Bulgaria’s 17-year-old tennis player Simeon Terziev has been aiming for success in world tennis and has been working hard to reach it. At his first participation at ITF men's tournament this month he won the silver, while in July he grabbed the title of an ITF tournament in Timisoara, Romania. His progress has brought him closer to one of his big dreams – taking part in a Grand Slam tournament:

"I have been champion of the country and vice-champion at singles and doubles many times. This year, I was able to win two titles and play three singles finals at ITF international tournaments for players under 18. I also won several doubles tournaments that helped me climb the world junior rankings. Next year I will play Grand Slams in Australia, France, England and the USA. The tournament I hope to qualify for, and I look forward to with the greatest interest, is Wimbledon, as I have never played before on real grass. This will be very interesting to me."

Simeon Terziev has been involved with tennis since he was 6 years old and has over 60 cups from tournaments in Bulgaria and abroad. Due to his mature style of playing he has defeated many high-ranking players. Currently, the young Bulgarian is 135th in the youth rankings. The people he relies on and always follow their advice are his three coaches – Grigor Kostov, Kiril Simeonov and Alex Martinsky.

"My mother urged me to go to tennis lessons in kindergarten. I gained experience and decided to participate in several tournaments. Over time, as I started winning, I realized that tennis would become a part of my life. My favorite tennis players are Gael Monfils and Novak Djokovic. I became a fan of Monfils after his demonstration match with Grigor Dimitrov. He invited me to play for a few minutes with him and for me it was a very special moment. He is also very different from the other players and everyone admires his performance on the court. He has suffered many injuries and yet remains one of the best in tennis. I have liked Djokovic since I was a kid because he is very combative and shows emotions on the court, yet manages to control himself and be the number one player for many years. Djokovic is undoubtedly my idol. My dream is to play against him and win."

Terziev is aware that tennis requires a great deal of dedication and sacrifice – one of which is related to education. Despite his excellent marks, this year he had to move to an individual form of school training in order to ensure optimal training time. He does not hide that he has encountered difficulties, but his trust in himself and his big dreams help him move forward:

"I was too busy going to school, then training hard and then writing homework and getting ready for tests. So I decided to train more for the tournaments and get to a level that would allow me to be one of the best in this sport. I will never forget two of my matches. One took place when I was 12 years old and I won 7:6, 6:7, 7:6, for four and a half hours. My other difficult game was when I qualified for the Timisoara final in Romania in 2019. I had a great desire to win, but I needed to control myself and stay calm, and I'm glad I was able to do it and win."

By the end of the year, Simeon Terziev will take part in two more ITF J2 tournaments, which will be held in Israel. He has also been preparing for the Australia Open. His main objective is to rank among the top 50 in the world next year. This would be a prerequisite for his participation in men's tournaments and a real transition to men's tennis.

"From a young age, I have wanted to become a professional tennis player. I know there will be a lot of difficulties, but there is also a lot of pleasure from the victories."

English: Alexander Markov