[69] Donald Young (USA) vs. [112] Taylor Fritz (USA)
Donald Young won the battle of former number one American Juniors. He did so despite suffering a knee injury earlier in the match and battled back after dropping the first set to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
We project our expectations unto these young players, and while some players are more emotionally equipped to deal with that burden, many of them struggle to make the transition from great juniors to great Tour players. As I watched this match, I remembered when Young broke on the scene and the talk about him and his potential. Now Fritz is going through the same thing as he tries to carry the burden of being one of the next potential great American male tennis stars.
Young turned pro in 2004; is 27 years old; made his first final in 20011; and has yet to win an ATP World Tour title. Fritz turned pro in 2015; is 19 years old; made his first final one year later in 2016; and has yet to win an ATP World Tour title.
Both players are capable of producing brilliant tennis; however, the concern for Young is that he has not been able to get over the hurdle of winning that final match yet and with each year that goes by he must get more frustrated and have more doubts about ever accomplishing that goal. While Fritz has the weapons, he struggles with his movement and already he is battling knee issues so that may be a huge concern for the young American as his career progresses. Young has been playing a lot of tennis recently and in the first set he had to be evaluated for left knee issues. Despite the injury, Young competed really well and showed us once again that he is capable of fighting for victory.
SOURCE OF IMAGE: Bing search
