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donald young

For what it is worth: Breaking down Donald Young vs. the USTA

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Patrick McEnroe fires back at Donald Young. Oh great. Tennis wars.

Donald Young

In the event you missed the lighting of the fuse, Young was a bit Sunday when the USTA rejected his father’s request that it just hand Donald the American-designate wild card into the French Open, and instead moved forward with its usual playoff to see who gets the free ride in.

Young went to his social network account and wrote . . . Well, actually, I can’t tell you what he wrote because we’re trying to keep this space clean. But there was a capital letter F involved, directed at the USTA, followed quickly by “their full of (something).”

Before I get into the meat and potatoes of this silly controversy, two things struck me as (a) grammatically annoying and (b) somewhat hilarious.

One was Young’s misspelling of the word “they’re.” Donald, listen up. This coaching isn’t going to cost a dime. You’re attempting to use the contractive form of “they are” here. Thus, “they’re.” What you’ve done, and frankly I find it disturbing because we’re talking some very fundamental English grammar here, is use the possessive pronoun “their.” Completely wrong.

Still, that gaffe was trumped Monday by Patrick McEnroe, head of the U.S. development program, who was blasting back on behalf of the USTA, when he commented that “I was obviously taken aback by the language. . .” that Young used.

Taken aback? You grew up with John McEnroe and this language took you aback? I don’t think so.

Bad grammar and incredulous remarks aside, the problem here is Young’s, not the USTA’s, and McEnroe, who detailed all the help the USTA has attempted to give Donald over the years, was quite correct in calling the kid on the carpet during a long phone press conference.

I don’t want to revisit all of Young’s missteps over the years. I’ve written enough about him and, if you’re really interested, you can Google my name and Young’s.

At age 21, he should have figured out long ago that, as much as his mother and father have helped him over the years, they can take him only so far. He’s old enough to make his own decisions and he ought to thank mom and dad for their help and make the break.

One story, I think, sums up the relationship between Donald Sr., his wife and the USTA. In July of 2007, I watched with great happiness as Donald defeated No. 1 seed Vladimir Ignatic of Belarus to win the Wimbledon junior title. This is a very big prize for a junior and, of course, mom and dad were there, along with David Nainkin, one of the most under-publicized coaches in professional tennis. Nainkin, working for the USTA, had been working with Donald exclusively all year.

I shook David’s hand and congratulated him. “Nice coaching,” I told him. Nainkin had one request. “Please don’t refer to me as the coach,” he pleaded.

I knew exactly what he was talking about. Even though Nainkin was primarily responsible for Young’s junior success, his parents had insisted to the USTA that “we’re in charge” when they accepted Nainkin’s help in exchange for financial help.

Young’s career has been very up and down. In 2008, he had a more or less sustained visit inside top 100, but only three weeks ago broke top-100 again and is now at No. 95. I guess he felt he deserved a wild card into the French.

The USTA disagreed and, as it has with the Australian Open as well, scheduled a playoff among the best Americans whose ranking won’t get them directly into the main draw, to see who gets the card.

Young exploded. McEnroe fired back. Hopefully, it’s over. Frankly, this controversy is consuming more time than it’s worth.

Donald Young breaks through then falls flat

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Donald, Donald, Donald. Will it ever happen?

If you still think there’s a heroic tennis future in Donald Young’s life, you’ve got a lot more optimism than most.

He’s certainly teased us a few times since absurdly turning professional at age 14, now seven years ago, and he teased us again two days ago by dominating Andy Murray, one of the best players in the game.

But this afternoon at the Indian Wells 1000, where certainly he expected to build on the momentum he gained in the Murray match, he was washed out of the tournament by No. 28-ranked Tommy Robredo by 6-0, 6-4.

In a vacuum, losing to a former top-10 is no great shame. But he wasn’t playing in a vacuum. He was playing with — one assumed, anyway — a mountain of confidence and, though he flashed a few scintillating moments Monday, he was, on balance, just awful.

Donald Young

Three winners and 13 unforced errors in the 22-minute opening set and 13 winners with 32 unforced errors for the match is the broad-brush story.

When you down into the details, though, there was a lot more to be disappointed about. He rushed shot after shot inside the baseline, blasting forehands five feet over the baseline or slapping shots into the net in too much of a hurry to crush a winner. He double-faulted on break points. His backhands too often came up short and with so little pace that Robredo had no difficulty taking control of the points.

