By Bill Roumeliotis.
Greek professional tennis player, Despina Papamichail, will be in Australia on New Years Eve to participate in the Australia Open tournament and preparation tournaments. Ahead of her arrival, the 28-year-old athlete sat down with The Greek Herald‘s sport reporter, Bill Roumeliotis, and spoke exclusively about her daily life and her training schedule.
Despina also opened up about her favourite moment in the field of tennis and sent a message to The Greek Herald‘s readers.
1. Tell us about your progress in the sport of tennis. When did you first get involved?
I started playing tennis when I was 8 years old in my hometown of Preveza.
2. You are coming to Australia this year. What day do you arrive and what tournament will you participate in?
I’m coming to Australia for the third time. The first time was when I played the Australian Open Junior tournament, the second time I played some 25-a-side tournaments and now I’m coming for the Australian Open women’s tournament.
I will arrive in Melbourne on December 28 but it is still not certain which preparation tournament I will play in. I definitely want to play in one of the WTAs but if I do not enter, then I will play one of the two 60arias.
3. Can you share some of your important moments from a few of your memorable tennis matches?
There are many important moments. Playing with the Greek national team was perhaps one of the most important. The first grand slam I played was also an important moment of my career. But in general, I try to give my best always and watch each match separately and fight to the end.
4. What is the daily life of a tennis player like?
Our daily life is a routine. I wake up in the morning, make breakfast and at 9am I go to the stadiums. Usually I do gymnastics from 9am to 11am, immediately after I do tennis from 11am to 1pm, we eat and at 3pm we train again until 5pm. After all this, we do some stretching, physiotherapy when needed and then head home to rest.
5. What message would you like to send to the Greeks of Australia through The Greek Herald?
I would like to call on all Greek men and women in Australia to watch us and support us, as they always do, to live new experiences together and to honour our country.
