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Donald Young

100K views 1K replies 79 participants last post by  bearitone315 
#1 ·
Does anybody know of his schedule? He should have got a wild card at Memphis, but oh well.
 
#86 ·
You mean as an active playing player on the DC team? I don't think I see that happening this year, but they did have him in Portland and at least one other tie before that, so they are clearly including him in the DC atmosphere. I think it'll just be interesting to see if he can translate the success he had at the challenger level at the end of this season onto the ATP level and put together some good wins in a row. We'll see
 
#88 ·
He could've gotten into Chennai directly, but I guess he decided not to.... hopefully he'll play something though :unsure:
 
#90 ·
Yeah, I too was wondering why he wasn't playing any of the tour tournaments before AO. Seems strange, but maybe he has an injury or is tired? Seems like he played a LOT of tennis this fall so perhaps he doesn't think he needs the practice?

Speculations and more speculations....

Anyhoo, can't wait to see the Don, even if it is glimpse.
 
#92 ·
Young drew Michael Berrer in the first round. Not easy, but it could have been worse. And should he win, it will be worse in the second round, where he would have to face Roddick. That would be a lot of fun to watch (top American vs. top American hope), but it's unfortunate that that's probably as far as Young can go.
 
#93 · (Edited)
D. Young's draw sucks for AO. He plays later tonight/today and I am hoping to get a glimpse of his match against Berrer. I wonder if anyone has seen as recent photos of him lately?

Anyhoo, here is the duece magazine article... not alot of new information, but Donald makes some comments about AO.
http://www.atptennis.com/5/en/deuce/january2008/young3.asp
By GREG SHARKO
Published: January 10, 2008

Donald Young knows that the ATP Tour guarantees no victories, only defeats. But after suffering a series of shattering losses during his artificial elevation to the pro tour, Young found his way in 2007 and finished inside the Top 100. Will 2008 be his coming out party?

Donald Young knows that the ATP Tour guarantees no victories, only defeats. But after suffering a series of shattering losses during his artificial elevation to the pro tour, Young found his way in 2007 and finished inside the Top 100. Will 2008 be his coming out party?

Donald Young is accustomed to winning tennis matches and the 18-year-old proved that in 2007, at least on the Challenger circuit. Now the Atlanta teenager is gearing up for his first full campaign as a regular member of the ATP tour.

"He's got a lot of good instincts for the game and he's been able to win at the junior level and then at the Challengers," said U.S. Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe, who has watched Young's progress over the past three years. "He's been able to get the experience and get more pop on his serve. Now it's getting his physical maturity up and once he does that he will be able to win at the tour level. His forehand is a big weapon. In the last year he's stepped up."

Young finished last year as the youngest player in the Top 100 South African Airways ATP Rankings at No. 98, making the jump with successful results early in the season at the Futures level and then in Challengers. He compiled a 34-14 record in Challengers, winning one title and reaching four other finals.

In limited ATP level play (2-3), the left-hander also broke through to win his first ATP match, breaking an 0-11 career mark, and he advanced to the third round at the US Open.

But one year ago Young was looking for the confidence on the pro scene that took him to a Grand Slam junior title and as the No. 1 junior player in the world in 2005.

"He played too much too soon (at the tour level) and he wasn't physically ready for that," added McEnroe. "The good news is he learned from the mistake and then learned to gain confidence in the juniors and Challengers. He got a lot of tough press but mentally he’s a pretty tough kid."

He needed to be. In March 2006 at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, Young suffered the worst loss of his career – a dreaded double bagel - to No. 81 Carlos Berlocq. "I never lost 6-0, 6-0 in my life and it was an all-time low," said Young, who began to question whether he belonged at ATP level. "I went back home, hung out with my friends and I didn't feel like traveling. I didn't want to play much."

The loss was Young's ninth straight without winning a set. Young would take the first set off of then No. 23-ranked Novak Djokovic in the first round of the US Open. He closed out 2006 by reaching the quarterfinals at the Louisville Challenger and said "I felt like I was playing better."