I knew this all sounds too harsh, especially after Young defeated Murray, playing aggressive, hard-boiled tennis. But isn’t that among the biggest problems we have with emerging American players. They win big, lose big and all the USTA can talk about is how much progress the player is making. We’re beginning to sound a bit like the Brits, who love to declare, “Oh, hard luck,” when one of their players is demolished.

It was particularly unsatisfying to see Young go down when six Yanks had reached the third round at Indian Wells and a day after young Christina McHale notched her career best win by defeating Sveta Kuznetsova, a Grand Slam champion.

No one would be denigrating Young if he’d put on a highly competitive performance and lost, but he clearly wasn’t ready to start this one.

* He was down 0-1 in the opening set on a sloppy backhand volley at 30-40.

* Down 2-0 when Robredo hit a 116 mph ace down the middle. That’s right, a flat 116 for an ace.

* Down 3-0 when he not only double-faulted on game point, but on break point.

Robredo broke early in the second set before Young got back on serve at 4-4 by playing his best five minutes of tennis in this match. And then he gave it right back with some very poor judgment.

Serving at 30-40, Young drove a shot to Robredo’s backhand corner and then came to the net behind it — from his own forehand corner. Robredo needed to take just two steps to reach the ball and, because Young had begun his gallop forward to the net from the corner, Young had no command of the net.

The Spaniard had his choice of passing shots and went up the line with his backhand, slipping the ball under Young’s racket for 5-4, and then closed it out at 40-15.

This is, incredibly, Young’s seventh year in professional tennis and he continues to be coached by his parents — essentially the only full-time coaches he’s ever had. Along the way, he won the Wimbledon and Australian junior titles, but those were mere teasers — just like the Murray match.

He’ll take 45 ranking points out of Indian Wells, pushing him up to about 130 in the ATP pecking order. He can also feel good about winning two regular tour matches in a row for the first time in a couple years, though his career ATP record is only 16-47 — hardly what mega-agency IMG had in mind when they signed him at age 14.

He now moves on to Key Biscayne for the next chapter in his life. It was Bogie who once told Ingrid Bergman, “We’ll always have Paris.” I guess Young will always have the Andy Murray match. But he needs to understand it’s not about isolated wins. It’s about streaks of wins, and he still doesn’t look ready for that.

Surprises and upsets in the first week of Indian Wells – Mondays with Bob Greene

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STARS

BNP Paribas Open

(First Week)

Donald Young beat fifth-seeded Andy Murray 7-6 (4) 6-3

Ivo Karlovic beat sixth-seeded David Ferrer 7-6 (3) 6-3

Peng Shuai beat seventh-seeded Li Na 4-6 6-3 6-3

OTHER

Mark Philippoussis beat Tim Henman 6-3, 7-6 (3) to win the BNP Paribas Zurich Open in Zurich, Switzerland

SAYING

“It’s by far the biggest win of my career.” – Donald Young, after beating Andy Murray at the BNP Paribas Open.

“Early on in tournaments when you’re not hitting the ball well, running a lot of balls down and making your opponent play, you can sometimes get the job done. But I didn’t move particularly well and he hit a lot of winners. He gained in confidence I guess from hitting more winners.” – Andy Murray, following his loss to Donald Young.

“I’ve seen enough of that serve for one lifetime.” – Pete Sampras, talking about the left-handed serve of Goran Ivanisevic.

“Nobody forgets how to play.” – Dinara Safina, a former world number one who is beginning to win matches again after struggling with injuries last year.

“I love this Tour. Hopefully I can play a lot more ATP Champions Tour events because I’m having so much fun. My love for tennis came back because of these events.” Mark Philippoussis, who has won the last two senior tournaments.

“Confidence is crucial. It’s a very important thing to have, in this individual sport. If you’re on the run, you don’t want to mess up. You don’t want to stumble. You just want to keep on going and hold the momentum. This is what I’m trying to do.” – Novak Djokovic,

“It was tough to get a gauge on how I was playing because James was playing so aggressively. He came out from the first game and I realized his strategy was … he didn’t want to let me get into a rhythm. I felt like he was coming out of his shoes.” – Andy Roddick, after beating fellow American James Blake at Indian Wells.

“The last couple of weeks I’m starting to feel more confident with my game. I was struggling with my foot (work), with my movement. I wasn’t moving well. I had no confidence in my game. My movement was not there. I was making a lot of unforced errors. I had a hard time on the court. I was basically a shadow of myself.” – Jelena Jankovic.

