Unranked American Rallies Past 11th Seed

Gone are the days when Donald Young was considered the future of U.S. tennis. In the 12 years since he turned professional, at 14, Young has lost more matches than he has won. He has battled nerves, critics and opponents. He has become an unabashed reader of self-help books - and pretty much anything else that might help him deal with adversity. (Complete coverage of US Open 2015)

 

So when Young trailed 11th-seeded Gilles Simon by two sets Tuesday afternoon at the U.S. Open and subsequently dropped the first three games of the third set, he still felt less pressure than he ever had as a teenage prodigy, Young said.

He rushed the net. He roped winners from the baseline. And he won a match that he said he surely would have lost back when he was trying to survive a gantlet of public scrutiny and unfulfilled expectations.

"One hundred percent I would have beat myself up," he said.

Instead, Young's first-round match was a master class in mental fortitude as he defeated Simon, 2-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4, before an appreciative crowd on Court 17.

Young, 26, who has become something of a sage veteran on the grounds here, provided perspective on a day when several other young players - including two from the New York area - made their main-draw debuts.

Jamie Loeb, a newly minted pro from Ossining, New York, and Louisa Chirico, a 19-year-old player from Harrison, New York, lost their first-round matches in straight sets. They combined to win five games. Tennis is hard, even for the most promising young players.

"I was kind of thrown into it in my first pro tournament," said Loeb, 20, who lasted 67 minutes in a 6-2, 6-0 loss to fourth-seeded Caroline Wozniacki at Arthur Ashe Stadium. "It's definitely something I'll learn from."

After a rash of upsets Monday, three more seeded women lost Tuesday afternoon, including No. 6 Lucie Safarova, who fell in straight sets to Lesia Tsurenko. No. 14 Timea Bacsinszky and No. 28 Irina-Camelia Begu also had abbreviated tournament runs.

Oppressive heat and humidity continued to be a challenge. Four more players retired from their matches citing physical ailments. Thanasi Kokkinakis was forced to retire in the fifth set of his match against No. 12 Richard Gasquet because of cramps. Kokkinakis punctuated the match by obliterating his racket and shaking Gasquet's hand.

For others, the day featured its own brand of drama. Fresh off winning the NCAA singles title as a sophomore at North Carolina, Loeb made the trip from Ossining on Tuesday morning with her parents. She zoned out in the car by donning headphones and listening to rap music.

"I always dreamed  of playing on Ashe," she said.

She anticipated that Wozniacki would operate as a counterpuncher. Once the buzz dissipated after warmups - Loeb said it was surreal to hear so many people cheering for her - she hit a backhand that sailed long on the opening point of the match. She committed 12 unforced errors in the first four games. Still, she remained aggressive, targeting the lines. Too often, she missed.

"I had times to execute," Loeb said, "and didn't."

Even as the score grew more lopsided, there were moments that stood out to Loeb. On a changeover, the large video boards inside the stadium showed Derek Jeter.

"I looked up and was like, 'Oh, OK!" said Loeb, who described herself as a New York Yankees fan. "I would love to meet him."

Chirico, who was ranked No. 119 before her match against Johanna Konta, was familiar with Court 11. A product of the USTA player development program, Chirico had spent lots of time here, building toward a goal of playing at the Open.

On Tuesday, the moment arrived. Like Loeb, Chirico spent the night at home with her family before making the drive into the city. But with each unforced error (29) and every double fault (5), Chirico slipped into a deeper hole against Konta, who won, 6-3, 6-0.

"I just think the execution was a bit off," Chirico said. "I think I was overplaying a little bit."

It was a disappointing effort considering her recent success. Chirico had a breakthrough last month at the Citi Open in Washington, where she advanced to the quarterfinals before falling to Sloane Stephens. It was a boldface result after she had spent so many months grinding out matches in challenger events and qualifiers.

"I think I can kind of draw confidence from that and take it with me and hopefully keep improving," Chirico said. "I know what I need to work on."

For Young, there have already been so many lessons. He put them to use against Simon, whom he had not defeated in five previous meetings. Young had also never won a best-of-five match after losing the first two sets - not once in 17 tries.

"I was proud of myself to fight back," said Young, who benefited from several untimely double faults by Simon. "I was going to go down swinging. That was pretty much my mentality."

Young has settled into a solid career inside the top 100. His best result at the Open came in 2011, when he reached the fourth round. That run also included a five-set win on Court 17, over Stan Wawrinka, in a tiebreaker.

Yet Young is still largely known as a cautionary tale of overexposing junior talent. He was asked if he would have done anything differently when he turned pro if he had known then what he does now.

"I have had that conversation with myself quite a bit," Young said. "That only sets me back. I'm looking to move forward."

© 2015 New York Times News Service