Vitaly Sachko, playing with war in mind: “I win and I pray for my Ukraine”

Monza, 12 April 2025 – His native Ukraine, thousands of kilometres away, whichyou've been fighting a war for two years against Russia, is the well from which he draws inspiration Vitaliy Sachko, a twenty-seven-year-old globetrotter from Kremenchuk who is trying to climb back up the world rankings, after having reached number 156 in the world two years ago. Now, as number 300, Vitaliy found a second youth during the Italian campaign on land.

Finalist last week in the Barletta challenger, where he was beaten by Dalibor Svrcina, Sachko is trying to follow the same path in the Atkinsons Monza Open 25, which has reached its final stages on the courts of the Villa Reale Tennis in via Boccaccio.

tour de force

His was not an easy week in Brianza, forced in the three matches played to always resort to the third set, before coming to the head of the opponent of the moment. This time the one who ended up in his clutches was Jacopo Vasami. The seventeen-year-old from Abruzzo, at his first experience in a challenger quarterfinal, had to avenge the defeat suffered in Puglia in the first round a few days ago, precisely by Sachko, moreover after having missed a match point. And the intent seemed to find foundation after the first set, pocketed by Vasami for 3/6.

Things didn't repeat themselves in the second set, when the Ukrainian started to swing both with the forehand and with the backhand, so much so that the Italian gradually lost centimetres of court, until he was rowing without results. So the match went on until 6/3, 6/4 of the other two partials.

“It’s incredible to find myself in the semi-finals,” the winner explained at the end. I really like this tournament because it is well organized., I won three matches after losing the first set, always 3/6. It's a really strange thing, but I never thought about it, rather I was focused point after point. I played the final in Barletta, here I will try to do the same. I feel very good in Italy, I hope to continue on this path and enter the qualifications of the Grand Slam tournaments as soon as possible, which is my real goal. I will fight game after game, point after point."

Window on the drama

Sachko also talks about the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. “I pray every day that it ends soon, it's hard for me to play tennis without thinking about what's happening at home. Their battle is bigger and more important than mine, I wish everyone could go home healthy and we could just think about sports."

If with the defeat of Vasamì the possibility of seeing an Italian semi-final had vanished, the dream has definitively foundered with the subsequent setback of Federico Arnaboldi. The host, once again assisted by the many friends and relatives present in the stands, did not disappoint. in the presence of Luca Van Assche.

The Frenchman is one step ahead of Federico, who is only now appearing in the top-200, while the twenty-year-old native of Belgium has already been among the best 70. Yet Arnaboldi remained in contact with his opponent for the entire match, perhaps paying for a minimum of inexperience in playing the decisive points. The final 6/4, 3/6, 6/3 does not represent a failure, but rather a goodbye for the ambitions of our representative.