SHOCKER

Donald Young has struggled since turning pro. Don’t tell that to Andy Murray, however. The 21-year-old American shocked the fifth-ranked Murray 7-6 (4) 6-3 in the BNP Paribas Open, the first time Young, who had to qualify for the hard court tournament, has beaten a top 10 players. A former junior champion who has struggled on the ATP tour, Young is ranked 143rd in the world and had a 1-3 match record going into the Indian Wells, California, USA, event. “It’s by far the biggest win of my career,” Young admitted. Since reaching the final of the Australian Open in January, Murray has lost seven consecutive sets – three to Novak Djokovic in the year’s first Grand Slam tournament, two to Marcos Baghdatis in Rotterdam, Netherlands, in early February, and two to Young. “I started the match well and then when it got close to the end of the first set I just didn’t do anything particularly well,” Murray said. “I didn’t do anything to really lift myself. He started playing better. I didn’t find my way back into the match.”

Donald Young

“SCARIEST MOMENT”

Calling her recent blood clot drama “the scariest moment in my life,” Serena Williams said she is still planning on returning to tennis this summer. Being interviewed on the Today show, Williams said her recent medical problems have made her appreciate her tennis even more. “I had swelling in my leg, which is a tell-tale sign of embolism, and I could not breathe,” she said. “I remember thinking, ‘I’m walking but I cannot breathe. That forced me to the emergency room.’” After winning Wimbledon last July, her 13th Grand Slam tournament singles title. Williams was in Germany when she stepped on broken glass and cut her foot. Since then she has had two operations on her foot and, for the most part, has been on crutches and wearing a walking boot. She said she is still being treated from clots in her lungs with blood thinners. “Luckily enough I was able to catch it (the clot) soon enough that my career won’t be affected,” she said. “I have so much to look forward to.”

STRUGGLES OVER?

Dinara Safina could finally be over her injury-induced slump. The former world number one easily won her opening round match at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, USA, never losing her serve in a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Arantxa Parra Santonja. Safina was the world’s top-ranked player for half of 2009. This was before injuries caused her game to collapse. This year, she began by losing first-round matches in her first two tournaments. Safina then became the first former world number one to lose a Grand Slam tournament match without winning a game as Kim Clijsters pounded out a 6-0, 6-0 thrashing. But Safina recently teamed with Galina Voskoboeva to win the doubles at the BMW Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur and has followed it up by playing strongly in singles. “I’m getting more and more positive,” Safina said. “I’m working day by day and trying to get better, and with the hard work I believe I will get better. Nobody forgets how to play.”

SURGERY YET AGAIN

For the third straight year, Argentina’s David Nalbandian has undergone a surgeon’s knife. Following operations on a hernia in his left groin and a torn lower leg muscle, the 29-year-old said he will be sidelined for eight weeks. Nalbandian suffered the hernia and also pulled the leg muscle during his four-set victory over Romania’s Adrian Ungur in a Davis Cup World Group first-round tie. He was visibly hampered by the injuries throughout the clash in Buenos Aires, pausing for long periods inbetween points. But he fought through the pain to help Argentina through to a quarterfinal meeting against Kazakhstan. Nalbandian was forced to retire from his second-round match at the Australian Open in January, citing fatigue. He came back from hip surgery in 2009 and overcame a back operation last year.

SUPPORTIVE PARENT

Kim Clijsters says that once she retires she wants to adopt a child. The Belgian star retired from the sport, got married and gave birth to her daughter. She returned to the tennis wars in 2009 following a two-year break and has since been one of the most dominant players on the tour, winning the last two US Opens – to go along with the one she won before she retired – and the Australian Open two months ago. Clijsters is currently ranked number two in the world but could supplant Caroline Wozniacki in the top spot in the rankings by the time play in the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, USA, is completed. “I have always said that my goal in life is to adopt, so that is something that I want to start working on when I am done playing,” she said. Clijsters is accompanied on tour by her husband, former professional basketball player Brian Lynch, and their daughter Jada. She has said she wants to compete in the 2012 Olympic Games in London and has hinted that she may retire after that.

