TENNIS 2014 ROLAND GARROS – 29th of May 2014. D. Young d. F. Lopez 6-3, 7-6, 6-3. An interview with Donald Young
Q. It seems a little bit out of nowhere, you haven’t played too much on clay, haven’t had much success here. Now you’re in the third round, played a quality player straight sets. Talk a little bit about what’s going on.
DONALD YOUNG: Yeah, it feels good. I have been playing well all year, but I didn’t play much on clay, so it wasn’t like I had a chance to maybe lose a little confidence on clay or know what’s playing well and what’s not playing well. I mean, I played last week and lost in the quallies. The guy played really well, kind of slapped me off the court.
I didn’t take it too negative because it was my first tournament on clay, I won a couple of matches, that was the goal.
To beat a quality player like Feliciano is awesome as well. And definitely to be in the third round is something I’ve never done. I have actually never won a match outside of the U.S. on red clay. So to win two here at the French Open, it means a lot.
Q. How much do you actually play on clay? I mean, in the U.S. there is a push to build more clay courts and to practice more on it. But how much are you actually exposed to it regularly?
DONALD YOUNG: Green clay, it’s what we have. It’s definitely not the same. It’s not close.
I played three challengers on green clay in the States, but I don’t get to play on it often. I kind of try to stay away from it, to be honest.
When I get on it, it’s all right. It just takes a little time to get used to it. The green is definitely different from the red, and I prefer the red to the green.
And we don’t have that at home except for Houston. It’s not exactly the same as this.
Q. I kind of wanted to ask you about your years in Chicago. Looked up a quote from Obama that said, Let me tell you something, I’m from Chicago, I don’t break. Just talk about your years there, tennis in Chicago. Does that help you in some way? Or just talk about it.
DONALD YOUNG: Yeah, I mean, that’s where the foundation was laid for my tennis was in Chicago. I was there from birth to 14. So, I mean, most of my tennis and strokes and learning was there.
Being from there, it’s awesome being from there. The weather, I don’t miss. The people, I do.
But, yeah, Chicago is a great city. Yeah. That’s just where my start was. So I will definitely have a lot of fond memories from there.
Q. Taylor Townsend had a big breakout here. Talk about when you first met her, and that’s probably earlier than anyone else at this tournament.
DONALD YOUNG: Yeah, I have known her since she was born, since she was just in the cradle and all that. I would be over there. Her mom would couple times I was sick. I had to go over there after like school, and my dad was working. I’d go over there.
Definitely I have known her forever. I seen her grow up and it’s great to see her playing well and winning matches. And to be at this level, it’s awesome. I’m really excited for her.
Q. What’s the connection? How did the families know each other?
DONALD YOUNG: Well, my parents and her parents have been friends since before I was born, and they were born obviously my parents started her playing tennis. They were like the first coaches and kind of worked like that, and they were always around.
It’s almost like it’s more of, her and her sisters, are mother like brother/sister type thing, yeah, than friends because I have known them forever.
Q. Do you have any thoughts why it hasn’t happened? Do you think like you were, you know, too much hype around you or things like that? Any thoughts on that?
DONALD YOUNG: Hindsight is 20/20. The hype came because at the time I was doing things no one else had done. It’s the first for everything. You don’t know how to deal with, the first for everyone around.
Looking at it again, you might do some things different, but, you know, I can’t do it now. If I had it over to do again, I probably would do a few things different.
Q. About the match today, what do you think was really working for you? He seemed pretty frustrated. What were your keys today?
DONALD YOUNG: I think I served pretty well. I kept him off balance quite a bit and was able to get it high to his backhand. He has a one hand, so it’s a little tougher above the shoulders. Moved him well, and I took my opportunities and was quite aggressive until that one game at 5 4 in the second. I got a little nervous.
Q. You said if you had it to do over again you might do a few things differently. Could you tell us what those things are?
DONALD YOUNG: Yeah. You know, at one time I was a lot better than a lot of my peers and you can rest on your laurels a little bit. I maybe didn’t work as hard as I could have and gotten better and trained harder.
Definitely seeing the way the outcome was, I would have taken a few fewer wildcards to tour events, ATP Tour, taken a couple, like the ones I won, like Kalamazoo to get into the Open, I would have taken those for sure. Everyone who wins that tournament gets the opportunity to do that.
Definitely, and, work harder, maybe go somewhere just to, kind of like a college environment, not college but somewhere they train year round, a bunch of people trying to do the same thing as well on a more regular basis.
Apart from that, I wouldn’t change anything.