Young's father Donald Sr. and mother Illona, who first met as mixed doubles opponents, have been behind their son's career every step of the way. Illona, who was denied the chance to play tennis as a child because it was too expensive, attended college at Iowa Wesleyan. She is a certified teacher who home-schooled her son so he could travel to tournaments around the world. Donald, Sr. was the No. 1 player at Alabama State.

"My parents are my biggest inspiration and they always support me in the ups-and-downs and it never changes," Young says.

Young, who at age three was able to hold rallies, grew up on the courts while his parents taught tennis in Chicago. They now run the South Fulton Tennis Center in Atlanta, where he trains.

At age 10, Young was a ball boy for a senior tournament in Chicago where John McEnroe was playing. As it turned out McEnroe’s hitting partner was late and Young ended up hitting with the former World No. 1. “The sky is the limit,” McEnroe said to the New York Times after watching Young at the Roland Garros junior tournament in 2005. “He’s the first person I ever saw that had hands like me.”

Young’s early success was chronicled in several national publications such as Newsweek, who included the teenager in the magazine’s “2005 Who’s Next” list of up-and-comers, along with another rising African-American star, Barack Obama. ESPN the Magazine and Chicago Tribune Magazine also ran lengthy features on Young.

In January 2007, Young went into the U.S. Futures stop in Tampa ranked No. 491. He advanced to his first pro final and the following week he reached the quarterfinals in North Miami Beach. It was the beginning of a breakthrough season.

In April, he was selected as a practice partner for the U.S. Davis Cup quarterfinal tie against. Spain in Winston-Salem, N.C. He then advanced to his first Challenger quarterfinal in Valencia, Calif. and the following week he captured his first pro title at the U.S. Futures stop in Little Rock, Ark. The month concluded with a week-long practice session with Andy Roddick and his coach Jimmy Connors in Austin, Texas.

"It was a great experience talking with Andy, James (Blake) and the Bryans during Davis Cup," said Young. "They always tell you keep trying and work hard and they want the young guys to play well. James said 'stay focused and believe in what you do and keep doing it.' Andy invited me to his house (in Austin) after Little Rock. It was all business and a good experience. We worked on some drills and Andy gave me some helpful advice."

Blake said earlier this year during the U.S. Davis Cup quarterfinals, "I think he has the talent. I'd love to see him staying positive all the time out on the court. I think he gets down on himself, which I was definitely guilty of early in my career and probably still am. I am still human, I go back to it sometimes. I see a little bit of myself in that."

The week-long practice sessions seemed to pay dividends in Young's next tournaments as he turned in a quarterfinal in Tunica, Miss. and semifinal in Carson, Calif. In July, he collected his second Grand Slam junior title at Wimbledon and followed with his first Challenger title in Aptos, Calif. without dropping a set.

"I always play well at Wimbledon," says Young, who also reached the junior semifinals in 2005. "That was awesome and I thought I had a target on my back going in. I didn't know many of the players since it was my first (and only) junior tournament of the year. I was seeded number three and right after I won it, it sunk in and a lot of people expected me to win and there was a lot of pressure. It felt great. Anything less than a title and I wasn't satisfied."

Young's next breakthrough moment came in New Haven where he defeated countryman Amer Delic in three sets for his first ATP match win. In the second round he took No. 4 ranked Nikolay Davydenko to a hard-fought 7-5 in the third set match and came within two points of the victory. Young watched the match later that night on ESPN2 and he came away impressed with his performance.
"It was a big relief (to get that first win) and big step for me. I came out loose against Davydenko and I had nothing to lose," said Young, who was playing his first Top 10 opponent. "That match gave me a lot of confidence and I watched the match that night. I was shocking myself with some of the shots that I hit. It was also nice to hear the things Nikolay said afterwards."

