Catching up with Francisco Dias & Julius Tverijonas

WASHINGTON – While donning the Buff & Blue, Francisco Dias and Julius Tverijonas helped raise the men's tennis program to new heights. Dias (Class of 2015) was a three-time A-10 Most Outstanding Performer and set the GW record with 87 career singles wins. Tverijonas (Class of 2017) was an All-Conference performer all four years of his career and helped lead GW to three A-10 titles.

Now, Dias and Tverijonas are competing around the world while carrying the flag for GW. Below is a brief Q&A conducted recently with the two alums about their experiences on the professional circuit and how GW helped in their process.

(Editor's Note: Dias has announced his retirement from the pro tour since this conversation. The answers have been slightly edited for clarity.)

GW: How have you felt about your performance on the tour this year?

JT: I haven't played many tournaments on the tour this year, but I am happy about my performance so far. I spent the first three months of the year training in the United Kingdom, and I played local tournaments there. In April, I represented Lithuania in the Davis Cup match against Morocco. We played away in Marrakech and won 3-2. It was a great experience because I was on the team with the best Lithuanian players and it was great preparation for the clay season. After that, I decided to play tournaments on clay for five weeks in a row, two in Egypt and three in Uganda. I played well in those tournaments and was able to play the best tournament in my career when I reached the finals in the tournament in Kampala, Uganda. This performance gave me confidence for the rest of the season, and I hope to do even better in upcoming tournaments.

FD: This year was a bit tough in the beginning with the ITF rule changes, which made it so anyone starting out, or restarting in my case, had very little spots available to enter tournaments. This meant I didn't start playing until mid-February, a late start for the futures circuit. Nevertheless, it picked up and at 101 ITF doubles and 804 singles my performance has been satisfactory.

GW: What's your typical schedule like going from tournament to tournament?
FD: Depending on how many weeks in a row I play, I typically leave on a Saturday, sleep at the new site, hit Sunday, and play a match Monday. If tournaments go well, I normally just hit for 30 to 45 minutes prior to matches, otherwise I try to get a couple hour-plus practices a day if I'm out early. Also, I follow a prevention exercise routine.

JT: This summer I decided to practice at home before playing a tournament in Vilnius, Lithuania, where unfortunately I lost in the first round. I am hoping to play a few tournaments in Portugal where I can meet with my former teammates, Francisco Dias and Chris Reynolds.

GW: How has your life changed since GW?
JT: It has definitely changed because I was able to focus only on my tennis and rest a little bit from the studies. I had coaches and teammates at GW, but now, I don't have a coach and I also have to find practice partners to hit with. There are many benefits that you get at college tennis, which you don't have when you play on your own.

FD: It has been more and more positive each year. I earned my masters right after leaving GW, worked for a bit and then got the opportunity to go back to the tennis circuit, which I have enjoyed until now.

GW: How did playing at GW help prepare you for your professional career?
FD: I'd say it helped tremendously, especially mentally. One has to be strong enough to fight off the adversities and enjoy the process of getting better.

JT: Playing at GW has helped me a lot for my professional career. I had really great coaches and teammates that helped me to improve and pushed me to be a better player.

GW: What's your relationship like with each other? Have you seen each other on tour, practice or play against one another?
FD: Jules and I are good friends and not only have a close relationship, but are also close geographically as we both live in the UK. We have seen each other a couple times, but because of the age discrepancy and my time off the circuit after graduating, there haven't been many opportunities. Hopefully, we get to see more of each other now.

JT: Francisco and I keep in touch and we follow each other's results. I saw Francisco in Portugal this year and I saw one of his matches. We didn't play against each other yet, but hopefully we can team up sometime again in the future and play some doubles together!

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