LONDON: On a day where players battled in the unforgiving heat at The Queen’s Club, Donald Young looked as cool as ice after playing both his singles and doubles match on Wednesday.
The demeanour of the American is one of both maturity and level-headedness. At the Aegon Championships he cruised to an impressive 6-3, 6-4, win over Serbia’s Viktor Troicki, a player ranked 16 places higher than him in the ATP Rankings. The victory is a double milestone. He clinched his first back-to-back win in a tournament since Miami to progress to his first ATP Quarter-final since February.
“It’s a big win for me. To do that, it’s been a while.” Said Young. “I mean the first round win wasn’t the way I wanted it to go (Kyrgios retired), but nonetheless it was a win and to back it up with an actual full match is great.”
The timing couldn’t have been better for the 27-year-old. Shortly he will be embarking upon the American hard-court season, understandably his favourite time of the year. Prior to that he will take to the courts at Wimbledon, where he will be seeking to win only his third main draw match at the tournament.
“It gives me confidence for going into the rest of the year and going into my favourite part of the year, which is the hard court season.” He reflected on the significance of his win over Troicki.
With five seeded players already out of Queen’s, the draw is opening up for a underdog to triumph. Apart from his trophy-dominated junior career, young is yet to secure a title on the ATP World Tour, settling for second best on two occasions. Could this week bring an end to his drought?
“I’m just working on the next round honestly. I can’t think too far ahead, that would be wrong to think that far ahead.” The diplomatic speaking American evaluated.
“Tennis is a game of match-ups. So it could be a guy waiting I’ve never beaten or a guy I’ve played well against. We’ll see, hopefully I can focus on my round and see how it goes.”
Doubles boost ahead of Wimbledon
This year is the tenth anniversary of Young’s biggest achievement at SW19. In 2007 he defeated top seed Uladzimir Ignatik to clinch the Wimbledon boys title. The memories of that day are still fresh in his mind. His confidence on the surface continue to blossom, even though it is yet to convert into substantial wins on the tour.
“I’ve played well on grass, although I haven’t won as many matches as I would have liked. When you win at any level, it brings confidence. It can be futures, juniors, money tournaments if you win a lot, college etc. it builds your confidence.”
Another recent boost for Young occurred on the clay courts at Roland Garros. Teamed up with Santiago Gonzalez, he became only the fourth African-American man in history to reach a grand slam final. Following in the footsteps of players such as Arthur Ashe.
“For me it was a confidence builder. I didn’t get over the hump, but if you told me I would be in the final of the doubles. I would have taken that any day of the week.” He joked.
Players such as Feliciano Lopez has previously talked about the advantages playing doubles brings to their individual game. Acknowledging that there are differences between the two, Young also supports this view. Albeit in a somewhat formal manner.
“It’s a little different movement, but again, it is match play, it’s competitive. You are getting that feel of tightness. Jubilation when you win, it’s definitely good.” He explained.
The brutal side of tennis
A grand slam grand slam finalist does not mean players are exempt from social media hate. The advancement of technology is both a blessing and a curse. Players such as Young are becoming more reliant on websites such as Twitter to engage with fans and sponsors, but there are drawbacks.
Earlier this month, 18-year-old British player Jay Alexander Clarke revealed to the BBC that he received 15-20 racist messages a month. With such an advancement in civil rights, it is a sad revelation to hear. Like Clarke, Young also knows what it is like to be hated by a community reliant on gambling.
“All the time,” he replied when asked if he have received similar messages. “No one should have to go through that, but when you get to this level, to this point, stuff is going to come. You’re more in the public eye.”
Due to his laid back personality, the hatred doesn’t bother the world No.55. In fact, Young looks at the positive side of it.
“I would rather have people talking about me both ways than no talking at all.”
Young has the advantage of experience regarding dealing with social media trolls. Younger players such as Clarke aren’t so lucky, but can find some comfort with this advice from Young himself.
“It means you’re doing something honestly. It means you’re on the right track. Cos they don’t care or bet on anybody that is not winning or relevant. You’re doing something at some level that they they see and know about.” He said in a message to younger players.
Yet to crack the world’s top-20, 27-year-old Young has not got the same pull factor as the ‘big four.’ What he does have though is experience and determination. It is that what makes this down-to-earth figure very likeable and very intriguing.