Young then made his third appearance at the US Open a memorable one as he defeated big-serving Aussie Chris Guccione in four sets to win his first Grand Slam match. He received a walkover against No. 13 seed Richard Gasquet before falling in four sets to Spaniard Feliciano Lopez in the third round on a packed Louis Armstrong Stadium.

"I was psyched about the Open," said Young, who jumped from No. 223 to No. 170 afterwards, achieving his Top 200 goal before the season. "It was a big win for me against Guccione, a serve-and-volleyer and I would have liked to play Gasquet but to be in the third round against Lopez was pretty special. I was nervous and just happy to be out there playing well. It was pretty packed and I would look up and the crowd was cheering for me. It was awesome.

"My goal was to finish this year Top 200 and my dad said 'You're going to finish Top 100' and he said this at the beginning of the year. I was still thinking to move up and go to Top 150."

Young's strong post-US Open results (21-7 record) included four Challenger finals in seven tournaments, including three of the last four. During that stretch he played seven of nine weeks, reaching finals in Tulsa, Calabasas, Louisville and Champaign. He achieved his father, Donald, Sr.'s goal of finishing in the Top 100 and earning a direct acceptance into the Australian Open main draw. He was also named practice partner for the U.S.-Russia Davis Cup final.

"I felt good playing week-to-week and playing the same guys again," says Young, who was one of seven Americans to finish in the Top 100. "I didn't have any injuries or never got tired. I won a lot more free points on my serve and I hit my groundstrokes better. I was a lot more consistent off the ground. I was running down a lot of balls and felt quicker, faster on the court than in the past."

McEnroe's assessment: "His serve has gotten better and he's winning more points on it, his forehand is better and he could take the ball early and he has good court sense. He's been getting more consistency off the ground and he has tremendous speed and great feel for the ball and court."

Young will begin the 2008 campaign in Melbourne, his first visit Down Under since his memorable title run in the juniors three years ago at 15. He concluded the 2005 season as the world's top-ranked junior at the age of 16 years, 5 months, becoming the youngest player and first American since Andy Roddick in 2000 to finish No. 1 in juniors.

"He's earned his way into the Top 100 and he's won a lot of matches," said McEnroe. "Now when he gets into the Australian Open he's earned it and mentally that's the biggest thing for him along with his play in the past six months."

Young said: "I feel good about returning and even though the courts will be different (blue plexicushion), I have great memories there and go in with a lot of confidence. My last match I played was on Margaret Court and I wouldn't mind playing there again."

"I want to play well in Australia and keep moving up the rankings and not be content. I just want to get better and I feel like I will win matches. I know it takes some time and that's the ultimate goal. I would like to be Top 50 by the end of next year and that's my goal."
 
#95 ·
Awww Donald ended up losing to in 4 pretty tight sets. One thing I noticed is that Donald is still pretty emotional out there, like his mood changes from one point to the next. The serve also looked as if it had more umpf, but too many second serves.

I guess it must be back to the challengers for Donald?
 
#96 · (Edited)
He didn't enter the upcoming American Challengers. I'm guessing he'll just play the American hard court tournaments (taking wild cards when he needs them). If he racks up some wins in those, he'll probably be done with Challengers for good.

It was a respectable loss. I only saw the points that ESPN showed (not many), but it looked like he was a little tentative, especially on the backhand side. And his average serve speeds were lower than I expected considering how he was serving at the U.S. Open and New Haven.

There was a controversial call at 3-3 in the second set tiebreaker that was a turning point. It looked like Young hit a winner down the line, but it was called out, which prompted a strong emotional reaction from Young which seemed to carry over into the subsequent points. He'll get better at handling that kind of stuff.
 
#109 ·
Interview time:http://www.pacificlifeopen.com/4/players/interviews/2008/young315.asp

INTERVIEWS
March 15, 2008


D. YOUNG/F. Lopez

6-2, 6-7, 6-2

An interview with:

DONALD YOUNG


THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Congratulations. Can you talk about that second set? You had a chance to serve it out.
DONALD YOUNG: Yeah, it was obviously very windy, but definitely nerves played a big part. I know I was really nervous. Just got the ball back in play, went for a little too much, got nervous and missed some shots. That's what I think happened.

