Tennis Elbow 4 Media

Exclusive Tencent Sports interview with Mohd

17.11.2023


Interviewer: We are here in Chengdu with soon to be world number three, Mohd, winner of three titles and this years Roland Garros runner up

Mohd: Thanks, glad to be here.

Interviewer: Glad to have you too and thanks for coming to chat with us. So, you have been on the tour for almost a year now. How would you say things have gone so far, any highlights?

Mohd: Likewise man, I mean yeah, it’s almost a year, and I have played in interrupted form until the last four months, since maybe Monte Carlo if I'm not wrong, and I feel since May until now, I feel like a much better player than before and I think I'm improving each tournament. But still, I want to improve my behaviour, not like I'm the same guy, I think I'm more mature and official than I have been to be honest, but still, I want to be better and better in both (as a player and as a person inside & outside the court).

Interviewer: Yeah, you’ve really improved a lot in the last four to five months, last year you were a next gen candidate and reached the final of the Next Gen Finals losing to Willito in the final and this year you managed to defeat Fractals in the Roland Garros semi-final. But like him, you are a veteran of Tennis Elbow and you once said that if you wanna be great at the game, you will dedicate 24/7 of your time to it. Would you say that explains your increase in level or where other adjustments had to be made? And in which areas do you think you’ve improved? And yeah you have had a very controversial history to say the least, what are some efforts you have you made to improve on a personal level?

Mohd: I mean look, when I love a certain game, I try my best to focus on it, like as you know, I was playing other games until last few months, then I started focusing on this game, for sure this game is way tougher if you would compare it with Tennis Elbow 2013. The toughest thing here is the movement and the return, but after many hours of playing, there is no doubt that if you have the passion, you will improve, and there are two ways to improve your game in my opinion: the first way is to play a lot with anyone until you got what you need, but it takes time, I mean a very long time. The other way (which I use) is to play tough players and watch them playing while they stream or on their YouTube channels, like Jijo and Mystery in MG tour, fractals & Debuffy in WTSL tour. Then once you learn, you try to do it in the match, and it’s step by step, like for example: I was not able to return a serve when I played Fractals and he was super tough and he would bagel me every time and he was a really tough player to deal with, but then when I understood the game better, I started competing against him and against Debuffy, and that win in Roland Garros semi-final was the key for me to start believing that I could do it. After that match, I got a lot of confidence but still not enough to beat another top player (The End, one of the best players in our tour). So yeah, when you believe in something and have the passion, you could do it no matter if it’s today or tomorrow, just work hard until you achieve your goal.

Interviewer: Yeah, hard work makes the dream work but you also have to work smart and you have somewhat of a methodical approach that helps you be successful. You have been playing Tennis Elbow for over ten years now, where did this passion for Tennis Elbow stem from and do you think your experience has been able to help you in Tennis Elbow 4? And yes these players you mentioned are some of the best in the world at the moment. Would you consider them your rivals now?

Mohd: Of course, the experience helps a lot. First thing, the passion I got is from my love for this sport in general -- I'm a big fan of tennis, and after playing most of tennis games, I found Tennis Elbow 2011 back then, so I believe playing all these years makes me know how to deal when I'm under pressure thanks to those years of playing and watching tennis in real life. And of course, speaking of rivalry, of course they are all my rivals, but my biggest rivals right now are two: Fractals and Debuffy. I mentioned those two, because for me, Fractals and Debuffy remind me of Jijo & Mystery in the MG tour. If we have Jijo and Mystery in MG tour, we have also Fractals and Debuffy in the WTSL tour.

Interviewer: Yeah, without that passion, you wouldn’t have been able to achieve all you have so far in Tennis Elbow. In Tennis Elbow ‘13, you have a storied career with many great moments and many great quotes like “play, play then we will talk.” Sometimes too much passion can lead to unfortunate outbursts and spats. It’s obvious that you hate losing like most high level competitors, but over the years, you also have struggled to accept it. Why do your results in the game mean so much to you and why was it so tough for you to handle defeats over the years? With regards to your rivals, do you relish those match-ups and what do you think are the challenges of facing Fractals and Debuffy? Any matches in particular that stand out for you?

