising given the lack of access to such facilities growing up. "It was only when I spent four years in Germany from the late 1960s that I could play tennis all-year round. We didn't used to have indoor courts and just played outdoors until September or October," said Pokorny. "There were times we played on ice skating rinks. Indoors, we had a net and one guy could volley and the other practice ground strokes. It was difficult at times." Factor in appearances in the main draw at Wimbledon and Roland Garros and it adds up to a lifetime of memories, with his greatest centring on more than just tennis." "The travelling is what I remember most and what I still enjoy," added Pokorny, who captained the Austrian Davis Cup team in 1981-82. "At that time is was not so easy to travel. "In 1964, I went to the US Open [qualifying]. All the European players went to Amsterdam and were put on one plane which flew us to New York. It was a great experience, my first overseas trip." There have, of course, been some golden on-court memories. "Wimbledon is not my favourite surface – grass is for grazing cows. But Sonja Pachta and I played Chris Evert and Jimmy Connors in the 1974 mixed doubles. We lost but it went to three sets. It was a great experience. "Davis Cup was fantastic also. We beat Great Britain in Edinburgh in 1970 which is a tremendous recollection." In 1986, despite initial reservations – on first inspection he admits to thinking: "it's for old people" – a brave new world presented itself to Pokorny in the form of the ITF Seniors circuit. The good times have rolled ever since. Pokorny has travelled the world, lifted silverware on a regular basis and shows no sign of losing his love for a sport which has played such a pivotal role in his life. He is already eyeing a fresh challenge; next year he advances to a new age bracket, Men's 80s. "When it all began, I never foresaw playing at the age that I am, but now I cannot imagine life without tennis," said Pokorny, who made a living from tennis after building and managing his own tennis centre in Graz. "When I was young, I don't think it was possible for people aged 70 to play tennis, but now they can, people are in much better shape than in the 1960s and 1970s. "I just want to play for as long as I can. As long as my body works and I can run, I will compete. To live in the past is not good, to live for the future is much better." ■ Pokorny has been playing tennis since 1947 Pokorny was awarded the ITF Award for Outstanding Achievement in Seniors Tennis in July Pokorny with Austria's 1965 Davis Cup team SENIORS CAREER STATS ITF WORLD TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP TITLES 12 ITF WORLD INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONSHIP TITLES 12 WIN-LOSS SINGLES 900-34 WIN-LOSS DOUBLES 245-45 WIN-LOSS MIXED DOUBLES 67-14 DAVIS CUP STATS DEBUT 1963 TIES PLAYED 14 WIN-LOSS SINGLES 5-16 WIN-LOSS DOUBLES 3-9 WIN-LOSS TOTAL 8-25

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