By Richard Pagliaro | Tuesday, September 1, 2015

 

"He was kicking my butt. I decided to starting hitting out more," said Donald Young, who fought back from a two-set deficit for the first time to defeat No. 11 seeded Gilles Simon for the first time. 

Photo credit: US Open/USTA

NEW YORK—Sweltering heat, an oppressive opponent and a bleak two-set, 0-3 deficit all conspired to inflict a case of illness and fatigue on Donald Young today.

Young was sick and tired of absorbing another beat down from Gilles Simon.

By that point, Young had lost 13 consecutive sets to the slender Frenchman.

Serena: Federer is Diversion and Inspiration

Staring down his eighth US Open opening-round exit, the devoted reader of self-help books resolved to start swinging with greater purpose.

That decision jolted Young into the biggest comeback of his career.

Stepping into the court and cracking his left-handed forehand with authority, an inspired Young fought back for a rousing 2-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 victory— his first career comeback from a two-set deficit—to stun Simon and reach the US Open second round.

"Honestly, I had nothing to lose," Young told ESPN's Pam Shriver in his on-court interview afterward. "He was kicking my butt. I decided to starting hitting out more, coming forward more, playing my game and making him earn it."

Simon had never blown a two-set lead and Young had never rallied from a two-set deficit. But the muggy conditions, roaring crowd, Simon's sudden serving lapse and Young's willingness to whip his forehand into the corners all created the perfect storm for a comeback.

In the third set, Simon gave Young a gift with a hideous three double fault game to drop serve and spark the comeback. Haunted by that game, Simon let the third set slip away.

"I mean he was giving it to me," Young told the media afterward. "I wasn't absolutely playing great, but he's No. 11 in the world, quality opponent  and beaten me a few times before. He was definitely with the mental edge. When I saw that, it gave me hope and gave me a chance to really feel like if I was to stay in it and you know in the moment, I could actually come  back and see what happened."

Afterward, Simon suggested his double-fault donation—as much as Young's sheer determination— caused his surprising demise.

"I was two sets to zero up, a break up and I thought I had it on my racket," Simon said. "I was not worried because I always had a good rhythm against Donald. And I played a terrible serve game. And it should have been only one terrible serve game and it's still okay. But it's in my head and then it was the second one. And then I was not able to do anything on the tennis court and I think just Donald realized it and played what he had to play to take me down in five sets. But it's a terrible result for me today. Terrible result, overall, because I felt I had everything to win."

Court 17 is a comeback home court for Young, who outdueled then 14th-ranked Stan Wawrinka in a fifth-set tie break on the same court in the 2011 second round. Young went on to reach the round of 16 that year, bowing to Andy Murray.

"I love this court. I love these fans," Young said in his on-court interview. "Man thanks guys its so awesome to play in front of you. I was almost ready to go home there. I stayed through you guys gave me a lot of fun and a lot of energy."

It wasn't a flawless performance. Young scattered 11 double faults among 70 unforced errors, compared to 45 unforced for Simon. The former junior No. 1 can be his own worst enemy on court, but this time Young stayed the course. He survived a two double fault game to force the fifth set.

Simon was waiting for Young to go away just like he always had in the past. It never happened this time.

"Normally, with the record in the past with the score, he should have been done," Simon said. "But he realized right away he really had nothing to do to be up 4-3. He realized the guy in front of me is in trouble. He tried to play and played better and more consistent. Then he was going up and I was going down.

"I just think I lost it alone. It's on my side. It's never fair to say you lose it yourself. If he comes with something different on the court and he starts from the beginning to give me more trouble than usual then you can say he did this. It's not like he played unbelievable to come back in the first place. Four double faults to give him the break. I really think we can say in this one, I messed it up alone."

Simon put a forehand into net as Young scored third straight break for 3-2 in the decider. Drilling a forehand down the line, Young held for 4-2. Closure was complicated. Simon, who hammered some of Young's second serves, bolted a forehand return down the line breaking back for 4-4.

In the past, Young might have shrunk from the pressure. Today, he continued pressing forward. Firing a forward down the line, Young tomahawked a high forehand volley breaking for the third time in the set for 5-4 as a fan wearing a blue Captain America t-shirt bounded out of his seat screaming support.

"One hundred percent, I would have beat myself up [in the past]," Young said about squandering his fifth-set lead. "That's definitely something I have been working on, the mental side. I felt like I have been able to play, but not able to deal with that well. When things went wrong, I kind of bailed out. That's something I have definitely been working on. It's not where I want it to be yet, but it's definitely an improvement and I'm starting to see results."



The 68th-ranked American served out an improbable comeback, dropped to one knee, then arose pounding his palm against his heart celebrating a three hour, 34 minute triumph.

Young, who reached the Delray Beach final in February and upset Tomas Berdych in Montreal last month, will face 57th-ranked Briton Aljaz Bedene for a return trip to the third round. Young is not taking anything for granted. He's learned mastering the game between the ears is nearly as vital as playing the opponent between the lines.

"It's all mental for me," Young said. "I feel like tennis is pretty much all mental and it's always been mental for me because I could play and the skills weren't really the issue. It was between the ears and it was dealing with adversity."