“One hundred percent last year, or a couple years ago, I would've thrown it in. It would've been three sets to love, whatever the score was, and 6‑1, 6‑2. I decided to fight, and I felt I was better than that.” —Donald Young, on his comeback in a 2-6, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (4), 4-6 loss to No. 41 Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in their third round match at Roland Garros today.
Paris—Always remember that if it seems like you’ve read the Donald Young story before, and perhaps more than once, it isn’t the fault of the 24-year Atlantan. He’s been maturing, and growing stronger, tougher, and more experienced. Question what you will, but don’t question his fidelity to the game.
Young, ranked No. 79 but heading higher thanks to this tournament, has been through numerous ups and downs since he stunned the entire tennis community with his precocious talent and mind-blowing junior record. To some degree, he’s been punished for being so good, so young. The expectations were outsized and, we’ve seen, unrealistic: Young embarked on his pro career with skills, physical traits, and perhaps even work habits sorely in need of development and fine-tuning.
Young is just six-feet tall, and for a long time he was slight of build (you can mark the years by tabulating all those “whatever happened to Donald Young” stories). He’s more muscular now, and so is his game, as he showed today.
The match began in strong sunlight and ended, three hours and 47 minutes later, with the long shadows of the umpire’s chair and upper deck flagpoles falling across a court that had turned from gold to rust, much like the skills that had earned Garcia-Lopez a two sets to none lead.
But Young’s game was arcing upward at the same time, and when Garcia-Lopez’s form declined he took full advantage. By the time he’d salted away the fourth set, Young was hitting stone-cold winners left and right.
The problem for Young in the fifth was that Garcia-Lopez began to find his second — or was it third? fourth? — wind, and once again he was playing like the man who knocked off Australian Open champ Stan Wawrinka in the battle of the booming backhands. Young survived a pair of break points in the second game, both thanks to winning placements. By then, he’d won the hearts of the Parisian crowd with his game and sustained comeback. “Dough-Nald,” “Dough-Nald” they chanted.
“I did hear my name quite a bit,” he admitted later, almost bashfully. “It was great, especially in France. I've never been in that position. I guess they were appreciating the effort or play or whatever, but it felt good.”
