If someone told you that the 82nd ranked tennis player in the world would be advancing to the 4th round of the U.S. Open after having beat Swiss’s number two, Stanislas Wawrinka and the 24th ranked player, Juan Ignacio Chela, you would say that they were lying.
Donald Young’s performance in the U.S. Open this year is certainly not a lie however as he has emerged as the latest American to pull off an upset in the U.S. Open. It seems like almost every year there is an American story to emerge in the U.S. Open. Maybe it is the home turf or the raucous New York crowd that always bring the best out of the American athletes. Or maybe it is just being under those lights and the fact that it is the last major of the year that makes the athletes perform well. Either way, American success at the U.S. Open is not to be overlooked and is a great sign for the future of the USTA.
Young has taken it upon himself to be this year’s guy. In a time where American tennis has seen its worst results in decades after witnessing its star Andy Roddick falter after winning his only major in 2003 and having no one step up to be the top American. In fact an American has not won a grand slam title since Roddick’s in 2003 and before this year it did not look like they would win another anytime soon.
Now, both Mardy Fish and John Isner have emerged along with Roddick as America’s top three but they have certainly left openings for a crop of new talent currently running through the USTA. Donald Young is just one of these guys.
Although Young turned pro in 2004 at the young age of 15, his name was not even mentioned among the U.S. tennis ranks. Up until this tournament Young was nothing more than a wildcard who only in a handful of tournaments made it out of the 1st round. This year however, Young had something to prove to himself, to the USTA and to the tennis world. The 2011 U.S. Open was his breakthrough into being in the conversation of serious tennis.
Watching Young play is always a good show. He has good speed and has a pretty good ground game. His serve is a little better than average and his net play is also pretty good. Young is a solid player but more than that he is the type of player this American crowd likes to watch. As always, the U.S. sports fan will cheer for the underdog and because Young is a wildcard he has been the underdog in every match he has played. Young isn’t just the underdog however. He has something else that is hard to describe that just makes the crowd want to cheer for him. Now sure, he isn’t the typical image of what we consider a tennis player. He wears and earring and everything, but Young has heart and has displayed that throughout his entire 2011 U.S. Open.
Young gets into the big plays and uses them to play off the crowd. His infectious smile and excitement for the game of tennis instantly made him a crowd favorite. And when he played on Arthur Ashe in the lights for the first time, the crowd loved him every step of the way. He managed to come back from deficits and showed grit and determination, both traits that American tennis fans like to cheer for.
Young is just one of the many Americans that made a splash at this year’s U.S. Open. A lot of the youngsters made the second rounds only to lose to the older Americans who in most cases are the young ones’ heroes. American tennis has definitely turned a leaf toward the future and Young’s success is just one of the bright spots the USTA can look to.
Even though he lost to Andy Murray in his fourth round match it is all a part of the growing experience and learning curve that will help Young be successful in the future.
So the next time someone asks you who Donald Young is, you won’t have to shrug and say, “I don’t know,” but can rather say, “I know him, he is one of the future stars of U.S. tennis.”