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WIMBLEDON

July 8, 2007

Donald Young

LONDON, ENGLAND

THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon. We have Donald Young for you, 2007 Wimbledon junior champion.

Q. How does it feel to be a Wimbledon champion?
DONALD YOUNG: It feels great. It's awesome. It hasn't, you know, sunken in yet. Right now I still feel really good that I've won. I can't really believe that -- you know, I felt I was the target, you know, the highest-ranked pro player in the tournament, 3 seed.
But, yeah, it feels great to win the tournament.

Q. You never played him before. What was your strategy coming in, and how did you develop one?
DONALD YOUNG: I didn't really have a strategy. I mean, hit a lot of first serves in, make him play, move him around, try to attack and just keep a lot of balls in play and put pressure on him.

Q. When Rodney called, did he want to congratulate you or talk about University of Miami football?
DONALD YOUNG: He wanted to congratulate me on winning the Wimbledon juniors. He tried to watch it on the Internet, but it didn't work. He was following it online.
It can bother you online just watching point by point. You can't see what's happening. It was more nerve-wracking, that's what he kept saying.

Q. I assume you hear the same stuff that we're writing, that everybody is saying about American tennis: Where is the next guy? Are you the next guy?
DONALD YOUNG: I don't know. I mean, American tennis, I don't see it being that bad really. I feel Andy and James and, I mean, Robby and Fish and Sam, they're all doing well. I mean, you have me, Sweeting. You have a couple of young guys coming up. I feel we're doing pretty well right now.
We're used to having all the great players, 1 and 2 in the world, three, four slams a year there's an American person winning. I mean, hopefully I can step up, do well, just be a part of it.

Q. Why was it important for you to play this, given the fact you're trying to make your way into the pro ranks?
DONALD YOUNG: It's the junior Grand Slam, you know. It's, you know, highly ranked up there. Everybody who wins one, you talk about. They get a lot of publicity. Not just that, it's, you know, good to go out there and beat your peers also. Be able not to dominate but win, show you can play under pressure. It's a Slam, again. It's just a Slam.

Q. Is this the last junior Slam you plan to play?
DONALD YOUNG: I don't know. I might play the US Open. It's at home. Might play. Haven't decided yet.
These will be the last two tournaments, for sure.

Q. How key was the first set? It was tight, wasn't it?
DONALD YOUNG: The first set was the key to the match, I believe. If I'd have lost the first set it would have been a real dogfight to come back and try to win the second because he would have just got even more confident, hit more balls in, you know, loose and just go for it.
But me getting up a set, I relaxed a little, he started pressing, I got a couple of breaks early.

Q. Do you think you're going to get a wildcard for the US Open? What is your sense?
DONALD YOUNG: I don't know. I hope so. I mean, they can't tell me they're going to give me one, but I really hope I do. If not, I have to go play Kalamazoo.

Q. You've played a very extensive challenger and futures schedule here. Do you feel you should have done this a year earlier?
DONALD YOUNG: No. I mean, I did play futures and challengers the year earlier.

Q. But this extensively?
DONALD YOUNG: Yeah. I mean, no, I didn't play just because I was younger and I didn't want to play a full pro schedule. Now I feel old enough, most guys are playing a full pro schedule at this time, so I'm doing it. I got a couple wildcard offers and took it. You know, try it out.

Q. But do you think you would have been farther along now had you played this extensive a challengers, futures schedule a year earlier?
DONALD YOUNG: No. I mean, 'cause when I played I was losing in challengers and futures also. It was just confidence and the guys are good. You know, they're different.
I mean, I had to get better and work on my game. Now I'm doing the necessary things to do that, winning matches in the futures and challengers now.

Q. How different is the level in the juniors at an event like this versus the kind of matches you're playing on the futures and challenger definitely?
DONALD YOUNG: Futures and challengers level, but futures mainly, it's not a big difference. Most junior guys are playing futures. A couple of the final'd, semi'd. So you see a lot of the same guys.
But most of them are European so I don't see them. I watch their results online. They're getting to quarters and semis of a lot of futures.
I mean, it's a little different. The futures, challengers guys, they're grown men. These guys are juniors, but they're going to be the next pros.

Q. Few American players in the past, Larry Stefanki, came to the African future circuits. There are a lot of satellite tournaments coming up in Africa, one-week tournaments. Is that something you might want to look at?
DONALD YOUNG: I don't know. I don't really like getting on a plane unless I have to to go really far away. There's a lot of tournaments in the States.
But you never know, I might come out. But right now I've been playing a lot of tournaments in the States.

Q. How significant has David been for you?
DONALD YOUNG: David's helped out a lot. I mean, yeah, it's great to have a person here helping you out, you know, that knows the ropes, knows the guys. USTA, I mean, he's been a good addition to the team, great.

Q. What has he taught you?
DONALD YOUNG: Taught me? I mean, most things, you know, just reminding me, working with my parents. They kind of converse about what they think should happen. It's more like a group decision, you know.

Q. Is it hard to celebrate knowing you may have two more doubles to play today?
DONALD YOUNG: Yeah, I mean, I've been thinking about this. I was thinking about that during the match. I didn't want to go three sets, because if I did I might be a little tired for the matches.
So possibly three matches today, but we have to get through the first one.

End of FastScripts

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