SWISS TIMING

Roger Federer will play Davis Cup for Switzerland again after a nearly two-year hiatus. The last time Federer played in the international team competition was September 2009. However, he announced his intention to play in July – just five days after the Wimbledon final – shortly after top-ranked Rafael Nadal said he would play in Spain’s Davis Cup quarterfinal against the United States. Switzerland will play host to Portugal in a Europe/Africa Zone Group 1 second-round tie. A win would put Switzerland in position to have a chance to return to the World Group after being relegated last year. “I’ve decided I’m going to play the Davis Cup tie in July at home against Portugal,” Federer wrote on his official website. “I’m really looking forward to helping Switzerland begin the process of getting back into the World Group.” Of course, by playing Davis Cup, Federer would then qualify to compete in the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

SOUTH AFRICAN CUPPERS

Captain John-Laffnie de Jager can relax now that all of South Africa’s top tennis players have declared themselves available for the Europe/Africa Group 1 tie against the Netherlands in July. It is the first time in four years that De Jager has enjoyed what might be considered a luxury. Until now, Kevin Anderson, the country’s No. 1 singles player, and Wesley Moodie, South Africa’s top doubles player, have not committed to playing Davis Cup at the same time. Anderson, ranked 40th in the world, has not played Davis Cup for more than two years in a period in which South Africa have failed at the last hurdle to qualify for the Davis Cup’s elite World Group after an absence of 11 years. “I think all the players now realize how vitally important it is for South African tennis to return to the World Group,” said De Jager, “and that all our resources will be needed if we are to stand what will, in any case, be a testing challenge.” Of course, by playing Davis Cup the South African players qualify to play in the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

SCUD ATTACK

The senior tour is just what Mark Philippoussis was looking for. The Australian continued his rampage through the ATP Champions Tour by winning his second successive title in 2011, defeating Britain’s Tim Henman 6-3 7-6 (3) to lift the BNP Paribas Zurich Open winners’ trophy. Philippoussis, who won the title in Delray Beach, Florida, USA, two weeks ago, was in control from the start against his old rival Henman, withstanding a late fight back to win the match on a second set tie-break. “Tim was a little slow in starting and I took advantage of that, but as the match went on he warmed up a little and started serving bigger and we had some good points. It was a really good match,” Philippoussis said. “I love this tour. Hopefully I can play a lot more ATP Champions Tour events because I’m having so much fun. My love for tennis came back because of these events. I love the way they’re set up, they’re so relaxed. We hang out together, we get on the court and have some fun, but we’re still competitive. This has been a great week.”

SCOTLAND-BOUND?

Andy Murray is ready to play Davis Cup for Great Britain again, and he wants to do it on Scottish soil. A native of Scotland, Murray is planning on leading the team against Luxembourg in July as Great Britain attempts to move up from Europe/Africa Group Two. Murray believes playing in Scotland, and particularly at Stirling University, would create a good crowd for the tie. The last two home ties were held in Eastbourne and Bolton, where the crowds were sparse and the interest level was minimal. The fact that Stirling is also 10 minutes away from Murray’s hometown and is where he, his brother Jamie and Colin Fleming used to practice is an added bonus. “To me it’s not about playing it in Scotland, in England or any of that stuff,” Murray said. “It’s about what the best venue is, and I don’t think it makes sense to put it in a venue where the tickets aren’t in high demand and they aren’t selling out within minutes.”

SIGNING UP

The Family Circle Cup field keeps getting stronger. The latest to officially commit to playing the Charleston, SC, tournament is top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki, who reached the final two years ago. “Caroline Wozniacki has set the world on fire in the past two years as she continues to make her mark on women’s tennis,” said Eleanor Adams, Family Circle Cup tournament manager. “She is rapidly becoming a figure who transcends the game and we are thrilled to welcome her back to Charleston.” Others in the field for the 39th consecutive running of the tournament include Samantha Stosur, Jelena Jankovic, Maria Sharapova, Shahar Peer, Nadia Petrova, Daniela Hantuchova, Melanie Oudin and Sabine Lisicki. In her six years on the women’s tour, Wozniacki has won 13 singles titles and more than $8.5 million in prize money. She became the 20th woman to top the rankings when she overtook Serena Williams on October 11, 2010. As the first Dane, male or female, to hold the top ranking, Wozniacki finished 2010 as the world’s number one player. This year the 20-year-old has reached the semifinal of the Australian Open, won in Dubai and reached the final in Doha.

SERVING FOR FIVE

Andy Roddick is seeking to become the first player to win five titles at Queen’s Club in London. The American’s competition at the Wimbledon warm-up will include Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Roddick lifted the winners’ trophy at The Queen’s Club in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2007. He is one of only a handful of players to have won the title four times since the event was first played in 1890. John McEnroe, Boris Becker, Lleyton Hewitt, Roy Emerson, MJG Ritchie and AF Wilding, are the others. “Over the years I’ve had a lot of success at The Queen’s Club, it has real tradition and I love the whole month in London,” Roddick said. “Queen’s has the best grass courts in the world, they play perfectly and so the AEGON Championships is a great way to prepare for Wimbledon.” The 28-year-old Roddick is rediscovering his form after being affected by glandular fever during the grass-court season last year. Roddick has finished ranked inside the world’s top 10 every year since 2002. He won his sole Grand Slam title at the 2003 US Open, and hr has reached three Wimbledon finals.

