Delray Beach Open, USA

Men’s Final: [CR29] Ivo Karlovic (CRO) vs. [CR56] Donald Young (USA)

There were three scenarios for Young to win this title: hold his serve and break Karlovic, next to impossible;  win two tie break sets; or Karlovic retires prematurely. Surprisingly, Young had numerous opportunities to break because Karlovic was not serving well; however, he failed to convert on any. Young competed very well until the seventh game; an unexplained lapse in concentration cost him to lose serve. His annoyance at being broken unfortunately carried over into his next service game and distracted, he got broken a second time to lose the set.

Mentally fragile under normal circumstances, Young succumbed to the stress caused by the impossible task he had created for himself in losing the first set. The emotional anguish continued into the second set and he was immediately broken. When you struggle to put disappointment behind you and get back to focusing  on the immediate moment, you will inevitably lose the match. Once again, he had break points to get back on serve; however, his failure to capitalize resulted in an escalation of his frustration and further deterioration of his game. He lost the set and another opportunity to win his first ATP title, while Karlovic won another title 6-3, 6-3.