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Jared Donaldson

48K views 317 replies 33 participants last post by  Jivuzukoc 
#1 ·
Perhaps the creation of this thread is a bit premature. But yesterday Jared prevailed over Farukh Dustov in the first round of the US Open qualies, and today he plays Ilya Marchenko.

I don't think a win against Marchenko is very likely. But, hey, the kid is only 16 and he picked up an ATP win. Nothing to sniff at. Let's keep an eye on this kid.

 
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#31 · (Edited)
I wish I had caught that before they took it down.

We really need Donaldson to pan out because the pickings are slim among the '93-'97 group. It's probably a little early to judge the '97s (maybe Opelka turns into the next Isner or Wiersholm grows four inches), but the early signs aren't great.
 
#44 ·
Better late than never.



Roger Federer Practices with NE Junior
http://www.newengland.usta.com/news/federer_practices_with_ne_junior_in_dubai/

By Deb Weinreich

Most young athletes dream of competing against their idols – going one-on-one with Michael Jordan, catching a touchdown pass from Tom Brady or firing a 95 mile an hour fastball to Big Papi.

But just as the fastball heads towards the plate, the alarm goes off. You leap out of bed and realize you are in your bedroom - far from Fenway Park. The sound you hear from the crack of Big Papi’s bat and the roar of the crowd is blaring from the television - SportsCenter highlights. The dream is over.

So excuse Jared Donaldson if he had to pinch himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming when he recently found himself standing on a tennis court in Dubai - opposite his longtime idol - Roger Federer.

Jared wasn’t chosen as a random contest winner. He wasn’t pulled from the stands to pose for a picture with Federer. This was not a “meet and greet.”

The 17 year-old Rhode Island native, who finished runner up at the 2013 USTA Boys 18s National Championships at the age of 16, was invited to train with Roger Federer, winner of 17 Grand Slam singles championships.

“I was very excited considering Jared puts so much time into tennis. I thought, what a great opportunity USTA has given us...what a great learning tool to help Jared with his goals,” said Jared’s dad, Courtney.

So Jared embraced the opportunity and with his coach, former touring pro Taylor Dent, boarded the plane for a 14- plus hour flight to Dubai, a scorching desert where Federer often invites top level juniors to train with him each January in preparation for heat of the Australian Open.

“A lot of people meet their idol, but this was much more. I was going to train with the greatest player in the world,” said Jared. “I was going to be part of his training as much as he was going to part of my training. That was what made it so special.”

Excited, honored and eager, Jared had just one concern.

“I didn’t want to screw up his practice,” he said. “I know when I train with someone I want the practice to be as beneficial to me as it is for the person I’m hitting with.”

The concern - and nerves - began to subside as soon as Jared started to hit with Federer on the practice court in Dubai.

“Once we started practicing that first day, it was fine,” said Jared. “I gained more confidence in myself each day because I was doing better than how I had thought I was going to do.”

Like a sponge, Donaldson soaked up his experience - learning as much about Federer as he could - both on and off the court.

“My goal going in was to improve as as a player. I definitely did that. I wanted to know what he goes through as a player. Even though he’s the greatest player in the world, I learned he is just trying to improve, trying to find that solution that makes him better and gives him the edge - just like everyone else.

“He treated the training sessions like a match...like it was the finals of the US Open or Wimbledon. His intensity was same way even though he was just practicing. It was a match setting even though he was working on things. The way you see him in the US Open is the way he is during practice. Intense.”

“Watching my son hit with Roger was an incredible experience,” said Courtney. “From a practical standpoint, Jared got to see one of the best forehands there ever was in tennis and to be able to play against it and get that feel from a development standpoint- to learn first-hand how he works and trains - was just a great opportunity.”

Dent, formerly ranked No. 21 in the world, worked with Jared for several weeks in Southern California leading up to the trip to Dubai.

“When Jared first came to me and my father (Phil Dent) to train, we were both saying that his ball quality - the heaviness of his ball - was pro quality. He needs to work on his serve and we are working on that. Junior tennis is different than professional tennis. Jared was able to experience that difference first hand training with Roger. (Training with Roger) was just an affirmation of what we are trying to do with his game.”

Dent, who retired from tennis just three years ago, refers to himself as a “cheater.”