SEEING IS BELIEVING

Both the ladies’ and gentlemen’s title matches at Wimbledon will be televised in 3D this summer, along with the men’s semifinals. The All England Lawn Tennis Club and Sony announced a multi-year partnership to bring Wimbledon to 3D-ready digital cinemas around the world. The live 3D production, in partnership with Wimbledon host broadcaster BBC, will also be offered to broadcasters. “We are delighted that our 3D partnership with Sony will not only guarantee we are at the cutting edge of live sporting television, but also deliver a compelling new viewing experience for our global audiences, especially among our younger supporters,” said Ian Ritchie, chief executive of the All England Lawn Tennis Club. Wimbledon this year runs June 20-July 3.

SONY EYE

Sony has been busy on a lot of fronts. The Japanese electronics giant has purchased Hawk-Eye, the United Kingdom company that makes ball-tracking technology for tennis and cricket. Hawk-Eye inventor Paul Hawkins said the takeover by Sony created “immense opportunities for the sports industry.” Sony purchased all intellectual property rights, Hawk-Eye’s current full time staff as well as its technology, software and engineering. Despite its high-profile brand name, Hawk-Eye is a relatively small company with profits of (USD) $1,892,500 (£1.1m) last year. Last autumn, it said it expected to make a profit of (USD) $2,916,730 (£1.8m) this year.

SPONSORS

A British newspaper has reported that BBC managers considered dropping Wimbledon and Formula One racing from its television lineup after the corporation’s license fee settlement was frozen last year. Wimbledon has been shown by the BBC since 1937, and the relationship between the All England Club and the broadcaster’s sports department is so close that the exact cost of the exclusive contract has never been revealed. Formula One, which has been broadcast by the BBC since 2008, has also been highlighted as a potential opportunity for savings. A BBC insider told The Guardian: “Wimbledon costs tens of millions, and is a very expensive contract. No one is saying definitely exit, but it is being looked at. Or perhaps, goes the thinking, this is a contract that could be shared with another broadcaster.”

SURFING

Indian Wells: www.bnpparibasopen.com/

Zurich: www.zurichopen.net/

Nassau: www.thebahamasopen.com

Bahamas Tennis Association: www.blta.net/

Miami: www.sonyericssonopen.com/

Kunming: www.ldzjhome.com

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

(All money in USD)

MEN

$4,500,000 BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells, California, USA, hard (second week)

$100,000 Le Gosier Guadeloupe Challenger, Guadeloupe, hard

WOMEN

$4,500,000 BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells, California, USA, hard (second week)

$100,000 The Bahamas Women’s Open, Nassau, Bahamas, hard

TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK

MEN

$4,500,000 Sony Ericsson Open, Miami, Florida, USA, hard (first week)

WOMEN

$4,500,000 Sony Ericsson Open, Miami, Florida, USA, hard (first week)

An American Movement Fueled by the Masses

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By Erwin Ong

The fourth day of play at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., produced some notable results for American tennis players, no doubt buoyed by playing in front of a home crowd.

Most significant of these is the straight set victory by qualifier Donald Young over fifth seed Andy Murray. His 7-6 (4), 6-3 defeat of the 2011 Australian Open finalist is a welcome development for the American, who has languished ever since succumbing to the pressure to be the Next Great American; he’s currently ranked 143 in the world.

Ryan Sweeting

Another qualifier, Ryan Sweeting, spent some time this afternoon on the practice court, his coach reminding him to be aggressive during his match against Juan Monaco of Argentina. Sweeting successfully upset the 27th seed 6-1, 0-6, 6-1. The frustrated Monaco forced points with drop shots and outright winners – most unsuccessful – ultimately leading to his defeat in this up-and-down match.

The pro-American fans surely boosted these players to victory. The stadium seats made their preferences and enthusiasm known clearly, frazzling even the most seasoned of the opponents. “The crowd were for him,” Murray said of playing Young. “He started playing better. I didn’t find my way back into the match.”

And Ryan Sweeting, during his on-court interview, described the fan support as “electric,” giving him goosebumps every time they cheered.

That intensity also played into Christina McHale’s marathon over Svetlana Kuznetsova. The 7-6 (4), 7-6 (7) win, which took over 2 hours, was egged on by the crowd who chanted her name, did the wave during changeovers, and kept a motivating atmosphere for McHale. “I just told myself to keep fighting,” McHale shared. Every point I had been playing well, so I just tried not to think about the score.”