Q. What did you do to kind of keep your mindset straight for that third set?
DONALD YOUNG: Well, you know, I took a bathroom break and tried to refocus and think about the things that I did do well, because usually I would get really upset and just pretty much not be there mentally at all for the third set, and I didn't want that to happen again.
So I tried to, you know, go back into myself, and play good tennis.

Q. Could you talk about dealing with the conditions? You could really hear the flags flapping and people were hitting unusual shots, to say the least.
DONALD YOUNG: Yeah, it was tough. I'm just happy to be the one with the W at the end of the day. I don't really know how balls were going in. You couldn't really hit your shot, you know, with the serve. You had to just spin it in most of the time. It was really weird.

Q. Was that anything like when you played on the Easter Bowl, because in the Easter Bowl it's really windy and there's nothing really to shield the wind?
DONALD YOUNG: Yeah, Palm Springs, this part of California is definitely windy, definitely like the Easter Bowl. I'm just a little better player.

Q. You've really paid your dues in the pro tour. When did things start turning around for you? What happened that started turning things around?
DONALD YOUNG: Well, '06 '05 wasn't that tough for me. I was still No. 1 in the juniors, I finished No. 1. '06 was toughest for me. I didn't win an ATP match.
I was struggling with the junior matches, people I used to beat all the time. Confidence was at an all time low. Didn't really want to play anymore.
Kind of just, you know, my parents kept telling me he I could do it. I didn't really believe them at the time, but they're my parents so you have to listen. But, yeah, and then I decided I was going to give like '07, you know, stop hanging out with the friends and going out. Just wanted to be home and hang out.
So I decided I was going to give like a full year trying really hard to go anywhere I needed to play and not worry about coming home and hanging out with the friends.
First tournament I played was a Futures. I made the final, and that gave me a lot of confidence. I had chances to win, and after that it was like quarterfinals every week. I won my first doubles tournament, and just kept going on from there.
And then this summer, last summer was awesome. I won my first challenger, and then I won a round at Pilot Pen. Then the US Open was obviously a big confidence booster. Did pretty well after that.

Q. You feel you had to sacrifice your social life perhaps to do this?
DONALD YOUNG: I did, definitely. I had to do that, yeah, it was tough. Girls, hanging out with the friends their last year before they went to college. It was definitely tough, but this is what I wanted to do as my profession, so I had to give it my full attention.

Q. What's the most fun part of the social scene in Atlanta?
DONALD YOUNG: Hanging out with the girls, I would say. (laughter.) Just hanging out, you know, having fun. Driving around, watching movies, you know. Pretty much regular stuff.

Q. Your friends understand sort of the decision you had to make to go forward?
DONALD YOUNG: Yeah, definitely. They like me at home, but then the reason you know, they all, like, they want to do what I do because of some of the things I've accomplished, so they were really pumped up.
Most of the time people want to hang out with you based on what you're doing. When you stop doing that they're not really hanging out with you as much, but hopefully have good enough friends where that's not the case.

Q. Did you call anyone home in Atlanta to see if anyone was affected by the tornado yesterday?
DONALD YOUNG: Oh, no, just the staff at my parents' club, you know, was just talking about a couple buildings downstairs, glass broke. But other than that, no.

Q. Everybody's okay? Nobody was injured or anything?
DONALD YOUNG: Yeah, no one I know was injured or they've told me of.

Q. What's the club?
DONALD YOUNG: South Fulton Tennis Center in College Park.

Q. Is it much more fun now because you figure you can play with these guys, you really believe you can?
DONALD YOUNG: Definitely winning matches is a lot better than losing them. I'm happy I'm starting to win matches. I'm trying to get my record back to even. It's a long way to go, but, you know, hopefully I'll get there.

