Alex is one of the most charismatic players in tennis right now. His style of play is pretty much undefined because he plays with such a carefree attitude. An opponent never knows what he is going to get during a match and that makes it all the more exciting to watch him in action. Rafael Nadal said of Alex: “He’s a crazy player, not like a crazy guy (but) because you can expect everything. He can play really aggressive; he can play very fast; he has a very good serve; and the ball is going too fast sometimes. He can beat you and you will not have something to do with it. He’s a special player. I know he can hit a winner from every place in the court.”

His father Oleksandr was a pro on the circuit and then took up a role as coach to French Open finalist and former world top ten player Andrei Medvedev. It was during those days that Alex really developed his love for the sport. How could he not? He would travel with his father and pester many of the other top ranking players of the time to hits tennis balls to him.Alex said: “Just to keep this kid quiet they would play tennis with me. It was great fun hitting with people like Andre (Agassi), Boris (Becker) and of course Andrei and so many of the top players.”Usually with a smile on his face, Alex is one of the most approachable players on the ATP World Tour. He has an incredible following with the young fans and there are plenty of reasons for that: it could be because of his latest hairstyle from a headband and ponytail to braids, he is not much older than them and pretty much speaks their “language”, or it may be the slight rebel in him. Whatever it is, above all, he is one thrilling tennis player to watch.

Off court there is one thing that totally thrills him and that is his love of fast cars and rally driving. There is no doubt if he was not such a tremendous tennis player he would be a rally driver.In July, 2012 he took delivery of his pride and joy, a Nissan GT-R which is said to be the most powerful street car produced with its 1.800 hp. Talk about playing in the fast lane!Spending time at the beach and swimming in the ocean are among his other past-times. For his birthday in 2011 his coach Jack Reader, who is based in Adelaide, Australia, thrilled Alex when he gave him a surfboard. His one regret is not getting enough time to master the art of surfing, but at the end of each season when he goes down to Australia to train among the sand dunes, the board is right there, ready and waiting.

And then there is the internet, like most people his age or younger they are pretty savvy with computers, but Alex goes a step further, he can make internet games. Talk about a cool dude!

Whether it is on the court, behind the wheel of a rally car, manoeuvring a computer joystick or riding the waves, one thing is for sure there is never a dull moment with Alexandr.