The Bryan Brothers – not that they need fan support to win – also benefited from being one of Saturday’s late matches, which left ticketholders with no choice but to pack the stands as they played against Feli Lopez and Canadian upstart Milos Raonic . Their 6-4, 7-5 gets them closer to a trophy they have yet to win. Meanwhile, other seeded teams lost early: The second-seeded team of Nestor and Mirnyi only won three games against Federer and Wawrinka; fourth seed Matkowski and Fyrstenberg lost two tiebreak sets to defending champs Nadal and Lopez; and the team of Llodra and Zimonjic, seeded sixth, lost in the super-tiebreak to the Americans John Isner and Sam Querrey.

And the American presence could be short-lived; Sweeting next faces Nadal; Andy Roddick and James Blake square off; wildcard Ryan Harrison will play 22nd seed Guillermo Garcia Lopez; and McHale will take on Nadia Petrova. But while they are at this tournament, they can bank on having fans on American soil cheer them on. Whether they can convert that support and energy into a “W” on the scoreboard is up to them.

Mardy Fish Barely Breaks a Sweat to Reach the Next at Delray Beach

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By Blair Henley


Almost exactly one year ago, American Mardy Fish’s ranking sat just outside the top 100. When he stepped on the court today to play his first round match at the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships, he was announced as the No. 16 player in the world. That makes him the second-highest ranked American behind only Andy Roddick who was forced to pull out of the South Florida tournament yesterday with a flu-like illness.

And apparently Roddick isn’t the only one feeling under the weather. Fish’s opponent, No. 92 Bjorn Phau, lost the first five games of the first set before calling a trainer and subsequently retiring from the match after just a half hour of play.

Mardy Fish

Phau, who was also at the Memphis tournament where Roddick became ill, cited similar symptoms before throwing in the towel. American Ryan Harrison was another Memphis competitor who was vomited on-court multiple times in his loss to Florent Serra in Delray yesterday.

“I think a lot of people got [the virus] in Memphis,” Fish said. “It was so cold there the first few days.”

Though he has managed to avoid the flu, Fish has struggled since mid-November with a hyperthyroid condition that’s caused fatigue and muscle soreness.

“It takes three to six months to run its course,” Fish said of his illness. “I didn’t even know what a thyroid was until they told me. Now I’m getting my blood tested every five days.”

Fish’s severe fatigue coupled with the ankle injury that knocked him out toward the end of last year allowed him plenty of time to reflect on the second half of 2010 where he claimed two titles and racked up an impressive 28-5 record.

“I was able reminisce about the work that I put in and the summer that I had,” he said. “To be honest I was pretty spent after that, mentally. I had a lot of time to think about the beginning of the year and to not be healthy and not have my body be there for me was tough.”

He is undoubtedly referring to his disappointing second round loss to Tommy Robredo at the Australian Open, but things are looking up after his semifinal showing last week in Memphis. And now, with Roddick out in Delray, the door is wide open for Fish to capture his second title here.

“It went from one of the strongest 250 [level] tournaments you’ll see, and now it’s opened up for us pretty nicely,” he said.

Fish will play the winner of Rainer Scheuttler and Ricardo Mello next as he tries to build on last year’s breakout season, and win or lose, he’ll have some important fans in the stands.

“My dad couldn’t make it today, but they live close enough to where my mom can drive down,” Fish said of his parents who live in nearby Vero Beach. “I don’t see them much at all anymore. They’ve seen me play plenty of times, but just seeing them, period, is a lot better.”

Though Fish barely broke a sweat before his match ended this afternoon, there was more tennis to be seen in Delray. American youngsters Jack Sock and Donald Young took on Australian journeymen Stephen Huss and Ashley Fisher in the evening’s marquis matchup. Though the Australians prevailed 6-3, 4-6, 10-7 (Champion’s Tiebreak), 18-year-old Sock and 21-year-old Young held their own against the team of 35-year-old veterans.

Young lost his singles match earlier in the day to Kevin Anderson of South Africa, but another American, Ryan Sweeting, advanced easily. He’ll meet Sam Querrey in the second round.

The Curious Case of Donald Young

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Has it really been seven years since IMG galvanized the full force of its public relations machinery in an effort to turn Donald Young into the next great American star?

Where did the time go? More to the point, where has Young gone, except to the depths of the minor leagues and, now, back to another flirtation with the top 100.

