Tennis Prose




Aug/12

28

Federer Advises DY, Sees Hope For Struggling American


When he first came onto the ATP Tour, Donald Young said that Roger Federer welcomed him by saying, “Federer came up to me actually, in the locker room, gave me a handshake and said ‘Hello, keep up the good work.’”

Now, Young is in a far different realm – he’s desperately trying to save his plummeting ranking and regain the form which saw him ascend into the top 50 last year.

Young has won only three Tour matches all year and though he showed flashes of brilliance last night on Ashe Stadium, he was thoroughly dominated by the world #1. Young will drop out of the top 100 and later this year if he does not protect his finalist points from Thailand last year, he could drop a lot further. Which means Team Young, comprised of mom and coach Roger Smith, will be resigned once again to the Challenger circuit.

After the straight set match completed last night, Federer told ESPN2’s Darren Cahill that while he sees potential in Young, there are also areas of weakness.

“He’s a great player, he showed that tonight,” said Federer. “I guess it’s a matter of working hard and getting the right advice, proper coaching, it’s not always about center court. There’s no way past hard work and grinding it out. He has to have the right mindset. He’s got a great game. He’s already been to the top 40. Hopefully he can make another run and get to the top 20.”

During the telecast, John McEnroe, Cahill and Patrick McEnroe spoke about Young’s plight.

“John McEnroe: “It’s sad…he’s a shell of himself. The hands have always been there for him. He’s got to believe in himself.”

Patrick McEnroe: “We all want to see him do well.”

Darren Cahill: “I think he needs to try to do some damage with the forehand.”

John McEnroe: “He needs to strengthen those legs.”

Patrick McEnroe: “In the last few years he has not been doing the extensive physical work…That kind of shot, where if you have the leg strength, you can make more of those shots.”

Patrick McEnroe noted that Roger Smith told him that Young has begun to work harder on his fitness and conditioning.

While that may be so, there’s no guarantee that a Lendl-like workload will be the remedy to overcome the damage of lost confidence from a dreadful season of constant losing.

Young’s career hangs in the balance now. His back is pinned against the wall. He is wounded and staggered, with blood streaming down his face. He has to dig in right now and fight harder than he’s ever fought before. Or the game could be over sooner than anyone could have imagined.

6 comments

  • Dan markowitz · August 28, 2012 at 7:56 pm

    Got to get rid of the mom, Scoop. Did you hear her last night, praising DY as if he was winning the match. DY needs some harsh cold medicine and as long as the mother is around to enable her son, DY will resist taking it.

  • Scoop Malinowski · August 28, 2012 at 8:19 pm

    Agree, it’s time to cut the son loose and let him become the man. Momma did a great job to get him this far. Radwanska cut loose her father she is now #2 in the world.

  • Andrew Miller · August 29, 2012 at 4:24 am

    Following anything Radwanska is a good idea. Federer obviously witnessed potential and gave the diagnosis: “to talent, add a consistent, solid work ethic”.

    Aint gonna lie, DYoung has the most potential of any U.S. player I have seen. But as Daniella Hantuchova said, “Talent is one step away from being lazy.” I don’t want him to become Gasquet (flashes of brilliance every few months). I’d like to see him go ahead and play like the player he should be – claim some scalps out there.

    It’s clear Johnny Mac, Pat Mac, Cahill – even Federer WANT to cheer on DYoung. They WANT to see him push himself into a new place that’s better for him on the court, worse for his opponents, and better for tennis. They basically want him to commit to his job. Make it happen. Every day.

    I don’t think there’s anyone out there that doesn’t want that. We may talk about Kudla, Sock, Harrison, Williams, Klahn, Johnson – about how they represent the future of the U.S. game. But I think deep down what the U.S. wants is to see DYoung go and do something special on the court for a few years – gets a lot of wins, make it count, push himself past the best he’s done to date. We all know that he has more variety of shot, superior court sense, stuff you can’t teach.

    It’s just that stormy attitude – the Andy Murray in a Chicago native, without the advice of a Gilbert or Annacone or anyone else in his ear, just eating him alive out there. Destroying his chances. Making him lose a string of points instead of sticking it to the opponent.

  • Julian Johnson · August 29, 2012 at 7:58 am

    “The key is not the will to win… everybody has that. It is the will to prepare to win that is important.”

    Bobby Knight

    Nobody has taught this kid how to prepare. His parents have been an obstruction to the entry of new voices, but I’m sure they had their reasons for turning down help from certain folks.

    Judging from the comments in the ESPN booth during the match, I kept wondering, these are friends?! The McEnroes skewered their ex-ace with gusto, sounding fair weather at best. Perhaps that is something Young family picks up on.

    That aside, I was appalled by Young’s emotionalism, his inability to maintain his composure or conceal his frustration, his paunch. How can you execute a game plan, when half the time, you’re throwing your hands up in the air, looking angrily at your box, stomping around the court, cursing? Alternating shots of Federer and Young were striking; wonder if he noticed the differences?

    Maybe if you’ve run stairs, hit the weights, perfected the diet, dropped twenty lbs, you can afford to expend energy capriciously. I don’t think Donald can and it shows. Those flashes of intermittent brilliance can’t increase without it. Work.

    The kid needs a LOT of help and it’ll take a lot of humility to change as drastically as he needs to. Bringing in Roger Smith is a good sign. Mom and dad need to back up. Hopefully DY is willing to follow Federer’s example, before he takes the court, rather than after.

  • Scoop Malinowski · August 29, 2012 at 12:02 pm

    That’s an excellent debut letter JJ, couldn’t agree with you any more. The ball is in Young’s court, Fed gave him the valuable advices, now he needs to study what he was told and incorporate it to his career. Momma Young should heed Fed’s wisdom also. Welcome to the site Julian.

  • Dan markowitz · August 29, 2012 at 3:46 pm

    Julian,

    Welcome to the site, I think you’re right. What DY needs most now is humility. And fitness. He’s not a big man. Probably about Agassi’s height and he’s got to trim down. But I like watching him play when he’s playing well as much as Blake, who with Fish, are my favorites. Working hard is a skill and he has to develop along with a fitness gene.

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