Q. Looking back, what was it like when you were, what was it, 10 or how many rounds in a row you lost?
DONALD YOUNG: I think it was around 11.

Q. What were you thinking in those days?
DONALD YOUNG: Just when am I going to win one? That was pretty much it. When was I going to win one. Come on. Please. Guys I was beating, they were winning ones and I wasn't. It was really disappointing, but I figured out how to win one, and I did.

Q. Was the lowest point Miami? I remember we talked to you, and it was kind of heart wrenching there.
DONALD YOUNG: Yeah, Miami hurt a lot. 0 0. I've never lost 0 0 in my life, and then I lost 0 0 at one of the biggest tournaments I played. That wasn't too confidence boosting at all. Actually shut it down pretty bad.
And then on TV I got talked about bad, you know. And then he loses 0 0 to Blake. It just looked really bad, so it hurt my feelings a lot.

Q. How did you put that in the rear view mirror? You mentioned your parents obviously having a big effect.
DONALD YOUNG: It pretty much messed up the rest of the year until I think November quarterfinal in my first challenger and won two matches in a row. That helped out a lot, because I beat Bobby Reynolds. He was a really good player. He was No. 9 in the world. That felt like a big step for me.

Q. You go up against a pretty good player next. You've never played Rafa. What are your thoughts? Pretty imposing?
DONALD YOUNG: I'm happy to be in round 32. I see him play a lot. He's obviously another lefty. He's 2 in the world for so long, so I'm just going to go out there and have fun and play the best I can and see what happens.

Q. What's it like playing another lefty?
DONALD YOUNG: It's different, you know. Well, growing up I played with lefties all the time, but lately I have not been playing with lefties very much. It's different. Different spin. They hit it the way you hit it. It's like playing myself, and I wouldn't want to play myself.

Q. If you were playing yourself, what would be your first tactic?
DONALD YOUNG: I don't think I could say that. I mean (laughter.) I don't know if I can first tactic? Just play straight up, I would say.

Q. You happy to play Lopez today, because he's a left hander?
DONALD YOUNG: Yeah, that was difficult. Like my forehand crosscourt is usually to a righty's backhand. It's to his forehand, his best shot, so that was something I had to work with, also.

Q. What kind of things did you learn when you played him at the US Open that you applied today?
DONALD YOUNG: He liked to go wide on a lot of the big points on his serve, and that was basically, you know, pretty much it. And he would come in every once in a while. He had a big serve, big forehand, but it was nothing that was too shocking for me today.

Q. But did you make any big adjustments from the US Open to today?
DONALD YOUNG: Tried not to get as down on myself when I would lose games or a lot of points in a row. Tried to cut that down a little bit.


Q. Querrey just won the tournament in Vegas. Does that say anything to you? Does that give you any thoughts of confidence? He's an American.
DONALD YOUNG: Definitely. I mean, young Americans winning tournaments, I'm excited, happy for him. Kei won Del Rey, you know, another guy I played juniors with. Definitely want them to do it. You just want to keep getting better.
Try to do one point, one day, one match at a time right now, and hopefully I will get to that point.

Q. What do you think you have to do against Nadal? What will be the fun part, or what will be the tactical part to have a shot?
DONALD YOUNG: Hopefully the spin is not jumping over my head. (laughter.) But he's really fast, gets a lot of balls back. I have to be just consistent and be aggressive. Just try to play my game.


Q. Did you see Tsonga play him at the Australian?
DONALD YOUNG: Yeah, I watched that. Everybody was up watching that thing.

Q. Do you think in a way all those losses somehow were good for you?
DONALD YOUNG: Yeah, it was definitely a learning experience. I wouldn't say 11 was good for me, but, you know, I did it. I think anybody that was anyone in the world juniors at the time would take the opportunities offered.
It wasn't like I was kind of asking for them. They were offered from some of the tournaments. I took them and took my lumps. Wasn't expecting to win, but definitely would say I learned a lot from the losses.