He’s 21 now and, after his Australian Open drew to a fast conclusion on Day 2, we’re still not sure how far he’s going to go, though if you had to put money on it, you wouldn’t bet top 50, despite Jim Courier’s claim that he is “without a doubt a top-50 player.”

Courier, the new U.S. Davis Cup captain, had more to say about Young, but it’s all been said before — so often that it begins to sound like faint praise.

“He has so much upside potential. He really is a terrific striker of the ball, but he’s leaving a lot on the table because he hasn’t been in great shape. He also just hasn’t made that jump from a ball-striker to a tennis player,” Courier explained.

Donald Young

It was encouraging to see Young glide through three rounds of qualifying at Melbourne with the loss of only 11 games, but he drew No. 15 Marin Cilic, who reached the Aussie Open semis a year ago, in the opening round and went down 6-3, 6-2, 6-1.

He was overwhelmed by Cilic’s serving and forehand and he seemed perpetually to be playing defense, looping shots back at the big Croatian that left Cilic whatever time he needed to dictate the points.

Would Donald have won a round here had his draw not been so daunting? Cilic is an extremely difficult opener for anyone, but we’ll find out in the weeks ahead just how much staying power Young has this time.

He had spent most of December at the USTA training camp in Carson, Calif., where he apparently got in some hard work.

“I was very heartened to see that he made the commitment to go out to Carson and spend some time training with Mardy Fish and Sam Querrey,” said Courier. And Young got with USTA trainer Rodney Marshall and put in a lot of daily off-court work as well.

“That’s one of the areas where Donald really needs to lift, in the fitness area,” Courier said.

Seven years ago, at age 14, Young was small, naive and under the strict tutelage of his parents. A premie at birth, barely weighing two pounds, he wasn’t muscled, and still isn’t. But he was extremely quick, left-handed and possessed of a surprising variety of shots for one so young.

It was that broad range of shot-making ability that had so many people enamored of his future. But, even with a Wimbledon junior title, he didn’t launch into professional notoriety. He cracked top-100 in 2008, got to No. 79, then fell back. In 2007, at New Haven, just before the U.S. Open, he got his first ATP win and pressed Nikolay Davydenko to three sets before losing. His run continued into the third round at the U.S. Open a week later and he played well at the start of 2008. Things looked promising then.

Yet he’s been just another player out there since. Was there a wear-down factor? Probably. Privately, U.S. tennis executives noted that the best thing Donald’s parents could have done years ago was to turn over his coaching to the USTA staff.

In fact, he did get some help from the USTA, but his parents remained firmly in charge. Maybe that’s what Courier meant when he said, “I’m hopeful he’ll keep the level of commitment he showed by being out there on his own for a couple of weeks (in Carson). If he can keep that up and keep the training and keep pushing forward and take his knocks, he’s without a doubt a top-50 player. It would be a real waste if he didn’t reach that, at a minimum.”

Young will return to the U.S. now that he’s out of the Aussie Open and face more qualifying tournaments to get into ATP main draws. Is he indeed top-50 talent, and maybe more?

He’s got a lot of convincing to do.

Falconi, Kendrick, Lucic Highlight US Open Qualifiers

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It was a memorable Saturday for 20-year-old Irina Falconi, the former Georgia Tech All-American who easily defeated Canadian Stephanie Dubois in the final round of qualifying to earn her first entry into the U.S. Open main draw.

In fact, make that her first entry into any Grand Slam main draw. And it will be even more memorable if she can build on three qualifying wins by getting a win or two when the Open begins on Monday.

Falconi won 6-3, 6-1 over Dubois, the No. 25 seed, but is the only U.S. woman to qualify, and that won’t sit well with the people who run the USTA Player Development program in Boca Raton, Fla., and Carson, Calif. — the two main training sites.

It may be a big step forward for Falconi, who used two years in college to mature, but it’s a small step back for U.S. women after two Americans (Shenay Perry and Carly Gullikson) qualified at the 2009 Open and three (Alexa Glatch, Kristie Ahn and Perry) in 2008.

Meanwhile, only two American men qualified — No. 22 seed Robert Kendrick, who is ranked 147, and No. 219 Ryan Harrison, who got through his final round of qualifying on Friday. Kendrick on Saturday defeated Tatsuma Ito 6-3, 6-3. It’s the second Slam in a row in which Kendrick has qualified, having won his way into the Wimbledon main draw in June.

The U.S. had a chance for a fourth qualifier, but 32-year-old veteran Kevin Kim was beaten in the final round by Ricardas Berankis of Lithuania by 6-1, 6-3. Like Harrison, Berankis trains at the Bollettieri IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.