“I played Roger my last year on the tour, so I have that experience. It’s fresh. I don’t have to guess what Roger and players like him are doing. I know first-hand.”

And now Jared knows, too.

“The biggest thing I took away from training with Roger was the placement of his shot. Most striking was how big and how heavy his ball is. But the thing that people most overlook in tennis is his shot placement...how he was able to put the ball literally anywhere he wants. It’s definitely something I am working on.”

Jared was equally impressed with Federer off the court. “He’s just a genuinely nice and sincere person. He never acted like he was superior. He’s a dad who loves his kids and works hard.”

Federer, the top earner in tennis, was more than willing to share his experience as a junior early on in his career.

“He talked about his own career at 17-18. He talked about training and working through the lower levels tournaments,” said Jared. “He talked about ups and downs you face as a player - even now what he goes through. It was really beneficial to hear what he had to say. He’s working to find solutions to areas in which he wants to continue to improve - just like we all are.”

Jared has taken what he learned from the world’s best player back onto the court - this time in Southern California where he is training rigorously with Dent.

“Jared always gets to balls. He’s extremely tough to hit winners on. He has great anticipation and movement on the court. He really does hit a pro quality ball. Of course there are areas he needs to improve upon, but he is more than willing to do the work. He WANTS to get better every single day he’s on the court.”

Both Dent and Donaldson have set simple goals for 2014 - just to work hard and continue to improve.

“If he’s willing to do the work and talented enough to make changes - which he is - I don’t see what’s going to hold him back,” said Dent.

“My goal is to improve as a player and person...to continue to figure out my game. Too many players get caught up in results and ranking. I’m still young, I still need to work on my game so I can hopefully one day play at that (professional) level.”
 
#45 ·
denttennisacademy #DentTennisAcademy Congrats to Jared Donaldson for winning the Turkey F1 Future Bodrum Cup title? Also a big congrats to Logan Smith on winning the 2014 National Open Hard Court Championships in Balboa? (left to right) Alejandro Kon, Kevin Lam, Eric Tseng, Taylor Dent, Logan Smith, Jared Donaldson, Eliot Teltscher #nike #wilson #atp #athleticdna #tennis
 
#49 ·
So if my calculation is any good, he should have 104 points after Wimbledon, putting him around 410. So close to breaking the top 400.

JD plans on competing in the Oklahoma futures next week, also a 15k. Hope he can go far again. He is on the alternate list for Winnetka challenger, but I don't think he will play if he doesn't get a wildcard. His dad said he is playing ATP Newport Q #hometournament Too bad he couldn't get a wildcard :sadface:
 
#52 ·
Sad to hear about Jared's lyme disease. Hope it doesn't affect his tennis too much :sadface: And good to hear that he was offered support from the USTA.

His dad's comment on Zootennis.
Actually Jared was asked by USTA, Nicolas Todero, to travel with them. He would have had to play qualies like Noah did as Jared's ranking was not below 550 ATP when the tournament cut offs were used for entry. However 2 weeks before they were finalizing plans Jared had a recurrence of his Lyme disease and was unable to commit to the trip. In fact he had to pull out of AK future he was scheduled to play. He went back on medication and is feeling better now. For the record the USTA has included Jared in everything we have requested and more. They have been an important part of his development from camps in Boca, training with Sam, Steve and others in Carson, lining up hits with Gulbis, sending him to Dubai to train with Roger for 3 weeks, choosing him to play Jr Davis Cup, offering him the chance to train with the Davis Cup team in San Diego (but he was in Turkey playing futures at the time) providing WC's into tournaments when he was training in Argentina and didn't have a US ranking. They have given him financial grants, provided coaching, set up training with Ryan in Boca, and offered many more training opportunities although they don't always fall into place because of tournaments such as last falls camp in Boca. He has an open invitation to train in Carson when he is in Irvine. I have had long conversations with Jay Berger about Jared's development and he has offered Jared the opportunity to go to Palm Springs and work with Jose. So I just wanted to make it clear Jared has had a lot of support from USTA and we work with them and are very appreciative of their support for Jared. I always get e mails or texts from Jay, Steve, and Nicolas during Jared's success and tournaments.
 
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