Mohd: Facing those both is just amazing. I like facing tough guys as I mentioned before. I remember my semi-final Roland Garros verses Fractals -- that match was my best match ever and I will never forget it. And with Debuffy, this year US Open was great a match too, both of us were fighting until the end and I wish him all the best with Fractals in the final. Must be great to watch with popcorn, so these tow matches are stay in my mind. I was waiting for this question not gonna lie, and I will be super honest with you: I admit that my biggest mistake since I started the tour in Tennis Elbow, since 2015 until now is my emotions, inside and outside the court. If I kept my emotions and handled it well, I would be the most lovely person in this community, and I'm totally different in real life, like if you see me in real life, you would as like: “is that the same Mohd who is toxic and a sore loser?” And as you mention before, passion is a great thing to have, but if you have it like me, you will turn into me or even worse. I mean, I'm the current number one in sore losing [laughs], no one is worse than me. But beside jokes, I know that I have to improve my behavior, otherwise I will be banned or suspended. My process now is to avoid any drama as much as possible, but some guys actually are not helping me to chill and to avoid any issues. They are trying to trigger me, and when I react they say: “look at him, he didn't change.” I mean, for every action, there is a reaction. I know I have to ignore them and not give them what they want, but at the same time I am a human and not perfect, sometimes those things hurt me. So a message to any of those who I have issues with: let’s try to respect each other, no one is perfect, I maybe did many bad things in the past, but now we are too old to be doing those things which is not not suitable for our age. But to be honest, two guys I have to apologize to, because they never trigger me but I do start the issue with them, while they are really cool guys. First one is Poland and there’s a good chance to say it here: I'm sorry for everything I had done in the past towards you. Same thing to Danishusband, sorry for any bad words I have said it before. Those two don’t deserve any kind of bad things, and I really like them both. Others actually were triggering me, so I react on their act. but those two (Poland and Danishusband) are really cool guys. And to everyone in general: I'm sorry again and again.

Interviewer: Yeah, emotions are normal and everyone handles things differently but it’s good to maintain some decency and respect towards your competitors and members of the community. And yeah, we have all done things we regret when we were younger but what matters is changing the future. You say you are different in real life, tell me about Mohd the person, rumour has it you’re a former basketball player and a magician, is that true? Is your family also interested in tennis? And yes, that match was electric, one of the best matches of the season alongside your semi-final with Fractals at Roland Garros, unfortunately you couldn’t make it to your second grand slam final, but who do you think will win?

Mohd: I was a former basketball player in the secondary school, not a professional player, and yeah I was doing some card tricks since 2012 until 2017 and then I stopped to focus more on my priority which was Tennis Elbow ‘13 back then. Debuffy could do it actually but Fractals has more mental than Debuffy, like he won’t give up even when he is 2-0 or 2-1 down, that's for sure. But whoever wins the title would be great.

Interviewer: What attracted you to play basketball and did you ever reach a good level? Card tricks are a nice skill, for social gatherings. Would you consider yourself as a sociable person off-court? So for the last six years, your priority has been tennis simulators. How much longer do you feel you can continue and do you have any grand goals for your career left to achieve, or post-career ambitions? You are one of the elder statesmen in the community, do you ever feel like Father Time is catching up on you? Yeah, the bookmakers have Fractals as slight favourite but I think with the backing of the home crowd, Buffy can pull it off. You were recently selected to join Team World at the Laver Cup, where you will be teammates with Debuffy Are you looking forward to that experience?

Mohd: I mean my priority in gaming was Tennis Elbow 2013 back then, but in general there are some more important things than gaming for sure. Back in 2013, I finished secondary school and I started focusing more on card tricks and Tennis Elbow, and my grand goal was to win a grand slams and reach my highest level as much as I can. I believe that if I play my best, I can beat anyone, but I'm not working on my mental more and more, to avoid any mental issues during the match. All the tennis players are talented, but to reach top, you have to learn how to adjust your frustration and switch it to challenge. Then I can do it, if not today tomorrow, if not tomorrow, after one month, like never give up, I feel like I can stay for one or two more years, then I might stop once I feel that I can’t add anything or my passion tank is empty. Of course, I'm looking forward to this event so much, especially with Debuffy and having him as a teammate and not as a rival. This event is not just to win, but to have a good time and having time and improving our relationships, for sure.

Interviewer: I see. So you knew from a very young age that you wanted to become a pro Tennis Elbow player. Without a dream, no one can be successful and your dedication to your craft has been an inspiration for others in the community. Yes, the Laver cup is a celebration of tennis and an opportunity to unite the community and showcase high quality matches. What do you think about your team? Do you know any of them personally and do you think you have what it takes to win the Laver Cup?

Mohd: I know none of them (personally) but I have known them for a long time in this community, maybe only Nick Yao and Mystery are new comparing to the others, and about winning the Laver cup. Our team is the best team ever I believe, we believe that we could make it since all of us are playing really well. That’s all I'm saying for Team Europe (this year is ours, and the trophy will stay with us).

Interviewer: Well, this is an opportunity to get to know some of them and to be coached by the legendary Yale and Australian Open finalist, King Barboza. Maybe you will be able to learn things from them and your teammates too. Yeah, Vegas has Team World as favourites, but let’s see if Europe can pull off an upset with Fractals on their side. So aside from Laver Cup, with a few months left in the season, what are your goals?

Mohd: My ultimate goal for this year is to win one Master and WTSL Finals.

Interviewer: Winning the world tour finals will be a big achievement after reaching final of the next gen finals last year and missing out on a slam title this season. If you had to pick a masters to win, which one would it be?

Mohd: Paris indoors.

Interviewer: Why Paris? Do you enjoy playing indoors?

Mohd: Yeah, I prefer indoor courts than outdoor.

To be continued..