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U.S. OPEN

September 1, 2016

Jared Donaldson

New York, NY, USA

J. DONALDSON/V. Troicki

7-5, 6-3, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Very mature match you played out there. A lot going on with Viktor's injury timeout. How did you manage to keep it together?
JARED DONALDSON: I just felt that I had to keep focused, because obviously definitely an amateur thing would have been to kind of lose focus at that moment. Obviously I got broke the first game out. I think I just missed a couple shots. It's not because I lost focus or anything.

I know being up two breaks that he wasn't going to quit. Definitely not in the second being down two breaks and up two sets to Love, so I tried to stay focused and play my game. Thankfully that was enough tonight.

Q. Your backhand tonight was on pretty much from start to finish, going down the line with it. Is that what you say is your most comfortable shot?
JARED DONALDSON: Yeah. I mean, I was hitting my backhand really well, especially changing direction. I felt at the beginning of the third set he started to try to cover the down-the-line a little bit more. I was able to open up the court with my backhand cross-court, which was also very effective.

I knew that I needed to play offensive against him and take time away from him. Obviously my backhand is pretty compact. I can take it early. I can put spin on it. So it's a pretty versatile shot. It's definitely a weapon in my game.

I just try to move the ball around the court as much as I can.

Q. Overall your thoughts on how well you played today. The key game of the match was the 3-2 hold you had in the second game. Did you think that was the critical point?
JARED DONALDSON: Yeah. I mean, I think every game is important obviously, right? But I think a lot of times the big points come, and you just have to do the same thing. That's what I have been doing this tournament really well. When I kind of don't put an emphasis on one point over another, I just play my game every point of every match I played so far.

You know when the big point is coming, it's important to play within yourself, play what you know, what you know works. I feel when you try to go outside your element or you get nervous, that's when errors pop up in your game that don't normally happen.

Again, I just try to play the big points well.

Q. The 4-2 hold, stabilizing things.
JARED DONALDSON: Definitely a stabilizing moment. Came out and got broken at 3-Love. I think he had a fairly easy hold game. I knew I was up a break and I was serving pretty well, I was playing well from the back of the court. Even if I got broken there, I knew it was still a long set to go.

Yeah, I might have given up an opportunity there. That's what happens in tennis sometimes. You think you have it; then the next moment you don't. That's why you've got to make sure you stay focused on every point and every game. You never know when your opponent might start playing better or you might start playing a lot worse or vice versa. You have to be in the moment 100%.

Q. There's been talk about some of your peers more than you. Flying under the radar. Do you have any feelings about that?
JARED DONALDSON: Well, I mean, I think sometimes my peers have done better than I have. I mean, obviously Taylor kind of has the best ranking among other Americans, especially teenagers. He definitely deserves a lot of the attention. Frances played well for a long time, had a better junior career than I did, played better in junior tournaments than I did. I think the other guys deserve a lot more attention than myself.

Honestly, whether or not I get a lot of attention, I'm still 120 in the world. That's not amazing. That's not where I want to end up. It's 120 in the world. I want to be top 10, top 5, No. 1. Eventually, if I get to that ranking, I'll have enough attention, almost too much attention. I just have to make sure that I stay focused on my game, try not to let the outside factors kind of dictate how I play or act. I just have to keep improving.

Q. You've had a great summer, though. Lost to quality players.
JARED DONALDSON: Definitely. I've been playing well this summer. I've also had kind of an average beginning of the year. It's kind of fortunate that I've been able to play so well through the hard courts. Obviously playing well here at the US Open, which is my favorite tournament, my favorite slam, it's really special to be able to culminate the summer and play really well at this event.

I remember coming here when I was 12. It was really cool to watch all the best players in the world play here. Now I'm thankful that I'm one of those players now.

Q. Troicki played a tough five-setter before. Did you take that into account? Were you trying to move him around?
JARED DONALDSON: Yeah, no doubt. I knew he played a tough match before that. It was 4 hours, 50 minutes. It works both ways. It motivates you, keeps you aware that, hey, he came back from two sets to one two days ago. I better make sure I'm 100% focused in that third set. Even though I'm up two sets to love or I'm up a set or I'm up a set and two breaks, he's obviously not gonna quit.

