She gave herself the best present on her 21st birthday on Thursday! For the first time, Eva Lys made it into the main draw at a Grand Slam tournament.
The tennis chick from Hamburg has to play against the Spanish qualifier Cristina Bucsa (25) in the first round. Lys confidently to BILD: “I know that I have great potential and that there is much more to me than just qualifying for the main draw.”
Tennis star versus NBA legend Zverev with Nowitzki on the court
She is currently number 127 in the world. Goal: “My biggest dream is to win a Grand Slam. Such goals are important. With these three games in qualifying, I’ve come a little closer to the dream. I’ve been at the peak of joy since Thursday.”
(Almost) always by her side: Sister Lisa Matviyenko (25). Lys, a native of Ukraine from Kyiv: “She is always there for me, was a professional herself up until three years ago and is now studying law. She knows what you can do right and wrong on the tour. ”But she is missing in Melbourne, only Eva’s father and coach Wladimir (46) is there. When Eva was two years old, her parents came to Germany with the children.
She already noticed in Melbourne that the media are now also becoming more important and that the inquiries are increasing. “You realize that something can happen next to the pitch if you’re good. But you can’t really adjust to it. So far I’ve only been thinking about tennis.”
That was difficult in the past three years because of Corona. Especially the young players like her suffered from the pandemic. “They in particular need a lot of matches and tournaments,” says national coach Barbara Rittner (49). But that was out of the question for a long time.
Combative on the court, this is how Eva Lys wants to present herself to tennis fans
Would Lys be further without Corona? hypothetical. “It was stupid that in 2020 the world stood still. But since last year I’ve been able to get going again and I’ve made great progress,” she says.
The fact that the Polish Iga Swiatek, a player of the same age, is already number 1 in the tennis world does not wear Lys down. She says: “There is no rule of thumb as to how it goes. Everyone has their own pace. It is important to focus on your own path.”
That’s how Eva Lys wants to cheer at the Australian Open
And so she also goes into duels against the big names in tennis. “It doesn’t make me nervous, but of course I’m looking at what helped her to reach her goal so quickly. I also want a good ranking like that.” Her friend Jule Niemeier (23) has to play against Swiatek at the start. Eva and Jule, that’s THE tour friendship par excellence. “For example, we went to dinner on Friday night.”
And how do you celebrate a birthday at a tournament? Lys laughs: “Atypical! I played at 10 a.m., so I was more excited than having a birthday feeling. I was only at the hotel at 5 p.m., then we had a quick toast and I went to bed.”
It should be the big stage for Eva Lys. The Hamburg native will start at the Australian Open on Monday
In the meantime, she can also concentrate on sports. The Abi has long been in the bag: 1.7 with the advanced courses in sports and biology. And the love? “I’m single,” she says. There are no hobbies either. “I tend to watch series or just lie around on my lazy skin.” Favorite series: Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
Favorite Food: “I’ve discovered truffle pasta.” Can she cook? She laughs: “No. I don’t want to raise any false hopes.”
But the most beautiful screenplay is actually being written by reality. Lys: “There is pure anticipation, but also a feeling of pride. I just want to enjoy this as much as possible. I like being on the big stage and I’m in the mood for great matches.” We too!
