By Richard Pagliaro | Thursday, February 19, 2015

 

Donald Young scored his fifth victory in his last six matches to reach his third quarterfinal of the season in Delray Beach.

Photo credit: Christopher Levy (@tennis_shots)

Delray Beach, Fla. — Court-side shrubbery was shivering. A linesman pointed out calls wearing black gloves. Two women in the second row were wrapped in thick wool blanket and flags atop the stadium were flapping so frantically in the blustery wind it sounded like a helicopter was landing over on Atlantic Avenue at one point.

Signs of stress were spiking all over the stadium except on Donald Young.

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Amid chaotic conditions that may have blown his concentration apart in the past, Young kept calm and remained riveted on the ball.

The result was a controlled 6-3, 6-2 Delray Beach Open decision over Alejandro Gonzalez that sent Young into his third quarterfinal of the season.

That may not sound like much, but consider Young qualified for just two ATP-level quarterfinals last year — in Houston and in Washington, DC where he lost to eventual-champion Milos Raonic in the semifinals — and it's a clear sign of progress. Young raised his record to 8-3 on the season; he did not win his eighth match of last season until the 2014 Roland Garros second round.

It was a match in which Young's mind was as important as his whipping lefty forehand he cracked into the corners.

Down an early break at 1-2, Young drilled a backhand pass down the line to break back with a fist pump. That break sparked a four-game run as Young began to command the center of the court with his forehand. A 119 mph ace down the T followed by an overhead winner down the line extended the lead to 5-2.

Squinting into the sun and swirl, Young double-faulted on set point and shanked a forehand to face break point.

It was exactly the type of sequence that might have sent him over the emotional edge in the past.

Not today.

Pausing to reset, Young blocked out the tricky conditions, zoned in on the ball and played the point on his terms.

"[I] just focus on the ball not anything else because my mind was on a lot of other things [in the past]," Young said. "If something went wrong, then those things bothered me. It was a lot of things I couldn't control. I only focus on things I can control and that's helped out quite a bit.

Cracking a forehand winner down the line to erase break point, Young buried a body serve into Gonzalez's hip for a second set point. Drawing a backhand error, Young sealed the opening set in 36 minutes.

"I can just control my mind, what I do on my serve and my competing and effort I give," said Young, who raised his record to 8-3 this season. "I want to win and I want to play the next point the best I can and not rush into it and lose it. [Before the break point] I wanted to regroup and play a good point."

The former junior world No. 1 points to the work he's done with a sports psychologist over the past two years — combined with hitting the gym and packing more muscle onto his six-foot frame — with helping him manage the stress and control his emotions on court.

"I did [work with a psychologist] for a while; she's still around," said Young, who is still coached by his parents Donald Young, Sr. and Illona Young. "My mom has been on the mental as well and she kind of calms comes me down a bit."

Once typecast as a gifted all-court talent with sculptor's feel, Young's tendency to sweat the small stuff and grow cranky over anything from a sketchy call to a swirling conditions earned him a reputation as a fragile player. His 64-112 career record points to a player all too willing to mentally check out when pressure mounts.

Illness and fatigue compelled him to seek out the psychologist — he was sick and tired of losing.

"Losing and not knowing why when a lot of my peers were doing a lot better that I had beaten before," Young said of his decision to hire the female pyschologist he declined to name. "It's a combination of working hard, and the mental aspect and being resilient as well. It's working well so far. Hopefully I can keep it up."

Fresh off fourth career ATP semifinal in Memphis last week, the 56th-ranked American is on a mini-roll scoring his fifth win in his last six matches.

Though the 101st-ranked Colombian lacked the weapons and confidence in the front court to trouble Young, he saved a break point to hold for a 2-1 second-set lead. That was Gonzalez's last stand.

The 25-year-old Young reeled off five consecutive games. He broke for 3-2 and stretched the lead to 5-2 when Gonzalez dumped a drop volley into net to donate serve.

Young served out a 67-minute victory at love. He will face third-seeded Alexandr Dolgopolov for a semifinal spot. Dolgopolov raced out to a 5-0 start in sweeping American Tim Smyczek, 6-2, 6-4, in the second quarterfinal.



It will be the first meeting between the pair and Dolgopolov will be aiming to attack Young's two-handed backhand.

"He's beeen playing quite solid the last few weeks," Dolgopolov said. "I just need to make him defend like I did today then I will have good chances if I make him go for that backhand all the time. If I let him use that forehand, then I'm gonna be in trouble."

Young is not the most powerful American, but when he's on form he may well be the most exciting to watch. His second serve can be shaky, he doesn't always attack his returns and he sometimes straight-arms his two-handed backhand, particularly on no-pace balls down the middle. But as U2's "Beautiful Day" blared over the sound system, a relaxed Young looked  like a man whose finally learning to get out of his own way and let his tennis flow.

As a nine-year-old Chicago kid, Young hit with Hall of Famer John McEnroe. The pair once shared an agent at IMG and Young said the mercurial McEnroe, known for his volatile outbursts, encouraged him to play with a more positive attitude on court.

"John was really good about the atttitude part," Young said. "It took me a while to take to it but now that I'm older it starts to make a lot more sense."

Asked if ever tried to use anger as a weapon on court as McEnroe once did, Young smiled and said "I tried that for a little, but it didn't work."