Q. What's the two biggest things you're going to have do to take another big leap? You've taken a nice leap now. What do you have to do?
DONALD YOUNG: Stay in the match probably mentally the whole time and not have these ups and downs and emotional highs and lows, because most of the top players have that, I know. You have to focus and play well day in and day out, not one good day, one bad day. That doesn't win tournaments.

Q. The ATP Tour is kind of a tough club to get into. It's sort of hard to feel that you belong. You got a lot of wildcards and people were talking. Do you feel now that you belong? Do you feel part of the tour?
DONALD YOUNG: Definitely I felt that after I won my first match. I was officially, you know, welcomed or whatever, because the guys, you know, I would get a message from Andy or James, congratulations on the match.
Definitely felt good, so when I won my first match I officially felt I was an ATP player.

Q. You weren't on the Davis Cup team, but you were on the squad working with them. How important was that to your advantage?
DONALD YOUNG: Yeah, I would say definitely. '07, that helped me a lot. It was April the first time against Spain. I think it was the quarterfinals they played Spain in Winston Salem. Patrick called me and invited me.
To be part of the team, they really welcomed me and had fun. Obviously they haze you a little, but it's all part of that. Once they do that they say you're part of the team, so it really made me feel like I was playing. I felt like it had a big part to do with it, also.
It helped my confidence hitting with the guys, that high of a level every day for a week.

Q. Do you wish you could have played the dead rubber up in Portland?
DONALD YOUNG: All those people watching? I mean, I guess so. If they would have asked me to I would have, but I didn't think I was going to be raising my hand.

Q. Hazing, did they make you sing or anything? What did you have to do?
DONALD YOUNG: Just, you have to say a couple words at the dinner that you have to kind of throw in there.

Q. What did you
DONALD YOUNG: I'm not saying the words.

FastScripts by ASAP Sports....
Some interesting tidbits in a very long interview. Lol @ hopefully the ball won't be over his head.
 
#111 ·
I didn't see the match but I was in his press conference. I was impressed at how he handled himself and he came across very thoughtful and well-spoken. I think he had the right atttitude about the match so hopefully it will prove to be a good learning experience for him. I took some pics, i'll post the link when i get them up
 
#112 · (Edited)
Thanks Deb!!! I read the interview and he sounded pretty grounded. I hope Miami will prove that way and he won't end it like he did a couple of years ago. I know sometimes the interviews are incomplete, so did he say anything about his schedule? Will he be playing any of the European clay court season? For some reason I am really interested in seeing him play on the red dirt. But there I go getting ahead of myself again.:devil: Miami first!!!
 
#113 ·
I don't recall them asking him about that. I'm sure he'll play some clay though. Maybe he won't get into the Masters events directly but it'd be a shame if he didn't try to qualify

You can see the pics from the link in my sig, I have pics of him from I think either Saturday and Sunday or Sunday and Monday :lol: :eek:
 
#115 ·
i think having to qualify for some of these events is an important part of the growth process for him. it makes him put the wins together and puts him in the situation of having to beat guys he should beat for the first time at the ATP level for him. He got too many WCs early on anyway. Time to earn his way to the big show now.
 
#116 ·
I agree, and I don't have problem with who the wild cards were awarded to, Kei (won a Del Ray beach - though not American), Isner ranked higher than Donald, Guga :worship: (farewell tour and all), and I guess Jessie Levine is an IMG athlete and is deserving in that respect. So my comment was more like, there is no love left between IMG and Donald (trying to stir the pot with an observation is all).:p

I actually think Donald should be at the stage where is can come through qualifying draw and even moreso would be a great motivation for him. He would get so sick of qualifying that he'd work even harder to get into the top 50. :armed:

Anyhoo, looks like Don came through the first round of qualies against Woodie- 6-1; 0-0ret.

Oh and Deb thanks for the photos I looked at all of them and meant to post in the other thread about how great they were.
 
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