Ukrainian tennis player Sergiy Stakhovsky hopes he doesn’t have to use a gun after joining the fight to protect his country from the Russian invasion.

Stakhovsky, who famously beat Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2013, is the latest Ukrainian sports star to defend his country.

The 36-year-old retired after the Australian Open in January and has returned to Kyiv to take part in the struggle to repel the Russians.

“I know how to use the gun. If I’ll have to, I’ll have to. I pretty much hope that I won’t have to use the gun,” Stakhovsky told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

Questioned about the difficulty of leaving his wife Anfisa and children at their home in Hungary, he said: “I’m still not sure how I’ve done it.

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