Donald Young is Chill in Charlottesville
Steve Fogleman, Tennis East Coast
You’ve changed, Donald.
And that might be a good thing.
A relaxed, no, chillaxed Donald Young spoke with me on Monday in Charlottesville.
D Young is poised to re-crack the top 100 with a run in this $75,000 USTA Pro Circuit Challenger tournament. After winning a pair of challengers in the past month, Young is confident. And different.
I’m playing well. I’m hitting the ball well. I’m competing well. It took a lot of hard work to come back from 200, but it feels good to be close to the top 100. Working hard, competing, staying focused and calm is definitely a big thing.
My hunch that Young was more stoic by design than I’ve ever seen him before turns out to be right. He is calmer. It sounds as if the hot-headed antics that defined much of his early career are on the way out.
Definitely something I’ve been working on. It’s not easy. I still relapse. Sometimes, I go back to it. Been working on it. I definitely play better when I’m calmer, so It’s definitely something I’m looking to continue.
And Ilona Young is still at his side, a most familiar face as she greets all the men on tour by their first names. She’s a headmistress with no equal on the challenger circuit.
“She’s great. She’s pretty calm, you know, relaxed. It’s all fun for her, so it’s definitely good.”
And her cool resolve may finally be rubbing off on Young. At 24, the future is still very bright.
Tennis Atlantic 