Kevin Kim
“King of the Challengers” No More

PAGE 3 OF 3

Kevin Kim:
“King of the Challengers” No More


GS: Were you a good student?
KK: I was average — B's, a couple C's, a couple A's.

GS: How were your parents about grades?
KK: A lot of Asian parents are very strict about straight As. They weren't really like that.

GS: Did you play any other sports?
KK: I started golf and tennis at the same time. My dad was very motivated by tennis so I stopped golf.

GS: Are you any good (at golf)?
KK: I'm terrible. I still play but it's a war out there. I get frustrated.

GS: Give us some memories from when you were a little kid. First crush, getting in trouble, etc.
KK: I didn't really get into too much trouble. Let's see I remember we went skiing quite a few times in the winter. I was never arrested. My first crush was in high school. Never panned out. I asked her out and I got rejected. Let me come back to that.

GS: Describe a typical day in the offseason.
KK: In the off season, I'm basically on the court. Maybe I'll hit two hours in the morning and then I do a lot more running. Basically it all revolves around tennis. Weight lift, run. Usually I'll take a break for a week or two, then I'll start to get ready for next year.

GS: What are your hobbies off of the court?
KK: Just reading. I read a lot of business books trying to keep up. I like reading autobiographies. I just find inspiration [in them]. Computer books. I don't read too many storybooks or fiction. After tennis I want to go into finance or investment. Since I'm not in school I want to keep updated so that when I go back to school I'll be caught up on what's going on.

GS: When do you plan on going back to school?
KK: When I'm done with tennis, probably in a couple of years. I want to go back and finish. You basically need a degree.

GS: Back to UCLA?
KK: Yeah, I don't know actually. I want to go to UCLA, but I don't know.

GS: Do you have a girlfriend?
KK: I don't.

GS: What kind of food do you like?
KK: Corean (Korean) food — kalbi or kimchee or naeng myun. Like I was in Europe for the past two months. I didn't get too much Corean food so when I come home my mom makes a lot of Corean food. I also like Italian food, sushi.

GS: Favorite restaurant?
KK: Besides Corean? There's a sushi restaurant in studio city called the sushi katsu. It's great. A little expensive but supposedly if you put sauces on your sushi, like if you use soy sauce, they'll kick you out. We went in and there were two of us and we said there were two more coming and they said, “All right, come back when there's four.” [Laughs] It's a really good restaurant. That's all I know. I live closer to Westwood so I just hang out over there. A lot of my friends went to UCLA and live over there.

kevincandid
GS: Have you become close to any of the other tennis players?
KK: I used to hang out with two guys who live in L.A. Cecil Mamiit (ranked 235th) and Eric Taino (219). I traveled with them a lot but they're ranked a little lower, so I don't get to tour with them as much. But I keep in touch with them the most often.

GS: Do you play together?
KK: Yeah, we practice together and go out. They live close by so I see them a lot.

GS: Other than reading what do you do for fun? Clubbing?
KK: Sometimes yeah! Movies or paddle tennis in Venice, not too much outdoors.

GS: But you're an athlete! Do you go hiking?
KK: No, I hate it. The outdoors turn me off.

GS: But you like running?
KK: No, I hate it. I do it for tennis but I would rather not. I'd rather just stay indoors. I guess it's just my mentality. I get bored.

GS: Do you have a strict diet to stay in shape?
KK: Not really. I'll occasionally eat some junk but I kind of watch what I eat. I'm not on a specific diet though I eat pretty much whatever I want. It could be better but I burn it off anyways.

GS: Favorite movie?
KK: I just saw Hotel Rwanda. It was great. Very practical.

GS: Practical?
KK: A lot of movies have a storybook ending. This movie's just very practical. You realize what was going on in Rwanda at the time.

GS: Do you like documentary style movies?
KK: Yeah, I don't really like action-packed movies.

GS: Sappy ones?
KK: Occaisionally. Some of them are good but some of them are predictble. It doesn't really appeal to me. I'd rather save my money, movies are so expensive anyways. I used my student card the other day and it was eight bucks. You only get a dollar off now!

GS: You still use your student card and get away with it?
KK: Yeah! They don't check. I don't see how they could tell that I'm not a student.

GS: How would you describe your playing style?
KK: I'm sort of safe. I like to play the percentages a little bit. I like to hit the ball hard and go for my shots. There are a lot of other players who are safer than I am. I don't think it's any fun to be too safe.

GS: If you could win one of the Grand Slams, which would it be?
KK: Probably the U.S. Open. It's in New York and it's the one I've always been to, and growing up I always watched. I like playing on hard courts.

Page 1 | 2 | 3

“In the off season, I'm basically on the court. Maybe I'll hit two hours in the morning and then I do alot more running. Basically it all revolves around tennis. Weight lift, run.”


Wimbledon
Kevin Kim returns to Taylor Dent during a second-round match at Wimbledon Wednesday, June 22, 2005. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)