Radnor’s Max Safanov is Main Line Boys Athlete of the Week

The Raider junior recently captured the Central League boys’ tennis singles title and has posted a 7-0 record at first singles through April 28. Last spring, Safanov posted an 11-3 record at first singles and received first team All-Central League and All-Main Line honors for the second year in a row.

Q: What was your sharpest memory of the Central League singles tournament?

A: My sharpest memory would probably be in the final, when I played some of my best tennis and won the match almost within an hour.

Q: Was that your best match of the season? What was working particularly well for you that day?

A: It probably was the best match of the season for me, because my first serves were on and I wasn’t missing any aggressive ground strokes, winning the point within three or four shots.

Q: Who are your favorite tennis players? Do you try to pattern your game after any of them?

A: My favorite tennis players are Federer, Djokovic, and Sascha Zverev. I generally play a game style similar to Zverev with aggressive long ground strokes  from the baseline and a powerful serve.

Q: What do you think is the strongest part of your game? What part of your game are you currently working on the most?

A: The strongest part of my game is definitely my serve and forehand. They’re both my weapons and most powerful shots. I generally work on my forehand the most to keep it solid and keep improving it as a weapon.

Q: Who have been your top tennis mentors, and what was the most important thing you learned from them?

A: Dylan Comerford from High Performance Tennis Academy has been my coach since 8th grade and I’ve learned quite a lot from him. He’s helped me improve basically every part of my game and built it around my aggressive game style that I’ve always had. This includes my forehand and serve and stepping into the ball to take time away. Tennis has also helped me in life by improving my analysis skills and improving my general mental strength. 

Q: Tell us a little about your pre-match preparation the day of a match.

 A: If a match is early in the morning, my preparation is poor because generally I am not a morning person and I don’t eat or get up early. So I would try and go on a treadmill or ask somebody to hit a little before an early morning match. However if I have time to prepare, I would have all my necessities, fill a cooler with waters and such and hit with somebody for a solid 20-30 minutes to get a good warm-up and set the tone for my match.

Q: What is your favorite academic subject at Radnor? What do you think you might like to major in at college? Is there a career path that particularly appeals to you at the present time?

A: My favorite subjects at Radnor would include engineering such as aerospace and civil and math such as algebra and calculus. I will definitely major in some engineering in college and some majors that appeal to me would be aerospace, biomedical, and mechanical engineering.

Fun facts – Max Safanov

Favorite TV show: Friends.

Favorite movie: Aquaman.

Favorite athlete: Roger Federer.

Favorite place to visit: Moscow, Russia.

Favorite pre-match meal: “Anything with carbs that is good for me.”

Family members: parents Valeriy and Tatyana, younger brother Alexandr.

(To be selected as Main Line Boys Athlete of the Week, a student-athlete must first be nominated by his coach.)