Over and Don
Wawrinka puts an end to Young’s run
Donald Young’s career has been nothing like he envisioned, but finally he was where he felt he was supposed to be.
The top junior player in the world turned underachieving 26yearold had reached the fourth round of the U.S. Open for just the second time, showcasing uncharacteristic grit in producing three straight comeback wins, including fiveset upsets over two seeded players to set up his encounter with No. 5 Stan Wawrinka.
Facing the twotime Grand Slam champion, Young held hope, having stunned the Swiss star in the second round of the U.S. Open four years ago. During that careerbest run, Young admits he wasn’t yet ready, not hardworking enough to make a real run through a major and not yet mature enough to handle the attention and expectations that submarined the early part of his career.
On Monday, he felt comfortable in the spotlight — playing at Arthur Ashe Stadium for the first time in three years — confident enough to believe his first career Grand Slam quarterfinal appearance was just a few hours away.
But in those hours, Wawrinka reminded the American how much has also changed across the court, defeating the southpaw 64, 16, 63, 64 to reach his sixth straight Grand Slam quarterfinal and third straight quarterfinal appearance in Flushing after reaching the quarterfinals of only two majors in his first seven years on tour.
After the loss, Young was disappointed, but upbeat, seeing just how different the second chapter of a career can be.
“Seems to be how guys are doing it quite a bit lately,” said Young, speaking about latepeaking careers. “He’s one of the top guys now, but definitely you gain confidence with something like that.
“To be playing at his level is going to take a little more than what I’m doing currently.”
Wawrinka, scheduled to play Kevin Anderson — who upset Andy Murray on Monday — entertained ideas of an upset among the proYoung crowd, smashing his racket after allowing Young to take the second set. But the 30yearold soon regained control, converting on all four break point opportunities.
Even after what he described as his best match of the tournament, Wawrinka refused to place himself in tennis’ current top tier, believing a gap still exists between him and his alltime peers — Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Murray.
“I don’t think I am close to the Big Four,” Wawrinka said.
Modesty aside, much has changed. Wawrinka is among the sport’s ultraelite, enjoying success no one could have seen coming. For Young, time still remains to change what seemed concrete.
“I feel like things are coming around,” Young said. “I really feel like I’m ready to do it on a consistent level and not just do it for a while or work hard for a little bit and then relax.
“If I can keep doing this and build upon it, I don’t know what can happen.”