A year ago, three American men qualified for the Open — Donald Young, Michael Yani and Jesse Witten.

There are 16 qualifiers in both the men’s and women’s tournaments and none of them has had a higher career ranking than onetime wonder teen Mirjana Lucic, who at age 16 had reached No. 11 in the world and who, a year later, was a semifinalist at Wimbledon.

Tall, physically strong even as a teenager, she appeared headed for a heralded career in tennis, but was beset by injuries and personal problems before re-committing to the game a couple years ago.

Now 28 and ranked No. 153, she qualified and is playing her first U.S. Open in eight years.

ISNER, QUERREY NEED TO BE RESPECTED AT ROLAND GARROS

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By Blair Henley

It seems like only yesterday that tennis fans and pundits were predicting dark days for American men’s tennis. With Andy Roddick aging and James Blake and Mardy Fish sitting well outside of the top 50, the USTA found itself in desperate need of a rising star or two.

Well, they got what they were looking for, or more accurately, a gift was left on the doorstep of American tennis’ governing body. While all eyes were set on Donald Young’s progress, a Californian named Sam Querrey entered the picture. After a successful junior career, he passed up a full scholarship from the University of Southern California to turn pro in 2006. Only a year later, fellow American John Isner made his professional debut after playing four years of college tennis at the University of Georgia.

Fast forward a few years.

Today, Isner and Querrey are ranked No. 19 and 22 respectively and find themselves second (and third) in line for the American tennis throne currently occupied by someone they have both beaten in the past year: Andy Roddick. In fact, it was the voluntary withdrawal of Roddick and James Blake from Davis Cup consideration this year that opened the door for Isner and Querrey to participate.

Though the U.S. fell to Serbia 3-2 in March, the presence of two new faces on the team (Querrey also competed last year) has prompted headlines announcing a changing of the guard.

So who exactly are these guys?

First off, they’re friends. Isner has said that they text daily. They are also doubles partners and took their first title together this February in Memphis. At that same tournament, they played each other for the first time on tour in the singles final, with Querrey defeating Isner in a tough three setter.

That was the first of three times they have played this year. Isner got some revenge in the third round of Indian Wells, only to be taken down again by Querrey in the clay final of the Serbia Open a week ago.

It just so happens that those two final matchups were the tallest in ATP Tour history. Isner stands 6’9” and Querrey is just inches shorter at 6’6.” Not surprisingly, they rely heavily on the strength of their serves, but both men have also made fitness a priority which has improved their baseline games. The two have been working to further develop their net games as well, which will be a key tool if they hope to crack the Top 10.

At the rate they are going, such a feat doesn’t seem out of the question. Querrey was the first man ever to win a Challenger level event in his professional debut, and Isner went from a ranking of 839 to 107 in his first six months on tour. Since then they have shown themselves willing to make adjustments, which has aided their steady climb. The similarities don’t end there.

Both Querrey and Isner bounced back from health issues in 2009. Isner’s battle with mononucleosis kept him out of the French Open and Wimbledon, while Querrey fell through a glass table in Bangkok. Twenty-five stitches later, he narrowly avoided permanent damage to his right arm. Both men have inked endorsement deals with Olympus – the only tennis players to do so. And, in case anyone was wondering, they are also single.

The biggest difference between Isner and Querrey (clearly there aren’t many) is their path to the pros. Isner, who just turned 25, is close to three years older than Querrey, and admits that he didn’t have professional aspirations out of high school because he “wasn’t good enough.” Unlike Jimmy Connors (UCLA) or John McEnroe (Stanford) who left college after only one year, Isner used all four years of eligibility at Georgia to strengthen and develop his steadily improving game. In addition to getting his degree in Speech Communication, he left with a NCAA team title and he holds the school record for wins in both singles and doubles.

Querrey admits he had a difficult time making the decision to forego college tennis, but unlike Isner, he had to consider his significant international success as a junior. Both men seem to have made the right choice.

Isner made it to second week of the last two Grand Slams, but look for Querrey to use the confidence gained in his two tour wins this year to show some Grand Slam success of his own (let’s hope he quickly gets over this week’s embarrassing loss to No. 315 in the world, Daniel Munoz-De La Nava, in Madrid). After reaching the final in Serbia, the duo has shown that victory on clay is not out of the question, and their opponents at Roland Garros would be wise to respect that.

Both John Isner and Sam Querrey have experienced lulls in their progress over the past three years, but have rebounded quickly, showing they can handle the expectations of a nation. No doubt the two Americans have room to improve, but they are heading in the right direction.