I knew I had to stay focused and in the moment because he was certainly capable of coming back. He's a tough opponent. I think I did a good job of moving him around the court, taking time away from him, playing my game.

I think I did all that well tonight.

Q. When you were here when you were 12 years old, do you remember a particular match that impressed you? Who is here from your hometown to support you?
JARED DONALDSON: I can't really point to a specific match or player that impressed me. Obviously I liked all the close matches. I loved coming the first week because there were a lot of really good, close matches. I got to get so close to the courts and so forth. So that was a really cool experience.

I think that the biggest takeaway I've had is I didn't understand how brutal a five-set or four-set match was. Now I understand how tough it is physically and emotionally. Everybody wants it so bad. Nobody's going to give it to you. You have to make sure you're 100% in the moment and playing your game because it's really tough out there.

Q. Something particular that you like about Argentina? Your favorite soccer team?
JARED DONALDSON: My favorite soccer team is Boca Juniors. I loved training in Argentina. It was a great experience for me. Really, I took a lot away from it.

I would say from a cultural aspect, the biggest thing that I took away, besides the fact that in Argentina it took them two hours to drink a small coffee, where it takes 20 minutes for a big coffee in the United States...

I think the biggest takeaway from me in Argentina was how focused and dedicated those guys were training. They were so serious. I think it was really eye-opening for me. The fact that they work so hard even when they were tired. Clay court is so physical. It put me in a pro mentality when I was very young, 14 years old. All the players down there were trying to be pro, working really hard.

It kind of put me, even though I was 14 years old, I was doing a pro schedule just like it was my job. Even though I was 14, I was doing fitness two-and-a-half hours a day, hitting four hours a day. I mean, I had a pro schedule when I was 14 years old. I was training with guys who were 18, 19, 20 years old. It was a big takeaway. It taught me how to work really hard.

Q. Did you pick up any Spanish?
JARED DONALDSON: A little bit. A little bit.

Q. Particular words? Favorite Argentinian expression?
JARED DONALDSON: Todo tranqui.

Q. What does that mean?
JARED DONALDSON: All relaxed, all cool. That's kind of what I remember. I remember all the guys down there made me sing, I forget it now, but made me sing a Boca Juniors anthem song. One day I sang it in the gym.

Q. You're going to be playing a Labor Day weekend match at the US Open, which is a huge thrill. Donald Young or Karlovic. Your thoughts if you play either one of them.
JARED DONALDSON: I played Donald twice before, once on a challenger in clay, once earlier this summer in Newport. We split the first two.

Obviously I know Donald is really tough. He's got a great forehand, solid backhand. Tough tricky lefty serve. Really fast, great athlete. So he brings a lot. He's got great intangibles. He's a tough match. He has a great forehand, will try to take time away from me.

Obviously Karlovic, he's got a monster serve. That's going to be its own challenge. Two different players at opposite ends of the spectrum.

But I have to be ready for both. I think I will be ready for both.

Q. Given this is unprecedented territory even before today, what did Taylor talk to you about, given his experience?
JARED DONALDSON: For this tournament specifically?

Q. Yes. What has he talked to you about the past couple days?
JARED DONALDSON: I think the big thing that he tells me before every match is just go out there and control the things you can control. I know I've said that before. That's really what we've been focusing on, what he tells me before every match. Focus on things you can control.

There's so many things out of your control that it's almost a waste of time to even think about it. You have to focus on fighting, competing, how points are going during the match. Because tennis is very fluid. One moment you could play great; the next moment you could be playing not so well or your opponent could have changed something.

It's important to stay in the moment and figure out how you're winning points and try to adjust if you feel you need to.

Q. There's so much talk in tennis about the sport being older, 30-somethings dominating the sport. What's the advantage of being young right now in tennis?
JARED DONALDSON: So I think this speaks for all young players is that since now maybe a lot of other guys haven't seen how I play so much, they don't have as much experience against me. The first two guys I played, they're established pros.

I've been able to kind of go in there with an understanding of their game where maybe they haven't come in with an understanding of my game because they haven't seen me or played me that much.

I think that's kind of what young players bring to the table in terms of playing more experienced players. The experienced player might not have seen the younger player play, so that gives me a slight advantage at least at the beginning of the match. Obviously once they kind of see what's going on, it's kind of a dogfight from there.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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