American hopeful Victor Lilov just turned 18, but his deep passion for tennis may rival anyone's

WATCH: Episode 1 of this year's My Tennis Life

Victor Lilov loves tennis. Now, that isn’t unusual to hear from someone who reached the boys’ Wimbledon final last summer, and by December was No. 6 in the junior ITF rankings. It’s almost a prerequisite for the just-turned 18-year-old based in Florida, where sunshine and court time are plentiful. It’s a must for a player with a dedicated coach, Stanford Boster, and for someone who has practiced with the likes of Frances Tiafoe, Kevin Anderson and Denis Shapovalov.

But Lilov’s zeal for tennis doesn’t just extend to what he does with his racquet. From a very young age, the American has studied the game’s greats, a non-stop immersion in history that he can wax on like a professor charting the arc of American presidents.

“You go back to the Aussies, to Harry Hopman and Rod Laver and Ken Rosewall,” says Lilov, “and you see the things they did with wood racquets were just amazing. Then you look at Bjorn Borg. What a special player he was—so fast and so cool and so calm. All those Swedes were incredible—Borg, Edberg, Wilander.”

Lilov is particularly impressed by Ivan Lendl.

“I’ve watched him the most,” says Lilov. “He changed tennis the most of anyone. He made it physical. He was aggressive, he was a machine. I’d love to play him at the US Open.”

Born in Canada, Lilov moved to the United States when he was three years old and has lived in Philadelphia and Raleigh. The son of Bulgarian parents, Lilov was raised by his father, Ludmil, a software consultant, and his mother, Koki, a scientist at a pharmaceutical company. But Victor hopes to ply his trade away from the traditional office or laboratory, and on a rectangular workspace of his own.

“There’s no time of my life when I’ve not been aware of tennis,” says Lilov, who started playing tennis soon after coming to America. By 14, he turned pro, as the rules of contemporary tennis allow.

“I never thought about playing college tennis,” he says. “I know the difficulties of tennis and school at a high level. I wanted to go all-out.”

Lilov has already gotten a taste of what it will take to even compete at the highest levels, not just in high-level junior tournaments, but in his hits with established pros.

“They get real pop off the ball without trying,” says Lilov of Tiafoe, Anderson and Shapovalov. “The game is much more physical and you have to be more consistent.”

Boster finds Lilov’s intellectual curiosity a tremendous asset. Most known for his work with Andy Roddick and Mardy Fish, Boster began working with Lilov in March 2020.

“This kid has an inquiring mind like no one I’ve ever met,” says Boster. “He has an incredibly deep passion to become great.”

“We mesh very well,” says Lilov. “Stan’s main thing is that you need to have two weapons. For me, that’s working on a big serve and a big forehand.”

Currently six feet tall, Lilov added another 8-10 M.P.H. of speed on his serve in the last few months of 2021, and hopes he will continue to grow in height and regularly serve at least 120 M.P.H.

Lilov’s great Wimbledon came in the wake of a frustrating first half of the season, capped off with a third-round exit in the junior event at Roland Garros. But the chance to compete at the All England Club lit a spark—perhaps ignited by his longstanding engagement with tennis history.

“Wimbledon is a very special place,” he says. “It’s the one tournament in the world that can’t be replaced. The tradition, the grass, it was all eye-opening.”

Unseeded, Lilov upset No. 3 Arthur Fils in the second round. Fils had reached the finals at Roland Garros and, in the third set was twice up a break before Lilov ultimately prevailed, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.

“I gained some belief from that match,” says Lilov.

In the semis, he beat first-seeded Juncheng Shang, 6-3, 6-1, a 56-minute victory highlighted by Lilov winning 13 of 15 points at the net.

Though Lilov lost the final to fellow American Samir Banerjee, 7-5, 6-3, he took away many positives from the experience.

“To have played the final on Court One was amazing,” he says. “To be able to play on that court that so many others have played on was incredible. The Wimbledon result gave me assurance that I was doing better.”

He was aggressive, he was a machine. I’d love to play him at the US Open. Victor Lilov on Ivan Lendl

According to Boster, “What happened at Wimbledon put him in position ‘A’ for the next two to three years.” Lilov would go on to reach the quarterfinals at the US Open juniors.

Rather than make the long journey to play the Australian Open juniors, Lilov plans to play several smaller pro events, as well as compete in the qualifying of the ATP event in Delray Beach this weekend. But he’s also remaining engaged in the junior world and, come summer, will enter the USTA Boys’ 18 National Championships in Kalamazoo, in hopes of earning a precious wild card into the US Open main draw.

When he isn’t working on tennis, one of Lilov’s passions is film. One of his favorite movies is The Shawshank Redemption, a tale of a prisoner and his struggles to find meaning and peace. Most of all, says Lilov, “It’s a movie about hope.”